The Canadian folk stalwarts have been playing all over the world since the late ’80s, have released seven CDs and a live DVD, gone through numerous line up changes and are going to call it a career ending with a handful of Alberta and B.C. shows, including Lethbridge at the Wolf’s Den, Nov. 27 which are all winding up their farewell tour.
“We made the announcement at the beginning of the year, so all of the places we’ve played have been farewell shows. We’ve played everywhere one except for one town in upstate New York, where we played twice because they wanted us back. It’s been great, the shows have been very well received,” Ritchie continued adding the response has been very gratifying, especially returning to places where they have made a lot of new friends who come to their shows.
“Having slugged it out on the road for this long, to see that reflected in people coming out in droves to hear us, it’s been tremendous,” he continued adding he has been playing in the band since 1988 and now it’s time to move on.
“For me I’ve been doing this for 21 years. It has been my career and my obsession since 1988, but I need to do something different and get away from the road. I want to do something where I don’t have to spend three months in a van. I just want to stay at home for a while,” he said adding the past 21 years have also been the most fun he’s ever had in a career.
He has plans to finish recording a solo CD, which he has been working on for about six years. And the other band members have other projects on the go as well. For example, mandolinist/ vocalist Terry Young and violinist Sandra Swannell have a side project called My Sweet Patootie. Pianist Rob Ritchie, who is back with the group after a five year hiatus, has solo CDs out as well, plus in the midst of releasing his second novel.
“No I’ll be home more, maybe I’ll be able to finish my CD,” Ritchie said, adding Tanglefoot’s last tour features the same firey energy, intricate musicianship, five part harmonies and diverse set list drawn from the band’s seven CDs.
“There’s not really a difference in the set list. It is still a cross section of new and old material from all of the CDs,” he said adding crowd favourites like “Crashin’ Down,’ a song about the Frank Slide are still part of the show and are a prominent part of the band’s repertoire, especially in Alberta, as the song was still inspired by the band’s first drive through the Frank Slide.
“We want to hit all of the high points. We want people to say ‘I’m really glad I came out. I’m really glad I discovered this band. I’ve loved getting to know them.’ I hope they’ll miss us,” Ritchie continued adding a highlight of a career full of highlights including one of their CDs going into space with Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, was performing their a cappella song “Vimy” at Vimy itself.
“In 2007 we sang at the rededication of the Vimy monument . It was huge to be asked to be part of that. It was a highlight upon highlights. We had a great ride. We’ve had people embrace us, especially in Alberta, Ontario, New York, Virginia and England,” he said.
— by Richard Amery, L.A. Beat editor
