Page 47 - SPIRE Apr-Jun 2022 2nd Issue DIGITAL

For the better part of two decades, Toronto’s Enter The When you’re not on tour what other together for the two people who were
Haggis has combined bagpipes and fiddles with a rock passions do you pursue? watching us. But probably the worst EE N T E R T H E H A G G I S
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rhythm section to create a distinctively eclectic sound, When I (Trevor) am not a musician I’m a would have been a show we played in
praised by The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and dad and husband with two boys, 9 and Galway, Ireland on one of our fan trips FF R I J U N 3 8 P M
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Canada’s Globe and Mail. Their songs offer singalong 11 years. I love spending time with my back in 2008 or 2009. We didn’t bring www.enterthehaggis.com/home
melodies and deep, meaningful lyrics which tell the family, hanging out and taking the kids to amps or drums with us, so the venue www.facebook.com/enterthehaggis
stories of everyday hard working people, often faced with school and their various activities. Now told us we could use the stuff they had https://twitter.com/enterthehaggis
www.instagram.com/enterthehaggis/
seemingly insurmountable challenges. Signature songs that the gym has opened up again I’m in storage. This turned out to be what I
like “One Last Drink”, “Gasoline”, “Down With The Ship” back to playing squash, which was my can only describe as a toy drum kit, a
and “Lancaster Gate” have had hundreds of thousands of main source of exercise pre-pandemic. keyboard amp for our guitarist, and a
plays on social media, appeared in Hollywood movies, When the kids are at school and my very small “practice” amp for the bass. It
and have been performed and recorded by artists around wife is working, I spend most of the day sounded just as good as you’d imagine,
the world. in my studio working on my own music but the icing on the cake was halfway
(The Wilderness Club), new ETH songs through the show when the owner of
Enter The Haggis is clearly comfortable on the stage and or songs for other people. I also recently the bass amp showed up unexpectedly,
develops an easy rapport with audiences, sharing the started volunteering with the Cross announced that he had another gig
stories behind their songs and laughing through tour Cultural Learners Centre in London, downtown, unplugged his amp (mid set)
anecdotes. The show is exciting and dynamic, featuring where I help newcomers to Canada. and left with it. By that point we were
unpredictable and spontaneous moments. One song so defeated that we just watched him
might feature drummer Bruce McCarthy taking a drum What are some of the most memorable go.
solo on Trevor Lewington’s guitar strings, while the next moments while on tour together? a thing it is.
song breaks down into a fierce battle between fiddle and Live performance is one of the things a What's the best piece of advice another
harmonica. Sometimes during an encore, the band will band spends the least time doing when musician ever gave you? Who’s the comedian? The troublemaker? And
leave the stage entirely to perform acoustically standing on tour. Most of the time, you’re I (Brian) once met the Barenaked Ladies who keeps everyone in line?
on chairs in the audience. Rose Baldino (House of Hamill, travelling together, loading or unloading at a weird charity gig in a millionaire’s I think all of those roles rotate through the
Burning Bridget Cleary) joined the band on fiddle and gear, sorting merchandise and all that backyard in Toronto. They wrote a band, depending on the day and the situation.
vocals in 2020, strengthening the traditional sound of fun stuff. The most memorable parody version of their hit “If I Had a Part of what’s kept us together so long is the
their performances. moments tend to be during those non- Million Dollars” lampooning the fact that fact that we’re all pretty laid back, and that we
performance times, catching up on life everyone there would be horribly all have a sense of humor. There’s nobody
What inspired "The Archer's Parade" and what was it and telling jokes. The shows are a blast depressed if their personal fortunes really cracking the whip or trying to exercise
like to drop an album during the pandemic? but when it’s all over, it’ll be those times decreased to that point. After their set, I authority over the others.
Releasing an album at the start of a pandemic isn’t the spent together that I’ll miss the most. jokingly made mention of the fact that
worst business decision we’ve made as a band. From a they must be sick of playing that song What is it like being a Canadian Celtic-Rock
positive standpoint, it’s been nice that our fans have had Describe your worst performance. after so many years, and Ed Robertson band while touring in Ireland and Scotland?
2 years to become familiar with the new songs. Now There are just so many. Usually it’s bad immediately shot me down, saying Well - it certainly helps when you bring a
we’re out on the road in support of the album and for reasons that are beyond our control, “Never take it for granted that anyone hundred Americans and Canadians with you!
everyone is singing along to these “new” songs… though like the time we played a St. Patrick’s wants to hear a song you wrote. It’s We’ve definitely played shows in Ireland where
sometimes it’s hard to tell when everyone’s wearing interviewing bandmates, former collaborators, and special Day show in VT on a ski hill - possible that someday, nobody will be the locals who came out looked very confused
masks. guests for your THROWBACK THURSDAY LISTENING OUTDOORS, mid-March. There were asking you to play it anymore and you’ll when a few dozen people were singing along to
PARTY. How has this experience been for you and is this snowdrifts forming onstage, and one wish they would.” Definitely made me every song at the top of their lungs. The
I read you recorded and mixed The Archer’s Parade all something you might plan on doing again? poor tech whose job it was to run up and stop and think, and I remember that venues love it, too - promising a full bar on a
over the world in hotel rooms, Airbnb’s etc. Describe Honestly, we would have done some live performances during re-light the propane heaters that kept conversation every time I see someone Tuesday night in Killarney will make you
what that process was like. blowing out every couple of minutes. singing along with one of our songs at a popular with bartenders. Scotland is a little
Our band formed in the late 1990’s when we were all the pandemic but the technology isn’t there yet. We did some None of us could feel our hands, and we show - it’s still surreal, and I try to tougher, because a lot of Scots hear the name
living in Toronto but as our members left the city and tests to see if we could make it work but since we’re based all went through most of a bottle of appreciate just how rare and wonderful Enter the Haggis and assume we’re making fun
settled down in other places (Philly, London, ON, over the place, the latency made it impossible to play together. whiskey onstage just trying to hold it of them. We don’t get a lot of calls back from
Portland, ME) we’ve slowly learned how to continue We wanted to offer something to our supporters so our Scottish bookers.
working together on music from a distance. We’ve all Throwback Thursdays was our solution. As a band or musician I
picked up recording gear over the years to the point think you’re always thinking of the next song or the next album I read that you’ve brought fans on eight tours
where we can record parts in our little home studios or or the next show. It would be rare for us to go back and listen to of Ireland. The next trip will be to Scotland in
take some equipment on the road to record other people the music that we recorded many years ago, so it was fun to do April 2022. How do fans go about becoming
in a hotel room or wherever we happen to have time and part of the tour and what can they expect this
space. In the beginning recording was fun but high- that, especially alongside fans who clearly have a relationship time around?
pressure as we were working with producers with limited with that music. The process brought back memories of There are still a handful of spots available. Fans
time and budget. It’s great to be in a place where we can recording and writing certain songs as well as where we were as can expect to ride around Scotland with us in a
take our time with it. people and a band at the time. We’d definitely do it again, but luxury coach bus or two, visit a bunch of
went through all of our back catalogue, so will have to write amazing historical landmarks and castles, and
Many bands reflexively pivoted to live-streamed shows, more albums first. hear some great music. It’s always a blast. For
soliciting donations or selling tickets & promoting virtual more info on the trip, follow this link:
concerts on social media. You did something cool by https://www.hammondtours.com/product/ent
er-the-haggis/
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