The Bagpipe Heathen

Merry Christmas

2011-12-08T18:41:00.001-08:00

Well, Santa's been at it again. This year I found him at the Fox Hole in West Jordan, piping it up, doing some karaoke and taking requests from a couple of kids that are clearly on the nice list!!!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Thanks for sticking with me.

Merry Christmas to all!

UBIC in Roosevelt Utah

2011-08-11T08:16:00.000-07:00

USMC Sgt. Daniel Gurr from Vernal Utah was killed in Afghanistan on August 5th, 2011

"The nation which forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten" Calvin Coolidge

Irish Music Train Wreck

2011-08-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

We just wrapped up playing a local annual music festival and things didn't quite go the way they should have. Initially the Heathens were booked for a 40 min set in the middle of the festival. That's the only reason we took the gig (after getting screwed last year.) However, when the band schedule came out we were cut to 30 minutes and moved to the bottom of the program. But.... that wasn't the end. Our time got cut again once we were on the stage.

There were plenty of other problems as well. The crowd was at least 75% smaller than last year's, (due to a venue change) and as I talked with members of other groups I heard nothing but bad about the way they were treated by concert organizers, while performing for far less then they normally charge.
It appears some changes need made if this festival is going to make it. Two years in.... and the Heathens are not impressed!

Oh well.... At least the girls from The Whole Shebang were there!

2nd Irish Music Festival

2011-07-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

Last year Utah's first Irish music festival was a huge success.

So here we go again!

Make sure you join the Heathen Highlanders and a cast of great Irish Rock bands at the Ogden Amphitheater on July 31st for the second annual show.

The Heathens will be one of the first groups to play and we are going to debut our new repertoire, so make sure you get there early.

Post St Patrick's Day

2011-04-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

You might be wondering why I didn't post any pics from St. Patrick's Day. Well, I've been busy !

Maui

If you want to see the pub crawl pics, go to http://www.heathenhighlanders.blogspot.com/

2011-03-16T20:12:00.000-07:00

The full Heathens St. Patrick's Day Bar Schedule is posted at www.heathenhighlanders.com. This is the schedule of the bars that I will be playing.

12:00 Green Pig
12:30 O'Shucks (Salt Lake)
1:00 Piper Down
1:30 Duffy's

4:00 Maggie Mcgee's
4.30 Filling Station
5:00 Copper King
5:30 Lucky 13
6:00 Piper Down
6:30 O'Shucks (Jeremy Ranch)
7:00 Molly Blooms
7:30 Lindzee O'Michaels
8:00 O'Shucks (Park City)
8:30 Street Walk (Park City)
9:00 Flanagan's
9:30 Side Car
10:00 Lindzee O'Michaels
10:30 Molly Blooms
11:00 Good Spirits
11:30 Lucky 13
12:00 Bar Called Sue

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY, POO HEADS!

2011-01-29T21:05:00.000-08:00

Wow it's been a while since I posted.

I spent last weekend playing at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City. I was working with Sigma Films promoting a great film called Perfect Sense. The movie, directed by David McKenzie, staring Ewan McGregor and Eva Green is a love story that takes place in Scotland.

The nearly all Scottish film making team wanted to have a strong representation for the three days prior to the film's premier, so they called me. A few of the other Heathens and I spent the weekend making as much noise as possible around town. After all was done, on the night of the premier, there was no doubt that Perfect Sense had gotten some great attention.

Best of luck to our new friends at Sigma Films. Thanks for making us part of the team on this one.

Here is a video of me posted by Sigma Films. The tune is one of the major musical themes from the film. It's a beautiful piece played by a string quartet with great dynamics.... however, I'm afraid it sounds a bit more like a finger exercise on the pipes.

New Sporran

2010-11-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

Lately I've wanted to make some appearance change to my pipin' duds. I'm always looking for some, out of the ordinary ideas, but this particular change was intended to enhance my "old times" costume. I started by acquiring a badger skin from a trapper friend of mine and got to work.

I removed the head and hind from the pelt using the middle body portion to make a pouch. A scrap of Elk Hyde worked as a backing for the pouch. I then attached a 1&1/2 inch waist belt as the strap. The badger skin is far to heavy for a regular sporran chain and the thick leather belt offers much more of a rustic look.

After the pouch was sewn to the belt I reversed the head and front paws, and attached them to the back of the pouch so they can hang over the front, serving as a flap to close the sporran.

At the completion of the project, I'm quite pleased with my new sporran. In fact, I think it's going to get a bit more wear than I had originally intended.

Perhaps over winter I'll combine it with the Russian style fur hat I bought in Alaska this summer, creating the perfect "what in the world is that guy wearing?" effect.

Ha, I'm out...

RE-BUILD

2010-10-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

After creating the new Folkabilly blog I've found this one to be a bit boring. Perhaps a little plain for the way I like to do things. So it's long overdue.... How do you like the bagpipe blog face lift? That'll put a bit of Heathen in ya!

I started with the background. I wasn't sure about the flames.... A bit Rock&Roll for bagpipes, but it fits me.

Then, I went on to remove the unnecessary descriptions on my gadgets. Come on aren't the pictures enough with out a bunch of gibberish explaining what they are?

