Cote, Hawkeness set to release first-ever album

For all you country and Gospel fans out there, get ready to yell “yee-haw” because Colleen Cote and Louie Hawkeness—the dynamic pair of singing cousins—are preparing to release their first-ever album.
Cote, who lives in Fort Frances, and Hawkeness, who resides just outside of Dryden, have been singing together off and on for a long while now. But they really started to get going when they started to participate in the V.A.L.A. performances.
They have performed duets to the tune of both Johnny Cash and June Carter, as well as Porter Wagner and Dolly Parton.
“After the V.A.L.A., everyone kept saying, ‘You got a CD?’” Cote noted. “So we got a bit more serious about it.”
Back on June 28, they booked a group from southern Manitoba called “Country Blend” and asked them to come to Stratton to play as a back-up band, as well as help them to stage a fundraiser to help pay for the enormous cost of a recording session.
After the split in funds, Cote and Hawkeness had raised $640.
Then about a month ago, with money in hand, the pair went to the Silver Screen Recording studio and met with John Dueck, the studio’s audio engineer.
They worked on recording the album over a pair of two-day stretches, where they would show up for the session at 9 a.m. and work right through to midnight without breaks, except for meal times.
The first two days were spent laying the instrumental tracks, which “Country Blend” happily did free of charge.
Cote admitted she was quite amazed at how professional the group was and also at how keen their ear was at picking up minor mistakes in the track.
But “Country Blend” also had their share of surprise—as did Dueck. On the very first track that was recorded for vocals, Cote aced it, recording all of the vocals in one take.
Dueck conceded he’d only seen that happen twice in his career.
Cote and Hawkeness ended up recording 15 tracks in total, two of which were original recordings written by Cote’s husband, Joseph “Ray” Cote, entitled “Cause of You” and “Happiness.”
Other songs they recorded included the likes of “North Star” by Red Steagall, “Jesus, I Need to Talk to You” made famous by Boxcar Willie, Hank Snow’s ‘I’ve Been Everywhere,” and many more.
Two songs they recorded are especially close to Cote, though. The first is “Flowers for Mama” by George Jones, which reportedly made the band members cry during Cote’s soulful and honest rendition, and then “Footprints,” which stems from the famous poem, “Footprints in the Sand.”
“Footprints” had become Cote’s theme song after she lost her sight due to complications with diabetes.
After writing to Eddie Crook—the first to record the poem as a song—asking to purchase the right to record it, Crook graciously offered the song up to the excited pair at no cost and with his blessing.
This marked a great moment in the CD production process.
And for those fans who just want to hear them sing those country classics, like Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” or “Golden Rings” by Wagner and Parton, don’t worry because they also are included on the album.
“A lot of the songs we sing are songs that we’ve been singing for years,” noted Cote. “Some of them are memories for other people that we hold dear.”
In fact, because of this connection to the music, the pair has decided to title the CD “Thank You for the Memories.”
While Cote and Hawkeness are interested in selling their CD to anyone who will hear it, she stressed they recorded this collection, first and foremost, for their own personal reasons and as a family gift—a legacy, of sorts, to pass on.
Both contributed half of the money needed to get a jump start on this project, but Cote’s mother also helped out by offering up a portion of her inheritance.
At first, Cote was not eager to take the money as she wanted to pay for it all herself. But after her mom insisted it would make the project a family legacy, she was proud to take the assistance.
“It’s pretty amazing to think about and I’m sure my family is really going to be happy with it,” she remarked. “It’s really neat the way it’s all come together.”
Their success is still growing, and the CD definitely is a good marker to prove that. But beyond the CD recording, they still are going places— literally.
Just within the next month, Cote and Hawkeness will be performing at the Dryden fair and the annual Mud Lake City “Music Fest.” They also will be showcasing their talent at John Dueck’s Gospel Jamboree, which he holds annually on his own property near Steinbach, Man.
After their recording session, Dueck was so moved by their performance that he invited them to perform there for a 45-minute slot from 1:15-2 p.m. on Aug. 30.
This annual festival draws more than 3,000 country, bluegrass, and southern Gospel fans every time and it is free to attend.
At all of these festivals and performances, Cote and Hawkeness are hoping to sell their CD to those who want it—provided they have received them in time.
Their CD went to press this past Friday (Aug. 8) and if all goes to plan, they will have the albums in their hands Aug. 21.
On top of selling their music at performances, they’ve also already been offered shelf space at Aurora Wind Feeds in Barwick, as well as in the sister store down near Chatham by Jo Woolsey.
“Country Blend” has offered to sell some down in southern Manitoba, too.
Furthermore, they are looking to approach local stores with the CD in hopes they also will accommodate sales for them.
Singing always has been a big part of both of their lives. Actually, Cote has been singing with her family for as long as she can remember but never received any formal lessons—she just sang from her heart.
As well, for many years while she worked as the librarian at St. Francis School here, Cote sang at the Remembrance Day ceremonies to commemorate the war veterans.
Her father was a war veteran himself and so that day was always a special one for her. Similarly, the children also enjoyed this time as they all enjoyed her performances.
And over the years, music has begun to play an even bigger role in her life.
“I have always loved singing,” Cote said with a smile as she explained that health complications have driven her even closer to the music, particularly the song “Footprints.”
And now that Cote has recorded some of the songs she holds closest to her heart, including “Footprints,” she just could not ask for more.
“It was amazing, so amazing, and we just had so much fun doing it,” she enthused.
Cote is very thankful for everyone’s support, including her family’s. But she particularly wanted to express her gratitude for the support and love that Stratton and the Rainy River area has given the pair from when they began singing up until now.
She also added Dryden also has shown its support by inviting the pair to many events where they could grace the stage and do their thing.