News
ENLARGE
In 1996 Toronto piper Craig Downie decided to reacquaint himself with the bagpipes. By the end of the decade the 5-piece Enter the Haggis was amassing fans across Canada. Now, six albums, a PBS special, and miles and miles later, the band performs over 150 dates worldwide each year with an army of “Haggis Heads” following along. Their music crosses borders covering, by one count, as many as 18 different genres. Yet the Celtic influence remains intact.
What does it mean to be a Canadian Celtic band as opposed to a band from Scotland, Ireland, or Nova Scotia?
Over the past nine years, we have toured mostly in the US. We've had the opportunity to play in Europe on several occasions as well (Germany, Italy, Scotland, England, Ireland). I would say that being a band from Canada does give us some bit of exoticism or at least authenticity in the US when it comes to Celtic Music. In Canada, the dynamic is different. ETH is based in Toronto, Ontario, a far cry from the epicenter of Celtic Music in
Canada - Nova Scotia, Prince Edwards Island and Newfoundland.
Your fans are fondly referred to as “Haggis Heads”. Did you or did they give themselves that name?
In the early days we probably started referring to our hardcore fans as "Haggis Heads" but that quickly became the term that fans were calling themselves. Nowadays it seems like wherever we go we have folk coming up to us exclaiming themselves to be the "biggest Haggis Head of all" because they've been to 30 shows, 45 shows, or have attend shows in "x" number of states. I've also noticed a development of sub groups within the Haggis Head world. I've seen young kids sporting shirts exclaiming "Haggis Tot" as well as women with "Haggis Hen" shirts.
Are there pros and cons to being known as a Celtic Rock band versus just a rock band?
We are fortunate to be able to dabble in several different "worlds" musically. We spend a good percentage of our summers touring back and forth from Irish/Celtic festivals to World Music festivals, to Folk festivals and back again. The rest of the year sees us anywhere from a typical rock club one night to a theatre the next. Celtic Rock music has made big inroads in the past few years as far as being taking seriously in the big music world. We still run into roadblocks from time to time outside of the Celtic Music world either because of our name or style of music. We are committed to continue doing what we do - getting out and playing in front of as many people as possible and winning over those fans one at a time if need be. .
From a musician's perspective, how does the KVMR Celtic Festival differ from other Celtic Festivals around the world?
For us in ETH, getting the chance to get out to California is incentive enough! KVMR is one of a limited number of festivals that really seems to do things right and that makes for a very positive lasting impression. From volunteers to organization, great hospitality (massages backstage - it doesn't get much better than that!), beautiful location, great tech crew and staging... It all works together to provide a great experience to the artists who participate.
What does it mean to be a Canadian Celtic band as opposed to a band from Scotland, Ireland, or Nova Scotia?
Over the past nine years, we have toured mostly in the US. We've had the opportunity to play in Europe on several occasions as well (Germany, Italy, Scotland, England, Ireland). I would say that being a band from Canada does give us some bit of exoticism or at least authenticity in the US when it comes to Celtic Music. In Canada, the dynamic is different. ETH is based in Toronto, Ontario, a far cry from the epicenter of Celtic Music in
Canada - Nova Scotia, Prince Edwards Island and Newfoundland.
Your fans are fondly referred to as “Haggis Heads”. Did you or did they give themselves that name?
In the early days we probably started referring to our hardcore fans as "Haggis Heads" but that quickly became the term that fans were calling themselves. Nowadays it seems like wherever we go we have folk coming up to us exclaiming themselves to be the "biggest Haggis Head of all" because they've been to 30 shows, 45 shows, or have attend shows in "x" number of states. I've also noticed a development of sub groups within the Haggis Head world. I've seen young kids sporting shirts exclaiming "Haggis Tot" as well as women with "Haggis Hen" shirts.
Are there pros and cons to being known as a Celtic Rock band versus just a rock band?
We are fortunate to be able to dabble in several different "worlds" musically. We spend a good percentage of our summers touring back and forth from Irish/Celtic festivals to World Music festivals, to Folk festivals and back again. The rest of the year sees us anywhere from a typical rock club one night to a theatre the next. Celtic Rock music has made big inroads in the past few years as far as being taking seriously in the big music world. We still run into roadblocks from time to time outside of the Celtic Music world either because of our name or style of music. We are committed to continue doing what we do - getting out and playing in front of as many people as possible and winning over those fans one at a time if need be. .
From a musician's perspective, how does the KVMR Celtic Festival differ from other Celtic Festivals around the world?
For us in ETH, getting the chance to get out to California is incentive enough! KVMR is one of a limited number of festivals that really seems to do things right and that makes for a very positive lasting impression. From volunteers to organization, great hospitality (massages backstage - it doesn't get much better than that!), beautiful location, great tech crew and staging... It all works together to provide a great experience to the artists who participate.
