The Crawlin' Kingsnakes The Inception In 1981 Paul Wootton started a band called Spiral Scratch. The name was taken from a Buzzcocks record. The concept of the band was to maintain that punk spirit but experimenting and pushing its boundaries without becoming a thrash act. We recorded an album released in 1983 called Zulu Syndrome, which lead to appearances on CBC TV. The band played together for five years. Spiral Scratch is important because its members Colin Campbell - Bass, Kurt Kussman - Drums, Paul Wootton - Vocals, Guitar and Pete Watson - Guitar became the first line up of The Crawlin' Kingsnakes. In 1995, we decided to leave Spiral Scratch behind and go full tilt with the Kingsnakes. We played a combination of original roots rock and roll and rocked up country tunes, like "Stand by your man" and "The Race is on". We took over the weekend residency at the Brunswick House in London from a band called Loaded'n'Rollin. The Crawlin' Kingsnakes were the house band at the 'wick' for about six months. From our very first gig things really took off. We had to leave the house gig because there was so much demand for the group. In no time we were playing all over Ontario and Quebec. The Crawlin' Kingsnakes recorded their first album in Montreal. In 1986 "Doris put that shotgun down' becomes a college favorite. From 1986-1991 the Kingsnakes became a club circuit favorite in Ontario & Quebec, opening for acts like Colin James, The Tragically Hip, Phantoms, George Thorogood, Sass Jordon, Mick Taylor, Pursuit of Happiness and Del Lords. In 1991 the Crawlin' Kingsnakes relocated from London to Hamilton and with new members Steve Foster on guitar, Greg Plant on bass, John Liesing on drums recorded in 1992 at The Helm Studios in Kitchener, Ontario. Loaded'n'Rollin was released as the Kingsnakes 2nd album on Cargo Records (lfrom Montreal), and again met with good sales and reviews. The band again touring the Ontario bar circuit promoting Loaded'n'Rollin and playing with acts like the Four Horsemen, Junkhouse, Crash Vegas, and were the Barenaked Ladies House Band for their after tour party. In 1994, with the addition of Michael Stewart on drums, the band returned to the studio. This time we set up our own studio in a barn at Steve Foster's parents farm in Flamborough, Ontario. The result was their third album "Go All Night". Released on Cargo Records in 1995. Go All Night received good reviews and lead to more club tours. But the years of hard work and endless touring without major results was weighing heavily on the members of the band. We all needed a change, so in 1995 we went our separate ways.
Paul Wootton began playing acoustic shows in small clubs in Hamilton and Southern Ontario, opening for Big Sugar and playing various benefit concerts for the Hamilton Aid Society & Food Bank drives with the likes of Dave Rave, Tom Wilson, The ** and Jack Dekyser. He also played acoustic shows and put together a band for Hamilton Music Scene shows.
Steve Foster went on to form Stoked in 1996 with bassist Greg Plant and drummer Mike Merrill. That same year Stoked earned a place on the CFNY 102.1 New Music Search CD and a slot on the New Music stage at EDGEFEST in Barrie. Greg left the band in 1998 and Duke foster (guitar) and Wayne Crews (Bass) of Rayburns fame joined. Duke and Wayne played until Stokeds demise in 2000. Steve carried on as a solo act playing showcases, benefit concerts, clubs and also performed on many albums .
Michael Stewart took a break from playing live to pursue a career in Audio production, Michael worked as both an Engineer and Producer in numerous Studios and Theatres, eventually became the Head Sound Engineer at Hamilton PlaceTheatre.
By 2004 Paul really hadn't played live for about 5 years when the phone rang. Michael Stewart wanted to play a reunion show and all was interested. That's how it started or restarted all over again.
It should also be noted that the current line up includes Rick Miles (Moxy, Earl Johnson, Florida Razors, Junkhouse) on Bass. Rick joined the band during the recording of our soon to be named, soon to be released album.
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