“Stan Rogers meets Van Halen” is how one fan described them, and Tanglefoot is indeed a mix of sweeping Canadiana and rampaging enthusiasm.

Perhaps best known for their exquisite vocal polish and relentless energy, they’re also a band with substantial instrumental agility and are a noteworthy group of songwriters. “Masters of the storytelling tradition, (with) elegant, sensitive musicianship and an impressive range of talent”, according to BBC Yorkshire, while Robert Reid of the Kitchener-Waterloo Record called them “Canada’s most accomplished musical mythologizers”. Their monumental acapella song “Vimy” (The Music in the Wood, 1996) led to their taking part in the dedication of the restored memorial at Vimy, France on April 9, 2007 (at the same time, the Canadian Celtic Choir was performing the same song on Capitol Hill in Ottawa).

Their label-defying sound and vigorous approach are the result of five distinctly talented individuals working as a true collective, and both the sound and the vision have endured several changes in personnel. Violinist/violist Sandra Swannell made her Tanglefoot debut in January 2006. Guitarist Steve Ritchie has the longest tenure, having joined in 1988. Toronto bass player Al Parrish has been around since 1994. The multi-faceted Terry Young joined in 1999, bringing with him a gaggle of instruments including mandolin, guitar, tenor and five-sting banjo, harmonica and whistle. Most recently, former Tanglefoot piano player and songwriter Rob Ritchie has returned to the band after a five-year break, during which he toured as a solo performer, released a solo album Five O’clock Shadow, and became a published author (Orphans of Winter; Seraphim Editions).

Dance Like Flames is Tanglefoot’s most recent album, released in the fall of 2006. Their first studio recording in four years, it coincided with the addition of Sandra Swannell. “The talented ensemble has emerged from the changes with a sound that has more dimension than ever,” said Dirty Linen, while Sing Out! called it “...a riveting musical journey; you feel the satisfaction of having read an engrossing novel.”

Previous albums include Captured Alive, a swan-song for original fiddle-player and band founder Joe Grant, recorded live at Toronto’s Flying Cloud Folk Club in May of 2003. A companion DVD, Way More Live, was released in 2004. Agnes On The Cowcatcher was released in 2002; Full Throated Abandon (1999) won Crossroads Magazine Gold Star that year for Best Album - Contemporary Folk Band. Prior to signing with Borealis Records in 1998 the band released three CDs. The Music in the Wood (1996) contains some of Tanglefoot most memorable and popular songs, including Vimy. Saturday Night in Hardwood Lake (1994), was Tanglefoot’s first recording as a four-piece band, and A Grain of Salt (1992) is from the trio days.

In September of 2007 Tanglefoot appeared on The WFMT Midnight Special Folk Festival, broadcast live from the Harris Theater in Chicago.  Other media appearances include WVBR’s “Bound For Glory” in Ithaca, NY; CBC Radio’s Madly Off in All Directions and Routes Montreal; Radio Canada International; WXPN in Philadelphia; The Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour in Kentucky; and on BBC Radio Hull and BBC Radio York. On television, Tanglefoot has appeared on CTV’s Gabereau, CITY TV, ATV Halifax, Minnesota Public Television, BBC’s Christchurch Studios in Bristol and Radio-Canada’s Télé-Relais in Winnipeg during Festival du Voyageur.

Tanglefoot enjoys the unusual claim-to-fame of having had one of their CDs fly aboard the space shuttle. The Music In The Wood accompanied Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor in April of 2001. By coincidence, Tanglefoot is also likely the only Canadian band ever to play at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia - an afternoon Canadian culture for an auditorium full of NASA engineers and rocket scientists.

Tanglefoot's longest-serving inmate was born and raised near Owen Sound, Ontario on a farm that had been in the family since 1875. He grew up steeped in music, and choral music in particular. Dad sang bass and Mom was a music teacher and choir director. His parents bought him his first toy drum when he was two, and spent most of the next 20 years wishing they hadn't. Although he took piano lessons, sang in church and school choirs and played double bass in the high school orchestra, drums and rock music were always his first love. After moving to Toronto in 1981, he apprenticed as a recording engineer in a Toronto recording studio owned by film composer Paul James Zaza, where he immersed himself in recording, arranging and music production. In 1988 Steve joined Tanglefoot, where he discovered an affinity for folk and roots music. Steve plays guitar ("...strictly rhythm; I get a nosebleed above the fifth fret...") and manages Tanglefoot's business affairs. He and his family live near Owen Sound, Ontario, in a house owned and operated solely for the comfort and convenience of their dog.

