Robbie Hancock

By Joel Rubinoff, Record staff
Thu May 19 2011
3 Recommend

Local musician uses CD release to raise funds for the homeless
Kitchener musician Robbie Hancock is releasing a new CD and raising funds for the homeless.
Hancock Kitchener musician Robbie Hancock is releasing a new CD and raising funds for the homeless.
submitted photo

KITCHENER — For Kitchener musician Robbie Hancock, hosting a two-night fundraiser for the homeless next month with a slew of high-profile guests will be the culmination of dream.

“For me, this is a moment that only really happens once in a lifetime,’’ said the 37-year-old singer-songwriter, who will debut songs from his new album with help from former April Wine guitarist David Henman, Blue Rodeo instrumentalist Bob Egan and Miss Angel Brown, wife of the late blues legend Mel Brown.

“It’s the first time I’ve put out a full-length solo record.’’

Entitled It’s Never Too Late, the album’s theme echoes Hancock’s own struggles to make it as an indie musician out west, barely scraping by, before returning home to open a successful music school in Breslau (Waterloo-Wellington Music), host local songwriting competitions and organize homeless fundraisers.

“It’s a message to people to never give up and never surrender and go after your dreams,’’ says Hancock, who describes his music as “Johnny Cash meets the Beatles with a sprinkle of Radiohead.’’

“It’s not only about homelessness, but the human race in general.’’

Tickets to the concerts, June 9 and 10 at 8 p.m. at Kitchener’s Registry Theatre, are $15, available through the Centre in the Square box office or at www.robbiehancock.com.

Ten per cent of ticket sales will be donated to support the homeless through the Argus Residence in Cambridge and Kitchener’s ROOF. - The Kitchener Waterloo Record

'It's Never Too Late'
Local musician headlining two shows at Registry Theatre

'It's Never Too Late'. Robbie Hancock will be performing June 9-10 at Kitchener’s Registry Theatre. photo submitted

To say that Robbie Hancock is passionate about music is an understatement.

Born in Kitchener and raised in Cambridge, he has pursued music from a young age and only now, almost 20 years in the business, is he beginning to see the fruits of his labour.

Hancock will be headlining at The Registry Theatre June 9-10 and performing music from his first solo CD It’s Never Too Late.

“I don’t have any illusions in this industry,” explained Hancock during an interview, “but I’m never going to give up. I believe in my songs.”

Along with working on his CD, Hancock has a thriving music school in Breslau, hosts songwriting competitions in Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo, and virtually lives and breathes music.

As a teenager, his early ventures into music were with bands The Mighty Fishermen followed by The Candidates. His first gig was at The Cave in Cambridge about 20 years. Hancock was a drummer back then, but was interested in writing and taking centre stage. The bands at the time weren’t interested and Hancock headed out on his own.

He spent time in western Canada where he “wrote a lot of songs around campfires” while working at a resort. It was there that he developed a lifetime friendship with musician Glenn Reid, who Hancock describes as his mentor.

After recently recording a five-song demo, Hancock was fortunate to get backing from a private investor and is days away from releasing his CD. Hancock says it encapsulates the last eight years of songwriting and is the best work he has ever done.

He describes his music as ??“Johnny Cash meets the Beatles with a sprinkle of Radiohead.”
Recorded in Sherman Studios in Toronto, he was helped by producer Steve Sherman, who he met through Reid.

“Steve is a real genius and when the opportunity came I chose him,” said Hancock.

So far Hancock has released two songs from the CD and was absolutely ecstatic when his song The Heart of Scotland was played on Zoomer Radio.

“I leaped out of my chair with my fists in the air,” said Hancock, recalling the first time he heard one of his songs on the radio.

Also released is the title track, It’s Never Too Late, a compelling mix of easy guitar and Hancock’s soothing vocals.

A theme throughout the CD is homelessness, something Hancock was close to experiencing.

He is also donating 10 per cent of his ticket receipts for his two shows to Argus Residence for Young People and ROOF.

