Michaelmas

Today: A day of note if your name is Michael or you’re a Celtic-y, Druidish, retro-religous type; so I qualify on one count, anyway.
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Karma

One of my favourite proverbs ever:
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When in Rome …

I’ve had to pretty much watch what I eat my whole life. Fries and gravy, pasta and anything and pints stick to me like chrome on a trailer hitch. Maybe you can relate. The buckles on a kilt, or your pants (trousers) don’t lie. It’s probably the way of things for most people, I suppose. Anyway, I generally, sort of, mostly, do my good-intentioned best to keep things right.
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Keep the Flags at Home

The big day has come and gone. The 2011 World Pipe Band Championships will surely stand as the best ever. What fantastic virtuoso performances and delivered, too, by bands across a hugely wide breadth of the contest. Every band seemed to play varying degrees of great.
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Get Your Bag On

No surprise that I’m about to say I believe it’s a special (different, out-of-the-ordinary, etc) kind of person who’s attracted to playing the Great Highland Bagpipe. Loud, brash, hard to keep quiet and sometimes offensive – and I’m talking the instrument and not (necessarily) the player here – it seems to me shy folk are not generally attracted to playing bagpipes. Yes, exceptions to every rule but I say the bagpipe world is full the eff up with “type A” personalities (drummers included, here, too, but they’re another story).
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When the Heat’s On

For anyone who has to regularly play their bagpipes in a place that’s hot, well, you may already know this secret.
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Thank You / Gracias / Merci / Tapadh leibh / Grazie

A rare and wonderful thing happened yesterday. At Georgetown highland games we saw a most deserving public thank-you [understatement].
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Making Music

Everyone’s always looking for the “secret“: how do I make music happen?

Making great music is a different story, but good music, to make good music? That’s a horse of a different colour.
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Medal Detector

I spent a few hours this Good Friday at an estate auction in Milton, Ontario. Auctions are great places to get a deal, and – if you’re lucky – find really interesting stuff. The funny thing about auctions, too, at least in these parts is you’re always assured to come away from the hall smelling of fried onions (courtesy of the food concession) and feeling super young – auctions seem to attract the people of the (especially) long-toothed variety.
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Advice from Jimi Hendrix

I have to admit I’m not one of those blindly obsessed Jimi Hendrix fans. Not even close. Guitar players tend to worship him – especially electric guitarists. I do appreciate his musicianship, though. Absolutely [I’m sure Jimi is sighing with relief amongst his rock and roll angels].

But his stuff, unlike, say, Cathy-Ann MacPhee’s, is not what I listen to; it’s not music that tends to make my day – or night – better. And we all know music has that magical power…if directed to the right ears.

But just because someone hasn’t dialled in to your music, well, that doesn’t make it any less great.
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