Blair McEvoy a former Souris resident is the vocals, guitarist and bodhran (Irish) drum player behind the infamous band called Dust Rhinos. The band is heading to the community of Reston on April 20, to perform some old and new material which they are very excited about.
“The band got started 30 years ago, says McEvoy and it was then we performed at The Forks in Winnipeg. There were just three of us at the time and we were asked by a pub owner to come and play at her establishment.”
Before they knew it, the band expanded to a group of five performers and ventured out playing as far south as Kentucky, to the northern parts of Nunavut, and west to B.C.
McEvoy adds that his grandmother had a farm in Reston and this is where his mother grew up. Charlie Sutcliffe is his mother’s younger brother and his aunt Gloria used to work at the hospital in Reston. Charlie moved to Brandon just before Christmas last year, but his kids still farm in the Reston area today.
“Dan Cannon our bass, accordion and vocalist grew up in the McGregor area, Darren Wittmann from Winnipeg is our drummer, percussionist and vocalist, Ivanka Watkin is the band fiddle player who is from Winnipeg and Ryan Sprakling who grew up in Saskatoon is the fiddle and mandolin player,” adds McEvoy
All the band members are from Winnipeg, and most of their rehearsals take place at McEvoy’s, however because they are working on songs for a studio album, they join forces at Ivanka’s as she has the room and available space to leave their gear and instruments set up.
The Dust Rhinos have performed in Regina at the Irish Pavilion for the Mosaic Festival and McEvoy does recall playing about 20 years ago in Reston for a private event. “We have also played in Souris, and Antler, Sk. We love playing in Manitoba because we all have relatives all over the countryside,” says McEvoy.
“We will be fresh out of the recording studio when we come to play in Reston, as it is the first show after recording our album. So, we will probably be playing a few highlights from the new album.”
The name “Dust Rhinos” was acquired from the American cartoonist, environmentalist, and former musician Gary Larson who created The Far Side, a single panel cartoon series. He features a clip called “Roberta Takes on a Dust Rhino” which inspired McEvoy to introduce the name to his band and everyone liked it and agreed to the name.
The Dust Rhinos have been among the first Canadian bands to place a number one ranking with their track Perfect World and a year later with Jedi Drinking Test. The band brings traditional Irish and Scottish Celtic sounds with their own style of stage entertainment.
