Monday, January 29, 2007

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.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

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.

Friday, January 12, 2007

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.