Formula For Improving Your Piping

Take it one step at a time. Identify the problem. FIX IT! Identify another problem. FIX IT! Repeat as necessary until it is all FIXED!!

- Oscar Rogers

Maxville - Conclusion

I said the storm began to subside, but the weather never really cleared. The rest of the day alternated between light drizzle and steady rain. It's not like a little more precipitation mattered. At this point, it wouldn't have mattered if the skies had cleared and a huge hair dryer had descended from the heavens in a divine act of drying, everything and everyone was hopelessly, irreversibly saturated. Oddly, our so-called rain capes do very little to repel water. Someone really ought to write a letter to the manufacturer. In fact they seem to absorb and hold moisture. So what happens when you put a rain cape over a wool pipe band uniform is that you quickly become both soggy and sweaty. You move about in your own personal bubble of rainforest-like atmosphere. The only solace one has is the knowledge that one's fellow bandmates are equally uncomfortable. It's essentially a team-building exercise.

The storm quieted and a contingent headed out to discover the plan for resuming the contest. Of course we went to the beer tent, which may seem like a self-serving decision on our part, but in fact the beer tent is where pipe bands go when the weather goes sour. OK, the beer tent is where pipe bands go regardless of the weather, but the point is that it made sense to be where our fellow competitors were.

The tent was a sea of black rain capes. In one corner, a band was passing a set of pipes, belting out fast-fingered tunes in an effort to fuel the ceilidh. Everyone jostled about trading cash for tokens, tokens for beer and beer for stories of the day's chaos. Not long after we arrived, the Chief Steward came by to announce plans to resume the competition. The PPBSO might be criticized for waiting so long on the day to halt the events, given the dangerous weather, but I give them credit for maintaining good humor in dealing with a difficult situation. As the Chief Steward, an old Scottish expat whose speech retained a hint of a brogue, addressed the beer tent, explaining the times and locations where the competitions would resume, one obnoxious bandsman (probably a drummer) shouted, "No massed bands!"

"Shut yure cake hole!" the steward fired back, without missing a beat. The crowd roared with approval.

The steward then took off to go spread the word about the competition. Ten minutes later, he was back. At this point, he was beer tent favorite and the group quickly fell silent to hear his next proclamation. He rolled up in a golf cart and, like Eisenhower addressing the troops, he stepped forward and questioned, "Are there any members from the Midlothian Scottish Pipe Band here? Anyone from Midlothian?" A hush prevailed. No band members came forth.

"Alright then," he said. "Keep drinkin!"

Again cheers erupted from the tent. This guy was our hero and the best entertainment a beer tent full of weary, waterlogged pipe bands could ask for.

By the time the band competed for the second time it must have been after 5 PM. Everyone was sodden and exhausted and it's fair to say that we didn't play our best. Band competion continued until well past the time we normally would have played the closing massed bands. The rain picked up again. There were rumors of a closing ceremony being held in the big beer tent, but no official word came through. Some of the band packed it in and headed back to the hotel. Others of us headed to the big tent to grab a couple pints and await the contest results. Large swaths of the beer tent were under water. To get anywhere in the tent, you had to negotiate greasy mud pits.

In the end, the best summary of Maxville that I heard was that it was a day of extremes. It was the earliest the band had ever competed at a Games and also the latest. Of course, the weather was certainly extreme as well. I don't think any of us regret being there though. It was a lot of fun and an epic competition. A typical Games day seems tame by comparison. Writing this now, it occurs to me that some of our band members probably tucked soggy rain capes into their pouches after Maxville and never took them out to dry when they got home. The next games we're at where it rains, you'll be able to spot the Schenectady Pipe Band. We'll be the guys wearing the fuzzy green rain capes. You'll smell us from across the massed bands field. At least the capes will match our kilts . . .

