haggith

Mike Haggith - Percussion, Vocals, Guitar

Daniel Horton - Guitar, Vocals, Keyboard

Curtis McKenzie - Guitar, Vocals

Caleb Cachagee (Not Pictured) - Bass, Guitar

Jordan Leach - Bass

    Eager to form or join a band in Sault Ste Marie, as the extent of his local performances had been strictly solo in nature, Haggith sought out a group of musicians and found himself auditioning for Horton and McKenzie in May 2012.  At the time, the two had years of songwriting and limited performing history between them, and they auditioned Haggith predominantly with their own shared original material. After a strong first session, the group initially launched as a trio before adding Cachagee on bass in September 2012.  Horton and McKenzie moved to name the band HAGGITH, citing the lack of recognition of many drummers across the music industry, and the name stuck. Riding the success of their debut album Dragon Joy Ride in October 2012, and their concept album Apocalypse the following month, the band quickly rose to local notoriety, performing various stages and events throughout the city. In May 2013, HAGGITH released their second album, Deuce, at a private event to close friends and followers. While the group would continue to gain traction throughout the 2013 calendar year, creative differences began to take hold, and the decision was made to perform their final concert on December 7, 2013. Performing to a near-capacity crowd at The Algonquin Pub in Sault Ste Marie, HAGGITH took the stage for a blistering set of material which inadvertently ran until 2:27 AM, far past the planned end time, and saw a venue filled with smoke from the sound tech's fog machines, venue security trying desperately (yet unsuccessfully) to shut off power to the sound board, altercations between security and fans who wanted the show to continue, and eventually, the destruction of Horton's lead guitar by his own hand on the stage floor of the venue. Pieces of the instrument were given to fans of the group after the conclusion of the show.

     Though the group officially fell inactive after the Algonquin show, they settled their differences and reconvened in the studio in May 2014, working on a new set of original material including a new full-length hard rock record, and a sequel to their 2012 Apocalypse record. With a resumption in public activity and recording, the decision was made to relieve bassist Cachagee of his duties and hire Leach in his place in December 2014. While the group had intended to release their new hard rock album in October 2014, this deadline was missed due to a heavy performing schedule, and was pushed back to the following year. In March 2015, as the group was in final sessions for their concept album Apocalypse II and their long-awaited rock record was only one-third completed, Horton left the group and McKenzie re-hired Cachagee; this time, as the group's lead guitarist. As HAGGITH would now need to dedicate added rehearsal time to familiarize their newly-hired lead guitarist with his role, the decision to release their rock record, XIV, as a four-track EP, as only those four tracks had been completed. The final full-length release from the band would be Apocalypse II, an underrated piece of the group's discography. By the summer of 2015, with interest in the band waning and with other musical projects such as Mike Haggith And The Din on the rise, HAGGITH opted to disband without a final concert.