I cleaned up the link list and tossed out links to pipe band sites. I think I've made it clear how much I hate pipe bands.... Why have I been sharing links to all of their stuffed shirt lame sites? I don't know either!

Finally.... The last step to the new tomorrow of the Salt Lake Piper Blog. A grand re-opening post featuring a couple of pics from a rockin' Heathens gig at Deer Vally.

Enjoy, I'm out.

Sgt. Aaron Kramer

2010-09-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, fellow Heathen Marc Pehkonen and I shared the honor of piping at the graveside of a true American Hero. U.S. Army Sgt. Aaron Kramer age 22, was shot in Afghanistan September 16th. As family, friends and supporting public gathered to morn the loss of Sgt. Kramer, he was remembered as a true friend, a loving husband, an honorable son and a great leader. Our country and community have suffered a terrible loss with the ending of this great man's life.
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=12579141
"No man was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave." -President Calvin Coolidge-

New Blog

2010-09-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

Hey there friends, readers, fans and hippies,
I want to share my new blog with you. Things are changing a bit for me. As you may have noticed from my posts, I'm doing quite a few shows playing guitar and singing. In an effort to push that music and get back into mainstream entertainment, I've created a blog that is focused on just exactly that. I will probably still post occasional adds on this blog for some of my vocal shows, but the new site is going to free this one up for bagpipe related posts like it was intended. The blog is www.folkabillyman.blogspot.com If you like it, I hope you'll follow that blog too.
In addition.... for you hardcore bloggers, check out the blog that my wife is starting. It's going to be all about her extravagant travels. You'll see why I need to book shows so badly.... to pay for her spoiled lifestyle! Please join in and follow both blogs. www.tonnamarie.blogspot.com
Hope you like them.
I'm out!

Molly Blooms

2010-08-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

Molly Blooms The only Craic at the Junction.
Over the past couple of months I've posted a few adds about my gigs at Molly Blooms. Let me tell you about the place. Molly Blooms is located in Kimball Junction, just west of Park City Utah. It's a fantastic place to have dinner, a few drinks and a game of pool or shuffle board. There are five TVs for sports and a great stage where local singer song writers like myself perform on a regular basis. Sounds like a great place right? Here's the problem.... What do you get when you build a fantastic Irish restaurant bar, fill it with all of the amenities I've just listed, put 13 beers on tap, but you just cant get people in the door? That's right.... You get an outstanding local business that looses money every month. It's sad to say, but I just don't know how much longer Molly Blooms will be around. that's why I've made the place my new project. I will continue playing regular gigs on the Molly Blooms stage and I will continue trying to get people out. Recently I've had some great success. My gig on August 6th brought a full house. Most of them there in response to my advertising. Thanks for the support folks! On the 21st I arranged for the Salt Lake Pibroch Club to have their monthly meeting at Molly Blooms and I'm told the bagpipe junkies had a great time. However.... It can't end with me. Please join me at Molly Blooms this Friday August 27th. Tell your friends. Tell your friends friends. Tell people who don't even like your friends. Show starts at 8:00 PM. Lets have fun keeping a fantastic local pub running.

Molly Blooms is a restaurant bar so kids are always welcome.
http://www.mollybloomspc.com/

Irish Music Fest

2010-07-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

Listen up kids! I don't want to distract you from my gig at Molly Blooms on August 6th, but the Heathens are playing a huge show on August 1st that's worth talking about. Come spend the day at the first annual Park City Irish Music Festival featuring, The Young Dubliners. Yea.... you read correctly. The Heathen Highlanders are playing a gig with The Young Dubs. How cool is that? There will be a bunch of great Irish rock bands, Irish dancing and good food. Come check it out!

Tickets are avalable at SmithsTics for $15.00 or $20.00 at the gate.

But don't forget to come to my solo show at Molly Blooms on August 6th!

Live @ Molly Blooms

2010-07-25T22:37:00.000-07:00

OK here's the deal.... in the month of July, Molly Blooms spent their entire entertainment budget on a band that was guaranteed to "fill the house." Trouble is.... the band didn't bring in a single fan leaving Molly Blooms with a huge loss. As a regular performer at Molly Blooms I decided to take it upon myself to try to make up the difference, so I guaranteed Molly Blooms that on August 6th I will bring out a crowd big enough to make their money back. Please join me in proving that my fans and friends are the best! August 6th, 7:30 till you all go home. Join me for an evening of folk, county and rock&roll. Come have dinner, have a drink or have both. Molly Blooms is a restaurant bar so kids are welcome. See you on the 6th!

www.mollybloomspc.com

Another reason I don't miss pipe bands....

2010-07-05T21:14:00.000-07:00

I remember it like yesterday.... 4th of July 1998. There I was standing at the top of Main Street in Park City at 11:00 am.... pretty sure it was about 99 degrees out and I was gearing up for the bands third of five parades for the day. As I looked down the sloped street I saw hundreds of people in shorts and t-shirts sitting in lawn chairs with shade umbrellas, having a cool drink and enjoying the holiday. As I watched all of the people, I was struck with a sudden realization. THEY ARE ALL HAVING A GOOD TIME! Me.... I was working, and for what? THE BAND!

