Maxville 2008: Couldn't be Better
What a crazy couple of years for the band. From the high of a Scottish trip in 2006, to the low of not competing last year, to the even lower plateau of losing so many veteran members, and contemplating a future with no competitive CRPB. So here we are of the verge of a big band trip, and the players are all lined up. 14 pipers, 5 sides, 3 tenors and a bass. It's as big a band as we've ever played there. That's a long way from where things were in late 2007.

Congratulations to the band members who made it happen. Those of you who raised your level to play Grade 2, who travelled from a distance to play, who contributed enthusiasm and spirit to everything. For the first time ever, new players committed to 2x a week, and in the dead of winter came along for a tune late on a Wednesday night. Members contributed fundraising ideas, beef. quilts, time, volunteered in a wide variety of band related activities, all the while steadily working away to improve the band.

Regardless of contest placings upcoming, the season has been an unqualified success. We likely won't be the best or biggest Grade 2 band there, but we will have overcome the biggest obstacles to be there, and our presence on the field is a success for piping and pipe bands here on the prairie. And keep this in mind: it's a starting point. We going to go a distance.

Looking forward to playing with you all this week. Being a pipe-major is an odd position, and certainly trying of one's patience and sanity. I'll say this though—it's times like this, and this weekend, that makes it all worthwhile. I feel a little like Henry V [bring out your Shakespeare] before the battle. I look forward to standing with you on the field, and what we achieve will be measured not by a result, but by the fact that we faced the various challenges as a team.

KING HENRY V
What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin:
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires:
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England:
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more, methinks, would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made
And crowns for convoy put into his purse:
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

I Hear the Honking
The other day I was talking to Barbara about a recent job interview she had. She described how she used the V-formation of geese as an analogy to describe her leadership style. She likes to feel she is out front, but still likes to hear the honking of other geese behind. I guess we're all a bit like that. Sometimes, running a pipe band [is that what I do, or does it run me?] is a bit like that. You hope people are into what you are proposing. You hope that people are "behind you," and it IS good to hearing the honking.

My point: I hear it. I hear it in those great facial growths [The Mustache Silver Chanter], I hear it in the improvement of the sound and the tunes, in the tickets booked and paid for, the raffle tickets sold, the t-shirts ordered. Keep honking, keep practising.

Of Richard, Bags and Teamwork

Last night I was tying on a new sheepskin bag, and I got to thinking about Richard Parkes and the situation that he faced at the British Championships recently. Usually, we rely on Richard to teach us what great pipe sound is, how how to be gracious in victory, or a million other things about performance and preparation. This time, he teaches us that you're never too good to double-check your stocks and reeds. No matter how many Worlds and other majors you win, you still have to do the same stuff as the rest of us [only better] and of course, if you don't...

I was tying in the stocks when I thought of that, and it reminded me of SFU days when we would be hounded to check that stuff the night before, and when all players spent time agonizing over the details of the instrument. It all counts: what kind of hemp do you use on reeds? In which stock do you put the seasoning? How much?

So, make sure! Check your stocks, ensure your reeds are seated tightly, refine the joints on your drones, and [insert appropriate drum stuff here]. : )

While I was tying in the bag [which is BRILLIANT, btw], I was watching the Saskatchewan football game on TSN. The Riders' 1st and 2nd QB were both out of the game, and they brought in the 3rd string guy, who executed the game plan, and brought home the win. Teamwork is about doing YOUR job well. The biggest aspect of being on a team is knowing your role, and fulfilling it to the best of your ability.

As we haul down the last few weeks to Maxville weekend, and get prepared to compete there again, it's important for everyone to understand that the key to band success is YOU doing your part. And if the season so far is any measure—I'm sure you will.