#965 Rock bands with cool instruments really rock

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Yesterday we went to the Las Vegas Celtic Gathering & Highland Games and didn’t really expect to see rock bands with cool instruments but sort of did anyway. There were several really good bands. A couple of which were Wicked Tinkers and 1916.

(UPDATE- 1916 informed me today they have official changed their name to The Angry Brians. Check out their new website here.)

I was thinking about what I liked about these bands. They were not rock bands per se. At least not in the way you would call AC/DC or Black Label Society rock bands. Yet these bands were aggressive and in your face. So maybe they are ‘rock bands’. Should we define ‘rock’ as a type of popular dance music originating in the 1950s, characterized by a heavy beat and simple melodies. Rock and roll was an amalgam of black rhythm and blues and white country music, usually based on a twelve-bar structure and centered on the electric guitar with electric bass guitar and drums. Well, if that is the case what made these bands special? (Wicked Tinkers call themselves a “Tribal Celtic Sound Explosion”)

They had cool instruments. Instruments you do not normally associate with rock and roll music or rock bands. For instance CJ Henderson from Wicked Tinkers played the didgeridoo and bronze-age horn. Wait. What? Yeah. Here is CJ playing the bronze-age horn with his didgeridoo at the ready.

rock bands Wicked Tinkers

And what of 1916? They have a bagpipe player. Ok, not so unusual for celtic type music I guess. Still this band was rocking! Check this video Brenna shot:

And that was kind of mellow for them.

And this got me to thinking…

What other rock bands, and I will use ‘rock bands’ loosely, have or had cool or unusual instruments in them? I got to thinking about Bond or Bella Electric Strings. My friend Lydia Ansel used to be in that band. Now she has got a super cool DJ/Violin show you have got to see! These girls all play electric string instruments and they pretty much rock. Best way to listen to their music is loud. But that’s just me.

What about Kansas? They had a violin right? John Popper from Blues Traveler played harmonica. And what was that thing called that Peter Frampton used in “Do you feel like we do?” Eddie Van Halen used an electric drill on his guitar. And speaking of guitars Chris Ballew from The Presidents of the United States of America had a two string bass while Andrew McKeag and Dave Dederer only have three strings each. Soundgarden used the spoons. Radiohead used a glockenspiel while the melodica was used by both Oasis and Cake.

So electric violins and bagpipes are not that unusual I guess. I mean who else used them? Uh, let me think… Oh yeah. The Who used a violin in “Baba O’ Riley” and the bagpipes? Used in “It’s A Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock N’ Roll)” by AC/DC.

So I ask you- What other cool and interesting instruments do you recall being used in rock and roll music? Or, let’s just say in any music where you would not normally expect a rock band to use it? Let me know in the comments. Would love to hear from you. Especially if you are in one of these bands.

And a quick reminder:

Check out Wicked Tinkers and 1916 as well as Bella Electric Strings and Lydia Ansel.

PS- Does anyone in Las Vegas area have a theremin they could teach me to play? I remember seeing Shaz Sparks from 65dba play something that I think was a theremin years ago in the UK but never knew what it was called.

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48 Replies to “#965 Rock bands with cool instruments really rock”

  1. How about dismantled shopping carts, guitar percussion, electric hand sanders, springs, chains, theremins, etc….

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    • HA… Thanks. Love Sonora. We’ll be back there in October… and maybe well see you and your father there? 😀
      Thanks for the support.

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  14. Jeez. It’s been a long time I actually pulled out a piece of printer paper to take notes on a blog post lol. Thanks for this. You’ve earned yourself a new reader!

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  15. I wish more people would post valuable content like this. This is the first time I’ve been on your website, but after this, I doubt it will be the last time.

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  17. Love it when bands do something out of the ordinary, especially when it works within the context of the song. First thing that came to mind was Jackyl and the chainsaw haha, I see it was already mentioned in the comments. Also thought of Jimmy Page playing the guitar with a bow in ‘Dazed and Confused’.

    Also the theremin sounds great in the Beach Boys ‘Good Vibrations’.
    Fred recently posted…Seagull S6 Original Acoustic Review – All You Need to KnowMy Profile

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    • Glad you liked it.

      Please tell your family and friends about this site and use the Amazon link on the right side bar for all your Amazon shopping needs. You get the same low price and I get a little thank you gift from Amazon.
      Troy recently posted…#796 Warm woolen mittensMy Profile

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