Since I called it quits on the pipe band community in 1999, I've made it a point to enjoy all of the holidays that once meant parade marathon to me. The 4th of July is one of my favorites. Not only is it a fantastic time to remember those who gave all they had for freedom, but it's the worst parade day of the year.

This year I spent the 4th weekend floating down the Salmon River with friends and family. How's that for commitment to the band Mr. Pipe Major?? Ha! Stick that in your drone and blow it!

I hope you all had a happy 4th too.

2010-05-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

For those in the area, I'll be playing at Molly Blooms in Kimball Junction this Friday, May 7th. No bagpipes, just me and the guitar. Come out have a drink or two, enjoy some great food and I'll sing you a few songs. The show starts at 7:00 PM See you there!

www.mollybloomspc.com

Sounds of the Desert

2010-04-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I was in Moab Utah for the big Jeep Safari weekend. In addition to all of the off road action I went on some spectacular hikes. If you've never been to Moab, you should plan a trip there. It's worth the travel no matter where you live. There is no other scenery like it in the world!

Anyway.... I took my pipes. Those who know me well might be surprised. I wouldn't normally take bagpipes on vacation, but I wanted to get some pictures. I carried the pipes a short way into The Double Arches and put them together for a quick impromptu show/photo shoot in the rocks. Personally, I think pipers who insist on playing their bagpipes everywhere they go are a bit annoying, but I really wanted to get the pictures and the other hikers seemed to think it was pretty cool. Turns out most people I run into are more interested in the pipes then I am!

Funny!!!!

Post St Pat's

2010-03-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

Well, St Pat's is over and I'm happy to say I haven't even thought about piping since roughly 3:00am Thursday! The Heathens bar crawl went well. Good times and the scratch wasn't bad. We didn't get tons of pictures, but here are a few of them.

http://connect2utah.com/content/video/?watch=1&cid=80231

2010-03-17T00:38:00.000-07:00

Happy St Patrick's Day

2010-03-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow's the day.

2010-03-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

2 Days to go, Let the drinking songs begin!

2010-03-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

Wow! I was so busy playing gigs yesterday that I didn't have time to post a video. Here's today's.

3 days to go.

2010-03-12T07:42:00.000-08:00

5 days and counting!

This is a tune I've always loved and it's a great example of the Irish influence on American folk music.

The Unfortunate Rake

2010-03-11T14:43:00.000-08:00

6 Days to go! Here's the next tune for the video count down. It's a favorite of my father's, Finnegan's Wake

Don't forget to check the Heathens St Pat's Schedule.
http://www.heathenhighlanders.blogspot.com/

Count Down to St Pat's

2010-03-10T16:05:00.000-08:00

The Heathen Highlanders St Patrick's Day Schedule is posted. To see it go to
http://www.heathenhighlanders.blogspot.com/

It's time for me to begin my video blog countdown to St Patrick's. Check back each day from now until March 17th for a new video featuring some of my favorite Celtic songs.

To get it all started....

Concert

2010-02-07T13:52:00.000-08:00

Friday night the Heathens performed along with The Crawford School of Irish Dance and Swagger at a fund raising concert for the St Patrick's Day Parade. The concert was a huge success... nearly sold out. Here is a video of our opening set.

Looking Back

2010-02-02T08:35:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, I played at a Burns Night Dinner for the folks at St Joseph the Worker Catholic Church. Performing with me were several youngsters from the Donahue Highland Dance Academy. I played for the dancers for the first time since 1999.

Watching these young kids perform brought back memories from when I was a young beginner on the pipes, when everything was new and exciting. I thought back to the first time I played for a highland dancer, the early competitions and performances. Suddenly I remembered how nervous I would get. I remembered the weight of my pipes, the smell of the old hide bag, how strange it felt to put on a kilt for the first time. I remembered how exciting it was to go new places with the band, make new friends and learn new tunes.

I spent the entire evening pondering memories of experiences I had as a kid and the good friends I experienced them with.

Now don’t get me wrong… I’m still sworn off of pipe bands, but it was nice to escape thoughts of the many negative attributes of bands and just enjoy the good memories for a while. They are so vast!

Robert Burns Day

2010-01-29T20:23:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I'm a few days late with this post. Robert Burns Day was January 25th, but I haven't had time to update the blog until now. I trust you all enjoyed your haggis! I'll add a post with my Burns Day experience in a few days... for now, I supose this will due.

What is Haggis?
Take the liver, lungs & heart of a sheep and boil them. Mince the meats and mix with chopped onions, toasted oatmeal, salt, pepper, and spices. Take one properly cleaned sheep's stomach. Stuff the cleaned stomach with the prepared contents. Sew up the stomach (leaving enough room for expansion to avoid a large messy explosion) and boil. Serve and eat. Lovely !

Address To A Haggis
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.
The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o' need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.
His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!
Then, horn for horn,
they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve,
Are bent lyke drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
"Bethankit!" 'hums.
Is there that owre his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi' perfect sconner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?
Poor devil! see him ower his trash,
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro' bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!
But mark the Rustic, haggis fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whissle;
An' legs an' arms, an' heads will sned,
Like taps o' thrissle.
Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a haggis!

