Saor Patrol are the kilted band of warriors who are regular favourites at the annual Rock & Blues Custom Show.
They are no strangers to 'raising the roof'
as you'll see from their very worthy work with
The Duncarron Project! Read on to find out more...

1. What are you currently up to? (e.g. touring/studio,etc.)
We are currently performing in and around The Edinburgh Festival. We haven't done it seriously for a couple of years but have plans to really stomp through it next year. It's where we've traditionally secured a lot of our future bookings. At the end of the festival we usually hit the recording studios and put down all the new stuff for the next album. Our latest cd Full Throttle is due for release in September and we're having a launch party at the Hootenanny in Brixton.
Also, we're not just a band - we're involved in a lot of film productions, and also we promote culture and heritage worldwide and are currently involved in a £300K educational venture called The Duncarron Project. We are building a medieval Motte and Baillie fortified village in central Scotland. While this will primarily be an educational facility it will also double as a visitor attraction, film and TV set, and also as event-space for other user groups. We have been moving forward with this project  since the year 2000. The Clanranald Trust has spent over £150K in hard cash and that’s money raised by the likes of us in the band and other volunteers in the group. We donate 20% of everything we make from gigs to the trust.

2. Please give us a brief history of Saor Patrol and the style of music you play. Introduce us to the other band members and tell us how you got together, what the band's name means, and who your biggest influences are.
Saor Patrol has a double meaning for us from our Clan days. The word Saor comes from the Gaelic word Saorsa which means liberty and freedom. Folk always say it or spell it wrong haha! But hey, there’s a little bit o' culture in it! The band formed six years ago and the line up that stands together today is the tightest group of mates I have ever had the chance to perform with. Three of us go back 25 years. We got together through being part of The Clanranald Trust.

3. This isn't a standard 'rock' band by any means! How (and why!) do you think Saor Patrol fits into the rock genre?
We called our sound “Celtabilly” from the start. It's other people in the industry and the fans that put us there really, they can hear our Rock influences and beats and simply go nuts when they feel the sound. We are rough and raw and we keep it Tribal. People always say “You Rock” so we do. I get pretty aggressive with the bagpipes!

4. How important do you feel the internet is for promoting your music etc., and what do you think of the proliferation of sites such as MySpace, Bebo, Facebook etc?
More and more our youths seem to be familiar with the web. I've already seen our music being ripped off big time on some of these download sites. Personally I would love five minutes with the guilty parties. They are taking the food from our families’ table as I see it. Nothing short of theft. So we are currently battling with that and uploading it ourselves in the hope that folk will direct the funds to Saor Patrol. Our music, our right. As for promoting through the web I think it’s a good thing simply because of my opening line. It seems that people are getting together through computers, like everything else it has good uses and bad uses. If someone stumbles across our site, then they will tell two or three friends and before you know it bands have a whole audience out there promoting the band through each individual's networking. One of the means to success is networking. Working in the film industry we know all about that one!

5. What music/dvds do you have available, and where can we find out more about them?
Our first album was Esspee, then Black Bull, and our third was Full Boar. The latest release is Full Throttle, on the Madman record label. Black Bull and Full Boar are available through our website and Full Throttle can be purchased from online record stores (Amazon, HMV etc) or you get it in the traditional way by calling into your local record store to order it!!!

6. What has been the highlight(s) and lowpoint(s) of your career to date?
Our highlights come once a year when we get to perform at the Rock and Blues Custom Show! It’s the ultimate buzz for me personally and we all look forward to it. One year we got to play right after the headliner, just before the wet t-shirt competition. So front stage was absolutely mobbed. And the Levellers, who I think do one of the best live shows I have ever seen, came off early because they wanted to hear us before they had to dash off to Brussels! Would you believe it?? Well you can guess what we had to cope with, it was our first bash there, and we were up in front of 15,000 - 20,000 folk already going mental after The Levellers. I was buzzing for nearly six months on that alone! We get to meet some really good-hearted people. Folk just want to help us get on and that’s something else. We can’t express how much we appreciate it. This year I was well surprised at the numbers who came to see our opening set. All you people that support us at the RBCS are just spot on, the crack is really good. And whether the crowd is 200 or 20,000 we always give it our all. We get the usual wind-ups wearin kilts and all, but everyone gives us a fair old roar!
Also, when we worked on the movie sets such as Gladiator and the recent King Arthur we were entertaining people like Ray Winstone, Kiera Knightly and Russell Crowe. We would all find a pub and kick up a storm and party just about every weekend to blow off steam. We played at the Guild Hall for the premiere of King Arthur. That was a right shindig!
I would say our low point was the downtime we had last year due to bad health. We did a lot of gigs in Europe and even got as far as Taiwan but it took its toll.

7. How easy or difficult has it been to get gigs and promotion for gigs, and what are your views on 'talent show' television programmes such as Pop Idol, The X Factor etc?

It's difficult to fill every week and month with gigs, partly because we don’t have the contacts and partly because we have The Duncarron Project in hand. Big bucks or sponsorship would help to finish it, leaving us free to get on with band life!
Having said that, every gig we've had to date, we've got through word of mouth and recommendations. We hope to perform at Happy Days next year.

Talent show programmes may be good in the short term for some acts, but where do they all go?? We wouldn't go down that road. It's not about pride, sometimes you have to bite the bullet and take a risk, but the first thing they would try and do is change us.

8. What has been the band's most Spinal Tap moment so far?
Haha, we have a few that could get us arrested! The tamest was one time in a pub in Workington in England. We'd been asked during the day while we were performing at a medieval bash if we would stand in for a band that didn't turn up. We sent Steve (ex band member) in to see if it was cool while we unloaded. He came out and said “aye it looks fine”. So in we strolled wi drums over shoulders and pipes under arms in our usual attire. Not only did we receive a croc of racial remarks before we even got to the stage, but the room kinda cleared and there was a load of English skins wi everything but 'Oi!!!' tattood on their foreheads, Wee Wayne (another ex member ) says 'Bollocks where’s the chicken wire???'.

I pointed out the fire exit for when it all kicked off. Then I said we’ll give it three tracks and fight our way out. Man we were second track in and these guys were buying us beers like there was ten of us. You couldn't see the table. Soon as they saw we weren't about stuffing Scottishness down anyone's throat, they couldn't get enough of us. The manager was blown away, and said he had never seen so many people enjoy an act like that in seven years. Ripped the roof off we did, haha.

What do you all like doing in your spare time?
If I am not training, (I'm into martial arts), I'm otherwise busy with getting The Duncarron Project built. Kev, when he's not eating or sleeping which he does a lot, rides horses and helps with the project. Mark runs a hotel in the Borders, Marcus likes fishing but has been site manager on the project for over a year now and works with the volunteer movements on site. Jesus works for GNER, helps with the fort when he can, and produces horn- and leather-craft products.

10. Please give a message to your fans.
We hope we give you what you like for many years to come. We will evolve - as all bands should do. We will always keep it wild and we promise to listen to what you guys have to say. Thanks for your support. Dance harder and we play harder!

© Get Ready To Rock - 20th August 2007