Usually I write a little intro for the band, more of an indroduction. I feel if I did that here it would somehow take away from what is written below. Here they are as described by Tim Birr Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Pipes and Drums.
Band Website: http://www.tvfrpipesndrums.org/
Your name and position?
Tim Birr, pipe major of the Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Pipes and Drums. Professionally, I'm a retired TVF&R division chief.
How long has the TVF&R pipe band been in existence?
We started in August of 2000 with a group of chanter students, and began performing as a band a year later.
Congratulations on your retirement. What are you doing with all your free time and the bags of money you have no doubt lying around the house from your healthy public servant pension?
Most days find me browsing the racks at Goodwill and enjoying the senior discount at Tom's House of Toast. Actually, retirement was the best two weeks of my life...then the phone started ringing. Currently, I'm on about a half-dozen fire service-related boards and committees, serving as a state incident management team PIO, and doing a fair amount of teaching and conference presentations. I'm vice-president of the local Irish club and, of course, there's the band.
Everywhere I turn, and the more people I talk to, I keep hearing your name...and I am talking about people thousands of miles away from your zip code. How in the world have you established such a broad-based reputation (a good one, that is)?
Well, to a degree, I think it's just a phenomenal coincidence that you've run into a handful of people who know me. That said, I've been piping for 40 years, and was in the fire service for 30. Even before I was in a fire service band, per se, I always sought out fire pipers (and drummers) when I had the chance. I was also fortunate in my career to get to do some traveling, consulting, and teaching. I got to meet the FDNY Emeralds at the Firehouse Expo in Philadelphia back in 1988. Later, I made the acquaintance of the Indianapolis Emeralds at FDIC. I've been to the IAFF memorial in Colorado Springs four times, which is a great way to meet others in the fire pipe band scene.
When asked to present at a conference in suburban Boston back in 2002, I sent an e-mail to the Boston Gaelic Fire Brigade asking if I could attend one of their practices. I received a very kind reply from Bob Blake, then their band manager, and, long story short, was eventually sponsored in as an associate member of the Brigade. Since then, I've had the honor of actually playing with the band on several occasions, both in Boston as well as other places. They're a great bunch of people (a number of them have become good personal friends), and my only regret is that I don't get to play with them more often..
In 2003, on a visit to Ireland, I stopped by Dublin Fire's Tara Street headquarters station to enquire if any members of their band were on-duty. None were, but the duty officer took my business card and said he'd have someone get in touch with me. About six nights later, I was in a pub in Galway, wearing a TVF&R t-shirt, when a man tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Tim Birr, right?" Dumbfounded, I could only nod my head until the stranger said, "John Daly, Dublin Fire Brigade...I'm the guy that got your card." John, having seen the logo on the business card, recognized it on my t-shirt...we've been friends ever since.
When we heard that Seattle was starting their band a few years ago, I sent Spencer Nelson a message of encouragement and a group of us went up to visit at one of their practices. We've had a great relationship ever since. We have uniforms that are fairly similar, so we've been able to "pad" their ranks on a couple of occasions. Similarly, they bailed us out at a local LODD a few years back when we had a bunch of members off on injury leave. It's been really great having another band in the region.
Closer to home, my former department is starting a band. Wayne Morris was a piper when he joined Eugene Fire, and has been working over the last year to do what I couldn't do 20 years ago...get a band up and running. We've been able to help them with some periodic drumming instruction and, when we recently got a new bass drum, we donated our old one to them. They just received their first eight sets of pipes, and we're really looking forward to seeing them hit the street.
We in the fire service have always prided ourselves on the "Brotherhood" (and sisterhood), and the sense of family we have within the job. But when you get involved in the subset of firefighters who play in pipe and drum bands, the world becomes a very small place, indeed.
Classic example: A couple years ago, I was having lunch with a friend in downtown Portland. My cell phone rang, and it was "Scruffy" Wallace of the Dropkick Murphys. The Murphys were an hour away from doing a live acoustic performance at a Florida radio station, and Scruffy was trying to borrow a practice chanter for the show. At the time, I didn't know Palm Beach County's Jon Ferguson, but I knew my friend Bob Blake in Boston knew a Florida firefighter/piper named "Ferg." I called Bob and explained the situation, and he called Jon. Ferg, despite thinking it was all a practical joke, got the chanter to the radio station in time for the show.
What led to the formation of the TVF&R pipe band?
