The Blazin' Fiddles Interview

It’s a generally accepted opinion, when it comes to Scottish fiddle players, bands don’t come much stronger than Blazin’ Fiddles. The band have been together some seven years now and launched their third CD, ‘The Magnificent Seven’ at Cambridge.

Whilst the title could refer to the band’s longevity, it could also refer to the band it’s self. Consisting of seven members Catriona MacDonald, Aiden O’Rourke, Allan Henderson, Bruce MacGregor, Iain MacFarlane, all on the fiddle and Andy  Thorburn and Marc Clement, piano and guitar respectively.

It’s been a while since Blazin’ Fiddles have played Cambridge, though tales of their Highland hospitality continue to circulate. This year they squeezed a performance at the Proms in between their festival sets.

I managed to catch up with Catriona and Aiden after the band’s signing session at the Mojo tent.

#N The album, is it named after the length of time you’ve been together or the numbers in the band?
#A It’s a bit of a combination of both. We’re a bit impressed that we’ve been together seven years with the same lineup. We’re proud of that..

#N Do you fear that other famous sever, the seven year itch?
#A No, because it’s not our fulltime jobs, it’s fresh and good to catch up. If we were touring and each other’s pockets twelve months a year, then maybe.

#N Catriona, I’ve heard that you’ve got a new album in the pipeline.
#C I’ve been trying to do it all year. It looks like it’s going to be a December recording and out next year. It’s going to be based around my trio so it’ll feature David and Conrad. Really looking forward to getting into the studio and doing some of my own stuff.

#N With so many people in the band bringing stuff to the table. How do you whittle the material down to an album’s worth?
#A We all bring different tunes, different pieces of music, but it’s quite a simple process, quality prevails. I think the tracks that are on the album are the best of what we were rehearsing at the time. We’ve also done a lot of solo tracks. This album’s more like what we do as a live performance. We do the ensemble stuff, but each of us has got a solo spot as well so that’s quite interesting.

#N Is there a law in Scotland that you can’t be in just one band, unless it’s your first?
#A As you probably know, the music we play, it’s difficult to sustain it with one band. There’s not many that do that. Even the likes of the Kate Rusby band play in other groups. It also keeps our music fresh as we go away and do our own individual projects. We bring back what we get from them to Blazin’ Fiddles and it adds to it. There’s an element of survival to it. Catriona and Iain do a lot of teaching. We all subsidise our performance by doing other things.
#C I’ve been teaching for the last fifteen years. I’ve really been teaching since I was able to pass on a tune. I got involved in Folkworks. I’m living in the Borders and I got the chance to teach at Newcastle University. I think it’s more a law of being a creative person. We’re not played out because there’s always something new to bring along. I wondered in the beginning how that would all work out. It’s definitely worked. Small elements drift in.

#N Do you get back to Shetland much?
#C I do. At the moment my Mum’s living on the mainland. All of my relatives are still there, along with my heart. I’m going to buy a place up there.

#N Out of the new generation of fiddlers, whose impressing you?
#A In Scotland, there’s so many great, young fiddlers. It’s hard to pinpoint anyone. Anna Massey from the Highlands is a great fiddle player and all round musician. Lauren MacColl who’s here is very good. Laurie Watson from the Borders, there’s just so many.
#C Well there’s the members of Fiddler’s Bid. Jenna Reid, Kevin Henderson, the Shetland production line rolls on. You look at how many are playing and the law of averages suggests a good healthy crop.

#N You’ve been wearing the ‘I Love Caravans’ t-shirts. I know there’s a story behind it.
#A The last time we were at Cambridge was six years ago. We were young and slightly immature. Some of us have grown up since then. There were a lot of other Scottish musicians there. We offered some Highland hospitality and it got a bit, well lively after we did the Radio 2 stage. We were in this caravan with friends, weight was being applied on both ends, it came off it’s axel, someone fell through a window, someone was sick on the floor. It wasn’t a pretty sight. It’s all cool now. Back then it was a fiddle showcase, not so much of a band thing. It is now.
#C We’re a lot more sensible now. I think I’ve been forgiven for being late to doing the workshop.. We’re all early to bed early to rise now. ?