Running Season stats:

QMMs Played: 3
Cake Holes Shut: 1
Kilt Hose Casualties: Too gross to tally exact figures

Maxville Part Deux

I guess the storm began about 2:30 PM. It's difficult to convey the full violence of the typhoon that bore down on us. This thing meant business. You could feel the thunder reverberate in your chest. Lightning, which came way too close to us, hissed and snapped across the sky. You had to lean into the wind to avoid being shoved around and even under the tent rain pelted us. And so, faced with an extreme and potentially life-threatening situation, the band elected to do what we do best: we partied.
What else could we do really? The band donned rain capes and dug in. Maybe it was the energy in the air from the storm, or the fact that we imbibed so heartily, believing that every sip might be our last, but whatever the reason, things got a little crazy. Everyone huddled in the middle of the tent to shield the snack table and share body heat. Out in the gale, games spectators ran for their cars and their lives, zig-zagging to avoid the lightning strikes. As one shirtless young man ran past the tent, Jennifer Munro, well on her way from a mix of LaBatts and muscle-relaxers, shouted for him to "take it off!" Clearly sensing he had nothing to lose, and without breaking his stride, the guy promptly dropped his shorts to oblige Jenn's request. It was then that I knew there would be no turning back for this party train.

The wind blew so hard that it nearly lifted our tent off the ground. I felt sure the tent would rip apart, leaving our entire encampment exposed and at the mercy of the downpour. But with our help to anchor it in place, the tent withstood Mother Nature's pummeling. In hindsight, it may not have been a great idea for us all to stand around in a lightning storm holding on to metal poles, but it seemed necessary at the time.

Remarkably, while all this was happening, the pipe band contest had not yet been officially postponed. We didn't know for sure if we were supposed to be tuning up to play in the final round of the Grade 4 contest. Our scheduled time to play fell right at the peak of the heavy weather. As the storm finally began to subside, a few us slogged off to go find out if and when the competition would resume.

- JSS

Note on the text: Thanks to various band members and friends from whom I steal all the pictures that accompany these entries. Primarily MJK and RSF.

Summer Retrospective - Part IV

The summer season was now in full swing and the band headed north to Maxville, Ontario to compete at the North American Pipe Band Championship on August 2. This year Maxville truly demonstrated its status as a continental event, drawing pipe bands from across the United States and Canada and even a band from Mexico City, the St. Patrick's Battalion Pipe Band. Maxville is a grueling competition on the best of days. With twenty five bands competing in Grade 4 this year, the sheer number of competitors necessitated a qualifying round to establish the field of bands who would ultimately compete for the top prize. So, instead of one performance, a successful band must play twice, which of course allows for twice the opportunities for something to go wrong. One might also argue that it makes a win twice as sweet. In any case, Maxville means more playing and tough competition, as the Ontario piping scene is home to a number of very strong Grade 4 pipe bands. Little did we know, however, as the day began, that the pipe band competition would be the least of our worries!

The Grade 4 qualifier began fairly early, around 10:30 AM and we were among the first to play in our qualifying heat of thirteen bands. Remarkably, everyone, including the pipe major, managed to arrive at the field on time that morning and so the band was fairly settled and well-prepared for the first round. The exception might be Kennie Farrigan, however, whose chanter fell out of his pipes on the walk over to the final tuning area, much to his chagrin. His reed did not survive the fall. Rarely has hemp so quickly been applied to a chanter or a back-up reed so hastily selected. Kennie was back in rank just before the steward came to tell us we were on. The band fell into formation and marched off (apparently a bit too quickly for the drummers) to meet our destiny.

We came off the field feeling confident about the first run. The usual post-performance self-evaluation suggested no major mishaps. It would be at least an hour before we knew if the judges agreed with our assessment. With one run down, the band headed back to camp to refuel and await opening massed bands.

Massed bands was hot. The sun beat down on us and our black vests and glengarries drank in the rays. We simmered on the shadeless massed bands field while something like a hundred pipe bands slowly assembled. Occasionally, a cloud would pass overhead, offering momentary relief from the burn. I remember praying fervently for more clouds, so maybe it was my fault that clouds aplenty would soon roll our way.

The afternoon featured good news and bad news. The good news was that the band successfully qualified to play in the final. We were, in fact, the only American band in our grade to do so. So we were psyched about that. The bad news was that the storm of the century was about to collide with Maxville.

Summer Retrospective - Part III

With our first win safely tucked away, this Pipe Major headed south to Da Beach for a brief respite from the Right, Quick, March as it were. It's important to stay focused, however, even while on vacation. Thus, beach time was devoted to catching up on old issues of the EUSPBA Voice.

As the old Scots used to say, 'The band that vacations in unison plays in unison' and so the Pipe Major rendezvoused at the beach with the ever-vigilent Drum Sergeant, who daily stood watch upon the shore, scanning the horizon for signs of a Guinness tanker in distress. Piper Jenn Munro was also on hand, serving as sandwich and Jello shot maker. Meanwhile, back home in Schenectady, the band prepared (so I'm told) for the next weekend of competition, which was to be a double-header: Glasgowlands and Rockland.

