StarBox: Andrew Hayes lists Every. Single. Thing. in his pipe case.

As the Deputy Auditor General of Canada, it’s amazing that Andrew Hayes fits solo piping and a competing pipe band into his schedule. But the winner of both Highland Society of London Gold Medals (Northern Meeting 2010; Argyllshire Gathering 2019) and a raft of other major awards throughout Scotland and North America manages to stay on top of things while making his family his true top priority.

The former pipe-major of the Grade 2 Ottawa Police Service Pipe Band and a piper with the Grade 1 Toronto Police Pipe Band, he returned to pipe bands this year as a Grade 1 78th Fraser Highlanders member.

A native of Ottawa and the son of the late Patrick Hayes, a popular and successful piper and organizer of piping events, Andrew Hayes has the ability to save his best for the major events as he takes a break from serving the Canadian Parliament by providing “objective, fact-based information and expert advice on government programs and activities, gathered through audits. Parliamentarians use Office of the Auditor General reports to oversee government activities and hold the federal government to account for its handling of public funds.”

What makes this busy piper run smoothly? We knew he’d be a perfect subject for our Starbox feature. Here’s Andrew Hayes’s audit of his pipe case.

– Naill blackwood bagpipes (circa 2004). I won these pipes at a competition in Traverse City, Michigan. I will be forever grateful to David Naill & Co. and Henderson Imports for donating these pipes. I won the Highland Society of London Gold Medals at the Northern Meeting and Argyllshire Gathering with this instrument.

– Naill blackwood practice chanter (circa 1993).

– Two hats: a Balmoral and a Glengarry. Style for every occasion!

– 78th Fraser Highlanders bag cover.

– William Grant’s towel – well-used and needs to be washed.

– One roll of black chanter tape.

– Eight extra Ezeedrone tenor drone reeds.

– One extra Crozier carbon fibre bass reed.

– Rubber tubing to make emergency bridles for the tenor reeds.

– Sheet music for “The Phantom Piper of Corrieyairack.” This piobaireachd by Captain John MacLellan is one of my favourite tunes to play, but I need to have a peek at the music from time to time because there are many twists and turns.

– Baby powder. As a former student of Bill Livingstone, talcum powder is a must.

– Silver polishing cloth in a plastic bag. Typically, this is only used the day before the Argyllshire Gathering or the Northern Meeting.

– Five emery boards. I have no idea why there are five of them when one is enough.

– Black ballpoint pen.

– Chanter carving tool.

– Two colourful drone brushes.

– Two rubber grip squares. These are handy when the stocks get tight.

– Two sweatbands. These never get used.

– Package of drone cord fasteners.

– Teflon tape. I use this exclusively for my blowpipe.

– Nearly empty package of sugar-free gum. I find that chewing sugar-free gum about 10 minutes before I play reduces the chances of dry mouth.

– A Canadian two-dollar coin (a “twoonie“).

– Raggedy blue beach towel. I have wrapped my pipes in this towel for about 25 years. I should also wash this at some point.

– One broken elastic band.

– Extra drying canister in a plastic bag.

– One box of chanter reeds. The box says “Troy 2011 (July).” There are some Troy reeds in this box, but there are a few others that I have thrown in, including some Colin MacLellan reeds and some Donald MacPhee reeds.

– One roll of black waxed hemp.

– R.G. Shepherd reed box. I use this for some backup reeds that should be ready to play.

– Kinnaird reed box. I also use this for backup reeds. I keep my favourites in this box.

– Strathmore chanter (circa 2004) with red reed protector. This is my backup chanter. It seems to produce a mellow sound with any reed.

– McCallum plastic band chanter with Kinnaird reed protector. I play this chanter with the 78th Fraser Highlanders.

– Naill blackwood chanter (circa 1989) with simple black reed protector. Scott MacAulay and Tom Speirs picked this chanter for me. It was and still is, absolutely incredible.

– Plastic tube to protect my Naill chanter. The eagle-eyed among us may notice that the label says “Craig.” Craig MacDonald, Ian K.’s brother, gave this to me in 2003 when I was playing with him in the Toronto Police Pipe Band.

Our thanks to Andrew Hayes for sharing the goods with pipes|drums readers.