Bagpipes, kilts and the copious consumption of Scottish whisky will be the order of the day this weekend, as the Celtic-flavoured punk rock band The Real McKenzies take over Coasters.

The Vancouver-based band is playing two shows at the local pub tonight and Saturday evening. Both are licensed events, open to people over the age of 19.

These shows were organized by Chris Gilberds' recently formed music promotion company, Tundra Punks, the appearance of which marks a return of punk music in Whitehorse.

'This new insurgence of punk rock in the Yukon is music for people our age who couldn't give a piss about Nazereth or folk,' Gilberds said in a recent interview

'Don't get me wrong; folk music has a world of influence on almost every type of music out there.

'But if you're not a raver or dance freak and you want to see and live something more than a 40- to 50-year-old reliving the good old days of the '70s, or if you just like it hard and creative and young, then this town needed something much, much more.'

Gilberds was an active show organizer in the early to mid-'90s and it seemed only natural for him to get back into it.

'As far as where this is going, who knows? That's why it's fun,' he added. 'The Yukon is on a turning point here as far as music and our access to it here, live!'

This has led to Gilberds restarting his work this past summer.

Following The Real McKenzies, Tundra Punks will present Dayglo Abortions on Nov. 30 and Misfits on Dec. 31.

Earlier this week, the Star spoke with Dave Gregg, a guitarist for The Real McKenzies.

'I've been reading the best of Robert Service, I've been doing my homework,' said Gregg, enthusiastic about coming north. 'We're all very excited about it.'

The Real McKenzies formed in 1992 and, over the years, have risen to become a dominant force on the Canadian punk music scene.

At present, the band is in Vancouver in the midst of recording a new album but is taking a break to come north.

'I'm from Saskatchewan,' said Gregg. 'I grew up in the North and I live in New York City now, so I miss that crisp, pristine kind of feel that a northern winter can give you.'

Despite Gregg's upbringing, some of the band members have indeed never experienced the North and extreme cold.

'We've been terrorizing them with stories of how their feet are going to freeze to the ground if they don't keep moving,' he said. 'We're going to go to the Salvation Army and pick up some long underwear and gloves and mittens and scarves and things so that they'll be prepared.

'If you haven't really experienced that kind of cold, you really don't know what will hit you.'

For the new album, the current working title is The Lads Who Fought And Won.

'That's the name of a song we recorded on Remembrance Day, about the experience of the Canadian soldiers at Vimy Ridge,' said Gregg.

'We had a moment of silence in the morning before we started to pay our respects.

'Hopefully, the spirit of some of those fellas who lost their lives who got caught up in all that craziness will somehow channel through us. This song might hopefully communicate the idea that repeating some of those events of history doesn't have to happen.'

A large part of the band's sound is made with the bagpipes, a unique instrument which can be hard to adapt to punk music.

'The bagpipes would have to be the loudest, most piercing instrument ever created,' said Gregg.

'The bagpipes are a really interesting and unique instrument in that they have the drone in B flat and so what we've been trying to do is write tunes to allow the band to play in something other than B flat and find a way to tip the bagpipe scales into other keys and we've actually been successful in doing this and it's really been a lot of fun.'

'It's quite exciting stuff because the bagpipe is a big part of our sound,' he added.

While Gregg may be the newest member of the band, having joined the lineup two years ago, he is actually the oldest member. When he started playing punk rock, some of the other band members were only 10 years old.

As such, punk music has a decidedly different meaning for him as it does for some of them.

'Punk rock in 1978 was very much about the substance of what you were doing musically or artistically and not so much about the style of your guitar playing or drumming or haircut or anything like that and really was a very broad range,' he said, recalling his early days.

'Over a period of time, the most outrageous person with the green mohawk is going to be the one that gets the press time,' he continued.

'If you went to a punk rock concert in 1979, there would be a hundred people there and they would all look different, so which one is the photographer going to take a picture of? It's the one with the lime green mohawk.

'The music that was being played was really broad-based, but when people talked about it, it was the hardest, fastest, most outrageous of the bunch.

'Gradually, people that are just growing up into it started to emulate that look and that sound as has been held up in the press as the example of.'

Because of this, his band mates grew up with a different perspective of what the music they're making means and where it comes from.

'The fact is, from my perspective, the music has become fairly easily definable and a narrow kind of thing,' he said. 'It's become more of a style than it used to be.'

Of greater concern to Gregg, however, is the infusion of Scottish traditions into the music.

'The Celts, what is that today?' he asked. 'There's a phenomenon of people wanting to reconnect with cultures and ancient ways of thinking about things.

'To me, it's pretty dubious of how much of a connection you can make with ancient cultures, but I really like wearing my kilt and I think it's important to recognize the traditions. I'm not sure really how much mystical power there is in it, but enough to keep me interested.'

Gilberds is excited at having booked such a top notch act as The Real McKenzies.

'I've noticed that the Yukon, and especially Whitehorse, wants to keep its image of chilled-out folks who dig their groovy folk festivals,' he said.

'They're pushing that image while at the same time trying very hard to bring more and more people here, turning this city into just another big city.

'But as the big city problems mount, music does what it always does it reflects the times. Punk rock is the perfect complement for all of our 14- to 30-year-olds. It reflects our feelings.

'People are sick and tired of yet another folk festival, or maybe another long-dead and forgotten wankey '70s rock revival show. We want it raw, hard and in your face.'

Gregg hopes the band will get to enjoy some of the highlights the territory has to offer, as well as indulge in some drinking of beverages.

'We do like beverages a lot and fortunately we're all of the character of getting a little bit of a grow on makes us happy,' he said.

'It would be a drag if one or more of us were mean drunks because we have been known to get a little bit tipsy.

'Nothing would make me happier staggering down the streets of Whitehorse, staring up at the northern lights with a paper cup full of scotch. I'd have to say life is pretty good.'

Doors open at 9 p.m. for both shows. As of press time this afternoon, both shows still had tickets left.