Robert Burns

2010-01-02T20:46:00.000-08:00

I just finished my first gig of 2010 and it was a doosie! Late this afternoon I began my journey up Little Cottonwood Canyon to the Snow Bird Ski Resort, where I rode the tram to the top of Snow Bird Peak to play for the memorial of a recently deceased Ski Patrolman. The peak is about 11,000 ft and the temp was 8 degrees Fahrenheit with a windchill of negative something awful! Today I wore long johns under my kilt for the first time in my life! It was cold! I froze, my fingers froze, my drones were covered in ice.... but it was a great experience. The view was awesome! 200 plus folks rode the tram to the top of the mountain to pay respect to their comrade. They showed such great appreciation for my piping as well. The service was among the best I've ever seen. Bagpipes, fireworks and a 21 blast salute from the avalanche canon.

Anyway... I got some great pics while I was there!

The Echo

2009-12-31T08:35:00.000-08:00

OK... I think I'm becoming a bit of a cut and paste blogger! Like my last post, this was sent to me via e-mail and I want to share it. I hope that the person who sent it to me doesn't mind.

As 2009 draws to a conclusion, I think more of us are looking forward to a new year than ever before. However, with that said it is important to remember that often the most reward comes from enduring difficult times. I know everyone has faced many challenges this year, but let’s look to the future with a positive mind set and a determination of champions. Have a great New Year!

The Echo
"A son and his father are walking in the mountains. Suddenly, the son falls, hurts himself, and screams: 'AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!' To his surprise, he hears a voice repeating, somewhere in the mountains: 'AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!' Curious, he yells out: 'Who are you?' He receives the answer: 'Who are you?' And then he screams to the mountain: 'I admire you!' The voice answers: 'I admire you!' Angered at the response, he screams: 'Coward!' He receives the answer: 'Coward!' He looks to his father and asks: 'What's going on?' The father smiles and says: 'My son, pay attention.' Again, the man screams: 'You are a champion!' The voice answers: 'You are a champion!' The boy is surprised, but does not understand. Then the father explains: 'People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE. It gives you back everything you say or do. Our life is simply a reflection of our actions. If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart. if you want more competency in your team, improve your own competency. This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life. Life will give you back everything you have given to it. Your life is not a coincidence. It's a reflection of you'"
Now, during this new year, I ask you to stop and think for a moment. Are you paying attention and listening to YOUR Echo? From what life seems to be calling out to you, what are you calling out to life? Happy New Year!

The Funeral

2009-12-21T11:06:00.000-08:00

This was sent to me via e-mail from a friend.

As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a grave side service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the Kentucky back-country. As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost; and being a typical man I didn't stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late and saw that the funeral director had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch.I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late. I went to the side of the grave and looked down. The vault lid was already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play. The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I've never played before for this homeless man. As I played 'Amazing Grace,' the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished, I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head hung low my heart was full. As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, " I never seen nothin' like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."

Merry Christmas

2009-12-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!
If you check this blog often you may remember that last year I had the pleasure of meeting Santa Clause and he told me the story of how he learned to play the bagpipes.
Well… I have kept in touch with Santa over the months since last Christmas, and he told me that he would like to play the pipes and share his story with you.
If you are interested in having Santa play the bagpipes and entertain the kids of any age at your party, please call me. I’ll set it up for you.

801-661-4168

Call soon, performance dates are limited.

St Andrew's Day

2009-11-20T14:22:00.000-08:00

So we all go out and make a big deal out of St Patrick's Day, but what about St Andrew's Day? Personally I'm a very red blooded, meat eating, patriot American. Besides the gigs, I don't get to much into St Pat's or St Andrew's. But, since this is a bagpipe blog and Scotland is a prominent part of my very "mutt" heritage, I'll share a little info about St Andrew's day.

St. Andrew's Day is the feast of Saint Andrew, celebrated on November 30th.
Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, and St. Andrew's Day is Scotland's official national day . Although most commonly associated with Scotland, Saint Andrew is also the patron saint of Greece, Romania, and Russia.
In Germany, the feast day is celebrated as Andreasnacht ("St. Andrew's Night"), in Austria with the custom of Andreasgebet ("St. Andrew's Prayer"), and in Poland as Andrzejki ("Andrews").

To compare St Andrew's Day with American celebrations It would be like combining the patriotism of Flag Day with the food on Thanksgiving and the religious observance of Christmas and Easter.

This St Andrew's Day weekend, The Republican (an Irish bar) 917 South State St in Salt Lake, will be hosting a St Andrew's day party Nov 27 and 28th. I will be out of town but several of the Heathens will be performing there.

2009-11-04T07:53:00.000-08:00

www.sltrib.com

Back from SWD

2009-09-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

So... I'm just back from the Sheep Wagon Days Fest. What a nice weekend. Friday and Saturday were in the high 70s and Sunny, with just a bit of rain Sunday morning and early afternoon. The festival entertainment went as follows: Friday and Saturday I played bagpipe performances throughout the day. Saturday night I did a Country Western dinner show. Sunday I was back on the pipes for the morning and at lunch time I got to sit in with the John Wayne Band playing cowboy songs and some Irish folk tunes.
This festival is allot of fun because my wife and kids come along. My boys love getting out and talking to all of the old ranchers, learning a bit about what it takes to be a cowboy. My six year old spent most of the weekend with a retired cattleman named Lex teaching him how to rope. Lex made Cam his own lariat and sent it home with him to practice. The boys also got to take turns going on a helicopter tour of the mountain area around Craig. They loved it. As did Mom and I.

