would later join a band called Airborne with future Haywire bandmate Ronnie Switzer. “I was about 18 or 19 when I started playing bass for Airborne,” says Switzer. He was also working as a draftsman but once he and Birt were asked to join a Halifax band, he chose music as a full-time career. “It was a short-lived band, but we learned a lot and got to go on the road,” he says. Now retired, Switzer enjoys sailboat racing and travelling but still loves performing with Haywire. Of his career in music, Rashed says: “I never wanted to do anything else.” He started playing guitar as a child with lessons at the Charlottetown YMCA. Music has been central to his life ever since. In addition to his role with Haywire, Rashed also runs The Studio at the Guild in Charlottetown and plays guitar for the After Hours Band. Drummer Sean Kilbride has explored another corner of the music scene. “I’ve been involved in musical theatre in Toronto,” he notes, “most
“We were a bunch of guys that wanted to form a band to tour the Maritime
provinces." - David Rashed
Sean Kilbride (Photo: Chris Knox)
recently in a production of Come From Away.” He started drumming at the age of 13 and realized by his late teens that he wanted to be a professional musician. Singer Paul MacAusland also caught the musical bug early, having gotten his first guitar at the age of eight. When did he know Haywire was onto something? “When we didn’t have to eat peanut butter sandwiches anymore,” he jokes. While there is nothing like that first gold record, for Rashed, the second one also stands out. “You have your whole life to write songs for your first record,” he notes. “We had four months to write the second album. Going gold again showed we were something to look out for and not just a one-hit band.”
Marvin Birt (Photo: Chris Knox)
Rockin The Fields of Minnedosa August 1, Minnedosa, MB
Rock The Kootenays August 10, Cranbrook, BC
“I’ve been involved in musical theatre in Toronto, most recently in a production of Come From Away .” - Sean Kilbride
Rock The River 2025 August 17, Saskatoon, SK
KV Music Festival 2025 August 29, Saint John, NB
www.haywireband.ca
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSqWk286HbrzjLXGDzUwZHA
WWW.PEI-LIVING.CA / 51 / SUMMER 2025
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