Another Great Weekend at the Games

The Moose Jaw and Regina Highland Games are now past, and it was a great weekend. The weather was fine for band events, and unfortunately was miserable in the mornings both days. Players suffered through cold and biting wind on Saturday in Moose Jaw [still not sure why] and Regina was indoors in the morning.

The Conservatory of Performing Arts Pipe Band emerged from the weekend as Saskatchewan Grade 4 Champions for the 4th time in the last five years, and many of the band members did well in solos, so it was a great weekend for all in the organization.

The City of Regina Pipe Band played no small role in the weekend, despite not being "on the field" for competition. Band members organized the piping and drumming events, the Queen City Open Highland Dancing Championship, and members played a variety of volunteer and support roles throughout the weekend. As well, the band played at the Regina Ceilidh, and that was quite a bit of fun, and good to get a couple of people out for the first time since...Perth Highland Games!

This week, we're looking forward to a vist from Tom Foote and we'd encourage all drummers to take advantage of the workshop on May 26. Details HERE.

On Your Mark, Get Set...

The next two to three weeks are going to be busy. There is the start of the Scottish pipe band season, and me making a Grade 1 attempt with ScottishPower, and while the prairie season has already started, the May Long Weekend Games usually is a "start" for many bands. This year, the CRPB will be playing at the Regina Highland Games Ceilidh with whatever members we can muster for the event, and of course working hard with the Conservatory of Performing Arts Pipe Band and its competitions over the weekend.

On that note, Brandon Games was a great day for the band members,m with lots of piping and drumming prizes across the board and two very improved band sets from Winnipeg Games in February. The new medley was well received, and the band played very well in that event. [OK, we were surprised, but it was a good surprise!]

So, a number of CRPB members are heavily into organizing parts of the Games weekend here, so it will be busy. The weekend following, we are having a one-day drum workshop with Tom Foote who currently hails from Rochester, NY and is a member of the Toronto Police Pipe Band. Tom has a long history with Grade 1 bands going back to the Clan MacFarlane, 78th Fraser Highlanders and Metro Toronto Police. If you are a snare drummer and anywhere close...you should come. Details here.

What does any of this have to do with the City of Regina Pipe Band? Well, just this: all the current band members' new experiences, organizational contributions, and skill development are going to come back to the CRPB when it gets back competing.

Brandon Games This Weekend

I always have liked going to the Brandon Indoor Games. For years, it was organized single-handedly by PM Alex Cupples, and he looked after the judges, sold tickets, harassed soloists and pipe majors, organized the stewards, did the anouncements...well, you get the picture. It was a one-man show. His supporting team was his late wife, Jenny, and his family members and students, and the members of the Brandon Shrine and 26th Field Regt. bands.

Now, the Games is run by students of Alex: Dave Kyle and Richard Wilson, and they have a great supporting team, too. Their team includes Alex himself, who meets and greets, opens his home to folks, and harasses the recitalists about not playing enough piobaireachd.

Alex Cupples is one of the great characters of prairie piping. He came to Canada in 1973 or '74 after a career with the British Army as a pipe major in the Gordon Highlanders. He was PM of a good civilian pipe band, Livingston and Pumpherston, and he had instruction from some of the greats. He arrived on the prairies as a great gust of fresh air, and he set about organizing. He brought amateur solo grading—as opposed to age categories—to the prairies, and he has been a tireless volunteer, judge, teacher, organizer and cheerleader for regional piping.

This weekend the Conservatory Pipe Band will be competing in Brandon, and all the kids are in the solos, and it's always a great time. The thing that I've really come to value over the years is the tremendous energy and commitment it takes to run these events, and the ability to catch up and enjoy tunes with so many good people.

A Year Off the Competition Field

The band recently took the decision to not compete in 2007. This was not reached easily. The band has competed each year since it was formed in the Fall of 1992, and for those 14 years the band has been Saskatchewan's premier pipe band, and has also won contests near and far. This year, it was not to be. The loss of a valued lead drummer in January to university studies, and thin numbers in the snare line for mixed reasons...and getting on the contest field at the level we desire is beyond what can be done this year.

