Festival Interviews
Stuart Cassells of Red Hot Chilli Pipers
OF ALL the musical combination genres to be created in the 21st Century, 'Bagrock' has to be the most fun; the most energetic; and the most likely to have you swung off your feet in this hemisphere.
Regular attendees at the Hebridean Celtic Festival will have been exposed to a number of new Celtic sounds over the years, but with globally-storming Red Hot Chilli Pipers about to attack our stage this summer it would seem the pioneering sounds just keep coming.
For those of you that haven't come across them before (how?) The Red Hot Chilli Pipers are a bunch of Scottish lads that decided to take their traditional training in the bagpipes and cover some of the most popular rock classics in the canon; creating the aforementioned 'Bagrock' and becoming the most popular pipes and drums band in the world in the process.
From AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck' to Hendrix's Voodoo Child; Smoke on the Water to We Will rock You, it would seem that nothing is beyond the lads' powerful pipes, but piper Stuart Cassells modestly disagrees.
"The songs we cover have to fit the scale of the bagpipes and they have to have good melodies in their own right – then we can make them work," explains Stuart. But that doesn't stop the lads reaching for the stars when it comes to forming some of the world's classics into high octane thundering epics that are more than likely going to bring down the Big Blue tent in July – something the lads are thrilled to attempt.
"The Heb Celt Festival is a highlight on the Scottish Festival calendar," exclaims Stuart. "We're very, very busy this summer - we've only got a couple of dates in Scotland and we're very glad that the Heb Celt is one of those ones."
He continues: "A couple of the guys in the band have been along every year for the last few years, they've got a few friends in Stornoway that they made in University in Glasgow so they've been going up and staying with their folks every year."
He added: "They are delighted they can go back this year and perform on the stage– it's the highlight of their year."
Which is really saying something given that in the last year the Pipers have not only performed for Ewan MacGregor and Sir Paul McCartney, but have travelled from New York to China and had their album 'Bagrock to the Masses' go Platinum.
"We received a platinum disc which was incredible as it was only released six weeks before Christmas," Stuart enthuses.
"It became the highest selling Scottish CD!
"Obviously we're very proud of that as it's our CD, but also that it's a bagpipe CD – that any kind of bagpipe CD can have that sort of appeal is great."
Without doubt 'Bagrock to the Masses' has global appeal, something that has been proven with the last few rounds of the globe – and something which can prove surprising. After all, while there is the odd country that proclaims significant Scottish heritage, there are just as many that wouldn't know what a bagpipe sounds like if it wailed in their ear – but that doesn't stop the popularity of the Pipers.
"The world's a big place," agrees Stuart, who has only been back in the country for two days at the time of our chat. "We do a lot of travelling and we end up in front of lots of audiences and they're always surprised at what we do.
"In Thailand they had no idea what to expect and we went down fantastically which always amazes us because those countries don't have an in-built Scottish Heritage such as America and Canada do, they come along for other reasons and they enjoy the show for other reasons and that's always pleasing."
And what a show the Pipers have to offer. A power-house of energy directed towards new and adventurous areas to create a completely new style, the band is not only hugely talented, but blatantly love what they do which translates fantastically to their live performances as Stuart muses: "I think one of the most important things of the show for us is we treat it as a show and try to put a lot of energy and fun into it.
"We are a live band, we are a concert band and that's where we can really become ourselves. That's when we are at our best and that's what we have worked on most – making it a show."
And if the energy and enthusiasm doesn't grab your attention, then the Pipers' famous covers are sure to!
Currently working on a rendition of Massive Attack's Teardrop, Stuart explains how the adaptation of classics has helped them gain their foothold on the Global charts:
"It doesn't seem to matter much to people in Scotland, but if you're trying something people are already familiar with and they can recognise, you'll hook them in right away."
"We've all been there - you go to see Van Morrison and you want to hear 'Brown Eyed Girl' - and right away you're right on his side. But I'm sure the Stornoway audience will appreciate the traditional tunes anyway," he chuckles.
And while they may be known for their unique takes on classics, The Pipers are more than just a cover band. Each and every one of them is a traditionally trained musician that is skilled enough to be able to adapt their talents to anything - including writing their own soon-to-be-legend tunes.
"The cover thing has sort of become expected and we're working on some new ones but you've got to be clever with it," explains Stuart. "We need to introduce more of our own pipe tunes – and that would be nice but it's important that the whole thing kind of evolves and it's important to let it evolve naturally."
Explaining that this evolution stems from feeding off of the audiences response to certain musical experiments, Stuart is adamant that the lads will listen to what their fans want and not let fame go to their heads.
Shaking his head he describes how easy it is for bands to fall into the most common folly of making the legendarily difficult second album for musicians rather than the fans.
"We have the danger of going down that route – of getting in massive instrumentals but if we just let it evolve through live performances the audience will decide how we evolve," he insists proving that the band has a strong sense of responsibility and modesty.
However they plan to develop – through covers or original creations - it's clear that the winners of BBC1's 'When Will I Be Famous' are Reality TV stars with staying power. Their skill and showmanship have made them a phenomenon and without doubt, they are bound to carry on the best tradition of the Celtic Festival this summer and give us a gig without comparison.
Interview courtesy of Stornoway Gazette
