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Enter The Haggis On The Road Interview

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ENTER THE HAGGIS - THE MODEST REVOLUTION

Brian Buchanan: Vocals, Fiddle, Keyboards, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar

Craig Downie: Vocals, Highland Bagpipes, Trumpet, Harmonica, Whistle,
Acoustic Guitar, Bells

Trevor Lewington: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Octave Mandolin, Keyboards

Mark Abraham: Bass Guitar, Vocals

Bruce McCarthy: Drums, Percussion

This interview happened in the middle of the Enter the Haggis tour. Anita Daly became our go between because she has direct contact with the band and it made the communication easier between us. I made a review of their new album in my past edition and the band was pleased hahaha. So it was Trevor Lewington who answered all these questions. Let us welcome them as our band of the week!  Also check out the cool videos at the end of this interview.

Hi guys, my name is Baxter. I write for The Celtic Music Fan online magazine. I listened to your album in its entirety and have been meaning to conduct an interview with you since 2009. I am glad for this opportunity…. With the release of The Modest revolution, what do you think has changed in the musical aspect of the band?

Our last album, Whitelake, was recorded at a cottage and the overall vibe was pretty folky. We went down to a studio in Kentucky to record TMR and cranked the amps back up again. Songwriting remains our first priority but the arrangement approach was to bring the songs to new highs and lows dynamically-speaking. Brian (fiddle/keyboards) played basically ALL the electric guitar parts, which changed the sound of the band rather dramatically. Craig (bagpipes/harmonica) picked up the trumpet on our last album and his playing is really solid on this record.

     What are the technical aspects you have learned in terms of recording and playing live?An Instagram ETH photo taken by patrickc68! #enterthehaggis #irishfest http://instagr.am/p/W4SGG5GYhA/ - tag your photos #enterthehaggis to share them on our Page!
The experience of recording a new album always challenges us in different ways. Thanks to the success of our kickstarter campaign, we had more time than usual in the studio such that we didn’t feel rushed and were able to experiment with unusual sounds, parts or arrangement ideas. Sometimes it worked out and sometimes not, which is the exciting thing about experimenting!

In terms of the technical aspects of live performance, I don’t think anyone learned more than Brian. He’s always been a gear head but now that he’s playing electric guitar live he’s done a lot of research to get the right tones for all the new songs. Craig has added electric bagpipes to the live mix, which frees us up to play songs in more keys (the traditional highland pipes have a very limited range.) The highland pipes are still his instrument of choice but it’s nice to have the option of electric pipes.

     How’s the tour going so far?
Great! We had a crazy March run where we played some amazing venues, including a sold-out show at Turning Stone casino. We’re now in the middle of a Canadian run and will be heading over to Ireland soon. The new music really seems to be connecting with people, which makes performing It all the more enjoyable for us.

     Why the title The Modest Revolution?
It’s a quote from the front page of the  newspaper that inspired the album: “Harper’s Modest Revolution.” The gist of the article is that our prime minister is trying to sway Canada’s collective psyche to the right, but we’ve taken it to mean that “even a small gesture can be the beginning of positive change.”

What can you say about each of your band member in terms of being together through the years, playing and recording together?
Well it’s certainly been quite the ride. I feel like we’ve always just kept our heads down, writing the best songs we can and traveling around playing shows. Only recently have we noticed that we have an actual history! College kids are coming up to us and saying they started listening to us when they were kids. It makes us feel old until we realize that most if us were pretty young when we started making music together.
Personally, the longer we do this for, the more I appreciate the other guys in the band. Not only are they amazing musicians, but that there’s a respect for each other as people. Musically I think the growth as individuals and as an organism has been substantial. I feel like with this album we’ve only now come to understand what this band is – but don’t ask me what that is as I probably won’t have an answer.

    What’s your marketing goal for the album now that it’s release?
Being an independent band, we don’t Have a “marketing department” as such. I think the idea is to connect with as many people as possible who might enjoy what we do. This isn’t dumbed down pop music so it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea but that’s the way we like it. We’ve got an amazing group of dedicated fans and we feel like as long as we can make music that resonates with them they’ll want to share it with their friends. We’ve hired two publicists, a radio tracker and pay for online advertising but there’s no better advertising than getting up in front of a crowd and playing our asses off.

ETH has a kind of Celtic rock that is easily accessible. It is also radio friendly and universal. How are tracks conceived. What’s the science behind the songwriting? An Instagram ETH photo taken by patrickc68! #enterthehaggis http://instagr.am/p/W4SjyAGYhX/ - tag your photos #enterthehaggis to share them on our Page!
Haha… Seriously? Celtic rock is about as radio-friendly as… well, bagpipes. Being radio-friendly definitely isn’t our intention, although there are so many great specialty online stations these days that any style of music can find a home. I could go on for hours about songwriting but suffice it to say that I try to remain a student of it. There’s so much incredible music out there so it’s important to keep listening to as much of it as possible. As a band I think we’ve learned how to take on the roll of a producer by focusing on the best parts of a potential song and losing the parts that distract from that.