It seems inevitable that Al would end up in the entertainment business - his father, Don Parrish, achieved considerable renown both as a singer and broadcaster. Al grew up in Toronto singing in church choirs and playing tuba in the high school band. A friend convinced him to join an after-school rock band by saying, "You play tuba, you could play bass," which he apparently could, because he hasn't had one out of his hands since. His musical experience is, in his own words, "everything from soup to nuts". He's played folk, country, bluegrass, rockabilly, rock & roll and heavy metal. In 1989 that repertoire grew to include folk when he joined Brean Derg Muc, a Toronto-based Irish-style band that took the Ontario folk festival scene by storm and saw two years of brilliant success. Al's fondness for folk music outlasted the band, and after several years of freelancing he was invited to join Tanglefoot in 1994. His arrival brought about a major infusion of energy for which Tanglefoot has since become known. Al plays a Lou Currah double bass nicknamed "The Beautiful Joe". He also holds the distinction of owning the band's brightest shirt. Al lives in Mississauga, Ontario.

In January of 1999, after a lengthy courtship, Terry joined Tanglefoot and made his debut at the Classic Theatre in Cobalt, Ontario. He is an accomplished musician, has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Performance from the University of Western Ontario, and as anyone who knows him will tell you, he works relentlessly at his craft. Although Tanglefoot originally sought him out for his mandolin and vocal skills, he is a true student of the guitar, and his high tenor range gives him a key role in Tanglefoot's harmony arrangements. He plays the same 1919 Gibson mandolin owned by original member Bob Wagar. In the spring of 2005 Terry released a solo album "Letting Go of the Weight of the World", a blues and jazz-flavoured CD of original music that reveals Terry as an articulate songwriter and a guitarist of rare ability. When not playing with Tanglefoot, Terry along with Sandra Swannell make up the duo My Sweet Patootie. Their work can be found at www.mysweetpatootie.com Terry lives in Mount Forest, Ontario.

From recording with the legendary Stompin' Tom Connors to writing for string orchestra, Sandra Swannell has a diverse musical portfolio. She maintains a busy private teaching studio and up until 2004 served as principal violist with the Georgian Bay Symphony as well as its professional string quartet. For the past five years her fiery fiddle style, dynamic stage presence and adroit songwriting have been a cornerstone of the Owen Sound-based contemporary Celtic fusion band The Shards. She has also performed in a variety of genres with the likes of Rick Emmett, Steve Fox, Wendell Ferguson and Billy Jonas. Sandra drives a flaming red 1962 Buick Special Station Wagon and wonders if gigantic trucker belts will ever come back into style. Equally at home on either violin or viola, she describes herself as "otherwise completely unemployable" and would prefer to spend work days in pyjamas, a lifestyle attitude that has gained her instant acceptance with Tanglefoot's couch-potato caucus. Sandra lives near Owen Sound, where when not growing monster garlic and shoveling snow she writes songs for My Sweet Patootie, the duo she formed with Terry in 2007.

Back for a second kick at the can, piano player & songwriter Rob Ritchie has returned to Tanglefoot after a five-year hiatus.  During that time Rob released his debut CD Five O'clock Shadow, performed solo concerts throughout the US and Canada, and had his first novel, Orphans of Winter published (Seraphim Editions, 2006).  Rob also kept busy playing with the locally notorious road-house band Midnight Blue, where he developed his keen appreciation for the speed of a Two-Step, the roots of classic rock and the catharsis of a good ole hurtin’ country song.Rob lives in Wiarton, Ontario, with his wife Ande, his two boys Josh and Toby, and the family dog Ziggy, who by all accounts has a bark that sounds like the high strings of a banjo being played with a chainsaw.