Bad Haggis with special guest Rubén Blades – Span
An amazing fusion of electric Celtic tunes, powerful electric guitars, Latin percussion and amplified bagpipes…it doesn’t get any more eclectic than this amazing record. Featuring Grammy winner Ruben Blades.
Eric Rigler, Uilleann pipes,
Great Highland Bagpipe, Scottish small-pipes,
whistles, vocal
Mike Hoffmann, electric & acoustic guitars
Mick Linden, vocals, bass guitar
Kathleen Keane, fiddle, whistles, vocals
Bryon Holley, drums, percussion, vocals
Alberto Lopez, percussion
Eric Rigler is THE session player in Los Angeles when it comes to Uilleann pipes, whistles, and bagpipes. His work was featured on James Cameron’s Titanic and Mel Gibson’s Braveheart. I first spoke to him about the Jennifer Warnes project but unfortunately, he was unable to participate because he was touring with his band and Ruben Blades. That sounded rather interesting to me, to I asked him for a disc and some information about his band. Boy were my ears opened up! Here were the familiar melodies and harmonies of traditional Irish music ratcheted up with electric guitar and bass, standard drums, amplified fiddle and Latin Percussion. Add to that the sensitivity of Ruben’s lyrics and singing and you’ve got an indescribable sound.
This a true fusion album. The tunes are derivative of the Celtic sound but powered by electric guitar, electric bass and amplified pipes and fiddle. Add in the Latin percussion of Ruben Blades and Alberto Lopez and the music takes on a rhythmic complexity that is very hard to describe. There’s even singing in Spanish on a number of tracks. Span was nominated in 2004 for “Best New Artist” and “Best Additional Features” in the Surround Music Awards. The other nominees in the same category were better known bands including: The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Grateful Dead!
Ruben Blades, Hollywood actor, salsa musician and former state official of Panama, is a very special guest on this eclectic project. He contributes his musicianship and vocals to the entire project.
The sound of this recording brings these incredible musicians into your listening space. The HD-Audio surround mixes immerse you in the musical interplay with full range frequency response and dynamics.
Audio Examples:
- Mysterious Integratron –
- Rip Hop –
- The Hag at the Churn –
- When She Drives –
- La Gallega –
- Monkey Tree –
- Barcos –
- Templo de Agua –
- Bad Haggis –
- Walking the Plank –
- The B-52 –