The good news is that our advertising for a LD has drawn the attention of some very good people, and we are following up some exciting prospects for the future. Also, we have some new members recently acquired, and we are looking forward to re-launching the band's competitive streak next Fall, just in time to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the organization.

In the meantime, band members have sought other competitive opportunities to keep the skills up, and it'll be a great summer for many as they experience other bands and other competitive circuits. The band will be playing at a few events upcoming, and we are working hard on the Highland games weekend, the SPBA summer school, and other events. So, business as usual, but not on the contest field this year.

Stay tuned. We'll be back. It'll be the time of your life.

St. Paddy's Postscript

Sure another year has come and gone, and things have been hectic, since we got back, so not a lot of time to be blogging about all that fun and music south of the border. Suffice to say we had a great time [and have photos to prove it] and we played a lot of tunes.

Thanks to the Celtic Committee headed by Pat Mischel in Glendive, and to the staff at the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Centre. We had a great time, and it was very fun to play for such good crowds. A big thank you to the various establishments that kept freely oiling the mighty wheel of the band thirst on the pub crawls! Madhatters was mad indeed, and there were far too many Clan MacGregor drams!

It was great to have Andy Rogers with us on the trek. Andy played some great tunes, and we had more than our share of fun. Thanks to band members, and especially the rookies, for coming down for three days of madness. When I was at the border crossing on the way home, the Border Guard said, "OK, that last car of people looked pretty green around the gills!"

Must'a been something they ate...

Anyway, here are the photos we'll share:
Click here!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

For a few years now, the band has been making good fun on St. Patrick's Day. We started a few years back doing the American thing: going bar to bar on St. Paddy's, raising free drinks and spare change, and having good fun and banter along the way. Of course, every so often a puzzled and likely sober bar patron asks what's with all the Scottish pipe bands playing on St. Paddy's, and we simply smile and shrug. There is no answer, except that it's fun and accepted.

Our tradition on St. Paddy's has had two strong focal points for the last few years, one being O'Hanlon's Pub in Regina as the start and finish of the crawl, and for the last five years the people of Glendive, Montana have welcomed the band each year. We perform in a concert on Saturday afternoon at their beautiful High School theatre, and often play at locations in the town. Some years there has been a parade, some years Seniors' Homes, the Library, businesses...and it finishes with a fantastic pub crawl through the eight or so bars and clubs on the main strip in Glendive. It's great fun, social, and the people couldn't be friendlier or more welcoming.

Every year, there is a great band of older guys who crank out the classic rock tunes in one of the bars, and we end up dancing long into the night after the pub crawl is done. When the weekend is over, we always have a boatload of stories, jokes and one-liners to last the season.

This year we have new bass drummer in [our] uniform for the first time, a dedicated djembe player, a bass guitar player, and some new band members, plus special guest Andy Rogers from NB, who will be bringing his considerable piping and social skills to Glendive with the band. Stay tuned for the full report.

And wherever you are, have a great day Saturday.

Bring on the Kids
Last weekend a number of us were in Winnipeg at their Scottish Festival. They have a good turn out of bands, a great location for a contest, and a very good team of people working on the event. It is usually the "first brush" with the season for prairie bands. Nobody is in top form in February playing indoors, but it's always fun to see who has what kilt on, etc.

I did come away from the event a little bit perplexed at the state of—for lack of a better term—juvenile pipe bands. Most of the "kids" bands are not kids bands any longer, and those that are active have small numbers, including our own Conservatory Pipe Band. An examination of the solo entries and results also shows a lack of numbers. Many of the soloists heard in all grades are adults, and the largest bands are adult bands.

Contrast that with the scene years back, when Saskatoon had two junior bands, Moose Jaw had two, Regina had one very large one with an "A" and "B" band, and Winnipeg had several. These days, the biggest bands are those Grade 4 and 3 bands full of enthusiastic adult learners or what I sometimes call "re-treads," the people who come back to piping in their 30s and 40s after years away.