Plans changed, however, with the arrival of new band aspirant Sadie Logan Munro, born July 17, 2008! Proud Dad and Grade 4 Drum Sergeant Iain Munro decided to stay home that weekend to go over the basic drum rudiments with his new daughter and so, with the loss of our Lead Tip, and being short a few other players as well, we decided to cancel Glasgowlands and Rockland. Now that I think about it, Rockland was also a medley competition, and we weren't ready to introduce the red-headed step child to the competition scene just yet. So there were multiple reasons for the cancellation. But we never look back! From that point preparations began for the North American Championships in Maxville, Ontario . . .

At left, Sadie Logan and Aunt Jenn "Jello Shot Maker" Munro.



Running Season stats:

QMM Performances: 1
New Babies: 1
Jello Shots: Many

Summer Retrospective - Part II

Our first competition of the summer was the Round Hill Highland Games in Norwalk, CT. Conspicuously absent from this year's games were the soccer players. Round Hill always used to have a soccer tournament, which was odd in that the soccer event seemed completely independent of the rest of the games. It was as if the organizers had double-booked the venue and were unwilling to turn either group away. Aside from the occasional beaning from a stray ball, the pipe bands had no contact with the soccer match.

Round Hill was a risky choice for our first competition this year because the contest fell on July 5. The band plays an Independence Day parade in Schroon Lake every year that entails a healthy dose of celebrating, so there was potential to be exhausted and a bit hungover for Round Hill. Fortunately, the band has trained to operate under such adverse conditions and we were able to rally on the day. We won the competition. We were off to a good start.

Season Stats:

QMM's played: 1

Summer Retrospective

Blog? What blog? Yes, it's been a while since our last entry. A pipe band summer affords little spare time. The most you can do is wash your socks, detox and prepare for the next gig. But the Schenectady Pipe Band season has finally come to a close (or so we THOUGHT, freakin' band manager and his Halloween parade . . . grumble, grumble). So it seems that now is a good time to pause, take a deep breath and remember Summer 2008.

When last we spoke, dear Reader, it was early July, the band's performance season was wrapping and we were about to launch out on the pipe band competition circuit. One might sum up the 2008 competition season in three words: QUICK MARCH MEDLEY. For those unfamiliar with the pipe band competition format, pipe bands in our class, Grade 4, are asked to prepare 2 separate selections of music with which to compete. These selections are classified as a quick march medley (QMM) and a medley. One might understandably be confused by the nomenclature with its overlapping use of the term "medley". It confuses us too.

"OK guys, let's play the medley!"

"The Quick March Medley?"

"No! The MEDLEY Medley!!"

And so it goes. In any case, the QMM is a more regimented (a.k.a boring) format, wherein all the tunes must be of a single type (you guessed it, quick marches). This format is meant to force the less experienced pipe bands to focus on the fundamentals of the discipline without getting caught up in the more complex types of pipe band music. Performing the QMM is like trying to paint a picture with only one color. On the other hand, the Medley allows pipe bands to put together a program of all sorts of tunes, including jigs, reels, and some of the other more upbeat music from the piping repertoire. Generally speaking, the medley has more variety and thus it is more fun to play. Whether a band will perform its medley or QMM at a particular contest is dictated by the date of the event. On even days, Grade 4 plays medley; on odd days, QMM.

As it turns out, EVERY contest we entered for July and August was QMM. A QMM summer presented two problems: first, it was somewhat monotonous; second, pipe bandspeople being the hard-nosed pragmatists that we are, if we don't HAVE to practice something, we don't. And so it was that the medley became the red-headed step child of the summer, languishing on the back burner, awaiting an even day contest that would never come . . . until Capital District. More on that later.

So the stage was set.

- JSS

History's Mysteries

Schenectady Pipe Band at Union College 1972

Both Union College and the Schenectady Pipe Band are recognized symbols of The Electric City and its history. What's more, these two Schenectady icons have a long-standing partnership. If there's such a thing as a house band at Union, it has to be the Schenectady Pipe Band; a Celtic Max Weinberg 7 to their Late Night With Conan O'Brien. Our band performs at Union throughout the year at Convocation, Founder's Day, ReUnion Weekend, Graduate school Commencement, and Undergraduate Commencement. At Union, where there's ceremony, there's bagpipes.