I began my career with the Eugene (OR) Fire Department in 1975. As a piper, I would occasionally don my kilt with a fire department uniform shirt for funerals, ceremonial functions, and the like. In the mid-80s, I tried to form a police and fire band in Eugene. We got a handful of police officers and firefighters from the chanter to the pipes, but the band never came to fruition.
In 1995, I left Eugene to take a position with TVF&R. As a piper, I quickly joined a local Irish band and, once again, would periodically don the kilt with a fire district uniform shirt to perform at various fire service functions. At some point in the mid-to-late 90s, I was approached by then-firefighter (now battalion chief) Norvin Collins, who wanted to learn the pipes. Norvin picked it up quickly, and the two of us began performing at various fire service events. In 1998, I was invited to play with the newly-formed Portland Police Highland Guard, and became the only "red" guy in a then-otherwise all "blue" band.
In August of 2000, we had a group of TVF&R members who suddenly came out of the woodwork and said they wanted to learn the pipes. I agreed to provide chanter lessons one night a week, and we began meeting in the district's computer lab at Fire Station 35. As word got out, we were approached by several firefighters from other metro-Portland area departments who asked if they could join us, and we said, "Absolutely."
While, as is typical of new bands, we had a handful of folks who dropped out for various reasons, the vast majority stuck with it and nine months later they were buying pipes while I was scrambling to figure out what to do about uniforms, a drum section, etc.
When I think of Oregon, pipes and drums really is not the first thing that comes to mind. How did the whole band come to be?
While the public safety piping scene is fairly new in Portland (TVF&R is a suburban Portland fire district), the fact is that Portland, and the Pacific Northwest, have long been hotbeds of pipe band activity. There are currently no less than nine pipe bands in the Greater Portland area, ranging from the newly-formed Portland Metro competition band, to the Sir James MacDonald youth band (which took fourth place in the World's a few years ago), to a host of civilian bands and the aforementioned Portland Police band. Portland hosts a major Highland Games event each July and, of course, the four-time world champion Simon Fraser University pipe band is just "up the road" in Vancouver, BC.
How many charter members were there in the band at its inception?
I honestly can't recall. I think we started with about eight chanter students, lost a few, then added a few more as the word got out about what we were doing. The drummers came later. By the time of our first band performance, we were probably at about nine pipes and three or four drums.
How long did it take from the decision to form the band formally until you guys played your first public band appearance?
About a year. As I mentioned, we started with a group of chanter students...about nine months into it, it became apparent that they weren't going to quit, so we had a potential band on our hands. The challenge for me was the drumming. Despite having been a member of five previous bands, I knew feck-all about what happened behind the last rank of pipers. We were lucky in that the son of one of our guys was a drummer in his middle school marching band, and we picked up a TVF&R guy who had been a marching and rock band drummer.
The other piece was uniforms. We had no money, so we asked the members to outfit themselves, and kept it very basic (read: cheap)..."casual kilts," daywear sporrans, plain hose, and black uniform shirts from Gall's. It was the kind of uniform the average working firefighter could put together over the course of a few paydays.
How many band members do you have now?
At present, we have 26 uniformed band members and a handful of chanter and drumming students
I see on your roster that you have a Boston Detachment, can you explain that?
Bob Blake, a Cambridge (MA) fire captain, was my original "hook" into the Boston Gaelic Fire Brigade band and became a good friend. A few years ago, Bob left the BGFB and I told him I couldn't see him not being a member of a fire service pipe band. Tongue in cheek, I offered him a membership in our band until "something better" came along, and sent him a few of our patches. A short time later, Bob asked if Luke McFadden, a Holbrook (MA) fire lieutenant who'd also left the Boston band, could get the same deal...and the TVF&R "Boston Detachment" was created.
We were stunned (and honored) last September when a photo from Boston Firefighter Paul Cahill's funeral appeared in the Boston Herald, clearly showing Luke piping in a shirt with our patch.
The Boston connection with our band is pretty strong. In addition to my own visits to Boston, last March six members of our band made the trip there, and joined members of the Boston Gaelic and Worcester Fire Brigade bands in "opening" for the Dropkick Murphys at the Avalon Ballroom on St. Patrick's Eve, as well as marching in the South Boston parade.
You allow other people in the band, can you give a quick rundown of the organizations involved in the band?
While the band has taken the name of its host agency, we've had "outside agency" members since the earliest days. Our practice is to wear a TVF&R band patch on the left sleeve, and let members wear their agency patch on the right.