Now, I'm all for people of all ages coming back to piping, or taking it up at any age, and it's great to see them out at Games and entering contests. Take a casual glance at the photos from workshops, summer schools and other events that you can see online. You'll find the majority of people to be adults. The winningest Grade 4 band at Winnipeg? An adult band.

The adults are great. They are fun to teach, buy lots of stuff from retailers, enter contests, and contribute a lot, but they aren't the future of good piping and drumming. As always, the people who start as children, have solid teaching and good experiences, will be the future of good music in our band and solo music. I have huge enthusiasm for kids working hard and raising their level, while having a lot of fun with their friends and the music, and frankly, I don't see enough of it. Bands in this part of the world need to focus on youth and building musicians with skills. We need a culture of fun and an attitude that strives for excellence.

If the trend continues, there won't be junior bands on the prairies. There will be Grade 4 bands and Grade 5 bands which have some kids in them learning, but which are mostly adults. That might be good for the retailers of piping gear, but bad news for the future of good piping and drumming in this area.

What are the solutions?

Lead Drummer Wanted

Currently, the band is doing what it can to get ready for the season, and a very limited competition season at that. Looking ahead, it's clear that we are in the place where we need some fresh leadership in the drum corps. Grade 2 is more competitive than ever before, and to remain in the grade we need to develop the drumming program from the bottom up.

Not to say that we haven't had success there. The drummers who have come through the Grade 4 band so far have done very well indeed, playing in the Grade 2 band, and being "recruited" now by other Grade 2 and 1 bands. And, the drummers we have had coming up from Grade 4 have kept afloat at the Grade 2 level these past two seasons. Now, however, we need someone to step forward.

We need that pipe-band-passionate, people-friendly, collaborative, builder to come to Regina. Are you here already? That would be cool. The band has a lot of offer. We have a "turn-key" operation in terms of equipment and facilities, and what we need now is the right drumming guru to take hold and help develop drumming from the ground up.

And make no mistake: there's as much challenge as opportunity. You'll be planting trees on a dry plain...it takes lots of buckets of water, patience and a bit of luck to grow it. But you'll be part of a team that's been doing it for a few years, and we'll start running. Check out the web site, and let us know if you're interested.

Fifteen Years, And Still a Great Event
Whether you were there during the day, and saw the many great community groups performing to a busy hall, or braved the -30°C to attend the Ceilidh at night, you'd have to think it was a pretty good day of entertainment. It's always a big event for the pipe band, because it breaks in new members and new music, and it has been one of our staple fundraisers for all those years.

As usual, we played some good stuff, played some less-than-good stuff, and had a lot of fun. Shona Le Mottee and Tim Readman were outstanding. People who stayed at home missed a great show in all respects. Shona is an amazing player, and Tim's backing and vocals were a highlight. I look forward to hearing them again.

Thanks to the band members and volunteers for their hard work before and at the event. People pitched in and made it happen, and a few played key roles. Catherine organized the Celtic Fair, Angela the food for the day, Sharon and Allan Schmidt did the bar and silent auction with help from their team, and a variety of people assisted with posters, tickets, auction, etc.

Thanks to the sponsors and and the people who came out, and to the various media outlets for their help promoting.

For me, the MWCF has always been about playing, raising some cash, and creating that "feeling" in the hall where people go home and say, "damn, that was fun." We haven't always succeeded at all three, but we've pretty much always nailed the last one. This year was no exception.

You Know What to Do
For 15 years now, the band has been organizing the Mid-Winter Ceilidh. It grew from an event to a festival of many events, back to a ceilidh, and then to a one-day event capped by the ceilidh at night. It is the band's first [real] public performance in most years, and it is also a great night, because we always have other notable performers. This year is no exception. Check out Shona's web site, and go to MySpace to hear some sound clips.

