Raising the Fawn had its ever-so-humble beginnings in 1999 after front-man John Crossingham went separate amicabe ays with his then band ThanatoPop. Based out of St. Catharines, Ontario at the time, RTF went on to become John's solo effort (mostly) until enlisting other members froming the unit that has become what Raising the Fawn is today. Introducing John Crossingham on vocals, guitar and xylophone, Julie Booth on guitar, and Scott Remila on bass and vocals and until quite recently Justin Peroff on drums.

"What's in a name?" you may ask... quite a bit, certainly, for this four-piece. Their name, crossed and thatched between an Audrey Hepburn film entitled 'Green Mansions' and the Sea and Cake's album 'The Fawn,' gives the listener an idea about some of their influences. It's these tender influences that haave quite a lot to do with their subtleness and naive sound. RTF have been described as slo-core or sad-core in the past, leading to descriptions from the press like, "Delicate guitars, shimmering xylophones and whispering drums wrap themselves around Crossingham's falsetto for a perfectly pillowy experience." - Michael Barclay (Eye Magazine).

These past few months have been spent honing the band's sound on a whole as well as absorbing some of the warmth from growing taller in the limelight with press, venues and other artists that are receiving the band quite well at shows (from Barzin, to Mogwai, to The Clientele). RTF member's feelings regarding the reception of the CD and band have been mixed but happy concerning the CD and other people's reactions to it. "I'm sometimes overwhelmed by how people have reacted to it. I guess it spent so much time in my basement that to hear people say that such-and-such is their favourite song, or that they listen to it when they go to sleep is pretty crazy." - John Crossingham.

When it comes to the Fawn's songs, John still does most of the writing and compostions, but Scott Remila and Julie Booth are definitely part of the unique mix that is so much a part of this band as well. "The new songs are rooted in the same ground, but they have grown into a tree with a much broader reach. If the first disc was a sapling, this one will be an adult weeping willow." (John)

Both Scott and Julie have been performing on the new Raising the Fawn album which the band has been working on in these past months. As well as being part of RTF, Scott has been writing songs for another project called Mudfoot and Julie has simply been taking care with what she writes "...different ideas come to light when Scott and I become involved, which is evident in the way the songs from the first record change in a live environment. The new songs will be recorded as a group effort, so hopefully that will be reflected in the outcome. ..."

In the meantime, while album plans are being made, shows are booked and travels to faraway places are being planned for Raising the Fawn, John is also utilizing his time well by taking part in a side-project with the band Broken Social Scene including members Justin Peroff (2nd RTF drummer until very recent) and Kevin Drew who incidentally is producing RTF's next full-length release.

What has it been like working with Kevin Drew (more notably known for his work with the bands 'Broken Social Scene' and 'KC Accidnetal')?

John: Through playing in Broken Social Scene, I have gotten to know Kevin pretty well. I would say that we are very similar --bull-headed, emotional, moody, your basic nightmare! But, and I know this sounds cheesy, we are both driven by love and passion. In that way, he understands why I make the music that I do and how important it is to me. The best thing about working with Kevin is that he has dead great ideas. He is going to be relentless in pushing us to do our best and experiment.

Among band favourites in sound to listen to, for John it remains Sam Prekop, "Sam Prekop's solo album is a work of absolute genius. It influenced me in too many ways to fully articulate," while for Scott it's The Rolling Stones, Elliott Smith, ANY album by Ron Sexsmith, Neil Young and especially Joni Mitchell, "... Hands down, my favourite album of all time is "Blue" by Joni Mitchell. I'm pretty sure that will remain my fave for years and years to come." For Julie, it's been artists like Ride, Radiohead, Mogwai and Elliott Smith, "When I think about notable records, I think about Ride. 'Going Blank Again' hit me as a teenager, and that was the first time that I remember wanting to learn how to play an instrument. ... Mogwai's 'Come On Die Young' is a record I hold very close to my heart, for too many reasons to mention ... but 'musical geniuses' always seems to fall into my sentences when I speak of them."

So what does the future hold for Raising the Fawn? Perhaps something as simple as a lovely forest growing where there once were just little trees and a river flowing in support of this band's musical path that they will be following on the release of their new album in the summer of 2002; a band to grow with and watch out for.