Rick Enns is easily the musician who had the greatest impact on my playing, and I was lucky enough to work with him in at least a dozen acts over the years.
The very first time was decidedly un-rock ‘n’ roll. We were both in the Delta Youth Orchestra. I was head of the percussion section, and Rick was in the oboe section. This was around ’71-73. He was quite a few years older than the rest of us teens, and we were blown away that he was there. In that era, we would see him locally with Seeds Of Time, Spring, and the Rocket Norton Band.
A decade later, I joined the Frank Ludwig Band, and Rick was on bass. That was our first time as a rhythm section, and he taught me so much; play only what’s necessary, make every note count, and tempo – in a nutshell, never speed up, and stay out of the way. Brilliant!
From Frank Ludwig we moved together to the David Raven Band. The promo shot features what Rick referred to as his nurkles – a truly unique hair style.
Around the same time, I played on Rick’s solo single, “Skateboard Surfin’” a perfect song for him.
“Skateboard Surfin'”
In ’86-87 we started Surf City, a high-end act dedicated to Beach Boys/Jan & Dean material, with Billy Cowsill, Al Harlow, and various keyboard players. With players of that calibre it was taken very seriously. Heck, Billy had actually recorded with the Beach Boys and made sure the harmonies were exact. The Barracudas were around the same time, with Rick, Al, and various second guitarists, including Skip Prest and John Roles.
Eventually we got into Cajun/zydeco with the Hot Tamale Twisters, which eventually morphed into Crawfish Fiesta, with Dan Smith on guitar, Gary Comeau on fiddle, and Barry Miller on squeeze box.
When Rick reformed the United Empire Loyalists in the ’90s, I got the call, and had a blast grooving on lengthy jams just like in the sixties.
Eventually Rick got a job he loved, as a bus driver, and that was the end of his gigging days. The last time I saw him was after I had a CD burned for him of a Burl Ives LP that his father had loved. Rick, who always wore his heart on his sleeve, was near tears seeing the disc. There’s so much more I could say; he was a hilarious story teller, and while unknown outside of Vancouver, hands down one of the greatest players I’ve ever shared the stage with.