Well, here's a little vid from the afternoon sit in with the John Wayne Band. This tune was completely new to them so it starts out a bit rough. It's entirely to old for me so it ends a bit silly.

Sorry there are no pics of the kids. We live in far to dangerous a world to post pictures of my children on an open forum like this. If you want to see them you've got to go to my facebook.

I'm out!

Sheep Wagon Days

2009-09-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of weeks and I'll be off to Craig Colorado for the Sheep Wagon Days Festival again. If you've never heard of the festival (and likely you haven't!) Its put on by the good folks of the Villard Ranch to promote the history of American agriculture, specifically sheep ranching. Anyway, it's allot of fun and I'll be their playing alternating shows between bagpipes and guitar throughout the entire festival. If your in the area stop by the Wyman Living History Museum and check it out. You can find more info on Sheep Wagon Days if you check under my kilt!!!
http://heathen.bagpiper.com/?page_id=20

Here is a little sample from last year...

Pops got me thinking...

2009-08-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

You know... When I started playing the bagpipes for money, it was rare to find a “professional piper” in Salt Lake City. Perhaps we were behind the times, but back then, most pipers played for their band. All proceeds, from group or solo shows would go to the band. The non profit bands would use that money for equipment and expenses to travel to competitions. There were not very many pipers out advertising for work. At that time I was able to keep a nice little business just by handing out cards. Not so anymore! Pipe Bands are still flourishing and getting the funds they need, but there are pipers coming out of the wood works advertising as professionals. Some really are, and some are not. It’s the ones that are not that bother me.

In the last couple of years I’ve seen a huge influx of armature, hobby pipers advertising as "professionals". Guys who don’t have the experience or the ability to play, maintain or even tune their instrument are charging good folks hard earned money to butcher simple tunes at private and public events. Don’t get me wrong I encourage all to play and enjoy it regardless of your playing level. I encourage all levels of pipers to accept payment offered to them from clients who know what they're getting. But for a piper who has little to no experience to advertise as a professional is just wrong. In the past couple of years I’ve seen advertising tactics from some of my “competitors” that make me sick! Piping organizations advertising as a “Grade 1 piping Service” that have no idea how the grading system even works. Pipers claiming years of experience, that date back to way before they had even touched a practice chanter. Pipers using sound bites as tune samples that are actually someone else playing.

This one is my personal favorite:

All of us received a letter inviting us to play at the base of the Twin Towers after 9/11. Is there a piper in the U.S.A. that didn’t receive the invitation? O.K we all got one. Some went to play. Some did not. If you went to play, that’s great. If you didn’t, that’s great. The fact that you were invited doesn’t give you any more credibility than every one else. Please, Please, Please! Can pipers stop using the invitation as an advertising point? Can’t we be honest with our clients?

I hope not to be misunderstood. What ever your level of piping, I hope you continue. I hope you love it. I hope you get work. I just think we need to be honest about what level of piper we are. There are a lot of pipers out there better than I. I once had younger fingers and was much better then I am now. However… when you log onto one of my ads, I’m not trying to mislead anyone, all of the comments are true and all of the recorded samples are me. (With the exception of a couple that I recorded with a business partner.)Clients can hear what they are getting.

Well,,, like it or not those are my thoughts for today.

I’m out

SFU did it again

2009-08-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

The World Championships are over for another year. Here are the top three G1 bands:

First Place - Simon Fraser University (Canada)

Second Place - Field Marshall Montgomery (N Ireland)

Third Place - St Laurence O'Toole (Ireland)

For those keeping score... first and second place didn't change from last year!

To our Utah competitors: Justin and Ross... well done, win or no... Sylvia, congratulations on the biggest of big wins!

The Worlds

2009-07-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

The World Championships are close at hand.

August 16th, Glasgow Green

Will SFU be able to keep their title?

Best of luck to the pipers from Utah that will be competing in the World Championships

Justin Howland, Competing with Dowco Triumph St Pipe Band, G1

Ross Morrill, Competing with Dowco Triumph St Pipe Band, G1

Sylvia De Tar, Competing with SFU Pipe Band G1 (current world champs)

...And good luck to all of the bands representing the U.S.A

Please enjoy the highlights from last years competition.

Sport Kilt

2009-07-10T16:11:00.000-07:00

I just received an e-mail from Seamus at Sport Kilt, in regards to some kilts for my children. It's not in my nature to rave about companies... but I've got to tell you. If your in the market for an alternative to the high price of a traditional kilt, there is no better company to go with. Sport Kilt provides a great quality, great looking kilt, at an outstanding price. They have a wide range of kilts and sporran styles, from very traditional to far from it and everywhere in between. the kilts are durable and look great.