Invariably, following a Union gig, the question arises, "How long has Schenectady been playing at Union?" The answer is always, "As long as we can remember." Even our most veteran members cannot recall a pre-Union era. One or two of our active band members recollect playing at Union as early as 1969. In fact, we likely began performing at Union much earlier. Interestingly, this question captivates not just band members, but the college as well. The winter 2003 issue of Union College Magazine observes, "the [Schenectady Pipe] band has been a longstanding staple at campus ceremonies such as Commencement . . . College records do not show when the band made its first appearance at Union; do any Alumni know?" We don't know if their survey produced conclusive evidence, but the band has done some detective work of its own.

Given the impoverished written record, we've relied heavily upon personal narrative in our research. Senior (respectfully) band member Bill Munro maintains that he has an old reel-to-reel film of his grandfather playing with the Schenectady Pipe Band at Union College. Bill's grandfather was actually not a member of the band and apparently played as a guest on this occasion. Knowing his grandfather stopped playing pipes about 1949 or 1950, Bill thinks that this film dates from 1948. Thus, we conclude with reasonable confidence that the Schenectady Pipe Band has been performing at Union college for at least 60 years, which is pretty remarkable.

The band hopes to recover this historic footage and transfer it to a digital medium. In the meantime, we continue our search for evidence of even earlier Schenectady Pipe Band performances at Union College. Let us know if you unearth anything!

-JSS

Schenectady Pipe Band leads the ReUnion parade past Lamont House

Sad News

We have some terrible news to share with you all. Carole Hackett's daughter, Beth, was involved in a fatal car accident on Saturday morning in Colorado. Beth is about 30 years old and had moved to Colorado about 3 months ago and was very happy with her new life there when this tragedy struck. While our thoughts, prayers and support are so very important right now for Carole and her family, we can help them in another way too. As you can imagine, the funeral expenses involved will be quite expensive. Carole is not only the Band Secretary for the Schenectady Pipe Band, but also Co-Chair for Import Vendors at the Capital District Scottish Games and a wonderful friend to us all who has always there when we needed her. Ever willing to give of herself . . . now we can show Carole and her family how much we care by sending a contribution to help them with some of those costs.

Please pass the word on to other people who know Carole and mail contributions payable to the Schenectady Pipe Band (specify Beth's Fund in check note) to: Schenectady Pipe Band Beth's Fund 9 Emmett Drive Niskayuna, NY 12309. We'll be keeping track of all contributions and providing Carole and her family with a list of those who contributed along with any cards or notes you wish to send.

Let's all put our best foot forward and help one of our favorite people when she needs us the most. Thank you all so much and please keep Carole and her family in your prayers.

M.J.K.

Skidmore Alumni Day, The Parting Glass, and Rockstar Ride Home!

This past Saturday(5-31-08) SPB had a split job. Both were Alumni Days at two area colleges. I played at Skidmore's Alumni Day up in Saratoga. We had a small but elite band. It was short job which is always good, and the weather threatened rain and storms but never followed through with it. It's always a good day when you get to play and stay dry. Drying a kilt isn't always fun. Not only the drying time but the smell of wet wool isn't always good.

After the band marched the class representatives from the Tang Museum to the Sports Complex we were dismissed and we headed back to the cars for a post playing beverage and to-get-the-kilt-off for the drive home. As we were standing around listening to music and relaxing a plan was hatched for a trip to The Parting Glass for lunch and a few beers. And let me tell you it was a great plan. A small group or us headed to the Glass for lunch. Getting there was no big deal seeing how it was right down the street from where we were playing. As we walked in the bar, we were unsure as to it being open. As we opened the door, what other greeting would you want to hear but "Come on in!"

After lunch, laughing and a few beers (3 hours later). We all piled in my car and headed south. If you know me you know that i have a vast library of music, and having just bought a new Ipod, I was looking to dive into it. I started off slow with a few favorite sign-a-longs, come to think about it, everything i played was a Sing-a-long. My friends and I have been together in this band for a long time. So we pretty much know all the songs by heart. We may not be ready for American Idol, but we sing our hearts out. And have a great time doing it. I think the biggest laugh we all got is when I started playing "On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson, Iain, who was in shotgun gave the "Blow your Air Horn" gesture to the 18 wheeler we were passing at the time. He obliged and we all started to laugh.

