Time: 9 p.m.
Cover: none
KixxSin
is a genre of their own. Their reputation derives from their motto
“When the band KixxSin, the party Kixx ass!” This group of talented
musicians and close friends inject a new life into the music they play.
Their ability to take a classic country song and rock it out or take a
top 40 pop song and countrify it; personifies their diversity. All
members of the band contribute vocally which offers their listeners
variety and depth. They pride themselves in always being current with
their material and stage show.
KixxSin is no stranger to the
music industry; all members of the band have played with numerous
country and rock recording artists throughout past years. Upon playing
together in an old honky tonk bar, there was instant chemistry and the
band KixxSin was formed.
You can find KixxSin at your local
rodeo, casino, festival, wedding, bar or next corporate event. They’re
charismatic, they’re cutting-edge, they’re exciting so you don’t want
to miss them because.......
“When the band KixxSin, the party Kixx ass!”
Mike
Callan was born and raised in the small town of Williamsford, Ontario,
on a steady diet of country greats like Don Williams. Perhaps
foreshadowing his future direction, he also found appeal in outsiders
like Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings. Moving to Calgary, Alberta as a
teenager, he discovered and embraced modern country heroes like Travis
Tritt and Mark Chesnutt while he taught himself how to play guitar. He
made his stage debut at 15 years old and by age16 was writing his own
songs.
The clever wit and charisma that are a part of his songs
are an extension of his personality. With his strong traditional voice
and an imposing physical presence, Mike owns the stage when he steps on
it. There is a great energy in his performance, administered with a
nudge and a wink in the up tempo numbers, but he can deliver a ballad
enough to persuade he might be the strong silent type while you wipe
away a tear.
HURRICANE, Big Mike’s album
(Universal/ICON/Fontana North), delivers on the promise implied by the
title. The quiet becomes the storm and you get caught up in it.
Sensitive serenading one minute and hot-headed honkytonk stomp the next -
HURRICANE is a collection of songs about a life lived, and the range of
emotions worked through in the process. From the roadhouse to the
trailer park, it references all the familiar themes in popular country
music - both traditional and contemporary.
With producer Steve
Fox at the helm, who also shared co-writing duties, HURRICANE includes
contributions from other great writers such as Johnny Reid, Buddy Jewel,
Billy Tarkington and John Rich (Big & Rich).
Neil
Neil
Waters is the real deal. He's a guitar pickin', singin' cowboy. He grew
up outside of Calgary Alberta, on a ranch. In the early '80's during
the oil patch boom in Alberta, while working construction, Neil met Tim
and Jamie Sitter. They found they enjoyed playing in local bars and
night clubs far more than framing. Tim and the Teddy Bears became a
great band. As their skills honed, the act gave way to the locally
successful Homeward Bound. The trio, packed bars, clubs and dance halls
all over Alberta.
Homeward Bound played from one end of the
province to the other, packing rooms and setting sales records at the
door and at the bar. Ken Sitter joined brother Jamie Sitter and Neil and
formed the venerable group Free Ride. After close to 20 years of
entertaining Neil and the Sitter brothers retired from music. Neil
continued to raise cattle west of Calgary on a picturesque ranch nestled
in the foothills with his beautiful wife and family. Then they moved to
a larger ranch south of Calgary, still in the foothills, where they
still reside.
The next generation of Sitters came on the scene
and hauled Neil out of retirement to start the commercially successful
Jo-Hikk. Kelly's vocals, Neil’s lightning fast riffs on his Tele, along
with newcomers Jerry Toland on drums and classically trained Ron Baker
on everything else, keyboards, acoustic guitar and synthesizer swept the
local industry like a chinook wind. They packed everywhere they played.
After that Neil, Jerry and the multi-talented Ron brought their talents
together with the witty and talented Randy Ross on bass. The boys are
proud of their new act KIXXSIN. Rockin' Country, Classic Rock, some
blues, some top 40 country.
Jerry
Jerry Toland is not only the
back beat of KIXXSIN, he’s the backbone of this rockin’ country act.
Besides being one of the most sought after session drummers in the
business Jerry is an electronics whiz and a gifted sound engineer.
Jerry
is a third generation drummer. His roots go back to his renowned
Grandfather Ted Pire. Ted’s resume in the music scene is so long, you
can’t see from end to end. Ted has played the big shows, huge clubs, and
TV appearances. And Ted and his beautiful wife Carol are still active
playing nightly with the Cheyenne Band. Jerry’s Uncle Theo has been
playing since the 80’s and is still playing out west with talented
artists like Ken McCoy and Eric Neilson.
Jerry’ tastes started with the big hair rock of the 80’s then drifted to the jazz and country his grandfather played.
Jerry
is in high demand as a gifted session and freelance drummer. With a
enormous repertoire of music he has played with some of the biggest
local acts around; Big Mike Callan, Shane Yellowbird, CCMA’s Chevy
Rising Star, Willie Mack, JoHikk, Damian Marshall , Chris leBlanc, Ken
McCoy, Melanie Lane, Justin Ament, Erin Haley, Craig Moritz, Marty
Grambo just to name a few.
Jerry’s unique style of playing keeps
the crowd bouncing with heart thumping bottom end back beats that blend
smoothly to his jazz/funk influenced fills that add a unique blend to
the KIXXSIN sound, his sound just has to be danced to!
Ron
Ron
studied classical and jazz guitar at the University of Alberta under
Master Dale Ketchenson. This gifted classical guitarist then taught
himself how to become an accomplished keyboardist. With this new
ability, he played with the successful recording artists River Road and
Scott Skirving and Skyward all across Canada. His success in these acts
include the co-writing of five of their radio played songs in Eastern
Canada. He has shared stages with KixxSin and JoHikk opening for
recording artists Prism, Johnny Reid, The Road Hammers, Jason McCoy,
Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Clayton Bellamy, Aaron Pritchett, Brad Johner,
Paul Brandt and Chris Leblanc just to name a few. He has had the honors
of playing on stage with Chris Cagle while at Big Valley Jamboree and
several great Canadian artists.
Ron missed the prairies and the
Rockies and immigrated back to the land of the Chinook. His keyboard
abilities, perfect harmonies and great guitar abilities piqued the
attention of second generation country rockers Kenny and Kelly Sitter.
The Sitter's asked Ron to join them in the Brenner Brothers act. The
band evolved to include Jerry Toland and Neil Waters when Kenny went
overseas to tour with Julian Austin. The sound of this act quickly
surpassed the Brenner Brothers moniker and they renamed themselves Jo
Hikk.
Jo Hikk soon became a commercial success. Ron on
keys/acoustic guitar, Jerry Toland on drums, Neil Waters on lead
guitar/vocals, and Kelly Sitter on bass/vocals. Ron left Jo Hikk during
their first album "Closer" recording sessions to join Neil and Jerry in
the hot country rock band, KixxSin.
Ron's musical influences
besides the classics include Jason Aldean, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley,
Jake Owen, Rodney Atkins, Paul Brandt, Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood,
Trace Adkins, George Strait, Blake Shelton, Billy Joel, Rascal Flatts,
Emerson Drive, Jason McCoy, The Road Hammers, Garth Brooks, Keith Urban,
Diamond Rio, The Blackhawks, Journey, Dianna Krall, Elton John and
Rush..the list is huge with so many great artists in this planet.