His Kitchener shows will also feature local singer Ms Angel Brown, Bob Egan from Blue Rodeo, and David Henman from April Wine.

Reid will also be part of the opening act where four or five musicians will each perform a few songs.

Helping the homeless is important to Hancock, who has faced his own demons, particularly with alcohol.

He remembers heading to the liquor store to “get my fix – my bottle”. A homeless man was being heckled by a stranger. Hancock offered the man some change and a cigarette and told the guy not to worry about the heckler.

“The homeless man said ‘Ain't nothing gonna stop me from singing the blues. Ain't nothing gonna stop me but Jesus’. I ran home and wrote those words down.”

It became the chorus for the song Old Man Blues on his new CD. Hancock is also quick to point out the support from his British parents who put him through music lessons at a young age.

“It’s all their fault,” joked Hancock. “My dad gave me the Beatles. Mom gave me the English language.”

Along with his two shows at The Registry Theatre, Hancock is also planning a Canadian tour this summer.

Tickets are $15 and available at Kitchener’s Centre in the Square or by visiting www.robbiehancock.com, calling him at 519-830-1052 or emailing robbiejhancock@gmail.com.

- Cambridge Times

Browse > Home / Archive by category 'Previous Events'
Musicians play for local good causes0
Lineup for food bank and shelter benefit includes Rob Hancock, Mel Brown, Steve Strongman, Lucas Stagg, Ambre McLean, Mo Kauffey

January 10, 2008 JASON SCHNEIDER FOR NIGHTLIFE , CAMBRIDGE (Jan 10, 2008)

Sometimes the smallest act can inspire much larger acts of kindness.

That certainly seems to be what’s behind the Argus Music Festival, an all-day event featuring a host of local musicians in support of the Argus shelter for homeless youth in Cambridge, as well as the Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank.

The festival was largely the brainchild of Rob Hancock, the former drummer for Cambridge rockers The Candidates, who has only recently returned to his hometown after spending several years working in Alberta.

He has also traded in his drum kit for a guitar and now performs his own music regularly on the local pub circuit. In fact, it was one night not long ago in downtown Guelph that an incident compelled him to do something for his community.

“I saw this old guy who’s always out on the street playing the blues,” Hancock says. “I’d seen him before and he’s really great. But then these younger guys came up to him and started heckling him and telling him to play these bad songs.

“Something about that whole scene really bothered me. I mean, here’s this guy trying to do what he does best to make a little money to eat, and he doesn’t deserve to be heckled. So I gave him my change, and actually wrote a song about it that night when I got home.”

Hancock goes on to say that the scene stuck with him to the point where a few days later he got one of his regular Cambridge haunts, Mulligan’s, to give him a date and immediately set about getting a lineup of local artists on board for a benefit show.

“I think everybody has soft spots for certain things, and with all the travelling I’ve done, for me it’s always seeing people trying to get by on the street. It hits me hard at this time of year especially.”

Hancock’s conviction seemed to be enough to persuade almost everyone he contacted, and the lineup quickly swelled to include the likes of Mel Brown, Steve Strongman, Lucas Stagg, Ambre McLean, Mo Kauffey, and many others.

However, Hancock notes that he hopes a byproduct of this show will be a message to the music scene that he’s a part of it again, and will be working hard to make further events happen in Cambridge.

“I was surprised when I came back to see that not much was happening around here as far as venues went,” he says.

“So now that I’m feeling a lot more confident as a solo performer and slowly piecing a band together, I’d like to start creating some more opportunities for people to play here in Cambridge.

“I remember how exciting it was to be a part of Rock The Mill when it first started, so I’d like to get some of that excitement back into the scene again, or at least just have a place where original bands can play again on a regular basis.”

LIVE THE ARGUS MUSIC FESTIVAL JAN. 12, NOON UNTIL CLOSING TIME MULLIGAN’S, 215 BEVERLY ST., CAMBRIDGE $10 NON-PERISHABLE FOOD DONATIONS APPRECIATED
- The Kitchener Record