You Can Teach A New Old Dog New Tricks
Old Blind Dogs
by Dean “Pass The Haggis!” Bonzani
9.17.04
There is an ancient Zen koan that goes something like this: “If David Lee Roth is booted out of Van Halen, is it still Van Halen?”
The modern version of this question would ask, “If there is only one original member of Old Blind Dogs in the current line-up, is it still Old Blind Dogs?”
Well, yes and no.
Jonnie Hardie, one of the finest fiddlers that North East Scotland has ever produced, has been with the ‘Dogs since their beginnings 14 years ago, but has seen the departure of all of his original bandmates, and many of his new ones. This makes him something of a torch bearer for the approach that Old Blind Dogs brought to traditional Scottish music, an approach that reveres the songs of that tradition while broadening it with original tunes incorporating elements of rock, jazz, and reggae.
Though Hardie carries on what, for Old Blind Dogs, constitutes a “tradition within a tradition,” there are subtle differences in the various line-ups of the group that distinguish each version, and its recorded and live performance output.
It could be said that the lineage of this immensely popular Scottish band falls into two eras, the “Ian” era, and the “Jim” era. Follow along.
In the beginning, OBD was: Jonny Hardie on fiddle, guitar and mandolin, Buzzby McMillan on bass and cittern, Dave Francis on percussion, Carmen Higgins on fiddle, and Ian Benzie on vocals and guitar. Dave and Carmen left in 1992, and Davy Cattanach came onboard as percussionist. They recorded four bonny albums on Scotland’s KRL label, New Tricks, Close To The Bone, Tall Tails, and Legacy, and gained a wildly enthusiastic fanbase in Scotland and abroad with their passionate, almost frenzied performances, droll humor, and lovely vocal harmonies. This line-up is often referred to as the “classic” OBD.
In 1996, Fraser Fifeld was added, playing pipes and saxophone, and the group recorded their final album for KRL, entitled “Five.” In 1997, Davy Cattanach left and was replaced by Graham “Mop” Youngson, who brought a funky rhythmic approach to the group.
The “Ian” era ended with Benzie’s departure in January of 1999. Weary of the road, he returned to Aberdeenshire, where he, Jonnie and Buzzby had founded OBD. Fifeld also left, to pursue other projects.
Thus began the “Jim” era, with the introduction of Jim Malcolm on guitar, harmonica, and vocals. A fine, fine songwriter and solo balladeer in his own right, Jim brought a new perspective to the ‘Dogs, with his emphasis on the traditional music of Perthshire and Angus. Rory Campbell also joined the group at that time, playing small pipes and whistles, and Paul Jennings replaced Graham Youngson. The band recorded The World’s Room and Fit before Jennings was replaced by Fraser Stone in 2002.
In 2003, Aaron Jones replaced Buzzby McMillan on bass and bazouki. And there you have it.
Old Blind Dogs has a new album out, Gab O Mey, and like everything they’ve recorded, it’s a must-have. Live, they make the hair rise up on the back of your neck. They make you want to cry in your single malt whiskey one moment— “Battle of Waterloo,” for instance, brings tears to my eyes every time I hear Jim Malcolm sing it— then leap up on a tabletop the next, when they break into a jig or reel.
I must confess that I miss Ian, Buzzby, and Davy terribly, and wish that I could go and see the “classic” Old Blind Dogs. But (pausing to light a pipe with the end of a willow twig pulled from the fireplace, taking a deep gulp of ale, then wiping my soggy beard with the ragged sleeve on my threadbare wool sweater and sighing deeply)...I can’t.
But people say that the new Old Blind Dogs are a pack of fire breathers, and I reckon that’s probably true. They sing like wee Scottish birds, play fiddles and pipes that’d make the Devil dance, and put a new twist on music whose roots dig deep into the bedrock of the fair Isle. They play songs of loss and simple pleasures, war and love and betrayal. Songs so full of treachery and grief that you’ll want to curse the madness that bred this race. Then, a happy fiddle tune will fix everything up quite nicely.
For the initiated, it’s a new era of Old Blind Dogs. For those who have never heard the power and magic of these sterling lads’ music, you’ll not believe your ears.
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Old Blind Dogs at The Orpheum Theater, Fri., Oct. 1st.
©2004 by Dean Bonzani