We love to have a great time in this band, no matter what were doing. From playing music, to listening to music, we have a blast.

Till next time~~
M.J.K

On Hell Week

Schenectady Pipe Band members affectionately refer to this week as Hell Week. A brief explanation seems in order. These days the term Hell Week is actually something of a misnomer, as the band's gig schedule has relaxed a bit. Things are significantly less hellish ("not like when I was a kid!" grumble grumble). But there was a once a time, during the week leading up to Memorial Day, when it probably made more sense to put the kilt on Monday morning and just leave it on for the rest of the week. The band had practice on Tuesday, played the Scotia parade on Wednesday, Albany Medical College on Thursday, the Stillwater parade on Friday, FMCC commencement on Saturday, had a break on Sunday and played the Gloversville parade on Memorial Day. Actually, I might not have that completely correct. A free CD goes out to the first band member who remembers the old Hell Week schedule. Post it in the Comments section, along with any Hell Week stories you want to share.

During Hell Week, kilts and hose can get a bit rank. Back seats of cars become a sea of miscellaneous uniform parts. The constant hum of drones in your ear starts to seem normal and you unconsciously march everywhere, even when you're off the parade route. Everybody has a kilt-tan (nicely tanned knees and pale white calves) and a permanent line imprinted across their foreheads from the feather bonnet.

The culmination of Hell Week is the Gloversville Memorial Day Parade, which is a classic job. Following the parade, which is always very well-attended, the band tailgates and performs in a few of the local VFW halls in town. After Gloversville, the band heads back to the Weir's house for a picnic. Fun ensues and finally, after a long week, the kilts can come off.

In recent years, Matt has put together a soundtrack to accompany this epic string of gigs, compiling a Here's To Hell Week cd. Order your copy today!

SPB plays Skidmore Commencement and Wiffle Ball

An ominous forecast led band members to pack rain capes before heading to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center this past Saturday to perform at Skidmore College commencement. As it turned out, capes were unnecessary. Blue skies and warm weather prevailed, setting the stage for fine day. Skidmore commencement is one of my favorite gigs. SPAC is a picturesque venue and the Skidmore students are among the most appreciative of our audiences. It's quite a rush marching down the lawn toward the amphitheater, flanked on both sides by walls of cheering students and their families. Surely it is for events like this that the pipes were made.

With 636 members, I'm told the Class of 2008 was the largest in Skidmore's history. Nevertheless, the students filed into the amphitheater with effortless efficiency. Our opening performance seemed to last only about 10 minutes. The class took their seats and the opening speaker stepped to the podium. We marched out of the orchestra pit and headed back to our base in the parking lot.

For sure, a well-organized academic procession can keep our opening performance brief, but there's no way around the wait we endure while the commencement ceremony transpires. If you've been reading the blog, you know that the typical format for a commencement performance is to play the bookends of the show. For Skidmore, we usually have a good two hour hiatus between the opening and closing performances. Never at a loss for a good time, the band has devised a variety of creative diversions to occupy the break. I confess that, for this gig, I look forward to the break as much as the performance.

Chief among the SPAC break time activities is Wiffle Ball Home Run Derby. This is a game of precision and skill. Aside from the usual challenges of all Wiffle sports, which derive from the absurd expectation that a plastic game ball weighing about as much as a Dixie cup will somehow behave like the real thing, our game incorporates the added challenge of the parking lot playing field. The object becomes not so much to hit a home run as to prevent a line drive from careening off the hood somebody's Lexus or to stop a grounder from becoming irrecoverably lodged under some collosal SUV.

I shudder to think what could've happened if we'd decided to toss a caber instead of play wiffle ball. Of course, Wiffle Caber Toss might not be so bad.

- JSS

Here's to Hell Week

This coming Saturday marks the start of "Hell Week" for the SPB. Stay tuned for all the stories!!

GERMAINE ATTENDS PRACTICE, ROSTERS

Stunned band members gathered Tuesday night to catch a glimpse as Pat Germiane entered the practice hall at 1748 State Street precisely at 7:00 PM and proceeded to participate in both chanter and pipe and drum practice. Experts suggest Germaine may have been on his way to a private gig when he became disoriented and inadvertently stumbled upon band practice. Germaine, once a frequent sight at band events throughout the northeast, was believed to have become extinct. Some new members, who had never before seen Germaine, observed with quiet fascination. Veteran members considered the return of Germaine a harbinger of good things to come.