Reading the various comments on previous blogs, you get the idea that there are lots of people around who watch pipe band news in the area, but who don't maybe play anymore. My assumption is that you care about pipe bands in Regina, otherwise why read the blog, or comment? There has been the odd troll for sure, but most people are making comments b/c they have an interest.

So here's the thing. If you are interested to see what's up with piping in Regina, come to the Ceilidh. You'll hear where we're at, and you can come here and comment. You can talk to us at the Ceilidh, offer support, call us wankers, offer to play, or just have a good night, drink a few pops and get a cab home. Even if you never want to lift a pipe or drum again, it's a chance to support a local pipe band, have some fun, and hear some great music.

So quit hiding by your computer. Vote for piping and drumming in Regina with your feet and your wallet. Put your money where your blog comments are. You know what to do. Come to the Ceilidh.

Our Loss, Their Gain


Among the members who aren't wearing the MacTavish with City of Regina this year are pipers Graham Schmidt and Nils Michael. Graham is a Regina product, and has played in the band for about 5 years, and Nils came to us from Germany via England & Scotland. When selecting a university to do his M.A. in Economics, Nils wanted to choose a good university near a Grade 2 pipe band, and that's how he ended up at the U of S and driving to Regina for band.

Both these players are now in Edinburgh, and working their chops with the Grade 1 Clan Gregor Pipe Band in the hopes of becoming regulars on the roster there. This is great news for them, and the Clan Gregor. These are two great guys.

While it's tough seeing players go, it is good to see the band players take their skills to the next level, and good to know that what they do in the band here contributes to that success. In the past years, the CRPB has contributed players to: the SFU Pipe Band, the Halifax Citadel 78th Highlanders, the 78th Fraser Highlanders, Peel Regional Police, Alberta Caledonia, and Robert Malcolm Memorial...last year's Grade 2 World Champions. And now, Scotland's Clan Gregor.

If you're a Saskatchewan player with aspirations for playing in the "big bands," it seems pretty clear to me where you need to start.

Happy New Year, Finally

The last post painted a dreary [accurate] picture of where the band sits, and the holiday did not bring better news. Our Lead Drummer Dave Roth has stepped away to complete his university studies, and we have several people in the "not available until May" category. It would appear that, at best, this will be a slow-starting competitive year. We will be lucky to have enough bodies to make it onto the field May long weekend.

That said, the rest of us are working hard on a new medley, we have drafted help with scores, and we are working hard to continue playing at as high a level as possible. We have an ambitious musical selection for the Mid-Winter Celtic Festival and we have other travel and performance opportunities coming up, but none involving competition in the near future.

We have also made a decision that—as far as we know—is unique in the pipe band world. We have appointed Kenna Whelan as "Lead Drummer" to manage the personnel and music decisions in the drum corps. Kenna is well-known as an excellent tenor drummer and drum instructor. Kenna's experience, and extensive knowledge of pipe band music will allow us to make progress in the meantime. Not easy times for Kenna or the rest of the band, but it's a hobby, and we're still having fun at band, so, why not?

So, there's my update. Hope you enjoyed it. [If you don't get the significance of that...read the comments on the last post.] And lastly, thanks for reading. Hope to see lots of you "anonymous" people at the Ceilidh on February 3rd.

The Last Band of 2006

Today was the last band practice for 2006, and if today was an indication, we don't have a band for 2007. Having said that, there have been a few lean winters in the 15 years we have been on the road, and many of them have ended in great summers of fun and performance. This one should be no different.

A very enthusiastic and dedicated group of people has been coming regularly all autumn, and many recently learned some new music and assisted with the successful Chrismas concert. Thanks to you all for your drive and commitment. We know that we have members at a distance who are commited to being there when the roads are clear again, and we'll be waiting.

When Christmas and Hogmany are over, I will be in touch with each of you—looking for your commitment, or your uniform and instruments. Think it over and decide what you'll be doing, because if you live fairly close at hand, "I'll see you in May" isn't going to cut it. You can't be in a Grade 2 band without commiting to the program, and we can't survive at this level without a stronger commitment, especially from those players in Regina and area.