I have two kilts in my wardrobe. One is a traditional kilt that I've had for years. The other is a Sport Kilt. I hardly ever wear my traditional kilt. The Sport Kilt is so much more comfortable.

Two of my partners in the Heathen Highlanders have recently purchased Sport Kilts and they are as pleased as I am.

OK, here is the big selling point. Sport Kilt clearly cares about their customers. In my life I have dealt with very few people who treat their customers with as much concern as Seamus.

Thanks to Seamus and the entire Sport Kilt Staff! I will continue to recommend this great company to anyone looking for a great kilt.

www.sportkilt.com

How do you like this?

2009-06-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again... all of the pipe bands are out doing parades and complaining about it.

When the Heathens do parades, we consider it an opportunity to take goofing off to an extreme. I'm sure all of the traditional pipers are up in arms about our non serious style, but the crowds seem to love watching us march in figure eights, weaving in and out of the crowd. we definitely put on an alternate show from what they normally see.

Here's a shot of me at the South Jordan Parade last Saturday.

Ed Freeman

2009-06-09T06:22:00.000-07:00

The dream for many musicians is to have their music touch the lives of the people who hear it. As pipers we have a great opportunity to touch and influence the people who call upon our services. Funeral bagpiping is, in my opinion the greatest responsibility we hold. I have so many opportunities to provide this service each year and I always consider it an honor to play the bagpipes at the graveside of someone's lost loved one. I'm particularly honored to provide this service to our American Heroes. In this post I would like to feature one such hero. Although I did not have the opportunity to play for this individual, I have been proud to play for hundreds like him.

Imagine

You're a 19 year old kid.
You're critically wounded, and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley ,
11-14-1965, LZ X-ray , Vietnam .. Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8 - 1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.
You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is 1/2 way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again.
As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day. Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear the sound of a helicopter. You look up to see an un-armed Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because no Medi-Vac markings are on it... Ed Freeman is coming for you.
He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come. He's coming anyway. He drops it in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board. Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the Doctors and Nurses. And, he keeps coming back.... 13 more times..... And takes about 30 of you and your buddies, who would never have gotten out.
Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman, died recently at the age of 80, in Boise , ID ....... May God rest his soul......I bet you didn't hear about this hero's passing on the news, but we sure were told a whole bunch about some Hip-Hop Coward beating the crap out of his "girlfriend".

This year thousands of pipers will be called out to play at graveside ceremonies. Please take some time and remember what your performance means to the families of those people.

If you are able to read this, thank a teacher.
If you are reading it in English, thank a veteran.

Great! Now pipers are being replaced by machines!

2009-06-05T11:59:00.001-07:00

I found this on the Bagpipe News Site. Pretty cool!

“McBlare” is a robotic bagpipe player. It plays an ordinary set of bagpipes using an air compressor to provide air and electro-magnetic devices to power the “fingers” that open and close tone holes that determine the musical pitch. McBlare is controlled by a computer that has many traditional bagpipe tunes in its memory. McBlare can also add authentic sounding ornaments to simple melodies entered through a piano-like keyboard and play the result on the bagpipes.

McBlare was constructed by the Robotics Institute for its 25th Anniversary in 2004. The team that built McBlare includes Ben Brown, Garth Zeglin, and Roger Dannenberg.

Canadian Cruise

2009-05-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

So, this post has nothing to do with bagpipes. I know! It's a bagpipe blog... turns out I have more interests... like cruising. I love Cruises. I just got back from a 7 day Canadian Cruise on The Carnival Splendor. It was awesome! Check out the pics.

2009-05-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

I know I know... St Pat's is over!!

2009-04-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

OK , this blog is not supposed to be an online scrap book for the Heathen Highlanders, and I know it's April... St Patrick's Day is long over. However... we got so much great media on St Pat's, I just want share a bit more.

After you watch the videos, check out our new website! http://www.hhbagpipes.bandvista.com/
I'll share some thoughts on my next post!

The Heathens @ Piper Down

Here are the guys from Swagger playing a bit on the Fox 13 Morning News. I'm participating in a little Celtic mosh pit with a few of the other Heathens and Dave from Piper Down.

Jessa and McKenzie @ Magie McGee's on the 2 Morning News Show

Clare and Breegan on Fox 13 with Big Budah, Justin Howland (Heathen Highlanders) is the Piper.

Utah Freedom Memorial

2009-04-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

A memorial is in the works to be built in Sandy City to honor our fallen heroes from the War on Terror. I would like to encourage all (regardles of your political views) who can spare $10.00 or more, to log onto the website and make a donation. Help fund this important symbol of American patriotism.
www.utahfreedommemorial.org/index.html

"No person was ever honored for what he recieved. Honor has been the reward for what he gave." -Calvin Coolidge-

Post St Pat's

2009-03-19T09:46:00.001-07:00

I think I've recovered from St Patrick's Day. The Heathens had a schedule big enough to kill us, playing shows non stop from the 5:30 a.m. news broadcast until 2:00 a.m. the following morning. Not to mention the week of performances leading into St Pat's. It was awesome though. Here are a few pics from the festivities.