In a magnificent display, unlikely to be repeated, Pat Germaine concluded his practice appearance by rostering for upcoming band gigs. "HOLY S#%T!" commented band manager Iain Munro, reaching for his camera, while Germaine stood calmly before the roster pages, pen in hand.

Historically speaking, warmer temperatures and a shift of prevailing winds have resulted in the return of some long absent band members in an El Nino-like phenomenon of membership oscillation. "You just never know," explained Jeff Schenck, the band's Pipe Major, "We've had members return after being gone for five, even ten years. The important thing is not to give up hope. And to not change the location of practice so they can find their way back to us."

Some speculate that the recent Germiane sighting could mark the return of numerous band truants, including the rarely seen John Scally and possibly even Billy Munro.

- JSS

Pipes, Drums & Doo Wop for Albany College of Pharmacy

Dedicated band members sacrificed a Sunday afternoon that might have been spent relaxing beneath glorious spring skies to don the kilt and enter the cavernous, windowless, marble-lined halls of the Empire State Plaza. The band performed for the 128th commencement ceremony of the Albany College of Pharmacy, held at the Plaza convention center. This is one of our band's long-standing gigs. You can set your watch by fixtures of the band's yearly performance schedule such as this one. For the past few years, the College of Pharmacy graduation has coincided with Mother's Day. Undeniably, the band places great demands on our members' time. Juggling band and family commitments is a constant struggle indeed. On this day, we may have missed the sun's rays, but the new graduates certainly radiate an energy of their own. From the minute you step off the elevator to the concourse, you hear the din of lively students and their families echoing through the halls, like the sound of the sea in a conch shell.

Speaking of the halls, pipers and drummers must step carefully when walking the concourse at the Empire State Plaza. We wear these shoes called ghillie brogues. Sure footing seems not to have been a priority for the practical joker who invented this footwear. Considering that the Highlands of Scotland abound with wet, grassy hillsides, it boggles the mind why you would design a shoe with a smooth leather sole that causes one to careen down such slopes with the velocity of a ski jumper. My guess is that, along with golf and deep-fried Mars bars, ghillie brogues belong to the pantheon of Scottish inventions conceived under the influence of copious amounts of alcohol. In any case, as if poor traction weren't enough to seal our fate, these brogues have a small metal plate embedded in the heel of the sole, which is intended to cause a sharp clicking noise with each footfall. A full pipe band on the march, clicking away with military precision, can produce an impressive effect. Slightly less impressive is a piper or drummer, footing hopelessly undermined by heel clickers, on polished marble floors, flailing about like some new-born giraffe trying to stand for the first time. So if you were at commencement Sunday, you may have seen the band tiptoeing cautiously down the concourse halls toward the warm-up room. This was a factor of our shoes-of-death. Nothing would be more embarrassing than a fall that would leave one broken and immobile, lying there on cold marble, until a Plaza maintenance crew could be dispatched to drag you off to some infirmary with one of those little golf carts they use.

Everyone arrived unscathed and off we went to open the ceremony. When we play a graduation, the typical format is for the pipe band to play the graduating class into the ceremony and then exit after they are seated. At the end of the commencement, we return to lead the class out and then we perform a few sets as people disperse. Timing is essential with these events, as the band needs time to re-tune and get back in position to lead the class out just as the commencement comes to a close. "Let us know when you get to the S's," we usually say to our liaison, referring to the conferral of degrees by last name, "that'll give us enough time to get ready."

Typically, the first performance of a graduation is the shorter of the two, especially with a relatively small graduating class like that of Albany College of Pharmacy. But on this day we were not to escape so easily. We were instructed to play until the graduates were seated and then stand at attention for the opening remarks and the singing of the national anthem. The opening remarks were quite extensive. A professor stepped to the podium to offer a truly epic Invocation. In hindsight, we should have been concerned immediately when the professor opened by observing that he presumed he had been chosen to speak because they were unable to find a better choice. This was a man with nothing to lose. The ensuing address consisted of a lengthy philosophical exposition. I can only assume that accompanying footnotes and a bibliography were printed in the program. As far as I can tell, this is the Shock and Awe approach to commencement ceremonies. After such an opening rhetorical barrage, the audience will gladly accept just about anything that follows as a welcome respite.

