Battlefield Band, founded by a group of friends in 1969 and named after the “Battlefield” area of Glasgow, has toured and performed throughout the world for more than 40 years.
The band is currently made up of Ewen Henderson, Sean O’Donnell, Alasdair White and Mike Katz.
They will perform at Lopez Center on Sunday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m.Tickets in advance are $20 for adults, $10 for youths and can be purchased online.
Tickets at the door: are $20 for adults and $10 for youths.
The Demonstration Workshop with Battlefield Band members will happen from 2 – 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 6 at Lopez Center. This opportunity is brought, in part, from a grant funded by WESTAF and NEA. The band will speak about some of the unique instruments used in the traditional Scottish music scene, demonstrating their skills and experience on these instruments.
The Weekly caught up with Katz last week to find out more about his music and experiences as a Battlefield Band member. He plays the Highland bagpipes, small pipes, whistles, bouzouki, guitar and bass.
Originally from L.A., Katz moved to Scotland at age 18 to study at Edinburgh University and put down roots, remaining there ever since. He played in the Scottish Gas Pipe Band and Ceolbeg before joining Battlefield Band. He joined Battlefield Band in late 1997.
WEEKLY: Why is it important to bridge the old music to the new?
MK: I think this is an attempt to impress upon people that there is a continuous link culturally between music played in Scotland – or any culture for that matter – in the distant past and what is written and played in the modern day. This richness of what we have in a culture currently takes its depth from the variety and width of endeavor which proceeds it. Picasso for example, understood “conventional” art techniques and could draw realistic pictures and it is through that knowledge that he arrived at what he eventually produced. Without the past you have no future.
WEEKLY: What drew you to Scottish folk music?
MK: I have played the pipes since I was 10 years old but it was only really when I was playing in Edinburgh in a pipe band in the early 1990s that I was introduced to lots of Scottish and Irish traditional music out with the piping tradition. My mother also does have some old Irish piping records, which I have listened to since I was a kid.
WEEKLY: What’s the longest period you have been separated from your bagpipes?
MK: Three weeks on a holiday once or twice.
WEEKLY: How has your time growing up in California affected your music?
MK: I don’t really know what affect growing up in California had on my piping but certainly playing other kinds of music informs the way I think. Making up raucous music with my pals taught me how to put things together. Just playing “stream of consciousness” music – most of which is of no interest – occasionally gave me good ideas.
For more information about the Battlefield Band visit their websiste at www.battlefieldband.co.uk or visit www.orcascenter.org.
