Mudmen bringing their beloved live show to Memorial Hall stage next month
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
Ours is a big, sprawling country, populated with all different kinds of people, but there are still a few truly iconic things that we all agree are quintessentially Canadian. Things like curling, hockey, and The Mudmen.
The country’s favourite Celtic rock band is turning 25 this year, and its celebration of a quarter-century together is coming to Blyth’s Memorial Hall on Nov. 1. This bagpipe-wielding band of brothers mastered the art of putting on a high-energy show in any setting years ago, but this auspicious anniversary year is creating even more buzz around the upcoming show in Blyth than the average Mudmen performance, if there is such a thing. Hoping to get in on the excitement, The Citizen spoke to one of the bagpiping brothers himself, Robby Campbell, about how it feels to still be making songs and going strong after all these years.
The lineup of The Mudmen has seen some changes over the years, but the core remains the same with Robby and his brother, Sandy. They learned to love the bagpipes and Celtic music at a young age, on their family farm. “We grew up in a Scottish household,” Robby recollected. “My mom is half Irish, half Scottish. The land she still lives on in Alvinston, is a sixth-generation farm.”
When the Campbell family first came over from Europe, they purchased a parcel of Crown Land, and began working the earth into the farm it is today. “It’s been in the family the whole time. [Campbell’s mother’s] grandfather played the fiddle, and she plays the piano and loves the bagpipes. Then the neighbour-town’s barber was teaching free bagpipe lessons if you joined the pipe band. So we got playing the pipes!”
The Campbell brothers took their new piping prowess on the road, playing with world champion pipe bands, and touring with The Irish Rovers and John McDermott. They also showed Toronto how they play the pipes in Alvinston when they were cast in an Ed Mirvish production. The boys were soon signed to a record deal with EMI - the first bagpipers ever to be signed to a major label. The Campbell brothers were suddenly in high demand. They opened for the likes of ZZ Top and The Guess Who. “We’d supposedly hit the big time,” Robby explained, “and our record label would pay us $25 a show. For four years, we did that.”
Many musicians seek out cities to make a living, but the pipers found the opposite was true. During lean years, it was the rural towns that kept their act afloat. “Towns like St. Marys, Blyth, Kincardine, Owen Sound and St. Thomas - they kept us alive. My brother and I are blue-collar guys to the max, and we said we’ll never forget these little towns if we struck it big somehow.”
Since they made that promise, The Mudmen have performed with some of their favourite artists, like Glass Tiger, David Wilcox and The Trews. They’ve also performed at numerous major league sporting events, charity functions and big music festivals, but they still make time for those little towns. It means they’ve brought their Scottish song stylings to some unusual venues from time to time, but they take pride in making it work. “No Mudmen show is ever the same,” he explained. “The venue varies. It might be a rowdy beer tent, or a town hall. But once we play somewhere, we have, easily, a 97 per cent return rate.” At a recent show on the beach in Grand Bend, they watched 400 of their fans get sand blasted in their faces for the whole set. “They probably would have had a better experience in the controlled environment of Memorial Hall,” he quipped.
Twenty-five years touring the country is a lot of going around, but Robby is still loving every minute of it. “I get to spend lots of time with my brother, so that’s one good thing. And we get to meet the locals, and tell stories.”
They also enjoy sampling the regional cuisine of the various towns they stop at. “We were just up in Kincardine playing some shows,” Robby recalled. “We went to Mel’s Diner. It’s a typical Ma-and-Pa diner - friendly, good value for your dollar, unlimited coffee. We like to support the little guy. We‘re still kind of old-school guys. We drink at the Legion, and we drink Canadian beer. You’ve got to remember where you came from and who kept you in business.”
Robby thinks the show in Blyth is going to be a good one, and he’s one to know. “I think a good rock show comes back to ‘is the band on the stage real? Are they doing what they're selling?’ A band like Motley Crüe, for example - they don’t pretend to be good people. That’s their image, that’s what they’re selling - that's a good rock show.”
They’ve learned a lot of lessons as a band over the past 25 years, and Robby hopes to impart a bit of their hard-earned wisdom to those who are still about to rock. “Keep it true. Start a little fire, wherever you live, and just keep building it. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Don’t get sold the dream of record deals and get yourself into big debt. Keep it basic, and have your ears open - you can learn from everyone,” he advised.
In addition to these anniversary shows, The Mudmen are also working on a documentary and a book about the band. “I think people are going to be amazed when they hear the story of what we’ve done and how we got to where we are. We’ve been taken for everything we own a few times. Then you’re sleeping in your car, and have to rebuild this thing. We’ve got a hell of a story - Netflix should want to pick it up. We just need that big ending, like, playing Massey Hall for seven nights. Something crazy for the ending.”