With the Invocation-To-End-All-Invocations behind us, the Albany College of Pharmacy A Capella ensemble, One Man Short, came to the stage to sing the national anthem. These guys were great. They sang The Star Spangled Banner with four part harmony, in rounds. Pretty cool. This national anthem concluded the opening cermonay and the band was dismissed. As we marched out of the convention center, One Man Short launched in a medley of Doo Wop songs starting with Get A Job. We were all duly amused by their song choice for the graduates. Many of us stayed in the wings of the convention center to hear One Man Short finish their set.

We are officially fans of One Man Short now. The Band sometimes takes bus trips to competitions and, on the way home, especially if we've proven victorious on the day, we often sing a few songs ourselves. Doo Wop songs always figure prominently in our bus song repertoire and it was decided on Sunday that One Man Short should come along on the next trip. I'm sure they'll be happy to hear we've lined them up a gig. I wonder if they can manage a Doo Wop version of Mairi's Wedding?

- JSS

Celebration of Celts

This past Saturday, May 3, marked the launch of the summer season for the Schenectady Pipe Band. Every year the band experiences a bit of a false start, as we perform at various St. Patrick's Day events in mid-March, and then we slip back into a brief lull for the month of April. But these April weekends are the last that we will spend unkilted for many months. From here on in, it'll be an unbroken flood of band gigs, like some sort of Celtic monsoon season, lasting until mid-October. It's great fun. I wouldn't have it any other way, but it makes for a fast-paced summer. By the time you get a chance to catch your breath, it's Labor Day, the band is hosting the Capital District Scottish Games, and you're hearing commercials for Back to School sales on the radio. In the words of Ferris Bueller (he was Scottish, right?), "Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."


The two primary facets of the band's summer activities are public performance and pipe band competition. Our performance season begins now and runs through the end of June. We'll pound the pavement for Memorial Day parades and furnish the pomp and circumstance for college commencements. In July, we switch gears, traveling 'round the scottish games circuit, competing against our peers in pipe band competitions. In September, we do a bit of both, performing at events such as the Capital District Scottish Games and Irish 2000, and we travel to a couple more pipe band contests as well. By the end of the summer your kilt can stand up by itself from all the sweat soaked into it.

This past weekend there wasn't much sweating going on though. The temperature never rose above the mid-fifties. Skies were grey and drizzle fell periodically. Good Scottish weather, I suppose. Many of our pipers tried to master the art of playing while wearing gloves. The band performed at The Celebration of Celts at the Columbia County Fairgrounds in Chatham. The event is a somewhat random amalgamation of highland games, horse show and medieval fair. I didn't envy those poor souls who were trudging about on damp grass and mud in full suits of armor. I thought our uniforms were a challenge! The assorted Knights and Ladies in Waiting had built small camp fires to huddle around at least. And I suppose once the metal from your armor heats up, it probably radiates for a while. In any case, any frustrations they may have accumulated from weather woes were certainly vented during the various jousts and other forms of mock mortal combat that ensued.

I've never really understood the perceived connection between pipe bands and medieval reenactors, but it may have something to do with our common love of setting up camp. Our band has a yellow-and-white-striped tent, maybe 15' by 15' square, that serves as our base of operations whenever we take a day trip to a gig. We've had the tent as long as I can remember, at least since the 80's. It's our home, the equivalent of a rock band's venerated tour bus. Once erected, I think you can see our bivouac from space. Certainly, you can spot it from across a large field, which is pretty helpful when you're searching for our band amongst 30 other bands at a scottish games. I consider our method of setting up and organizing the tent to be something of an art form at this point. It displays a degree of team coordination comparable to that of a space shuttle launch. As the tent is raised and secured with stakes, a collapsible camp table is set-up in the center. The table is then surrounded by the band coolers. Coolers are color-coded; blue for beer and red for soda and water. Snacks are set up on the table (oh, the snacks!) and the day's schedule is posted on the center tent pole. Finally camp chairs are placed around the perimeter, like circled wagons preparing for an attack. Garment bags, spilling forth uniform parts, are hung from the other tent poles. The whole process, when we're on our game, can take less than five minutes. It's a thing of beauty.

