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The 'rompiin' may be over but Ronnie Flllawkiin-tlltangs tough Coral Andrews Chronicle Special Ronnie Hawkins' Last Waltz is still light years away Rock and rolls premier valedictorlan was recently in town, and over "corvorsiere cognac" and coffee. Rompin' Ronnie tralpsed through time, His time, his notorious times. Times gone by. and times yet to come "l play the music of the devil," he walled wickedly. "in the '50s rock and roll wasn't that popular, It wa~ a three-month fad .. Hawkins and his "ttwee-month fad' have played every conceivable Canadian nook and cranny for 25 years and the boys are -comin' back for more' Monday. Sept. 26th at UW's Humanities Theatre. -Wow'. We first played uw years ago, and there was a huge dance, The place was just wild. and everybody was drunk and someone by the time We got there, It was a blow-out. all right." Ronnie's been through every venue possible from the lushness of the Royal York's Imperial Room in Toronto to the infamous Coulson Hotel in Sudbury. one of his 'favorite' haunts, "Man, Evil Knievel on heroin would be afraid to Wr into this room, What a Gawd-iorsaken place. We used to spend 30 minutes playin' the music and 30 minutes watching the fights. And when we played those gigs in Oklahoma in the early days. my life was always on the red-neck line! E?" Hawkins has a formidable history of barroom brawls but 30 years on the road is a long, excruciating sojourn As he sits there. eyes gleaming. and pearly whites grinnin' under the brim of his latest hat it?: the eighth wonder of the world that this "legendary cat' hasn't experienced "When I started out, I was a snapper. and I was into those boogieing blues. and there weren't too many good hank man there was really a shortage of talented guys. Now. hell these young kids are taking over." Hawk's manager interjects ' "Ya knou Ronnie. I heard a coupla of tunes by the Stray Cats and their stuff sounds like your licks from the 'sits." "Ya, well it's that loop echo. They've cottoned onto it and made it their' sound." replied the burly singer with a shrug, "And iCll sell." Hawkins "gets into' a great deal of budding talent, and the good rock samaritan has given his fellow musicians everything from cars. and room and shelter to money. The Hawk is a prime catalyst in the who's who of the music industry, "I can recall when boys like Leon Russell and J. J. Cale were the house bands, In fact 1 auditioned Leon for one combo I had, but he knew two chords too many for Bo Diddley. so l didn't let him in, The Band was really good in their time. but now you see them and expect them to be ‘slick . And nov Robbie‘s doin' his showbi7 stint in CA. with Robert DeNiro and his boys while Levon. Garth and the boys here, are still goin' strong." The Hawk has a definite formula for ‘rookies on the road,' "Now the Cate Brothers are okay, but they should go on up to the Coulson and get all the bugs out. They should jist play, and play and play. ‘cuz right now, those guys are calling numbers onstage they've never even rehearsed R' The Arkansas charmer has been a father figure to some of music's best including Kris Kristofferson. Bev D'Angelo. Bob Dylan. Robbie Robertson (of the Band) and John Lennon, whom he served as personal host during the Toronto Peace Festival “The Peace Festival was all for boys wanted the money. John and they got three bucks. And all the I him and May Pang is jist more Pt' Ro me, it's a pile of crap," I‘!’ III‘. .. 1 I.