The whole idea of rock band Nazareth is to have a good time, be it playing the bagpipes on stage for their big hit “Hair of The Dog,” or 
introducing new music or playing the plethora of smash hits they have had in a career going back 40 years.
“We’ve been doing that forever (playing bagpipes on Hair of the Dog) It’s meant to be a laugh, because we’re all Scottish,” laughed lead singer Dan McCafferty, enjoying a couple days off in Vancouver between shows on their current tour which brings them to Average Joes, Tuesday, July 19.
“We hope there aren’t any serious bagpipe players in the back, saying ‘that guy can’t play bagpipes,” because it really is meant to be a laugh,” he said.
At the beginning of the year they look at their vast repertoire of songs and decide what to play.
“We do have a basic set. We have a lot of songs. Some of them are more popular in different countries. In Canada “Sunshine” is really popular. People play it at their weddings, so we play that and things like “Razamanaz” and “Hair of the Dog.”
They have just released a new CD “Big Dogz,” and will be playing some of that as well. They have added three songs from in including “Big Dog’s Going to Howl,”, “Radio,” and “When Jesus Comes to Save the World Again.” the latter has become very popular in Europe and in fact the album is starting to chart over there.
“Response has been very good. We’re very fond of the album It’s quite a diverse album,” he said.
“But we can’t go out and just play the album because people bought their tickets to hear ‘This Flight Tonight,’ but we can introduce them to the album,” he continued.
Drummer Lee Agnew (son of founding member, bassist Pete Agnew) and guitarist Jimmy Murrison played an essential role in the writing of the new music. Guitarist Jimmy Murrison co-produced the CD with Yann Rouillier (who also produced their last CD “the News” ) in Sono Studios in Prague.
“They were with the band for a long time before we recorded again. We did “The Newz” a few years ago (in 2008) but before that we took a long break from recording,” he said.
“It was all good. We all write and we all sing, but it has to fit in with Nazareth and my voice. There were two or three songs we jammed on, but they brought in completed songs, but we all had to realize it’s for Nazareth. And Jimmy has been with Nazareth for 17 years which is longer than any other guitarist,” he said.
“These young guys are taking care of us old blokes, so that’s very nice of them,” McCafferty laughed.
“They are more aware of modern technology but they like to keep the sound real. Jimmy likes a Marshall stack and a guitar without much processing. And Lee likes a natural sound on his drums. With everybody using ProTools and processing, snare drums all sound the same. And what’s the point of that,” he asked.
He said they have been involved with beginning their latest tour, so don’t know if the new music is getting radio airplay.
He agreed the radio play issue is frustrating.
“It is. It’s a lot different than it is now. It’s more corporate now. One corporation owns like 29 radio stations. And there’s not a lot of diversity. You don’t hear a lot of rock and roll being played. It’s more difficult for all artists, though they’ll play the classic rock. but even Deep Purple doesn’t get a lot of play,” he observed.
“Metallica won the MTV music award, but you don’t often see them being played.”
So Nazareth makes their living on the road.
“We like doing it. It’s reall and a lot of fun. We’re too old and ugly for MTV. So we tour a lot. It’s old school, but I suppose that’s what we are.”
He said their whole career has been a highlight, despite being involved with standard record industry stories of getting robbed by managers and record companies.
“I don’t have any regrets. When we started, we were in our mid-20s and quit good jobs. Even my wife said ‘You’ve got to give it a shot.’ So we tried it and it became our life. It’s been great. Maybe the highlights haven’t even happened yet,” he said.
Tickets for the show, which begins at 8:30 p.m., July 19 cost $40.
