The Pied Pumkin was a band formed in 1973 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, Canada, with Rick Scott on dulcimer and vocals, Joe Mock on guitar and vocals and

Shari Ulrich Sharon "Shari" Ulrich (born 17 October 1951) is a Canadian/American musician and songwriter. She has also worked as a television host, actress, film composer, and educator. A multi-instrumentalist, she plays Violin, Mandolin, guitar, piano, and D ...

on violin, alto sax, flute and vocals. The

Kootenays The Kootenays or Kootenay ( ) is a region of southeastern British Columbia. It takes its name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Kutenai First Nations people. Boundaries The Kootenays are more or less defined by the Kootenay ...

were the Pumkin hotbed. The band formed the label Squash Records to release their albumsJamie Vernon, "Pear of Pied Pumkin", ''Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia'', 2012 after collecting $5 each from fans to finance the first album, ''Pied Pumkin String Ensemble'', recorded live at the Simon Fraser University Pub and released in 1975. Their second release ''Allah Mode'', was released in 1976 and included Mock's song "A Fear of Flying". Ulrich left the band in 1976 to join folk artist

Valdy Paul Valdemar Horsdal, (born 1 September 1945), commonly known as Valdy, is a Canadian folk and country musician whose solo career began in the early 1970s. He is known for "Rock and Roll Song", his first mainstream single. Valdy is the winner o ...

's band, which was then signed to a recording contract with A&M Records under the name

The Hometown Band The Hometown Band was a Canadian folk music group. They are best known as the backup band for Valdy. History The Hometown Band was founded in 1975 by Claire Lawrence, a former member of The Collectors and Chilliwack, as the back-up group for C ...

. "A Fear of Flying"—renamed "Flying" to avoid confusion with

Erica Jong Erica Jong (née Mann; born March 26, 1942) is an American novelist, satirist, and poet, known particularly for her 1973 novel ''Fear of Flying''. The book became famously controversial for its attitudes towards female sexuality and figured pro ...

's best-selling book—became The Hometown Band's first single and the title song of their first album, released in 1976. Scott and Mock continued touring and recording as the Pied Pear for another eight years. All three original members of the Pied Pumkin reunited in 1998 for a tour and the release of the album ''Plucking DeVine''. The live album ''Pied Alive'' followed in 2000. The band released a children's album, ''Pied Pumkids'', in 2007, and won the

Canadian Folk Music Award The Canadian Folk Music Awards are an annual music awards ceremony presenting awards in a variety of categories for achievements in both traditional and contemporary folk music, and other roots music genres, by Canadian musicians. The awards progr ...

for Children's Album of the Year at the 3rd Canadian Folk Music Awards."Pied Pumkids will delight the kiddies"
'' The Abbotsford News'', July 23, 2012. Mock lives in France and returns to Canada on occasion for performances with the Pied Pumkin or Pied Pear. Scott has recorded several popular albums for children, while Ulrich has had a lengthy solo career.

References

External links

Pied Pumkin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pied Pumkin Canadian folk rock groups Musical groups established in 1973 Musical groups from Vancouver Canadian Folk Music Award winners Canadian children's musical groups