Thanks!

Thanks to all the band members for their long hours and relentless vigour over the past week or so of Brier performances, St. Paddy's Pub Crawl, and Glendive. The band looked and sounded well at all times, and it was fun (albeit tiring) to do so much with the band in such a short time. If you brought someone along on the Friday night, please thank them from the band.

Thanks also to the Friends of the Library Committee in Glendive, and especially Pat and Brenda Mischel and Meneely Townsend who do so much to make it a great weekend for the band, and for the people of Glendive. And, thanks to all you folks in Glendive for coming out to the concert, following us on the pub crawl, and for going out of your way to say "welcome" and "thanks for coming."

There were some nice moments over the past week. It was great to see the size of band we can put out for things like the Brier, and to hear how well the Conservatory of Performing Arts Pipe Band blends with our own. It was good to hear some of the very good tone we were getting in the Glendive concert, and good to see the development of the snare line since Christmas. I'm sure we all have our own favourite moments...

On a completely unrelated note, I ended up at Buzz Brown's Image Event Site and there's our Kate Rennie, practising and playing with the 78ths. Good on you Kate, we all wish you the best of luck with the band, and we know you'll contribute. May all the pint glasses you fill be beer! : )

Tim Horton's Brier Meets St. Paddy's
Get some sleep while you're able...it looks like a big week ahead. OK, first there was the Saturday morning Opening Ceremonies for the Brier, followed by pipers at the draws three times a day, all week. Add to that the annual St. Paddy's Tour on Friday night, and then the bus trip to Glendive and back...full concert, bit of parade, and pub crawl...and THEN the bus home on Sunday to close out the Brier Sunday night at about 9:00 p.m. I'm thinking you'll all need any extra sleep you can get. And in case it's not obvious: save a clean shirt for the closing of the Brier...that one is going to be on TV. I'll be honest: I love St. Paddy's Day and the Glendive thing. I really like the pure fun of playing where people think it's great [even when it isn't always] and of course it meets some needs that keep us in reeds and drum heads and other good stuff. Did I mention that it's fun? I think the thing I really like is that while we are trolling through pubs and halls like every other band on the face of the planet, we are actually doing some good playing, and every now and again, there is a patron sober enough to appreciate that through all the green glitter. So, get the tunes ironed out, the bags seasoned, and the green glitter ready to go.