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Mom, an excellent cook, (occasionally hired to cater events), career Royal Bank of Canada teller,
avid gardener, refinisher of antiques, (where I absorbed a lesson or three) and aficionado of

music (mostly country) and she loved to dance! Dad, a tradesman electrician, avid sportsman,
(fishing, hunting, golf, followed hockey and football), a guy who could fix just about anything,
and the source of my love of nature, Gospel, jazz, blues, all good music.

Not uncommon for Dad & Mom to
polka through the entire 1st floor of
our modest home, dodging

appliances and furnishings as deftly
as they surely would other polkee’s ,
(hm…is that a word?) at the John
Deere, Welland Works factory,

Saturday dance.

So, yeah, we got the music at home,
the joy of it, both my sister Suzanne
(Hiatt/Huard), and I turned
professional in our early twenties,

and were always encouraged to
perform as a duo at annual Xmas
parties; French fiddle music, step
dancing, a cappella song, telling a
joke or story, not an exception, but
the norm. All encouraged to

entertain in whatever way they
could. In hindsight, it was like
vaudeville school. By doing, failing at times, we learned the value of participation and preparation.
“So, what did you bring us this year?”

LL: What genres of music did you listen to growing up and who were your musical heroes.

RH: Got a bit burnt on country music Mom played constantly, (Ramblin Lou on WKBW, Bf, N.Y.),
the seed sprouted in me hearing Downchild Blues Band’s 1st LP, “Straight Up”, purchased at age
16-ish at Sherks’ Hardware Store in downtown Ridegway, ON. How that gem ever got distributed
there’s a mystery, but I fell into it like a comfy chair, though it would be many years later that I
dared to play harmonica.

Fair to give Neil Young’s ‘Harvest’ its due. It woke me up to the power of the confessional
songwriting style (also James Taylor) which led to wanting to write my own songs. Apparently,
I had things to confess, and my churchy upbringing made it seem OK, to let fly with all that stuff
banging around inside. In my latter teens and early twenties, I listened to The Beatles, Stones,
Hendrix, Cream, then came my discovery of Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Willie Dixon , Fabulous
Thunderbirds, the beast was totally out of the cage by then.

LL: You play several different instruments. How and with which instrument did you get
started?

RH: Guitar first. Then piano, influenced by Professor Longhair, Pine Top Perkins, Otis Spann,
then harmonica. It has been a challenge to keep up to speed with them at times, I’m not currently