Tom, Kerry and Julie Fitzgerald are three-time Canadian grand master fiddle champions and Ontario open step dance winners.
But, on stage, with their parents Pam and Paddy — and guitarist and lead vocalist Nate Douglas — they become the band Everything Fitz.
On Monday, The Tri-City News caught up with this busy family to talk about their never-ending tour (which includes a stop in Coquitlam on Nov. 17) and their new self-titled album.
TCN: What do you get out of performing so frequently?
Tom: It takes a lot of time and effort to organize a tour and it’s expensive to travel with six people across the country so, once you get a tour going, it’s to your advantage to ride the wave as long as you can.
TCN: How do different crowds across North America respond to your act?
Pam: We do present an eclectic performance so there’s something for everyone: bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, jazz and vocals. Of course, the fact that we are a family group is always intriguing to people. The step dancing that we do is very unique to the Ottawa Valley so our audiences are amazed to see this dance form.
TCN: Have you ever performed outside of North America?
Pam: Not as group but we are currently booking our first European tour this May. This will take us to communities across Great Britain.
TCN: Why did you decide to put out a self-titled album?
Tom: Before this new self-titled album, we had not recorded an album together for a couple years so this project came directly out of our need for a much more current, updated representation of our group
TCN: How did you find the time to write and record it?
Tom: Even as siblings, it was difficult to find times to rehearse and record. We’ve found that we work best individually, coming up with ideas on our own and then bringing them to the group as fully developed ideas or something very close. For example, Kerry wrote and arranged several original tunes for this album so we actually spent very little time as a group rehearsing these tunes since Kerry gave the rest of us a clear direction of how she wanted them to sound.
TCN: What is the aim of the band?
Tom: It’s an incredible feeling and privilege to play music for a living and to go deep into the world of being an artist and so we want to offer our audiences an opportunity to experience that same feeling every time we perform.
For tickets to their Nov. 17 show at the Evergreen Cultural Centre, call 604-927-6555 or visit evergreenculturalcentre.ca.
