Bodega (band)

Bodega is a Scottish band based in Glasgow, formed in March 2005. Its members met while they were studying together at the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music in Plockton, Scotland, from which they all graduated. The group was originally called Fiddle Dee Fiddle Dum.

The group has five members:

*Gillian Chalmers (from Fraserburgh), border pipes, low whistle, and fiddle
*Ross Couper (from Shetland), fiddle
*Tia Files (from Oban), steel-string acoustic guitar, bass guitar, djembe, and vocals
*Norrie MacIver (from Lewis), lead vocals, accordion, steel-string acoustic guitar, and djembe
*June Naylor (from the Isle of Skye), nylon-string clàrsach

A sixth member, Sandie Forbes (fiddle and vocals) played with the group until 2006. [http://www.sandieforbes.com/SF_Bodega.html] The group's members were all born between the years of approximately 1987 and 1989.

The group performs traditional Scottish and Irish music, as well as newly composed material by its members, combining improvisation and eclectic influences from jazz, rock, funk, and other non-traditional genres. It also performs American repertoire, such as "Wagon Wheel" by Old Crow Medicine Show. The lead singer, Norrie MacIver, sings in both Scottish Gaelic (including waulking songs and "puirt à beul") and English.

In late 2005 the group won the 2005/2006 BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/12_december/14/folk.shtml] They have toured Europe and the United States several times.

Discography

*2006 - Bodega (Greentrax)
*2008 - Under the Counter (Greentrax)

External links

* [http://www.atlanticedgemusic.com/bodega.php Bodega page]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/12_december/14/folk.shtml Bodega page] from BBC site

Listening

* [http://www.atlanticedgemusic.com/bodega.php Bodega audio samples]
* [http://www.musicscotland.com/acatalog/Bodega.html Bodega audio samples]
* [http://www.myspace.com/musicbodega Bodega page]
* [http://www.sandieforbes.com/SF_Bodega.html Bodega live performance]