The Epic Battle

In the last days of the Queendom, messengers came from West the with tales of dark forces assembling in the foothills, while to the East the blue hordes continued to extend their reign. Quietly, the hobbits made drone reeds, and seasoned bags, and tightened heads, in the knowledge that they would soon meet the forces of darkness.

Easy to portray the pipe band scene like a Lord of the Rings movie. Good and evil are relative, of course, depending on what band you happen to be in. The classic battle of opposing moral forces is often the way these things are sold within bands, as a way to motivate people to prepare. It often amuses me how quickly people are able to transfer from one mindset to another, at least on the surface, when they change bands. Of course, within a band, we also see people differently when they leave the Queendom. It's just the way it goes sometimes.

When the band first formed, we had some clear and distinct rivals: The Clain McBain Pipe Band in Calgary, the Stirling Pipe Band in Winnipeg, and the Victoria Park Pipe Band here in Regina. Later, there was the Glengarry Pipe Band from Calgary [McBain offshoot], and the Edmonton & District Pipe Band, and off and on the St. Andrew's Pipe Band from Winnipeg, until about 2 years ago, when they've been ON the whole time.

It's hard for me to see the current situation like the LOTR. The dark forces on the West have as many old CRPB players as we do, and Winnipeg St. Andrews has its share, too. So in the words of one storied ex-member, how can we "get pumped to do battle"?

Well Frodo, you must look within. What are the things that you seek to conquer as a player? What things are you "battling" to overcome? Coming into another band weekend, we all need to think about what things we can do to take the team forward by improving what we have to offer as individual band members.

The dark forces we need to worry about are the ones we bring with us. In the end, they are the only things over which we have control.