The Captain (and Me)

May 9, 2010 on 5:04 pm by Michael Grey | In Photographs, Solo Piping, Stories, Tips | 2 Comments

Colin MacLellan sent along a few photos this week. All have become instant treasures. Colin was in town this weekend and while the memory is still fresh (in a hazy sort of way) of me seeing him the last away at 4:30 this morning following a post-competition party, I pass it along here.
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A Smart Ashes’ Prediction

May 4, 2010 on 7:26 pm by Michael Grey | In News, Pipe Bands, Solo Piping, Stories | 3 Comments

The Icelandic ash thing ain’t going away. I wonder how news that makes headlines like today’s “Ash cloud set to close Scottish airspace” will affect the overseas attendance of pipers and pipe bands at the late summer competitions in Scotland?
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Play the Sweet Music (You Like)

May 2, 2010 on 5:10 pm by Michael Grey | In Music, Pipe Bands, Solo Piping, Tips | Comments Off on Play the Sweet Music (You Like)

I was driving to band practice this morning and happened on a really interesting interview on the radio.
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Nuts

April 27, 2010 on 5:56 pm by Michael Grey | In Humour, Pipe Bands, Solo Piping, Tips | Comments Off on Nuts

The tip of the day:
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So You Want to Compete at the Big Games

March 28, 2010 on 6:14 pm by Michael Grey | In Music, Solo Piping, Video | 4 Comments

Thanks to the recent purchase of a video-to-digital box I’ve been able to post some ancient video. This particular sample presents as a fine demo of what it’s really like to compete at a big outdoor contest – in this case, The Argyllshire Gathering, Oban, Scotland. While this comes from 1991 (gulp) things haven’t changed and what you see is what you get.
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Allemande Left (Nod to the Judge)

March 7, 2010 on 9:18 am by Michael Grey | In Solo Piping, Tips | 5 Comments

Last night’s final of the Toronto Branch of the Pipers’ & Pipe Band Society of Ontario’s amateur knock-out was a first-class event. The morning after listening to a dozen excellent amateur pipers go through their paces got me to thinking. OK. I was thinking about this last night, but I’m still thinking about it this morning.
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10 Favourite Musical Memories of the Noughts

December 29, 2009 on 9:18 pm by Michael Grey | In News, Pipe Bands, Solo Piping, Stories | Comments Off on 10 Favourite Musical Memories of the Noughts

Yikes. Its two days to 2010. Cliche alert: it seems like yesterday … we were all freaking out about the apocalyptic possibilities of a new millennium. Then, as now, I was working in the technology field and clearly recall being assigned a “war room” shift. For those not familiar with the tech business staple of system recovery, the “war room” is a small group of multi-skilled people charged with restarting failed computer systems. I was the scribe of the group (an important role, of course). With black marker at the ready I was set to record the crashing systems and falling sky. Continue reading 10 Favourite Musical Memories of the Noughts…

Aged to Perfection (Ravi Shankar)

October 19, 2009 on 8:57 pm by Michael Grey | In Music, Solo Piping, Stories | Comments Off on Aged to Perfection (Ravi Shankar)

I had a great night last Saturday. I was treated to a concert of Indian classical music. And what a treat. None other than the world’s greatest exponent of the art was centre stage, sitar in hands. Ravi Shankar, the eighty-nine years old living legend, and his twenty-eight years old daughter, the remarkable, Anoushka, enthralled the sold out audience with non-stop musical virtuosity.
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Tea with Lord Lovat

September 2, 2009 on 7:04 pm by Michael Grey | In Pipe Bands, Solo Piping, Stories | 6 Comments

When I think of early September I think of the Northern Meeting in Inverness, Scotland. The grand daddy of all solo bagpipe competitions. It’s the number one event on the solo piper’s calendar; or, maybe more correctly, the solo piper with the most experience, the nimblest fingers and s/he amongst the select global one hundred and fifty or so pipers who aspire to `the medals`: the oldest, most venerable prizes offered in the Highland bagpipe world. Of all the indelible memories I have of times spent at the Northern Meeting none stand out more than the one not directly related to bagpipes: tea with Lord Lovat.
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Smiling on the Judges

May 29, 2009 on 1:43 pm by Michael Grey | In Humour, Pipe Bands, Solo Piping, Stories, Tips | Comments Off on Smiling on the Judges

I am not a big fan of judging. I mean by that, that I don’t generally get a lot of heel-clicking, raise-your-glass glee out of judging, assessing, pipe band (or solo piping) competitions. Done well, judging, or “adjudicating”, takes great concentration – in fact, its damned hard work. Hats off to those who have for years undertaken the judging challenge with aplomb and undisputable fairness.
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