Washboard Hank

Hank Fisher, (born 1954) more commonly known as Washboard Hank is a Canadian musician,[1] songwriter[2][3][4] and stage performer. He was born in Peterborough, Ontario in 1954. He plays a number of instruments, including banjo,[5] guitar[6] and percussion. He is known for his unusual performances with self-created instruments.[7] In 2016 he performed with his band, the Wringers.

Washboard Hank
Washboard Hank on stage at the Peterborough Folk Festival, August 2017
Background information
Birth nameHank Fisher
Born1954 (age 66–67)
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
GenresFolk, Country
InstrumentsWashboard, Guitar, Vocals

Fisher is a regular performer at children's events, including the Peterborough Folk Festival. He creates and plays improvised instruments,[8][9] including his "signature" washboard.[10] and kitchen sink tuba. He sings humorous traditional tunes such as "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More"[11] as well as his own compositions.

Career
Washboard Hank with his one-man band equipment, including his signature washboard.

In the 1980s, Fisher performed with Reverend Ken (Ramsden) and the Lost Followers; after Ramsden left, the group became Washboard Hank and the Honkers. In 1989 Fisher began co-hosting a show, "The Country Cousins" on Peterborough's Trent Radio. The show was aired for more than 20 years.[12]

In the 1990s, he performed for four years as a percussionist with Fred Eaglesmith and the Flying Squirrels,[13][10][7] recording on his album 50-Odd Dollars.[14]

In 2001, Fisher provided the music for an agitprop play, Where's the Care?, created by the group Ground Zero to protest cutbacks in healthcare services in Ontario.[15] He also performed a lead role in the independent short film, Rigoletto... in Bluegrass in 2006.

He has toured with the Country Squires,[16] and he also fronted his own band, the Gravestone Lickers.[10]

Fisher performed on an Adventure Canada cruise ship to Greenland.[17] He also played locally with Catfish Willie and the Buckle Busters.[18]

In 2012, Fisher performed at the Alianait Arts Festival in Iqualuit, Nunavut.[19]

Discography
  • Washboard Hank-Donkeys and Tire Fires1992
  • 50-Odd Dollars - Flying Squirrels[20]
  • Washboard Hank and the Country Squires 2003
  • Hooray for Washboard Hank - The Country Squires[21]
  • Troubadour Tales - Kenny Butterill[22]
  • Sweet Mysteries Of Life
  • Human Beans 2016[23]

References
  1. Myrna Margulies Breitbart (13 May 2016). Creative Economies in Post-Industrial Cities: Manufacturing a (Different) Scene. Routledge. pp. 114–. ISBN 978-1-317-15832-5.
  2. Bulletin de Musique Folklorique Canadienne. Canadian Folk Music Society = Société canadienne de musique folklorique. 1999. p. 21.
  3. "Washboard Hank gets warm welcome". Belleville News, Oct 23, 2014. By Richard Turtle
  4. "Local musicians in HNIC Song Quest top 100". Petrborough Examiner, December 7, 2013
  5. "Family's New Year's Day Levee tradition kept alive". Jessica Nyznik, The Peterborough Examiner. January 1, 2016
  6. "Tunes from the porch as Artsweek continues with Porchapalooza". By Clifford Skarstedt, Peterborough Examiner, September 24, 2015
  7. "Fred Eaglesmith Continental Club, October 9". Austin Chronicle, reviewed by Jerry Renshaw, Oct. 22, 1999
  8. "Washboard Hank: good messages inside goofy songs". Nunatsiaq, July 02, 2012. DAVID MURPHY.
  9. " Washboard Hank visits local school". Peterborough This Week. Dec 21, 2007
  10. "Sheldon Jaaskelainen gives worst performance of his life". Soo Today, Jul 17, 2009. Donna Hopper
  11. "Playlist: Keri Latimer's Mother's Day song picks offer a soundtrack for family fun". CBC Manitoba, by Keri Latimer May 10, 2013
  12. "Trent Radio Historian Knows More Than Just History". The Arthur, Anthony P. Gulston, January 21, 2013
  13. No Depression. No Depression. 2001. p. 121.
  14. CMJ Network, Inc. (July 1999). CMJ New Music Monthly. CMJ Network, Inc. pp. 47–. ISSN 1074-6978.
  15. Susan C. Haedicke; Tobin Nellhaus (2001). Performing Democracy: International Perspectives on Urban Community-based Performance. University of Michigan Press. pp. 98–. ISBN 0-472-06760-5.
  16. "Washboard Hank cleans up at Towne House". Northern Life Sudbury, Jun 21, 2012
  17. "Travel: Greenland cruise like no other". The Sunday Herald,
  18. "Catfish Willie entertained at Legion Valentine party". Lakefield Herald, by Anita Locke
  19. "Canada Day hits a high note for area musicians". Nanton News, Sheena Read. July 18, 2012
  20. "Fred Eaglesmith - 50-Odd Dollars". No Depression, June 30, 1999
  21. "!earshot charts -top 200". !earshot, April 2003
  22. "Latest batch of Rob’s root albums review for Nightlife". Guelph Mercury, Dec 04, 2014 | By Robert Reid
  23. "Canadian Spaces". CKCU Radio, August 6th, 2016 with Chris White
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