On Saturday, at A Celebration of Celts, we competed in 'Piping Outside the Box.' Events like this are increasingly popular at scottish games, the concept being pioneered, to my knowledge, by our own Beers and Cheers contest at the Capital District Scottish Games. The idea is to allow pipe bands to present an unconventional program of music, free from the constraints of the usual pipe band competition format. The use of additional instruments, beyond the scope of the traditional pipe band arsenal, is encouraged. More importantly, from the spectators' point of view, these events are often held under big tents, as opposed to out on the field. The audience is in a better position to see and hear the performance. Of course, one can perhaps get a little too up close and personal with a pipe band! I had one woman tell me that she enjoyed the show very much but that she thought she'd be hearing the echo of pipes in her ears for the next week and half. (I wonder which tune?)

'Piping Outside the Box' is great fun for us. The opportunities for our band to perform in a concert setting are comparatively few, so it's pretty exciting. At the same time, however, this gig is quite challenge for us and affords not a little anxiety. The two aforementioned roles of street and competition pipe band monopolize most of our time. Our repertoire is designed largely to meet the demands of these contexts. To assemble a concert program for an event like Piping Outside the Box, we usually call heavily upon the latent talents of our band members. I'm always impressed by our band's resourcefulness in developing a solid program with little time to prepare.

Among the highlights of the performance, to my mind, were the following. One of our pipers, Barry Smith, and his wife, Fran, opened the program with a duet of Amazing Grace. Barry played acoustic guitar and sang harmony and Fran sang the lead. We added some small pipes, too, for flavor. The entire band then joined in for a final verse. This was cool, not only because it sounded so good, but because we didn't know Barry's solo had become a duo until the morning of the show. Serendipity.

I enjoyed playing a set of jigs on small pipes, with two of our snare drummers, Iain and Matt, accompanying with two types of hand drums that have names I cannot pronounce. For those who aren't familiar with the assorted species of bagpipes that exist, the small pipes to which I refer are, well, a smaller version of the great highland bagpipe that you encounter in pipe bands. This particular type of small pipe has three drones, a bass, alto and tenor, and a chanter that plays in the key of A. It is, of course, a much quieter instrument than its larger cousin, but you use the same fingering technique for both instruments. The small pipes are well-suited for a concert setting and they enable us to add a little variety to our program. The drum Matt played is noteworthy too. It's shaped like a box and you sit on top of it while playing. The drum has guitar strings running beneath the drum head. It generates a very unique sound. Anyway, one spectator told me that she liked this jig set because it clearly mixed celtic music with drumming from other cultural backgrounds. If you happen to know any drummers, you'll appreciate that they have a tendency to start banging out rhythms on anything that will produce a a decent tone and this set was a good chance to let them really let loose.

I thought our closing set pretty was cool as well. The band played 'Scotland the Brave' and 'Wings', incorporating Matt's electronic drum kit for added panache. Nothing beats a drum kit for getting the crowd's interest. Last Thursday, at practice, when we were rehearsing this set, we had the electronic drum kit set-up so that when you hit one of the drum heads a James Brown-esque computer generated voice shouted "Funky!!!!" And you could belt out a barrage of rapid-fire "Funkies" as fast as you could shake a drum stick. There can be no doubt that the perfect embellishment to a stirring rendition of 'Scotland the Brave' is the liberal application of a soulful "Funky!!!!" at crucial points along the melody line. The one danger to this approach is that you may inadvertantly choke from laughter while trying to blow your pipes, but this comes with the territory. Alas, on the day, we forgot to add the "funkies" to Scotland the Brave, but in our hearts we all knew they were there anyway.

Our fellow competitors for Piping Outside the Box were our compadres in the Oran Mor Pipe Band. Oran Mor put on a great show and then continued to entertain everyone with some top flight solo performances for a grand finale. When the results were tallied, Oran Mor won one event and Schenectady won another, although neither of us were exactly clear about the method by which the performances were evaluated. In any case, all went home as winners. Not a bad kick off to the season.

- JSS

*Added Info*

The hand drum Jeff is talking about is called a Cajón. It has a great range. More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cajon

The other hand drum is called a Djembe</FONT>. More info Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djembe

~M.J.K~

Off and Running!!

As the pipe band sets it's eyes on the up coming jobs and competition season, we wanted to start a blog to let people know what happens with a pipe band through out the summer. We'll have blogs from members of The Schenectady Pipe Band as we work our way through the busy season. We start it all off with The Celebration of Celts this Saturday May 3, in Chatham NY. Check back for posts about that job and all our competitions this summer.

~M.J.K~