- P'"" v. ""I’ Yoko helped Ronnie in the Orient and Rave him a promo boost. as a token of her faith. friendship and esteem. _ "Yoko's Rot authority, Man I've never seen a woman with such power. I was well-received in Japan. and it was fantastic experience. “I lost a lot of money years ago from various ventures. Now I go where the money is and that's the States and Europe Thirty years on the road takes its toll on you and the energy's gone. The Rompin's gone." he said with a wink. "Can't have too much fun anymore Um into health care and cleanin' up my act, cause playin' fer me is a full-time job ., - - -.. . ' __" L.. A... Jinn-.4; Iglonl play": at. ..._ Is. u u... -...._ ,4 _ The Hawk is still overwhelmed by the diverse talent in the 'tNts. "There are a few of 'em out there that are really good and there are some that don't even deserve a label. But most of 'em are hot. Hell. there's a myearold in Halifax that just burns when he plays. and lie played with the best of 'em 30 I know. They had-Jessie ' Festival was all for a cause. and the big the money. John and Yoko were lucky if , bucks. And all the latest honky tonk about Pang is jist more people out to get him, Winchester, Emmy Lou Harris and Ronstadgn '65-'66, but they're still crankin' 'em out. That there an Halen is good. And Man you can't take anything away from Michael Jackson. The Kid's videos are dynamite." mchllaivIl-tmade a video of his own that served a prosperous purpose. Entitled the Hawk. it chronicled the man's lifestyle and hit music: . This rockabilly rebelrouser‘s "chops" never change. with that ioot-stompin' bo diddley beat, it's infectious and it continues to spread its wealth as a new generation of fans discover its celebrated sound. The Hawk's personnel has changed though, with Hamilton sessionman Bill Dillow on lead guitar, old Ian Thomas alumnus Steve Hogg on crazy bass. Billy King on keyboards, Kitchener's own Dave Lewis (no relation to former Hawkins guitarist John Lewis) still pounding the 'skins' and new Nashville sensation 22-yearold Amy Sky on vocals, with Ronnie‘s son Robin on rhythm guitar. . "Boy. he's into Z Z Top. Ted Nugent, and Hendrix. music that country people have never even heard of, yet he still plays for med' Hawkins said with a laugh, "Now he's a product of the '60s and mrs, Ronnie's roots are darker than his son's "Now, me, l was into black before it was beautiful. I had 3 or 4.000 records of the 'boogieing blues,' Muddy Waters, B. B, King. and I liked the funky old country blues. Now country music is a lot different, Times have changed with all this electric stuff. The young boys are hot and the old boys have paid their dues. The teen rebels of the 'Mrs are now the big boys in the 'tNts." Hawkins sadly missed the att1ttence of the 'tttts. "That's when the English invasion hit and 10 million bands not httt.That's when Peter. Paul and Mary, lan , La .steys) 33:3 //),/ilj, and Sylvia, Lightfoot were at their peak. and everyone had Albert Grossman and John Court as management a fat-cat time. 7 "All my Hawks back then were drinkers. not dopers. and I had to constantly kick their asses because of it, Mind you, I only drink when I work. I think the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour with Joe Cocker was one of the wildest we had. I managed to catch the tail end of all the honky-tonk." ""ui"tiiriiic'fiCiuver Hawk wants to join forces with another Canadian mega-talent. A A _ A A “I talk about Lonnie Mack, how he's such a master of l the '50s and '60s, a respected talent. Well. right now. _ Andre Gagnon is another one. If he changed his tunes jista titch and added love stories to them. he'd be an outright genius. One hundred years from now. people will call him a modern-day Beethoven or Chopin. We're going to do an album together. but our schedules keep , interfering. He's always got a movie score or somethin . He could have done Eye of the Tiger, and all that lancy stuff. He's jist outta my league. But he says when I'm In the audience. I make him nervous. It's like the Prince and Pauper," he guliawed. _ ... I "itil/Gaul/y' Fault)" Gree decades later still loves the business. and knows every aspect of it like the back of his ‘knee-shppin’ hand. - --- . ___ "It's rough to find musicians nowadays. They've got to have strength and stamina. " tahes younger musicians too much time to get into it. I'd rather get an older guy and get his 'chops' up. But for anyone lust getting into this 'he0hole,' ,, he laughed. "Well, rd say it's practise and play. Be a fighter cuz the punching bag doesn't always hit back. Musicians play for people. practise eight days a week, " you tlip a coin, it'll land on its edge. Hell, you‘ve jiat gotta pay those dues." Ronnie Hawkins