I'm looking forward to playing the new music in 2007, and I want to do it with the best band as we can assemble. In the meantime, best wishes to all for a safe and happy holiday season.

A Word on Lead Drummers


In the course of the band's 14 or so years, we have had a few lead drummers. Part of the equation of change is that we have had the same miserable a-hole as PM all these years. Not always right, but usually thinks he is, and stubborn to boot. It drives a lot of things forward, some people out, and makes some hesitate to join. Mea culpa.

We've had some crackers as lead drummer. Paul Hamilton arrived from Ontario at precisely the right time in the band's history, and took on the task with enthusiasm and supprted all the band did. Ryan Sullivan took charge of the corps at a young age, and drove forward our musical ability as a band in many ways. Doug Pritchard's calm and organized approach built the numbers in the corps, and he was great to work with on all fronts. Tim Borton developed quickly in the corps, and his precise playing style and mega-enthusiasm for the genre made the band an exciting place. Brett Stinson took over the corps from Tim, and made some risky and large changes to refresh the corps, and succeeded. Then, there was Dave Roth.

Through most of these years—with a year or so break at one point—Dave Roth has played under all these LDs, and at one point played LD himself [1999]. Dave has never been a "jump to front" kind of guy. He was always about playing with a good corps, in a good band, and he has come back last-minute to rescue us on more than one occasion whe we were in tough and needed that strong flank player to make us competitive. Dave has always had strong ideas about bands and drumming, and what seems to drive him is his love for drumming, and his loyalty to this band.

So here we are, post-Scotland, and struggling to keep our heads above water, and it's very tough to constantly re-build, re-build, re-build, and stay enthused. And so I wanted to say this: wherever the road leads, and whatever the future brings, it has been such a privilege to play with Dave Roth, and now to be PM of the band that he helps to lead. Ditto to the rest of you: Paul, Ryan, Doug, Tim and Brett. It hasn't always been an easy or a smooth road, but if I never said it in so many words before: thanks for everything.

And if you're sitting on your hands when you could be playing in the band, get off your backside and get to it. The PM might be bad, but the LD more than makes up for it.

Whatever You Do—Don't Win Grade 2!



Since winning the Worlds with two outstanding performances back in August, the Robert Malcolm Memorial Grade 2 band has been in the piping news, as people speculated what would happpen with their grading—would they stay in Grade 2? Go to Grade 1? Compete against their own SFU? The story more or less finished with the resignation of the band's leadership this week. Dave & Shaunna Hilder, and Andre Tessier have all packed it in, and rumours are that many others have too.

Last year at this time, we had the 2005 World Champion Drambuie-Kirkliston Pipe Band folding after several successful seasons building to the top of Grade 2.

On the one hand, it's sad to see a great band go, and you can't but admire the skill and dedication that brings a band like RMM to the top of its grade. RMM2 has always had a scrappy competitive relationship with Maple Ridge that drove both bands far forward of where they might otherwise have ended up. Dave, Shaunna and Andre deserve a lot of credit for the band's ultimate success, as do former builders, including Dave Hicks, Pat Napper and Kathy MacPherson.

On the other hand, the RMM band will be just fine, and the spaces will likely fill with other people willing to stand in the Ancient Fraser kilt and be part of an overall winning and successful organization. By this time next year, it'll likely be off the radar screen, and a "new" RMM2 wil have successfully finished a season in the field.

What's lost in that big picture is the individual effort and committment that it took to get the current band to where it was. So, congratulations to all those RMM2 members on their success, and best wishes for your future plans, be they in RMM, or elsewhere.

On Remembering

The role of pipe bands and pipers in Remembrance Day calls out a cast of characters that we don't always see together. The annual services in Regina see the City of Regina, Conservatory and Wa Wa Shrine pipe bands perform together at the Agridome, and the RCMP Pipe Band plays a separate role there as well. At the Cenotaph in Victoria Park, the Regina Police Service plays. While we are remembering the veterans who gave their lives, and honouring those who remain, as well as the current military, I also tend to think about the more immediate losses reflected in the ranks of the pipe bands.