St Patrick's Day Schedule

2009-02-15T21:01:00.000-08:00

The Heathen Highlanders St. Patrick's Day schedule is nearly finished. It's going to be our biggest bar crawl yet. Check it out!

http://heathen.bagpiper.com/?page_id=20

I HATE WINTER

2009-02-02T19:56:00.000-08:00

I guess it's about time for a new post. Last week I played a grave side service for a Vietnam Army Veteran. It's always an honor for me to pay tribute to our nations heroes. Anyway... the interment was at Camp Williams Veteran's Memorial Cemetery. Nice place, but way to windy for a winter day. The outside temperature was 29 with a wind chill factor of negative something horrendous. Long story short... by the end of the very speedy dedication and military service I had a quarter inch ice sickle on the bottom of my chanter. I wish I had my camera with me.

On a warmer note. The Heathens played a show for the Granite School District executive staff last Saturday. It was held at one of Utah's finest restaurants, La Caille. We were invited to dine and play after dinner. It was nice. You know... the company was good... the food was exquisite... the entertainment was outstanding!!! Ha. Here are a few pics from the evening.

Piping Santa

2008-11-29T19:42:00.000-08:00

Well the Holidays are in full swing. With Thanksgiving over for another year, Christmas season has officially begun. Yesterday I had the surprise of a life time. Fellow Heathen Mike Gibbs called on the phone and told me that the big man himself, good old St Nick had been spotted throughout the day in several Salt Lake locations, playing the bagpipes. Who knew Santa Clause was a piper?? Well, Mike and I took off to find him. When we located Santa, he was on Main St down town entertaining a bunch of folks on the side walk. It was great. Mike had brought his pipes and got to play a little duet with Santa Clause. Me... I just got some great Pics. I hope you enjoy.
Merry Christmas!

Defferent is Good

2008-10-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I spent the weekend performing at the Sheep Wagon Days Festival in Craig Colorado. It was a nice little festival but a bit heavy on the Scottish weather!
Anyway... While I was there I got to mingle with a hand full of other musicians that were playing.
Mostly country western groups. Among those was an impressive bunch called The John Wayne Band. Now... their name doesn't come from any nostalgia of the famous actor like you might think but actually because the singer is named John and the fiddler is Wayne... Makes sense hu?
On the last day of the gig I had a little jam session with John and bass player Rich. As festival announcer Art Unsworth scrambled for a name that he could use to announce the trio, several ideas were mentioned... my favorite was "The John Wayne Highlanders".

Here's a little video: The volume of my pipes overpowered the sound system, so you've got to turn it up to get the full effect.

Guitar Man

2008-09-22T03:46:00.000-07:00

OK,OK,

So this is supposed to be a bagpipe blog... it's my blog and I can write about what ever I want, and today I don't want to write about bagpipes. I want to write about guitars. So what?

Wow!

Now that I have the attitude out of the way...

I had a great time last Friday. I was asked to perform at the Jordan Valley School Western Roundup. Jordan Valley is a school for people with mental handicaps and this event is a big information fair and carnival for the students and their families. Not only a good cause but they asked me to be the headline entertainer.

There was a time not to many years ago that I was trying to make a living as a vocalist and guitar player. I performed all over singing country western, contemporary folk and rock & roll music. I played for six years in a steak house called the Wagon Master under the stage name Cole Younger. What a way to make a living! but not much of a living!

Anyway....

I don't get much of that sort of work anymore. I don't advertise it because it takes to much time and work to get gigs. Guitar pickin' singers are a dime a dozen. Bagpiping's where the money is and with a full time job and a family I've got to make my time pay off. Don't get me wrong I love piping, but there's just something about singing that makes it so much easier to interact with the crowd and really entertain, and that's what I'm in it for. I enjoy the music, but I love to entertain!

Here's a video from the event. My sister recorded it on her digital camera. The quality is rather poor and for some reason she recorded it sideways... but the sound is decent.If your interested in hearing some more of my vocal work you can go to my web site http://heathen.bagpiper.com/ click on the page titled My other music and listen to the samples.

I'll write something bagpipeish on my next post ok???

I'm out

Try a Sport Kilt!!

2008-08-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

You know… as time changes so do traditions. The kilt is no exception to this point. Over the years the kilt has changed slowly from one huge sheet of fabric to the neatly pleated lowland kilt that most of us wear today… and how about all of the changes to the lowland kilt!

For example:

The Utili-kilt...........The Mini Kilt...........The Camo Kilt

...and the one modern kilt development that has really impressed me:

The Sport Kilt. (The picture below shows my sport kilt next to a traditional lowland kilt.)
Sport Kilt___________Traditional

I first saw Sport Kilt's advertised in the spring of 2006 and I wasn't very impressed. At that point they were being made primarily for Scottish Athletes and although they might have been good for the mighty kaber tossers, the kilt was lacking for a piper. At that point it looked like nothing more than a plaid skirt.

But like everything else... Sport Kilt grew. They started making different varieties of their modern light weight kilts. They now have kilts for athletes, women, children, contemporary folks and grit iron traditionalists. The kilt I have is the most traditional of the kilts that they offer. It's called "The Works Sport Kilt." along with the light weight fabric, elastic waist and velcro closure on the apron, this kilt has leather buckles, sewn down pleats and fringe on the front apron... just like a traditional kilt. All of the pipers I play with wear traditional kilts and side by side with them you can't even see a difference!

