"World's most recorded piper" Eric Rigler and his Celtic-flavored world music/fusion band Bad Haggis made important debuts in 2004 and 2005 at the nation's two largest Irish Festivals -- Milwaukee (2004) and Dublin, Ohio (2005) -- in two summer tours in the Midwest.

Bad Haggis blends award-winning piper Rigler's Scottish and Irish (uilleann) bagpipes and tin whistles with Mike Hoffmann's virtuoso lead guitar, Mick Linden's innovative bass and vocals, Colombian percussionist Alberto Lopez's array of Latin and African instruments and Brazilian drummer Rogerio Jardim's thrilling rhythms and vocals. They're a sonic stew of Celtic, world, jazz, Latin, African, rock, alternative and groove influences.

Also in 2005 the band pulled the plug, deciding to play occasional acoustic concerts. The move reflects the high-level musicianship of each player -- all five are in-demand studio session musicians in Los Angeles -- as well as band members' roots in traditional styles ranging from Scottish and Irish to Latin to jazz, says Rigler. Bad Haggis can generate a wave of amplified sound or a delicate whistle tune.

Their 2004 live studio DVD "Span" featuring salsa sensation and Hollywood actor Rubén Blades won two Surround Music Award nominations from High Fidelity Review magazine. And superpiper Eric Rigler? He's always in your ear. On more than 50 film soundtracks. On television's Crossing Jordan, JAG and other programs. On more than 100 recordings.

Perhaps best known for his work with composer James Horner on film scores for Titanic and Braveheart, Rigler's also heard on Troy, Master and Commander, Ladder 49, The Road to Perdition, Death to Smoochy, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, and many others."Hymn to the Sea" from Titanic appears on Bad Haggis's TRIP CD.

Rigler is heard on CDs by Josh Groban, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart, Faith Hill, Tracy Chapman, Rubén Blades, Barbra Streisand, Charlotte Church, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, and many others. And he's on television with original music and the occasional cameo on A&E's Crossing Jordan, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Grammy Awards and the Super Bowl.