Makayla Henriquez

The Red Hot Chili Pipers are coming to the Hanover Theater on March 17, to share their one-of-a-kind music: traditional Scottish music fused with rock. One of the band’s founding members, Willie Armstrong, spoke about the band’s unique sound and how the group formed after sharing a passion for bagpipes. Armstrong, a bagpiper in the band, said that people who play bagpipes typically perform at many wedding gigs. While playing at weddings Armstrong realized, “You soon learn that people will switch off to your tunes after a while.” It turns out, traditional bagpipe music is not in high demand. Armstrong admits that most people who listen to traditional bagpipes regularly are “fellow enthusiasts”.

Stuart Cassells, another one of the band’s founding members who is no longer with the group, came up with the idea of playing bagpipes to the tunes of familiar rock songs to get people to “prick their ears up.” That’s how the The Red Hot Chili Pipers began to play traditional Scottish bagpipes fused with rock for a unique sound they call “Bagrock”.

Armstrong described an audience’s typical reaction after they have been exposed to Bagrock. He said it was, “Fun with a capital F. There are parts of the show that will be a wee roller coaster of emotion, a sense of tension and release…the quizzical looks of the audience transitioning to laughter as they realize that yes, the bagpipe band are playing “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey, and things are pretty good in the world at that point.”

Since its formation in 2002, the Red Hot Chili Pipers have evolved from a group of three pipers and two drummers playing at small corporate events throughout Scotland to a group of about forty members in rotation selling out world tours. Over the years, the band has been granted significant opportunities such as working on the soundtrack to How to Train Your Dragon 2 and winning the BBC talent show When Will I Be Famous? in 2007. They even won a Gold Disc for over 100,000 sales of their album Bagrock to the Masses and have a triple platinum album status for their album and DVD Blast Live.

Regarding their growing success, Armstrong said that, “as the venues get bigger, the crowds get bigger and we’re able to invest in more production. Having the best engineers for both sound and lights are a massive step forward. There’s a lot more of us now and the sound has gotten bigger and better.” He added, “We always made a point of going out to meet the audience after shows and getting honest feedback…I believe that’s made a big difference to our popularity.” One thing that has not changed is the band’s decision to stick to their uniforms of black Kilts and red sporrans; a choice that sets the band apart and adds to their “visual dimension”.

Armstrong spoke about how he envisions the band’s future. He said, “I’d like it to be a bit like the Blue Man Group. A signature sound and uniform that will be recognized throughout the world.”

Armstrong’s biggest personal aspiration as a musician is to inspire more people to pick up the bagpipes. “I don’t think there’s enough of us,” he said. Armstrong added that the bagpipes are incredibly difficult to master. Kids start off learning by practicing on an instrument called a chanter then transition to a bagpipe. “That’s when there’s a massive drop out. You could be banging away on a set of bagpipes for months and still not have a tune. You need a lot of willpower and love of the instrument really,” he said.

The Red Hot Chili Pipers have been able to change the public’s view of the bagpipes. Armstrong said, “I like when I hear people saying, ‘I never knew bagpipes could sound like that’ because it’s clear then that we’ve opened up the thinking process and broke down some preconceived ideas.”

Armstrong calls the pipes an “emotive instrument”. “If you play a haunting slow air it can induce tears, if you then play jigs and reels it will make you clap your hands and stamp your feet. Add that with the stellar rock songs and instruments, and you’ve got a mini pipe band playing harmonies, counter harmonies and melodies with the snare drum cutting through it all, but with a massive rock band behind us,” he said.

Bagrock pays homage to Scottish culture while creating a whole new sound that is wowing audiences across the globe, even in Worcester.

For more information visit: thehanovertheatre.org/