OK, here's what I like so much about the Sport Kilt; Not only is it way more comfortable than my traditional kilt, but it only cost a little over one hundred dollars. At a price like that, I will be getting more of them.

Don't get me wrong... there is a time and place for everything. I play at allot of events that require a more formal look. For those sort of events a piper needs to have a traditional kilt or two, but for pipers with an open mind that would like an affordable and comfortable way to expand the old kilt wardrobe, give Sport Kilt a try. Check out their web site:

http://www.sportkilt.com/

I'm out

Press Kit Photos

2008-08-11T01:35:00.000-07:00

I've just returned from spending the weekend in St George (S.Utah) for my nieces wedding. While I was there I thought it would be a good opportunity to use the great Southern Utah scenery to get some updated press kit photos. They turned out so good I decided to share a few of them on this blog.

Most of the photos were taken with my drones and chanter taped off so that I could pose rather than play, but when we got down into Snow Canyon my oldest boy wanted to hear what the pipes would sound like echoing off of the red rock. So I plugged in my reeds, tuned em up and played a little concert for the folks in the canyon. The sound was awesome and I received some cheering and whistling from hikers that were to far to see but clearly not to hear. In short... we had fun!

Photos were taken by my wife Tonja.

Hey! While your here, go over to the right column and take the pole: What's under your kilt? Come on... don't be shy, and for crying out loud stop being so uptight!!!

I'm out!

Bagpipe Maintenance

2008-07-26T04:14:00.000-07:00

As a performer it’s very important that my instrument is always maintained and in tip top condition. However… from time to time something goes wrong!

I play a Synthetic hide bag made by Bennatyne. I love the bag. It’s great! However my blowpipe is an old Vordose blowpipe with a stock slightly larger than the rubber stock seal on the bag. The Bennatyne bag was designed so that the rubber seal is all that is needed to hold the stock in place. No tie in or clamps.

Now… As I performed this week on the 24th of July in 100 degree heat, my blowpipe stock that has held tightly in place for the past three and a half years began slipping out of the bag. I’ve never even heard of this happening before. I was shocked. What did I do you ask? Well, there’s an old saying that goes back to the beginning of the entertainment industry. “The show must go on!” I simply pushed the blowpipe back in as far as it would go and continued playing over the next 45 minuets with half of my breath going into the bagpipes and half of the air spilling out past the stock. I continued to perform. It was a gut buster but my playing went unaffected. When I finished… the client that hired me raved about my performance in appreciation. He didn’t even know something went wrong.

This got me thinking about the way things used to be… when we all played cane drone reeds and sheep or cow hide bags with gobs of dressing inside. I remember the amount of time that was spent on pipe maintenance… and tuning… and re tuning. All the time messing with the bridals on reeds and playing with various water traps that didn’t work.
I could go on!!!

Thanks to improved technology through the years my maintenance time has been cut by fourths. The end result: A great sounding, easy playing, low maintenance set of bagpipes.

Ok, ok, I know… If you’re serious about solo competitions the hassle of all cane reeds is the way to go…but for band and entertainment work, there are a whole bunch of great quality synthetics.

Be careful what you pick some of the new developments are good, some are not so good. You’ll have to derive your own opinions.

Here are some of my favorites:
Obviously, the Bennatyne synthetic bag with zipper
The Bennatyne moisture control system
Henderson Harmonic drone reeds

What ever your preference… happy piping.

I’m out

2008-07-10T03:32:00.001-07:00

Thanks for Joining me.

This is something new for me. I’ve taken full advantage of the luxury of the internet for advertising… My bagpipe services are well covered on plenty of sites. If you have found this blog while trying to hire a bagpiper, please see the contact information listed on the top of the right hand column. That’s not what this site is about. This is my opportunity to talk about bagpiping and hopefully get other pipers involved sharing some stories.

I’ll be thirty in about a month. My kids tell me I’m old and my wife thinks I’ll never grow up. One thing that has occurred to me as my life reaches a nice round number. I’ve been playing the bagpipes for two thirds of my life.

I remember when I first started. I had been working on the practice chanter for about nine months. I finished learning all of the gracing and finger exercises and I knew three tunes when I first held the set of Gibson Bagpipes that I would play for the next ten years. I remember the musky smell of the old hide bag and bag dressing and I was surprised at the weight of my new instrument. I put the blow pipe to my lips, filled the bag with air and struck in just how Dennis had instructed me. To my surprise I could barely make a peep. I had not yet developed the strength to play. Over the next few weeks that problem was remedied. Much to the misfortune of my neighbors, each day after school I was in the back yard blaring away sloppy and out of tune, but that's how one learns.

Not long after that I became a member of a bagpipe band. For ten years I played in that band and had allot of experiences... some good... some bad. I developed some pretty strong opinions about bagpipe bands, but I think I will keep that to myself for now. In the bagpipe band I made allot of friends. I keep in touch with some and have not talked to others in years. Some still play and some do not. I have life full of great memories and those friends are a part of that.

To all bagpipers: I would like to post your thoughts comments and stories (especially funny ones) please join in and share.

I’m out for now!!!