The Hometown Band was founded in 1975 by Claire Lawrence

Claire Lawrence

Claire Lawrence was a founding member of the Canadian band The Collectors, and remained with the group when it transitioned to Chilliwack in 1971. He performed on keyboards, flute, saxophone, and piano...

, a former member of The Collectors and Chilliwack

Chilliwack (band)

Chilliwack are a Canadian rock band that had their heyday during the 1970s and 1980s. Although they are a Canadian band, the members were all born in, as well as reside in, the United States of America. They are perhaps best remembered for their five biggest songs "My Girl ", "I Believe", "Whatcha...

, as the back-up group for Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 folk artist Valdy

Valdy

Paul Valdemar Horsdal, CM , commonly known as Valdy, is a Canadian folk musician whose solo career began in the early 1970s. He is known for "Rock and Roll Song", his first mainstream single released in mid-1972 on Haida/A&M.He was a member of the London Town Criers during the 1960s and...

. The band comprised Shari Ulrich

Shari Ulrich

Sharon Ulrich, is a Canadian musician-songwriter. She has won a Juno Award for "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year", and has acted as a television host, actor, film composer, & songwriting educator...

 (lead vocals, flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

, fiddle

Fiddle

The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

), Geoff Eyre (drums, vocals), Robbie King (organ, piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

, keyboard bass

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

), and Doug Edwards (guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

, keyboards, bass). Their first LP Flying realized two hits, the title track and "I'm Ready." For the second album Eddie Patterson joined the group

After failing to produce a radio hit from their second album, the group disbanded shortly after winning the Juno Award

Juno Awards of 1978

The Juno Awards of 1978, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 29 March 1978 in Toronto at a ceremony hosted for a second consecutive year by David Steinberg at the Harbour Castle Hilton Convention Centre. A 2-hour broadcast of the ceremonies was...

 for "Most Promising Group of the Year

Juno Award for New Group of the Year

The Juno Award for the New Group of the Year has been awarded since 1974, as recognition each year for the best new group or band in Canada. The award was originally known as Most Promising Group of the Year, and from 1994–2002 it was known as Best New Group.-Most Promising Group of the Year...

".

Shari Ulrich

Shari Ulrich

Sharon Ulrich, is a Canadian musician-songwriter. She has won a Juno Award for "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year", and has acted as a television host, actor, film composer, & songwriting educator...

 went on to record 7 albums as a solo artist and another 7 with the trios of Bill Henderson

Bill Henderson

Bill Henderson is a Canadian singer/songwriter. He first appeared on the Canadian music scene as a member of the group The Collectors, but he is best known for his work with the group Chilliwack in the 1970s and 1980s, who produced such hits as "Lonesome Mary", "California Girl", and "My Girl "...

 and Roy Forbes

Roy Forbes

Roy Forbes is a Canadian folk music singer-songwriter, whose music bears heavy influences from classic American genres of acoustic blues and traditional country....

 (UHF), Pied Pumkin, Barney Bentall

Barney Bentall

Barnard Franklin "Barney" Bentall is a Canadian pop/rock singer-songwriter who is most well known for his 1990s-era band, Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts. Their most successful Canadian singles included "Something to Live For", "Life Could Be Worse", "Crime Against Love" and "Come Back to...

and Tom Taylor

Tom Taylor

Tom Taylor was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of Punch magazine...

(BTU) and currently tours with her daughter Julia Graff.