The information found in this historical website button link is taken from the once lost Bobby Bilan career journals and archives as well as interviews/quotes from fans friends and various expert sources. The journals and archive files which include press clippings posters photos contracts audio/video embodiments etc... are rather extensive, enough to create a few novels. Corporate music PR has rightfully grown to be an ugly deception proving over time to be a manipulation of fact, half truths and slight of word. No music business construct has swayed funded nor influenced the content herein. These are real events that have not been tampered with. The intent is solely to preserve history as it occurred as found in these once lost archives. This is extremely condensed factual information and heavily abridged in it's content due to limitations of time and space.

The first guitar showed up after Bobby saw Pete Townshend and the Who live at the Winnipeg Arena. Not a fancy Gibson or Fender, it was a modest unknown Prince Hall guitar paired to a Trend amp with a six inch speaker! Although Bobby's first professional band was formed and performed almost immediately thereafter as a pre-teen, no photographs were ever uncovered, only a very old store receipt for the two items. There are only some loose notes included in the Bilan career journals from this time frame (the practice of preservation does change dramatically for the better within a short period). The band consisted of Bobby on lead guitar and vocals, Al Phimister equipped with a Harmony 2x10 amp & Gibson SG Special on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Greg Harris on bass (which was actually Greg's 6 string electric hollowbody Gretsch tuned down on Bobby's suggestion, since no bassist or drummer were available that were proficient at that tender age). Always the youngest, Bobby procured their first bookings as a nameless band at the Middlechurch Home for Girls, a true rock and roll beginning with further thanks to a reference of saltpeter laced cookies and tea. Somehow Bobby managed to continue booking the band with no name for a little over a year quickly learning to avoiding the cookies and tea offers. They were simply referred to as "that band that doesn't have a name", none the less, they became popular as word quickly got around.

Shortly thereafter Bobby graduated to an Epiphone Olympic single pickup guitar from the Winnipeg Piano Company, same old Trend amp plus a home made tube overdrive (sold to him by neighbour Rick Shukster and housed in a George Walichnowski made cabinet) & formed an alliance with schoolmate Robbie Kissick. Together they squeezed every moment of every day learning all they could of their most favoured forms - British Blues and progressive British Rock. Lunch hours were spent dashing to the close proximity of Robbie's basement to work on new material, occasional cutting classes in the afternoons but not sacrificing their grades as evenings stretched into the small hours of each night. Quite often on weekends, the lads would set up and two-piece-it on the law, back yard or have a rave up in the garage for all that were invited to sample the duos virtuosity. This understandably began to interfere with the musical plans of Robbie's older brother Larry Kissick (now famed artist) who himself was learning the guitar. Luckily they were all artist/musicians and had common ground in other ways so they decided to put aside the age differences and all join forces to create the first Winnipeg band dedicated to the British Blues as it were. The left handed Robbie was now a right handed drummer with the fastest left hand around not to mention his most unique variety of techniques including playing entire songs on the cymbals followed by lightning bass pedal work to name a few jaw dropping talents. Larry and Bobby handily split the lead duties when it was guitar solo showcase time and became rather legendary as untouchable dual leads (although they always remained friends and admirers of each other, sadly this was something neither would ever again repeat). Dave Turney was recruited on bass (some still say he was more like Jack Bruce than Bruce himself along with being the first to develop the 'string pull' technique on the bass). Then lastly and most surprisingly, Jimmy Ruggles heard the boys at one of the many highschool basement parties they cut their collective teeth on, charmed his way in with his outstanding powerful vocal range which ran from Otis Redding to Diana Ross, Mick Jagger to Rod Stewart [Jeff Beck Group], John Mayall and last but surely not least Jimi Hendrix. That night it was decided that their name would be FAT RAT BLUES BAND(r)(c) with apparent approval from their fans.

The only remaining artifacts are a very tattered handmade t-shirt, a washed nearly illegible high school dance admission ticket from their last show at St. John's High School and this very first song book which features Robbie's rather inventive tongue-in-cheek noodlings inside, shown below. The lads went on to become "The most famous unknown band from the Northend of Winnipeg" or at least that's how Jimmy would introduce the band at their always packed rave-ups and bookings. It was in these formative years that Burton Cummings would take an interest in Bobby's virtuosity and although Burt was the senior, they both attended the same school, the same north end functions and rave ups. At some point Bobby was "let go" because he had difficulty in affording a good quality amplifier to keep up with the volume of the rest of the group, was deemed to be a "hassle", so off he went. Being from the least affluent part of the Northend, it was difficult enough to take care of one's self at 15. It seems who ever managed the Fat Rat money, obviously managed to keep it. Jimmy quickly lost interest, Robbie avoided going home and soon after, the remaining Fat Rat Blues Band splintered and died.

Like Mick & Keith said, "Well what can a poor boy do, except sing for a rock 'n roll band"! The problem was who? Not an easy answer for a young lad made even more confusing by the fact that Stevie Winwood was 15/16 when he joined Spence Davis and Mick Taylor was 18 when he joined John Mayall. This country was just not willing to accept this young a self taught virtuoso rocker. What else was there to do but continue honing the craft and diving into composition. Since Bobby could not practice at home he was forced to find peaceful surroundings elsewhere. One of Bobby's fans and soon to be close friend Mike Czosnek, frequently invited Bobby over to listen to new albums as they were released. Mike had a high paying railway job which allowed him the extravagance of a record collection, something unheard of in the poor side of the northend. As Mike the staunch Capt. Beefheart fan was noted, "Bobby would come over and hang out for a while, he was a pretty quiet guy! He'ld listen to a song a couple of times over just before he left. He'ld go home and sing or hum it I guess while dodging gangs and flying beer bottles all the way home, then the next day, he could play it note for note. Not just the notes, but the sounds. Like I said, he was quiet but his voice was his music. Once he told me he would go to St.John's Park graveyard so he could lay back to look up at the stars and think in peace. Then the crazy guys started going over there with their chicks getting drunk and stoned knocking over headstones". Throughout the interview process, the echo of Bobby's feel, attention to detail and uncanny musical memory would ring true. Cognizance beyond his years. Some journal entries from this period mention classical pieces from a radio program called 'Classics 'Til Dawn'. Original Bilan compositions would certainly reflect the influence of these entries.

Bobby's next move was to hang around the various venues around town to see what else was out there. The problem was - looking like 21, which in Winnipeg at that time, was the leagl age for clubs. That proved farther fruitless so he was left standing at the exit doors of various non airconditioned venues listening and occasionally catching a glimpse of the stage. One such night after a Donny and the Footprints gig, the band argued while loading out. The guitarist quit so the next day Bobby called to offer his services. All went well until he was asked his age and the phone went dead. There is an entry a few years later when the too late apology came, seems the excuse was they forgot to ask for a name.

It would take a while, but things slowly got better with a lot of very long hard work.

gone out and rented the first quad PA syste