Rick Kawa Bio –

Rick Kawa hails from a small farm near Gerald Saskatchewan. As long as he can remember his
dad played accordion in a local band, when his older brother Andy was big enough to man
handle a saxophone he joined his dad’s band…seeing the void/opportunity Rick thought drums
were the missing piece of the musical puzzle. Beginning with an ashtray and school band snare
drum he began ‘jamming’ with the family band, spent his 4-H calf money on a 5 pc Maxwin
drum kit in 1980.

Brother Andy and Rick started a band with a local Churchbridge musician when Journey’s ‘Don’t
stop beleivin’ first hit the charts. After 4 months of wood shedding, Ed Kawa asked the boys
“are you guys ready to make some money?” At which point Charlotte and Shadows was
formed…a variety band playing curling dances, weddings, bars and beer gardens all throughout
east central Saskatchewan.

This gig ended in 1985 when Rick embarked on his post secondary education at the UofS where
in an effort to ‘pay for his education’ posted a ‘drummer for hire’ ad in a local music store,
rented a 5 piece set of Yamaha Customs and was called to audition and eventually play for a top
40 band called ‘The Byte’. This gig lasted a year when Rick returned to the farm due to a
disagreement between UofS administration and Rick’s academic performance. Promptly Rick
returned to playing music with his sister and 2 brothers in another locally successful variety
band called ‘Larry and the Lariats’.

Returning to the UofS College of Agriculture he finished up his degree while he played with a
couple of student bands (J. Walker and the Pedestrians and a year later Agrovation).

Upon graduation Rick moved to Alberta for full time employment in Vermilion. There he met
local musicians and landed the gig as drummer with local established band named ‘Mule train’
which later morphed into the band ‘Latigo’ a much sought after top 40 country cover band.
Playing with Latigo for 2.5 years saw the band playing 48 nights a year!
• When his first offspring was born in 1995 Rick purchased the 5 piece custom
made Canwood kit he currently plays.

Rick took a career move to Lethbridge in 1997. One evening in 1998 while his very
understanding and long suffering wife Rhonda was at home caring for their 2 kids. Rick went
out to ‘listen to some local musicians’. He happened upon a duo playing in the ‘Miner’s Library’
a local club, this was where he first encountered the ‘Lizard Brothers’ whipping the crowd into a
frenzy with all the songs he used to play with Latigo. Thinking ‘these 2 guys wouldn’t want to
split the take with a 3rd player’ he didn’t bother approaching the ‘brothers’ and exited the club
at the conclusion of the set.
• Rick and his family (polka) band have entertained at the Kimberley International
Accordion (KIOTAC) festival on several occasions.

Rick met and played with local Lethbridge and area music legends namely Kevin Tolley, Wade
“Doc” Sillito, Richard Reading, Bud Haycock, and was a founding member of the bands Blue
Steel, Ray Duane Barb Marchuk and Hiway 4. With the birth of child #4 in 2002, Rick stepped
back from music to try and help out at home.
In 2003 in a phone call for an audition from the Bamboo Guppies (formerly the Lizard Brothers!)
The current long standing friendship and career with the Bamboo Guppies had begun.

Rick still uses the Canwood 5 piece kit, a variety of Sabian and Zildjian cymbals, and rounding
out the accrouments is the (1995) Alesis D4, 3 trigger pads, and a foot trigger. Recently he’s
begun singing (using the word ‘singing’ loosely).