Precious Practice Pads

November 26, 2008 on 7:24 pm by Michael Grey | In Solo Piping, Stories, Tips | 4 Comments

A huge number of us are  stricken with the chronic challenge of trying to find a suitable place to practice the big pipes.   If a single chanter can reach 122 decibels and a pneumatic drill can reach 104 decibels, well, then, we all  know we need some fairly sound-tight space to rehearse our tunes of glory.  Hell, we didn’t need to know about the drill statistic; it’s simple, we need space to play our pipes.  Period.
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When Pipers Die

November 23, 2008 on 9:22 pm by Michael Grey | In Music, Pipe Bands, Solo Piping, Stories, Tips | 5 Comments

I’m just in the door from Scott MacAulay’s memorial, held this afternoon in Hamilton, Ontario.   A standing room only crowd with lots of music: bagpipes, smallpipes and Gaelic song, and lots of heartfelt memory.  It has been over two months since Scott’s death and, still, emotion was raw.  It was great to see so many old friends and aquaintances.  Scott would’ve been hugely proud of main organizers Kenny Eller, Donnie Forgan, Sue McCarroll and Bob MacCrimmon. “God love ’em, ” he’d say, I’m sure.
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Let’s Harmonize the Set!

November 16, 2008 on 1:37 pm by Michael Grey | In Music, Pipe Bands, Tips | 18 Comments

Music that never fails to make me feel better for listening is the kind made on the accordion – especially Scottish dance band stuff, though any accordion, in almost any style, will do. Piano or button key, the accordion is boxtastic.
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Watching Paint Dry & Pipe Band MSRs

November 9, 2008 on 8:14 pm by Michael Grey | In Music, Pipe Bands, Whinges | 6 Comments

This weekend I happened across a quote courtesy of the French philosopher, Francois Marie Arouet (aka Voltaire). He wrote, “the best way to be boring is to leave nothing out”. Ain’t it the truth. Think of the masses of news coverage of the politician who misspeaks, or the chatter after a concert when a singer forgets lyrics or an actor forgets lines – the kind of stuff that morphs to memory, leaves a strong, nearly indelible impression. TV networks make buckets of cash (I guess) producing TV shows of outtakes and “bloopers”. People love it. What makes bull fighting timelessly popular with the Spanish public? The artistry and athleticism of the matador, without doubt. I suspect, though, it’s more the possibility of a good old-fashioned gouging that tells the true tale, a matadorian misstep of the lethal kind keeps the crowds coming, and holds the potential for biggest impression and, dare I say it, most exciting entertainment.
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Q-School: World Pipe Band Championships Style

October 17, 2008 on 7:19 pm by Michael Grey | In Pipe Bands, Whinges | 16 Comments

People heavily involved in the competitive pipe band world (without doubt a far smaller group than those immersed in the “non-competing” pipe band world) know the scoop, the “gen”, when it comes to how the Worlds thing works. We know, when it comes to the Worlds, intense participant passion is the way it is; passion, and for the event itself, a litany of Byzantine rules and quirky subtext. Continue reading Q-School: World Pipe Band Championships Style…

A Cape Breton Love Story

October 5, 2008 on 10:34 am by Michael Grey | In Humour, Music, Stories | Comments Off on A Cape Breton Love Story

My friend, Thea (Gillis) Campbell, sent this to me this morning; as they say, I “LMAO”. I’m thinking you might like this:
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A Lot of Fun Thanks to youtube

October 1, 2008 on 9:33 pm by Michael Grey | In Pipe Bands, Stories, Video | 13 Comments

The band had a lot of fun this season, or I think they did.  I know I did.  Stretchy music and youtube.com – what a combo.  Posts of our medley performances on the video site gave us waves of anonymous commentary; a sort of huge sputtering, spittley mouth-piece of amazingly passionate – and mostly vitriolic - comment.  Entertaining in the extreme for us.  I think of anonymous comment as entertainment and that with a bona fide signature as constructive.      
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Hope for a New Premier Grade Event

September 27, 2008 on 4:02 pm by Michael Grey | In News, Pipe Bands, Stories | 15 Comments

There was a time I was heavily involved in the administration of the Pipers’ & Pipe Band Society of Ontario.  Bigtime involved.  Vice-President of the Toronto Branch when I was 18, President at 19.  Can you imagine!  What a presumptuous little brat I must’ve been (or am, depending on who you ask). 
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Practice Chanters: Size Matters (Thanks Ben Johnson)

September 21, 2008 on 6:59 pm by Michael Grey | In Solo Piping, Stories, Tips | 2 Comments

With competitions and general busyness most Saturdays I’ve come to be a chronic Sunday reader of Canada’s Saturday Globe & Mail – a favourite newspaper. Out on the back deck this afternoon, as the setting sun of the last day of summer sort of warmed, I came across an article of interest: one that made me immediately think of a bagpiping parallel (not an entirely uncommon thing to happen – I’m slightly embarrassed to admit).
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Scott MacAulay

September 10, 2008 on 2:48 pm by Michael Grey | In Photographs, Stories | 6 Comments

What sad news that the dynamic force of nature known as Scott MacAulay has died. I’ve known him for pretty much as long as I have been piping, and, I guess, because of that, I’d expected him to be around for, at least, as long as I was. I hadn’t spent much time with Scott over the last number of years; like so many people we know, especially friends, we take them for granted: “I’ll call tomorrow”, “We’ll get together soon”.
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