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Published: May 05, 2013 Roddy MacLeod: the pipes|drums Interview – Part 3
RATING  In the third instalment of our exclusive interview with Roddy MacLeod, the Director of the National Piping Centre and the Piping Live! Glasgow International Festival of Piping discusses in detail the relationship with Glasgow's College of Piping. He looks back to the origins of the Piping Centre, when the late Seumas MacNeill had a central role in its beginnings, only to fall out over a leadership disagreement. In Part 3, among many other topics, MacLeod takes an inward look at his career, and his professional contributions to the art. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (0) |
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Published: April 07, 2013 Roddy MacLeod: the pipes|drums Interview – Part 2
RATING We continue our exclusive discussion with Roddy MacLeod, one of the world's great builders of piping. In Part 1, MacLeod remembered his earliest years as a young piper in Cumbernauld, Scotland. In Part 2, MacLeod looks back on his formative piping years with his teacher, the legendary Duncan Johnstone. He goes into his early pipe band days with the Grade 1 Red Hackle in Glasgow under Pipe-Major Malcolm MacKenzie, leading to his long tenure with British Caledonian Airways / Power of Scotland / ScottishPower and the Spirit of Scotland, and the importance of strong soloists in the mix. He then touches on why he is not a judge with the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (2) |
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Published: March 16, 2013 Roddy MacLeod – the pipes|drums Interview – Part 1
RATING We bring our subscribers an exclusive interview with arguably Highland piping's most professional and well-rounded personalities. An extraordinary competitor, a leader of Grade 1 pipe bands, the original and existing Director of the National Piping Centre and the co-founder and leader of the Piping Live! Festival, Roddy MacLeod's contributions to the art are unparalleled. Add to all that a gregarious and generous personality, and you have one of history's all-time greatest exponents of the art. In four parts, including video, readers can look forward to a look into what propels this exceptional piper to ever greater achievements. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (2) |
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Published: November 24, 2012 An interview with pipe band drumming great Robert Turner
RATING We bring subscribers to pipes|drums an exclusive interview with Robert "Bob" Turner, the former leading-drummer with the legendary Muirhead & Sons and British Caledonian Airways pipe bands. With Muirhead's, Turner helped the band to five World Championship wins, a Champion of Champions title, and every other major pipe band prize in the United Kingdom. Now a resident of New Zealand, pipes|drums reader Glen Rodgers, himself an accomplished drummer, met with Bob Turner for a discussion on his career, his style of and approach to drumming, his memories of Muirhead's and B-Cal, and the state of pipe band drumming today. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (4) |
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Published: October 18, 2012 (HD videos added) Michael Grey: the pipes|drums Interview – Part 5
RATING  We conclude our exclusive interview with Michael Grey, one of the most prolific and played composers in piping history. In this last segment Grey discusses, among many other things . . . Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (3) |
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Published: September 02, 2012 Michael Grey: the pipes|drums Interview – Part 4
RATING In this, the fourth of five instalments to his pipes|drums Interview, we delve into Michael Grey's substantial recording accomplishments, which comprise 10 solo CDs and about twice as many albums done with pipe bands, including three as a pipe-major. There have been few, if an, Highland pipers with as long a list of recordings and, still in his forties, there are undoubtedly more. In Part 4, Grey discusses many of the projects, how they came about ad where he gets his creative inspiration, while also openly analyzing the challenge of reaching non-piping audiences with the limitations and preconception of the instrument and its music. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (1) |
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Published: July 22, 2012 Michael Grey: the pipes|drums Interview – Part 3
RATING In this third part of Michael Grey: the pipes|drums Interview, we delve directly into the composition side of his career: how he approaches composing, the need to have a professional attitude about copyright and royalties, and his take on the great composers like Donald MacLeod, G.S. McLennan, John McLellan and Gordon Duncan. Grey discusses the notion of the "accepted competition repertoire," and the need to expand attitudes to be more inclusive, while also citing what he feels are the greatest tunes ever penned. Exclusively for subscribers to pipes|drums. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (1) |
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Published: July 02, 2012 Michael Grey: the pipes|drums Interview – Part 2
RATING We continue our exclusive interview Michael Grey, one of the most prominent and successful composers of Highland bagpipe music of the last 100 years. In Part 1, Grey discussed his piping roots and inspirations, and the early years that formed his interest in composition. In Part 2, he delves into the inner-workings of his creative mind, the challenge to be creative within a tradition-based folk-artform, and his desire to push his own musical boundaries. In this installment, Grey makes a strong correlation between the art's most traditional music, piobaireachd, and the rich opportunities presented by the pipe band medley format. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (2) |