The rule we came up with is that, to be band member, you have to be a public safety provider or a direct relative of one. Our first drummer was the son of a TVF&R guy, who was something like 14 years-old at the time he started. We've also got a couple of wives piping and drumming in the band.
While we are a fire service band, we have several members of the law enforcement and corrections communities (several of whom were volunteer or paid-call firefighters in past lives, or have done fire investigation) who asked if they could join the band, and we welcomed them with open arms. (Conversely, one of the Portland Police band's pipers is a Portland firefighter.)
Agencies currently represented in the band include: Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Portland Fire, Gresham Fire, Newberg Fire, Clackamas County Fire District #1, Hoodland Fire, Lake Oswego Fire, Tigard Police, Tualatin Police, Oregon Department of Corrections, U.S. Veteran's Administration Police, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. A handful of others have come and gone over the years.
In addition, we have a retired fire dispatcher from the Washington County 911 center and a retired member of the San Jose Fire Department, and, of course, we have the Boston Detachment.
Can you tell us about the first event you were supposed to play as a band?
Ironically, our first public appearance as a band was to be at the City of Tigard's 40th anniversary celebration...on the evening of September 11, 2001. Given the events of that tragic day, the event was postponed, but by then the word was out that the local firefighters had a pipe band, and we were deluged with requests to play at various 9-11 vigils, memorials, and commemorations. To be honest, I can't remember what our first official event turned out to be...that whole period of a month or two is just a blur of flags, honor guards, speeches, and prayers. It was one emotional way to start a band.
I believe you are definitely the piper with the most seniority I have talked to. What has it been like to be a piper for 40 years?
It's been great. I've played in civilian bands, an Irish band, a military (National Guard) band, and a law enforcement band; but I'm having the most fun ever playing in a fire band. For me, piping has always been about band piping, and I've stayed away from the whole competition scene. (I'll spare everyone my rant about competition.)
A lot has changed over the years. When I started, the pipes were all "natural"...wood pipes, leather bags, cane reeds, and we tuned them by ear. The only part of my original 1968 Lawrie's I'm still playing are the drones.
Most of the changes have been for the better, and the pipes have become easier to maintain and tune. One thing I am concerned about is the apparent conspiracy between competition bands and pipemakers to keep raising the pitch on chanters. This has created some challenges in massed band situations where bands with newer competition-style chanters try to tune with some of us playing more "vintage" models.
Another other big change has to be the Internet. We have more access than ever before to music and information, and it's really increased communication between bands.
What made you pick up the pipes 40 years ago?
In the Fall of 1966, I was 13 and living in Salem, OR. The regimental band and the pipes and drums of The Royal Highland Fusiliers were touring the U.S. and, on the evening of November 6, performed at the Armory in Salem. A schoolmate and I went to the show, probably because it was the British Army and we'd just barely outgrown playing army, ourselves.
Ever so often in life, you encounter something (like a sport, a hobby, whatever) that from the very first time you see it, it's just WOW. That's what seeing that pipe band was like for me. I'm not sure if it was a connection with the Irish part of my ancestry (I'm Irish and German) or what, but following that show, I was spending all my allowance on 33 1/3 vinyl records of pipe music.
Within a few months, I'd mail-ordered a practice chanter but, of course, without an instructor, I wasn't getting anywhere. Fortunately, my school principal father ran into a former teacher who asked what I was up to. I'm sure my Dad said something like, "You'll never believe what that crazy kid wants to do now." As it turned out, my former teacher knew a piper who'd emigrated from Scotland back in the 20s. Fraser MacCartney took me on as a student, and never charged me a dime for the lessons. The only condition was that I had to join the Albany Scottish Pipes and Drums when I got good enough.
I hear a lot of talk in our community of band members that there is a difference in pipers and drummers now than in the past. "These aren't your Grandpa's pipes" seems to be thrown around a lot. Do you see a difference in today's band members compared to when you started?
I really hadn't thought about it, although, when I do think about it, there have to be some differences (and I guess I'd be "Grandpa"). For one thing, people are under so much competition for their time these days that it's probably a bigger "sacrifice" to serve in a band than it used to be. I'm truly amazed by the folks in our band who've come to this strange instrument, usually in mid-life, usually with the complications of a shift schedule and a family, and managed to learn how to play and then contribute regularly as performers. I consider myself lucky to have learned as a teen...I don't know that I would have had the time to learn an instrument when I was working.
My style as a pipe major is pretty easy-going, and largely democratic. I'm respectful of what people have done to be in the band...learn their respective instruments, buy their own uniforms, etc. That said, it's a constant balancing act. We have some members who have really taken to piping and drumming; to the point where they've sought outside instruction, done solo competition, and pretty much show up for every event they possibly can. We have others who know the basic band repertoire, but probably don't pick up the chanter or sticks much outside of band practice on Wednesday night.
It's like church league basketball. You've got the former junior college standout who really wants to win, and the recreational player who just wants to get out of the house and get some exercise one night a week. You can't fault either of their motivations, but it can be challenging to create an environment in which they can co-exist and be teammates.
It's also a balancing act in terms of how much performing we do. We're a pretty busy band. In 2005, in addition to weekly band practices, we showed up in the community 93 times. About half of those were solo piping gigs, like retiree funerals; and the balance involved some kind of ensemble, ranging from two pipers and a drummer to the full band. I'm becoming increasingly sensitized to the possibility of burning people out.
I can tell you it's different in fire bands than in civilian ones. As firefighters, we're much more duty-bound when it comes to things like LODDs. In fact, the only occasions on which our full band turns out are LODDs, because everyone feels a moral responsibility to be there; and St. Patrick's Day...because no one wants to miss the party
What advice do you give new band members?
I'll speak to piping, since Tommy Whitmire, our drum sergeant, handles drum instruction...
1) The time it takes for them to become performing members is directly related to the time they spend practicing on their own.
2) Basic chanter work is boring, repetitive, and absolutely necessary. Scales, grace notes, and exercises are the building blocks that form the foundation of their piping
3) I expect them to spend at least as much time looking at the College of Piping "Green Book" as they do the latest J. Higgins catalogue.
One tradition we started in our band involves CDs. Because nearly all of our members have come to the music as Americans in mid-life, they don't necessarily have a strong feel for the lilt and rhythm of pipe band music. Our tradition is that anyone who buys a pipe band CD is expected (after they've played it to death, themselves) to bring it to practice and pass it around. This way, everyone gets exposed to a lot of music, different bands, and different styles. Many of us in the band are also big fans of uilleann piping and other forms of Irish traditional music, and those CDs get passed around, as well...sort of an immersion course in Celtic music.
When the band started out, I assume you had a vision of what it would turn into. Has the vision become a reality, or has it passed up what you were expecting?
We've passed it...totally. My vision for the band was that we'd play simple music well and in tune, and primarily serve as a ceremonial asset for the local fire service. I laid it down from the beginning that we weren't going to be a competition band, and would be a "Grade None" street band. We're all of that, but we've been blessed with some great opportunities...
We've "opened" for the Dropkick Murphys twice here in Portland, and six of us got to play for them in Boston last St. Patrick's Eve. As part of the Boston trip, we marched in the Southie parade with the Boston, Chelsea, and Worcester fire bands
As part of a sister city relationship, we've been invited twice to send "mini-bands" to Guadalajara, Mexico. On the second occasion, a group of us played at O'Frillon's Irish Pub...the first pipers and drummers to ever darken the door of one of only five Irish pubs in Mexico None of us, taking up the pipes and drums, ever thought it would lead to Mexico.
Post 9-11, we performed in concert with the "Ring of Fire," a local and internationally-recognized hand bell choir. Chris Baird of Gresham Fire, our pipe sergeant, did a moving rendition of "Suo Gan" with the choir, and all the proceeds from the concert went to the FDNY Emeralds.
We performed in Boise, Idaho as part of the 100th anniversary of that city's career fire service.
As a band, we've twice performed at the IAFF Fallen Firefighter Memorial in Colorado Springs, once for the experience and a second time when TVF&R member Gary Steele's name was placed on the wall.
Two Oregon governors have invited us to perform at the state capitol in Salem, and the Legislature's asked us to play there on several additional occasions.
We've been featured performers at both the World Beat Festival in Salem (OR) and the Yachats Festival of Celtic Music.
But through all of this, we've never lost sight of our primary mission...to support local fire agencies as a ceremonial asset. I'm perhaps proudest of the fact that we haven't missed a LODD funeral in Oregon or Southwest Washington since we started performing in 2001.
What is the pre-gig drink of choice?
