Don鈥檛 be confused by whichever name this band is going by, it鈥檚 bagpipe rock, and maybe that鈥檚 all you need to know.
Who else but Johnny McCuaig plays the bagpipes like a lead guitar?
The Johnny McCuaig Band, also known as the Arcana Kings, will be at the Dekker Centre Nov. 20 as part of an Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils tour.
On their Facebook page, the Regina-based band is described as mixing 鈥渢raditional Canadian east coast jigs with the modern power of radio rock music. You鈥檒l jump out of your seat to clap and dance along to the band as they rip through rocked up versions of old standards like Ten Penny Bit and Patty鈥檚 Leather Breeches along with some new modern rock anthems like Here We Go, currently used by the Saskatchewan Roughriders as their take the field fight song. Between songs the band reaches out and connects with the audience in their casual fun way that shows that they not only take their rock music seriously but have a great sense of humour, too, and know how to laugh and engage with the crowd.鈥�
The band members are Johnny McCuaig - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, bag pipes; Kevin Kyle - back up vocals, bass guitar; Graham Templeman - back up vocals, drums; James Picton - back up vocals, lead guitar, and; Allan Morrison - back up vocals, rhythm guitar.
Following is an interview by Devin Wilger of our sister paper, Yorkton This Week
It鈥檚 a time of transition for the band. They have a new name, changing from the Johnny McCuaig Band to Arcana Kings. They have a new album, Lions as Ravens, out on October 15. John McCuaig said that they were discovering that the old name was a barrier for some fans.
鈥淲e found that a lot of people can鈥檛 spell the name, they can鈥檛 find us on social media. As we all know, as an independent band struggling out there, social media is king. We were actually playing at Mosaic Stadium for the 鈥楻iders western semi-final half-time game last year, and the announcer said 鈥榟ey everybody, the Johnny McCuaig Band,鈥� but really struggled saying the band鈥檚 name. After the show, I turned to the guys and said 鈥榞uys, we really have to change the name.鈥欌��
But one thing that won鈥檛 change with the name is the music. They make high energy music, and McCuaig said that they want to get people pumped up for the day.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we were going for with this album, to show everybody, look, there are a lot of singer-songwriters out there, a lot of mellow music, some rock stuff that is just rock, but we want to give the listener a little bit more of a good mood.鈥�
Their mission was to pump people up, and McCuaig said that their song Here We Go, specifically, was written to get people excited for something like 鈥榯he big game.鈥� The Saskatchewan Roughriders agreed, and played it when taking to the field in 2018.
鈥淚t was incredible, it was an amazing feeling. Having my phone rip off the hook... I didn鈥檛 even know it was happening. It was crazy, and my phone was going nuts... It鈥檚 certainly an incredible feeling, it definitely opened up a lot of doors for us and we鈥檙e still riding the wave from it,鈥� McCuaig said.
One of the band鈥檚 trademarks is integrating bagpipes into the rock, which people assumed was a Celtic sound, something like Ashley McIsaac. McCuaig said that鈥檚 not what they were going for at all, and has a specific sound in mind.
鈥淸I compared us to] AC/DC鈥檚 Long Way to the Top if You Want to Rock and Roll. Because they have bagpipes in it and it鈥檚 rock... When people show up to the shows, 99 per cent of the time, people go 鈥榳ow, I never knew bagpipes could be played that way, they could sound that way with rock music...鈥� What we鈥檝e achieved with the traditional Scottish bagpipes is taking them in and really making them meld with rock and roll melodies and hooks. Really taking it to another step.鈥�
The sound grew out of McCuaig鈥檚 youth.
鈥淚t鈥檚 me growing up, jamming to the radio with bagpipes, my friends looking at me going 鈥榳hat are you doing?鈥� It wasn鈥檛 a normal thing .鈥�
Recording an album took longer than expected because as a busy touring band,聽 actually getting into the studio was a challenge.
鈥淲e could only go in the studio three days at a time, and we would always have to hook up a show in Saskatoon while we there... It took us close to a year to get it, even though when we put the time together it was nine to ten days at the most.鈥�
