![]() Every now and again, we would get a paid gig. “I really was happy at first just playing the pipes, taking on the traditional tunes just for fun, because we enjoy the music. Since then, it has toured throughout the world, released nine albums and forged a following that includes such high-profile fans as Paul McCartney, Ewan McGregor and Samuel L. It took a winning performance on the Graham Norton-hosted BBC talent show “When Will I Be Famous?” in 2007 to spread the word on the band outside of Scotland. When the Pipers began their bagrock journey in 2002, Armstrong was working as a firefighter in Glasgow. No bagpipe karaoke.” Graham Norton made them famous ![]() That keeps the interest level up for all of the audience and not just the bagpipers. What you try and do is mix in traditional music to where you’re still keeping most of the content. But we try not to play that tune all the way through, because then you’re verging on karaoke bagpipes. “People will ask me, ‘Why did you choose that tune to play?’ We have hundreds of tunes on the floor before we get one that really works. The audience would definitely be able to see through that. You would not only be cheating yourself, but you would be cheating your audience. Number one, there aren’t that many musicians who will be wanting to join your band if that’s all you do. “The trick here is to avoid karaoke bagpipes,” Armstrong said. ![]() ![]() The band symmetry follows a similar pattern with the traditional charge of the frontline bagpipe trio getting support from a conventionally designed rock band rhythm section. That translates into taking the melody of rock and pop classics like AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” or Walk the Moon’s “Shut Up and Dance” and weaving them around the melodies of vastly older (sometimes, centuries older) pipe tunes. So what is an example of bagrock? For Armstrong, the blend is born from split musical loyalties between traditional and contemporary camps. When you’re with us, you’re hearing a show by the Red Hot Chilli Pipers and not just the Highland bagpipes for an hour-and-a-half, which I can understand some people may not enjoy.” “Whether you like the bagpipes or you dislike bagpipes isn’t the point. ![]()
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