I can't play that parade without remembering Brian Fraser. Our former bass drummer was a big part of the band in so many ways, and he had a special place and role on Remembrance Day. It was on that parade that he adopted the name "Only the Bass Drummer," which became his own joke on himself. This year, we missed Bruce Cooke, who was PM of the Wa Wa Shrine for a long time, and who did these ceremonies for many years. I thought about him yesterday, and reflected on his many years of service to the community. And these are just two.

In the life of a piping community, we see a lot of people come and go, and doing an annual parade where we see most is one way to note that passage of time, and the change of guard.

Week #1: You Have to Start Somewhere
Well, we had the first band practice today, and it's clear that we have a lot of work to do to just make it onto the field in 2007. It's a long way to the top, when you want to...play in a competitive pipe band. Thanks AC/DC, for that steal. Ah well, as our former premier used to say, "Never say 'Whoa' in a mudhole." So backs to the wheel, dig in, here we go.

The good news is that the digital age made the new music almost painless. Posted sound files and scores for new tunes and snare beatings make it a quick start at band, and we played through most of the [still developing] new medley today, as well as some other stuff. Nice scores, Dave.

If you didn't make this one, get the tunes out and expect a call...

Mid-Winter Celtic Festival Launches



Go to Festival Page

In a Week, It All Starts Again
I had a look, and the first post here was last January, in the lead up to the Mid-Winter Celtic Festival. A scan back through the months, and you see the tremendous effort by all band members to put together music for the Festival and the Glendive concert, the various fundraising, and ultimately, the unfolding drama of performance, travel and competition.

I have had my head buried deep in piles on music recently, and we have some great tunes to look forward to next week. Ex-member Sean Somers has penned a cracking opener for the new medley, and Dave Roth has been trolling the depths at Tradtunes.com for some great music. The Vale of Atholl Pipe Band was kind enough to help out with a couple of requests, and so was SFU. When all is said and done, it is about the music, and I'm looking forward to getting to it.

The Mid-Winter Celtic Festival will be back on February 3rd, 2007, and we have a great surprise lined up, to be announced shortly. Gonna be an awesome show!


This November 2nd is the 80th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch #1 in Regina. This grand building has been the band's home since early in our first year of operation, and we have had many a good tune [and quite a few "developing" ones] in the hall. It'd be great to have a full turn out on November 11, or as full as it can be. In times when Canadian soldiers are losing their lives abroad, it's not a bad thing to show that we are cognizant of the sacrifices made.

Moss Doesn't Grow on a Rolling Stone

A short postscript to the previous note...the concert was a huge success according to anyone who was there, and there were about 80,000 over the weekend. The Stones were in great form, and near the end of the show Mick Jagger did a run all the way down the football field walkway. The guy is clearly in brilliant shape, and good on them for delivering so well. Not sorry to have missed it, and happy that it was clearly such a great experience for those who wanted to be there.

Can't Get No Satisfaction

Tonight and Sunday, The Rolling Stones are playing in Regina. Say what? Rolling Stones? Regina? They are expecting about 30-40,000 per show, which [if true...sales may be exaggerated] makes it the biggest show of its kind ever staged here. Almost everyone I know is going, has tickets, has people coming in to see it, and the city bars and restaurants will be wild. The beer will flow, the old boys will shake what they have left, and all will be fine.


I won't be there, and while the event casts a shadow you can't ignore, I'm happy to say that I don't really care to be there. Once you've been to a Planxty show live in the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, the Stones in Taylor Field [in 8°C weather] just won't do. I might just put on "Planxty—Live 2004," turn it up loud, and imagine the sea of Irish rugby colours that invaded the Usher Hall back in 1981 when Planxty played to over 3,000 wildly enthusiastic fans. Now, that was a concert.