It better be bottled water. Post-gig, all bets are off. On several occasions, like Dropkick Murphy shows, we have been known to drink Shillelaghs (Irish whiskey and Irish cream) before going on. Several of the members carry flasks, but I've never asked what's in them.
Your neighbors have the crazy Kilting Tradition, do you guys have any crazy band antics?
We're pretty boring in that regard. Given that we have a couple of wives and a son in the band, and the pipe major is in his mid-50s; we're not quite the party animals our "neighbors" (Seattle) are. We have a few members who could give the neighbors a run for their money in that department, and the aging PM still has an occasional "Tommy Gavin" moment of his own but, generally speaking, we're a little more "family" than "fraternity."
What tartan does the band wear, and why was it chosen?
Modern Mackenzie. I figured we'd have a lot of debate about tartan selection, but someone brought in a swatch of Mackenzie one night, and everyone just said, "That's it." The Mackenzie is basically Black Watch with white and red over stripes. We say that the green is for Ireland, the blue for firefighters, the white for chiefs, and the red is for fire. It also didn't hurt that we discovered the Clan Mackenzie motto, translated from the Latin, is "I shine, not burn."
Being a band from multiple agencies, do any of the administrations of those organizations kick any money towards the band or the members they have in the band?
No, and, to a degree, it's my fault. At the time we started the band, I was TVF&R's public affairs chief. The political environment in Oregon is very contentious when it comes to tax issues and public expenditures, and I didn't want to see the band ever become fodder for the anti-tax crowd. Jeff Johnson, TVF&R's chief, wanted to help us, but reluctantly agreed with me. I need to point out that Chief Johnson has made some significant personal donations to the band over the years, including a fundraising event he's organized the last two St. Patrick's Days.
The fire district has provided us with in-kind support, including the use of the training center as a practice facility, photocopying when needed, and the creation of a line item in the district's budget where we can place the donations we get from elsewhere. In addition, the district (and several other agencies with members in the band) have been good about getting people relieved from duty or detailed on occasion for official events and things like LODDs.
The Tualatin Valley IAFF local has made generous annual contributions, as have several other metro-area locals, and we've received contributions from a number of volunteer associations and the like when we've played events for their organizations.
Lastly, a number of individuals in the local fire service community have made personal donations, as well. But, in the end, the band members, themselves, are the primary shareholders in the band.
Do you guys hold fundraisers or sell swag to help the band?
We do. There's a bar called McFadden's in downtown Portland that has done two major fundraisers over the years, for which we are eternally grateful. As I mentioned, Chief Johnson has hosted a private party the last two St. Patrick's Days, at which everyone pays a cover which goes to the band and, obviously, that's one of our favorite stops on the night's pub crawl.
Like a lot of bands, we have t-shirts, baseball caps, etc. with the band logo that we sell. At this point we haven't moved into the on-line sales arena, so the stuff is only locally available.
Does the band have a favorite event to play?
Probably St. Patrick's Day. It's the one event each year that everyone makes an effort to show up for. We usually line up a series of Irish-themed bars in the metro area, and do a fund-raising pub crawl. It's always a big night with a big band.
What personally is your favorite event to do?
Like everyone else, I love St. Patrick's Day. Beyond that, Dropkick Murphy shows are always special. My understanding is that DKM has recently changed their opening, and can't use pipe bands the way they have in the past but, oh, what memories we have. We usually only played for about a minute, but that minute was more exciting than an hour anywhere else.
I have a huge soft spot in my heart for DKM. I grew up on the Clancy Brothers and Irish Rovers. When my son Brendan hit his teen years and got into Punk in a big way, the Dropkicks were one of the few bands we could listen to together and not be at each other's throats.
Was there a defining moment in your piping career?
I don't know. The biggest event I ever played was probably in January, 1981 as a member of the Oregon National Guard Reserve pipe band that was Oregon's entry in Ronald Reagan's first inaugural parade. We not only did the parade on a brutally cold day, we played a series of events over the course of a week around the Nation's Capital. How many musicians can say they've played the Pentagon?
I was also pretty jazzed when I first figured out how to play "When The Saints Go Marching In" with one hand while drinking a beer with the other, which is what I'm probably best known for.
But if I had to pick a defining "moment," it'd be the last seven years. I can't say enough about how much I enjoy being a part of our band.