  Do you think you have reached the part in your musical career where you can breathe? For those aspiring Celtic rockers, what’s your top 5 list of things that they should remember when they want to make music as a career?
Can we breath? Absolutely not! I feel like we’re being chased by the Minotaur and are barely staying one corner ahead. We’re having a spark of success but with that comes the pressure to stoke the fire.
1.) don’t do it unless you must
2.) get regular servicing done on the van
3.) eat fresh vegetables
4.) book your hotels through Priceline
5.) don’t room with a band member who snores

   Where can fans buy your albums?
Come to a show! Or get them through our website, iTunes, Amazon and just about anywhere else online.

    What’s your marketing advise to all bands trying to court online and offline listeners?
Don’t call it marketing! Just try to connect with your fans as often as you can and don’t put out music just to put it out – make sure it’s something you’ll proudly play for your grand kids.

I hope that works! Thanks Baxter.

Ok there you go. I hope it gets to them, Trevor

Videos:

AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE MARCH 30TH.

Thanks to Zach McNees for cutting this together, and Daniel Roher for some of the footage. 🙂

#THEMODESTREVOLUTION #ENTERTHEHAGGIS

Sounds:

Links:

http://www.enterthehaggis.com
http://www.twitter.com/enterthehaggis
http://www.myspace.com/enterthehaggis
http://www.youtube.com/user/enterthehaggis
http://itunes.com/enterthehaggis

***

Huzzah!

Welcome to our artist of the week edition featuring the band Enter the Haggis. For the whole week I will be putting updates in my Huzzah! column so that you will be informed about what’s going on with the band.

Now on a sad note I was shocked upon hearing the Boston Marathon explosion this Monday and the whole blogosphere mourns for the victims and their families. Actually I posted an essay on another site and I am glad to be able to talk about situations that belong to a particular venue and not just mix things up.

An Air For Boston – April 15, 2013

Here is a video that piper Patrick D’Arcy performed on the wake of the tragedy and I think this is very appropriate because Boston is one of the most Irish places in America. The Celtic Music Fan, being spiritually attached to Ireland mourns and condemns any violence inflicted upon the Irish and the rest of humanity.

My heart goes out to those affected by today’s bombings. May God help you all. This air came to me, The Wild Geese- Patrick D’Arcy

This is not just an American tragedy but a global one because people of all races were victims. And we are all human beings. We are not fighting people from another planet but our own kind. Very sad.

Reaction to Conversations: Musicians need to be paid too

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Hi readers of the page. I am still warming up after a week’s sabbatical. My friend Scott Hoye filled me in today with his reaction to my previous post. If you are not aware yet, Scott is  a musician who recently released the harp/vocal album Black Rose. You can listen to samples and buy the album here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008B55XSK/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_v7-2pb1GVNZVC

To those who just tuned in, please see my previous post in which Connie and I discussed what’s going on with the 2012 Olympics.

Scott Hoye:

The Olympic Corporation sucks. That needs no debate. They strong arm any one who uses the word Olympic in their business. Case in point: my local butcher in Chicago, Greek immigrants in business since the 1960s, were forced to change their name from Olympic Market to Olympia Market, when the Olympic (TM) Corporation showed up to check out the City for 2016. Ridiculous! Greeks can’t use the word? It falls in the realm of commons.

As far as the world of internet commerce and music, two things have happened: the internet has and MP3s have made everything more available, and services like D Baby make it affordable for EVERYONE to share sell their music on I-tunes and other sources. Pirating still takes place, and the price of a single is now well below what inflation should account for a fair price. But the gate keepers of the record industry are all gone, now replaced by the cheap skates of e-commerce, CD Baby, I-tunes, etc. Studios are no longer necessary to work with, and mastering can be done for a fraction of the cost as well, ether with studios or at home.

My experience as a musician working under the old guard of gatekeepers, in the 1990s, and the recording studio system informs what my experience is today. I used to have to create cassettes to send to A&R people at studios, and to send hard copies of the same to radio stations for airplay. Now, for small fees, digital press kits can be obtained, and distribution for the same, at the click of a mouse. So from this perspective, it is a brave new world for many people, and though most musicians are not household names, the possibility of publicity, earning a living and doing it with ease has become easily accessible.