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Published: June 11, 2012 Michael Grey: the pipes|drums Interview – Part 1
RATING Our exclusive in-depth interview with Michael Grey, perhaps the greatest – and certainly the most prodigious – living composer of Highland bagpipe music. In this five-part subscribers-only discussion, supported with video and photos, Grey delves into his career as a piper, his composing techniques, pipe band philosophies and his unending quest for the next new, different and innovative thing. Never content to stand still, Grey, after almost 40 years in piping, continues to push the boundaries of the music, while constantly remaining grounded in and aware of its long traditions. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (7) |
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Published: May 20, 2012 Donald MacPherson: the pipes|drums Interview from the Archives - Part 2
RATING The second and final part of the 2005 archival interview with Donald MacPherson, one of the greatest competition pipers in history, who died on April 21, 2012. In this section he discusses his compositions, provides tips for aspiring pipers, and even reveals a few secrets about how he achieved his sound. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (0) |
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Published: May 06, 2012 Donald MacPherson: the pipes|drums Interview from the Archives – Part 1
RATING We bring subscribers to pipes|drums our archive interview from 2005 with the late Donald MacPherson. Piping scholar Barnaby Brown originally assembled the historic piece with the legendary piper, who passed away on April 21, 2012, at the age of 89. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (0) |
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Published: February 19, 2012 Mark Saul: the pipes|drums Interview - Part 4
RATING In the final instalment of the Mark Saul pipes|drums Interview, he discusses piping and drumming "traditions," the ebb and flow of musical creativity, and what happens when bands try to challenge the establishment. The cultural divisions that can be seen with bands from various parts of the world are exposing new concepts and leading to the constant questioning of "authority." Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (3) |
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Published: February 04, 2012 Mark Saul: the pipes|drums Interview – Part 3
RATING We continue our wide-ranging discussion with Mark Saul, one of the world's most popular composers of music for the Highland pipes. In this third instalment, Saul talks about the Victoria Police, the prospects for another Australian pipe band winning a Grade 1 World Championship, and the challenges of leading a Grade 2 band whose reason-to-be is not all winning all the time. Mark Saul touches on the allure of the World's, and the trend towards amalgamating players for flash-in-the-pan attempts to make a mark in Scotland, and the big picture of camaraderie, music and simply having fun. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (5) |
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Published: January 08, 2012 Mark Saul: the pipes|drums Interview – Part 2
RATING We continue our exclusive interview with Mark Saul of Melbourne, one of the leading composers and arrangers of pipe music of our time. In Part 2, Saul discusses the challenges of composing and publishing in the modern piping world, the role that the Victoria Police Pipe Band had on his work, and the band's organization and strategy in its 1990s glory years. Mark Saul goes in to detail about the management style of Pipe-Major Nat Russell, the tuning genius of Robert Crozier, and dispels a few myths about the band that have evolved since its 1998 World Championship win. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (0) |
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Published: December 18, 2011 Mark Saul: the pipes|drums Interview – Part 1
RATING A wide-ranging, exclusive conversation with one of the piping world's most well-regarded composers and performers. In this four-part interview for subscribers to pipes|drums, Mark Saul discusses his experiences with the legendary Victoria Police Pipe Band, his disappointments and disenchantment with the musical limitations of pipe bands, and his search for enlightenment and wider horizons in music overall. Having just released his third collection of music, Mark Saul's piping life has taken him around the world and, with a typically Australian attitude, is never content with the status quo. In this first instalment, we discuss Mark Saul's origins as a piper, his development and inspirations as a composer, and his instinctive desire to strive for more. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (4) |
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Published: November 13, 2011 Jim Hutton: the pipes|drums Interview from the Archives – Part 4
RATING In this the final installment of our February 2000 interview with Jim Hutton, the late drumming luminary discusses his views on the World Pipe Band Championships, the RSPBA, teaching and his outlook on his own and the pipe band world's future. For more than 50 years, Jim Hutton was a primary figure in pipe band drumming, playing for several decades alongside the legendary Alex Duthart in Shotts & Dykehead, Invergordon Distillery and the Edinburgh City Police. Hutton was a link with the formative years of pipe band drumming, and an important figure in the Lanarkshire area's growth as a nurturing ground for pipe band snare drummers. In this final part he also discusses the "disease" that is pipe banding, and the fact that the best leaders are not always the best players. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (0) |
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Published: October 30, 2011 Jim Hutton: the pipes|drums Interview from the Archives – Part 3
