Enter the Haggis

Enter the Haggis is a Canadian Indie/Folk Rock world-fusion band based in Toronto, Canada. Commonly called ETH, the band has been playing and recording since 1996. Their latest studio album, "Whitelake" is the band's ninth album. The name is a reference to the diverse nature of the band's sound. Like Haggis (the food) the sound of ETH is a mixture of diverse and unusual elements, brought together to create something new. Since its birth in 1996, ETH has kept a rigorous concert schedule, playing in wide ranging venues in Canada, Europe, and the United States. They have made appearances at such events as the Folk im Schlosshof in Bonfeld, Germany, the Vancouver Island MusicFest in Courtenay, BC, Irish2000 in Albany, New York, The Philadelphia Folk Fest in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Texas Scottish Fest, Rocky Mountain Highland Games and Scottish Festival, the Ann Arbor Folk Fest in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Cayamo (2011, 2012), MusikFest in Bethlehem, PA, the world famous Irish Fest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, The Great American Irish Festival in Frankfort, NY, and the Dublin Irish Festival in Dublin, OH. Band members edit: Brian Buchanan edit: Instruments: Vocals, fiddle, keyboard, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, accordion, Gear: Violin by Wojciech Topa (2008), bow by G. Werner, Thomastic Dominant strings, Nord Electro 3 73, Fishman V300 Pickup, Alvarez acoustic guitar, Indie hollowbody electric guitar., Birthplace: Ottawa, Ontario, Craig Downie edit: Instruments: Vocals, Highland bagpipes, Deger pipes, Harmonica, Guitar, Keyboard, Tin Whistle, Trumpet, Saxophone, Tambourine, Glockenspiel, Gear: Henderson drones, MacLellan chanter, Boss and Ibanez pedals, Shure "Bullet" mic, Ampeg amp., Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland, Influences: The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Early Genesis, Martyn Bennett, Trevor Lewington edit: Instruments: Vocals, guitar, octave mandolin, keyboard, Gear: Fender Telecaster, Gibson Les Paul, Fender Stratocaster, Larivee Acoustic Guitars, Fender Deluxe amplifier, Elixir Nanoweb strings (light gauge), Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario, Influences: Jag Tanna, The Edge, David Gilmour, Mark Abraham edit: Instruments: Bass guitar, Vocals, Gear: Lakland Joe Osborn Skyline 5 string, Euphonic Audio IAmp 600, Aguilar 4x10 Cabinet, Birthplace: Hamilton, Ontario, Influences: Tony Levin, Leland Sklar, Brian Minato (Sarah McLachlan), Scott Ambush (Spyro Gyra), Bruce McCarthy edit: Instruments: Drums, Gear: Yamaha drums, Vic Firth drumsticks, Birthplace: Toronto, Canada, Influences: Keith Carlock (Steely Dan), Ringo Starr (The Beatles), Buddy Rich, John Bonham (Led Zeppelin), Jeff Porcaro (Toto), James Campbell's retirement edit: On August 10, 2010, the band's drummer of eleven years announced via e-mail to the Enter the Haggis mailing list and a public note on Facebook that he would be retiring from professional music and from Enter the Haggis. Campbell cited his desire to work in air traffic control and the lack of time he would have to be trained in the coming years as he grew older as the primary reasons for his retirement. Following his final performance on September 18, 2010, long-time friend Bruce McCarthy has since assumed the position as the band's percussionist. On McCarthy, Campbell says: "I will be leaving you in the more than capable hands of my old friend Bruce McCarthy. Bruce, Mark and I all went to Humber College in Toronto together, and he's no stranger to music in any and all of its forms. Bruce's experience is far more diverse than my own, and he has proven himself to be an invaluable asset to more bands in the last few years than I've played with in my entire life. His presence in the band will be one of the things that will make me feel a little better about retiring, as I know you will all be left in the best of possible hands." Television appearances edit: The PBS Special edit: In July 2003 the band played a show to about 20,000 people at the annual Mayor's Cup festival in Plattsburgh New York. At the show, the band was approached by two gentlemen in the TV industry who proposed the idea of filming a live show and releasing as a DVD special to PBS (a network with whom they had many connections). In December that year, the band returned to Plattsburgh and recorded 2 nights of shows at Plattsburgh State University's "Hartman Theater" to throngs of ETH fans. The special was released months later to PBS and aired on many stations across the US. The DVD is available for purchase from the band's website. A&E Breakfast With the Arts edit: In 2006 the band performed two songs on the show: "Gasoline" from Casualties of Retail and "One Last Drink" from Soapbox Heroes. Live with Regis and Kelly edit: On March 16, 2007 the band performed on the Live with Regis and Kelly program before a live studio audience. The songs chosen were "One Last Drink" a song written by Lewington with a Celtic flavor from their album Soapbox Heroes, and "Minstrel Boy" a distinctive rendition of a familiar Irish tune. The latter song appears on their album Casualties of Retail. The band was probably selected to appear because their Celtic sound fit well with the approaching St. Patrick's Day. 1 Crowd Funding/Kickstarter edit: Enter the Haggis has had tremendous success utilizing the popular concept of crowd funding to raise funds needed to produce their most recent albums. Starting in 2011, the band used techniques popular on sites like kickstarter, Indiegogo and Pledge Music to create their own crowd funded campaign called the Haggis Helper on their bandzoogle based website. The band raised over $40,000 dollars which they used to produce their album "Whitelake". On July 8th 2012, Enter the Haggis launched a campaign on the website Kickstarter to raise the funds needed to produce their newest studio album "The Modest Revolution". The campaign featured a diverse set of "rewards" that fans could purchase in order to help the band achieve their initial goal of $20,000. The campaign was a huge success. The band achieved their initial $20,000 goal within the first 11 hours of the campaign and reached 895 total backers and $66,035 when it was completed on Sept 3rd 2012.

Source: Wikipedia

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