Scott Crabbe
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Mar 10/00) - From the Carpathian mountains in Central Europe to dusty southern Alberta, The Plaid Tongued Devils are taking their act all over the world.

And don't worry, they aren't going to miss Yellowknife on their tour. As a fund-raiser for Folk on the Rocks, the Devils will appear on stage at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre tomorrow night.

Originally from Calgary, Alta., the Devils have been cackling bar hoppers, pub prowlers and theatre buffs with tartaned tongues and "gypsy rock" since 1990.

"I don't think we're more of a pub band than we are a theatre band," said the band's mandulcimist and guitarist Alan Kolodziejyk. "It's two totally different scenes. When you're preforming in a pub, you're fending off the noise of the crowd who's there to talk and not pay attention to the band. When you're in a theatre the crowd is focusing on the instruments you play and every move you make."

The band's discography stretches back to 1994 with their debut Running with Scissors. They've since released two consecutive albums. Their second release in 1995, Tongue and Groove, saw their sound shift from pop rock to eastern European swing. In 1998, they released a rock opera -- In Klezskavania -- introducing the limitless boundaries of gypsy soul.

In Klezskavania was also the soundtrack to the theatre production of the same name written by lead Devil Ty Semaka.

"As far as In Klezskavania goes, it was a story featured on the stage," Kolodziejyk said.

"I suppose every band is pigeon-holed by the sound of the music they play. In our case we want to be pigeon- holed. Gypsy music encompasses all types of music. They (gypsy's) stole a little of everything from other bands, and other bands stole everything from them. We like it because we can get away with anything."

Their sound, which now incorporates a blend of ska for their upcoming album Struck, is complemented by the strings of Jonathon Lewis' viola, mandolin and pianorgan, John MacNeil's percussion and drums and Chipp Robb's always electric and sometimes stand-up bass.

Robb's on-stage antics further reveal the band's shenanigans that illustrate their silver-tongued play on words.

"It was a Halloween gig and we were all dressed like Russian peasants," Kolodziejyk said.

"Robb was dressed head to toe in red long underwear and had this huge devil's head on, (five feet from side to side, four feet around with a two-foot tongue hanging out).

"He ended up jumping into the audience and just disappeared. It was the strangest thing, we couldn't see him, but we could hear him playing.

"The next thing you know he came back on stage playing the base with one hand and holding a tray of shooters with the other. We never could figure out how he did it."

Be it the Seattle Folk Life festival or the hippy digs of Alberta's South Country Fair, the Devils have shared the stage with a league of legends including Blue Rodeo, Bob Weisman, Great Big Sea and the Skydiggers.

"Playing with the Skydiggers was a lot of fun," Kolodziejyk said.

"We played for a week in Banff together. After the shows we would sit around and discuss the social relevance of Tom Waits."

Further confessions detailing Canadian music camaraderie, and confines of a cow-town rock 'n' roll scene, are being captured in auto-biographical script by Kolodziejyk.

Current enquiries as to how the band will measure up have yet to be seen as the Devils get ready pitch their fork into the heart of the 'knife.