I’ve done loads of studio gigs and the call is always for uilleann pipes.
GHB studio gigs are rare. Even when it’s the GHB which is seen onscreen, the composer always wants the sound of the uilleann pipes.
So it was interesting last weekend when the composer Steve Jablonsky wanted to use not one but five Highland pipers on the soundtrack to the upcoming movie Battleship.
There were only four “cues” for the pipe group. Was was a fairly fast thing with C naturals and F naturals throughout. One cue was nice and melodic but had one big fat High G sharp in it.
It was tricky getting all those unusual notes in tune with five pipers.
One cue was mostly long held High A’s and High G’s.
Here we are! L-R Kevin Weed (pianist, organist, symphonic composer and conductor), Yours Truly, Aaron Shaw (piper for Wicked Tinkers), Eric Boyd (piper for the Celtic rock band 1916), John MacLean Allan (guitarist in the Celtic rock band Stand Easy).
