Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Moose Jaw & Regina: A Good Start
That was fun. The debut for new instruments and band members was pretty good, and got better as the weekend went on. It was a good start. The thing is this: I think it has the potential to be much better. How good could it be, musically speaking? That might be in your hands—if you are a band member. There are some areas to improve, and many of them have to do with individual levels of readiness and performance.

Go back to one of the very early posts on this blog [http://crpb.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_crpb_archive.html] for January 20 and you'll note that I have been thinking about this for awhile. To make the next steps, the individual levels of readiness and confidence in preparation have to be higher. On your mark, get set...

Great work over the weekend. That was our most impressive season start to-date, except maybe in 1993, when it was absolutely stunning to show up with a new band and win. Very nice to win drumming both days, and great job by all on making that possible.

One of the best moments of the weekend for me was this: after playing one of the Grade 4 band events, two long-time friends of pipe bands in Regina who refer to themselves as "CRPB Roadies" [but in fact have been supporters of the Fraser, Victoria Park, City of Regina and Conservatory bands] came up with a donation for the band's trip to Scotland. "Let's cut out the perogy middleman," they said,"and get this straight into the band fund."

Playing some good music, and having the support of friends to do it, is what it's all about.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Schedule Changes: Good News/Bad News
We've had an up and down week on the scheduling front. First, we added several fundraisers to the schedule, then we heard that Red Deer Highland Games had cancelled the piping and drumming portion of their games, and so it makes little sense to travel to Ellerslie, either. So, take those games off the list, and our first competition after this weekend is....North Berwick!

The good news is that members won't have to spend the money to travel and eat in AB over that weekend. We WILL be planning to do something that weekend, though, so keep it open and send your ideas. Band weekend practice? Concert? Recording? All three?

Also, we received an invitation to play at George Square again this year as part of the Glasgow International Piping Festival. Brush off your "Black Donald's Suite." Tune list to come.

Looking forward to the weekend. Hoping that the weather gods are smiling on us, for a change.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Sad, But True
Having recently passed the half-century mark [and many thanks to all who made it such a great occasion] I have to admit that at my age, after way too many years of doing it, I still get...uh, what is the current word... pumped? stoked? psyched? excited? anticipatory? about a big weekend band practice.

This weekend is not different. We have people coming in to get ready to compete, all-day drumming sessions, NEW BAND CHANTERS [didja hear that?] to put in, and possibly some fun, too. The thing that I really like is that people are coming from a long way to play with the band. They are making a big investment of time, cash and enthusiasm in what we have going here. My goal is always to make that investment pay for people, from near and far.

And, Dave says he's going to make cookies. C'mon, beat that.