RATING In this penultimate installment of our February 2000interview with the late Jim Hutton, we get into contentious topics of the time – namely, conflict of interest in the pipe band judging ranks, the emerging game of numbers in the upper-grade bands and the varying standards around the world of pipe band snare drumming. Interestingly, Hutton touches upon the trend that had then only recently re-started with flourishing tenors, and his thoughts at the time foreshadowed the controversy of opinions that would follow over the next decade. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (0) |
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Published: October 27, 2011 A video chat with 2011 World Solo Drumming Champion Steven McWhirter
RATING The two-time winner of solo pipe band drumming's highest award lets pipes|drums subscribers in on his preparation, strategy and the importance of having a musically compatible piping accompaniment. McWhirter also lets viewers in on one of his secrets to gaining sympathetic integration with tempo and the beat. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (7) |
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Published: October 02, 2011 Jim Hutton: the pipes|drums Interview from the Archives – Part 2
RATING We continue our publication of a February 2000 interview with Jim Hutton, one of history's important figures in pipe band drumming. The original interview had to be edited down to accommodate the now-antequated limitations on print publishing, and we provide the complete text here. Jim Hutton passed away in June of this year at the age of 75. For almost 70 years he led an incredibly active life in pipe bands as a player, teacher and adjuodicator. In Part 2 Hutton discusses the state of drumming at the time, the impact of players like Jim Kilpatrick on the scene, and several of the young bands and players of the time that he predicted would go on to great things. Exclusive to pipes|drums subscribers. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (0) |
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Published: September 10, 2011 Jim Hutton: the pipes|drums Interview from the Archives
RATING  The passing of the famous pipe band drummer Jim Hutton in June of this year brought into focus his role in and contributions to our community. Over Hutton's 75 years he accomplished much, including competitive, teaching and organizational success. In light of his work, we chose to look back at the interview we conducted with him in 2000, and bring to subscribers to pipes|drums the full text of the conversation in the latest in our Interviews from the Archives series. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (0) |
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Published: July 04, 2011 Gerry Quigg: the pipes|drums Interview - Part 4
RATING We conclude our four-part interview with Gerry Quigg, an early innovator of pipe band music. In this instalment, Quigg continues with opinions on the size of pipe bands, the current trends with pipe band medleys, his judging experiences and much more.
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Published: June 18, 2011 Gerry Quigg: the pipes|drums Interview - Part 3
RATING We resume our four-part discussion with Gerry Quigg, a mastermind of early medley construction. In Part 3, Quigg touches on the status of pipe bands in the United States, modern medleys and pipe bands, touring the globe with the United States Air Force Pipe Band the psychedelic sixties, meeting iconic rock stars along the way and even putting up with an emergency landing when a plane's engine caught fire in mid-flight. As one of the first truly innovative minds, Gerry Quigg adapted concepts from Celtic and rock music to pipe bands. With the City of Toronto Pipe Band he helped to orchestrate landmark selections that keyed in to piobaireachd themes, including "The Glen Is Mine," "MacIntosh's Lament" and "The Desperate Battle." He would go on to help form the musical foundation that established the 78th Fraser Highlanders as a progressive leader of pipe band music. Included in this installment is a rare archival recording of City of Toronto's "Desperate Battle" medley in competition at the 1974 North American Pipe Band Championships at Maxville, Ontario. Exclusively for subscribers who support pipes|drums. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (6) |
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Published: May 23, 2011 Gerry Quigg: the pipes|drums Interview – Part 2
RATING We continue our frank and candid conversation with Gerry Quigg, an unsung innovator of pipe band music responsible, in many ways, for introducing new musical idioms to traditional pipe band music. In Part 2, Quigg discusses famous pipe band people lifting his ideas and accepting credit for them, the genesis of the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band, his regrets about leaving that band and the current state of pipe band music. We also include a rare recording of the City of Toronto Pipe Band's "MacIntosh's Lament" medley, performed in competition at the Toronto Indoor Games in 1977. Exclusively for subscribers to pipes|drums magazine. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (2) |
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Published: May 01, 2011 Gerry Quigg: the pipes|drums Interview – Part 1
RATING Many of today's pipers and drummers might well say, "Who?" when they hear the name Gerry Quigg. But those who have been around will know of his pioneering contribution to the musical direction of pipe bands established in the mind-expanding 1970s and roaring '80s. We begin our four-part conversation with the irreverent and candid Quigg, exclusively for subscribers to pipes|drums. Subscribers Only: Read More | COMMENTS (15) |
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Published: April 25, 2011 10 Questions With . . . Iain Donaldson
RATING We check in with the 35-year veteran of top-flight pipe band competition on both sides of the Atlantic, and the owner of The British Shop, one of North America's leading piping and drumming merchandise dealers for our exclusive "10 Questions With . . ." snapshot interviews.
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