Rawkin: Bagpipes bring new life to the Out Back!

For the last Free New Music Friday in the Out Back Shack of 2009, Fanshawe was treated to The Standstills and The Mudmen! Another diverse and free night of music, socializing and fun!

Who They Are:
The Standstills are a two-piece band that formed out of the music industry arts program at Fanshawe and both members graduated in May 2009. The band consists of Renee Couture on drums and Jonny Fox on guitar/vocals. The band started by chance, said Couture and at first Fox didn't know that she could play the drums. But once they started jamming, they liked what they heard and started to record with only one microphone, eventually becoming The Standstills.

How They Did:
They started out their set with enthusiasm and lots of energy. Both Couture and Fox put out 110 per cent. They showed prowess on their instruments and fed off the energy of each other as well as the crowd. They did a few covers as well as their own tunes and got very trippy on some of their songs. They transitioned very well between songs, although there wasn't a lot of conversing with the crowd.

Their EP, Standstill, is available on iTunes. Listening to it, there are a lot of similarities to The White Stripes. The music feels very natural and hypnotic. Check them out on www.myspace.com/standstillmusic.

Who They Are:
The Mudmen, founded by brothers Robby and Sandy Campbell, play the bagpipes and are from just outside the London area in Alviston. They have had several line up changes including the singer and now consist of six members: Sandy and Robby Campbell — bagpipes, Mordy Harroch — vocals/guitar, Dylan Broda — drums, Troy Spinney — bass, and Alex “Big Al” Maletich — guitars/banjo.

I had a chance to chat with Robby Campbell and Maletich. They told me that they typically “play a lot of Celtic music, drink lots of beer and have a great time!” They are also involved with wrestling and hockey and have been featured in the WWE with the theme music for the Highlanders and were finalists for the new Hockey Night in Canada Theme.

The Mudmen

I asked if they thought that their music would stay relevant in the future and Campbell told me that “a good Celtic album is timeless… some of our punkish stuff may not be but the rest will be.” They have been working together on the band for about 12 years now.

How They Did:
They started their set with Pipers Rant to a huge crowd that started moshing in front of the stage especially when the band played Drinking Fight. They were crowd-pleasing and gave their performance a lot of energy. They also played a cover of Whiskey in the Jar, off their current album, The High Road. They also did a cover of an AC/DC song and the song, Home for a Rest. They did have the encore and they were real entertaining throughout the entire evening. Once they were done they were drinking and conversing with everyone!

Taking a listen to their current CD, there is a difference in the vocals from the current singer compared to the former singer that you will hear on the disk. Overall they have such a tight and unique sound to them! Celtic sounds with the bagpipes and then modern rock/punk together made for an enjoyable listening experience! I don't usually drink but this made me want to jump out of my seat and dance and drink beer! Check them out at www.mudmen.ca and see what they are all about.

As always and comments, questions, complaints or suggestions are always welcome to my email nicolejcollins@gmail.com. KEEP ON RAWKIN!