On the other hand, artists are generally not respected in the common culture. America was described by Henry Miller long ago as a country  where everyone wants to be a banker. Europe and other cultures still lend more credence to artists as opposed to the US. This is not to say that arts cannot survive in a market driven world, but Oscar Wilde was right in stating that the cynic is he who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. This is the shadow side of market driven art, and perhaps the land of the free, home of the free market best illustrates this.

People generally don’t consider not paying tens of thousands of dollars for an auto. Art, they would rather pilfer it. The gatekeepers screwed the artists via distribution control, and scarcity for years. The new gatekeepers have cheapened the price of much in the realm of music; mp3s are ubiquitous, as is the ability to create the product. Perhaps ultimately it is the journey of the artist to navigate the new world of commerce. I hope that it is a bit fairer than the world of the old guard, where one waited to be picked, and the odds were terribly stacked against them.

Keltiac: Tripping the Sonic Eden

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Keltiac might be the next exciting thing after Afro Celt Sound System…or so much more? You be the judge.

After listening to the sample tracks of Chris Dawson’s project band Keltiac, I am convinced that buying the CD Out on the Edge is a good idea. If mp3 files can make you feel the extravagant sounds, think about what the richness of the CD recording is capable of doing. All the elements work together. The tracks sound like they have been rehearsed a hundred times before being recorded. The sound quality is excellent. The production bends towards slickness, yet every strand of sound seems wispy with detail.

Out on the Edge-radio edit is a testament to those excellent arrangements and production techniques. Most of the tracks like Dragon’s Breath and Road to Coimbra are winners. The band is approaching the territory of world music yet never losing their Irish and Scottish folk roots. I recommend Keltiac to listeners who love bands like Kila, Afro Celts Sound System and Dead Can Dance.

http://www.myspace.com/keltiac

http://www.chrisdawson.net/

Listen to Clanú

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Irish musicians make great tracks with this band!

Clanú is a four piece band that needs your best audio speakers. They play slow and fast tunes. These musicians also add atmosphere to every track. Clanú combines Irish trad music and Bluegrass. You will  love the vocals too. Songs like the moving Bruach na carriage baine has cinematic appeal. The Outlaw Joseph Emmet sounds like something out of a Western movie. Into the Sun glides playfully into your mood. She Came To Me Softly is a ballad laden with beautiful vocals and excellent instrumental arrangement. The House Set is a jig rooted to the band’s love for traditional music. Slow Whiskey is a slow remake of Whiskey in the Jar which is refreshing to listen to.

They are based in Belfast.  I attached links below where you can get resources about these guys. You can contact the band through

clanu@mcilroyguitars.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/clanumusic http://www.myspace.com/clanu Download Ancient Walls from itunes: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/ancient-walls/id420714616

Biography

Clanú are a four piece band spanning two generations and the influences of each generation comes through in their music. From the fast paced modern Trad of Damian and Niall to the even faster contemporary folk and bluegrass sound (or greengrass as we call it) of Dee and Barry. With the wide range of instruments they play, they manage to produce a sound which enthralls crowds around the country and beyond. Add to this the song-writing and tune-writing capabilities that all the members possess and you have a unique yet familiar trad / folk sound that will have you dancing, singing or crying and sometimes all at the same time.

Celtic Music on the Run

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Tremolo Band: Bringing their music both on the road and the Web

Tremolo Band: Bringing their music both on the road and the Web

This piece is a tribute to music going mobile. I know of someone (you know who you are) who doesn’t like the idea of having an iPod-or in general making music mobile, believing that it is a private experience.

The good and the bad:

I read about  the time when music was an indoor experience. It was a family affair with people gathering  in front of their Victor turntable and listening to collections upon collections of music recorded on vinyl. I am talking about the 70s when bands used to have their songs on 45s and LPs.

Now music became a solitary experience. People listen alone. And sometimes people listen to the hum and not really to the music. They just splice the tracks as background music while most of their attentions are focused on the task. No wonder the recording industry is cashing out on young artists who can sing lines like ” baby, baby oh or I want your love oh yea” again and again with decent beats and pass it off for music. I can’t blame them. This generation has low attention span. And music like that caters to people with no special leaning to the arts.

But if you are an artist you know what you want and you care for what you want. More and more Celtic musicians are advertising and selling their music in different formats. You have iTunes, bandcamp and even rhapsody.

The web generation has taught artists to be resourceful . They no longer wait for execs to find their craft and sell it. They do the advertising and some even go as far as doing the album art. I know a few who do these things without sacrificing the beauty of their music.

back to my idea of the good and the bad:

The good:MP3 downloads are practical and also a fast way of getting the music our there with the click of the thumb.

The bad: Too many choices too many things to consider.

I love the way how the music industry is evolving and empowering those without access to major labels. Most of my discovery came from youtube. And I see myself posting more and more youtube videos in the future. And I also look forward to post from friends. let us all spread the beauty of Celtic music.