We have a great group of people, who have become like a second family for me...it's like working in a really good firehouse. We've seen each other through various personal and professional crises, helped each other with things like moving days and rides to the airport, watched each other's kids grow up, and had a lot of laughs together. Like any family, we have the occasional squabble, but this is the "happiest" band I've ever been in. In all seriousness, I think it has something to do with our fire service orientation...the sense of team and closeness the job seems to develop in people.
And our members contribute in so many ways beyond just music. Chris Baird, our pipe sergeant, is a high-tech genius who got us on the web and keeps us there. He's also the best guy we have at tuning the band. Scott "Sully" Sullivan, besides being our pipe corporal, is a very talented artist who does all our graphics work: our logo and patch, bass drum head, and at least one new t-shirt design each year. Sully and Aaron Gregg, a piper, designed our bag covers, which look like bunker gear (black with gray trim and a reflective stripe). Sully's wife, Anita, a tenor drummer in the band, sewed the bag covers for everyone. Lisa Barrett is a piper and our manager, coordinating all the requests for wedding pipers and private non-fire service functions. Piper Daryl Rozendal recently created a Yahoo group to improve intra-band communication, and maintains our calendar. I'm sure I'm overlooking others (sorry, gang), but you get the idea. Many hands make light work.
While I'd been a pipe sergeant in two previous bands, this has been my first opportunity to serve as a pipe major, and I've probably learned more about management and leadership than I ever did as a fire officer. Nobody's getting paid to be here, so things like fun are really important.
What's the best answer when someone asks "What's under the kilt?"
"Keep asking, good luck, and don't peek."
Who do you look up to as a piper?
It may be a cop-out answer, but I have to mention the late Fraser MacCartney, the man who taught me how to play. As much as I've enjoyed being a piper, I've come to realize what an incredible gift he gave me with those lessons. In turn, I've probably taught 30 or so people over the years so, even though he's no longer with us, Fraser is still touching people...including most of the members of our band. One of my greatest joys has been teaching people to play, and then watching them take off with the music...it's all an extension of Fraser's original gift.
While there are a lot of great pipers out there, I feel compelled to mention "Scruffy" Wallace of the Dropkick Murphys. "Scruffy" is among the elite few playing pipes in alternative bands, but is also a gifted traditional piper who played in the Canadian Army and, despite the tattoos and hard man appearance, is one of the nicest people I've ever met
Who does the band look up to as a band or is there a favorite band of the band?
That's a very loaded question. When it comes to favorites, we obviously have a bias towards those fire service bands we consider friends and have met face to face, such as Seattle, Boston, and Worcester.
That said, I have to mention the Bergen County band from New Jersey (who we've never met), for the innovative things they've done with the music and their dedication to being "just" a street band, so well expressed in the liner notes to their album "Dirty Hose." If you haven't heard "Dirty Hose," I'd advise you to get a copy, as it's some of the best piping I've ever heard by a fire service band, and it's obvious those guys are having a lot of fun.
While there are lots of great competition bands out there (Simon Fraser, Field Marshal Montgomery, St. Laurence O'Toole) and we all listen to their music, I think we tend to appreciate the public safety bands more because we know first-hand how much it takes to create and maintain such a band.
Beyond that, for me personally, I have a soft spot for the Irish-themed bands like Brian Boru (Minnesota) and Michael Collins (Colorado). American piping, outside the public safety community, is still very much a Scottish thing, and these bands represent a minority tradition closest to my heart.
What is the furthest the band has played away from your home turf?
I haven't looked at the mileages, but it has to be either Guadalajara or Boston. We're a relatively "poor" band, dollar-wise, so we don't travel much, other than what we can do by car. When we do fly anywhere, it's either out of the members' own pockets (as was the case with Boston) or because someone else is paying, like the private association that has twice taken groups of us to Mexico.
In recent years the Fire Service Pipes and Drums has seen a huge up swell. How do you keep the traditions and honor alive with so many new and young people joining the ranks of the P & D community?
Well, to turn that question on its head, the very fact that there are so many new people joining the ranks indicates to me that the tradition and honor are very much alive and well.
As a case study in folk music, I find it interesting that the tradition of public safety piping in America began in an era when Irish-Americans were a dominant force in Northeastern police and fire departments. To the best of my knowledge, the first public safety pipe band in the U.S. was that of the NYPD Emerald Society, formed in 1960. Not to be outdone by their police counterparts, the FDNY Emerald Society started their band in 1962...and the whole "movement," if you will, grew from there While the general public views piping as a Scottish tradition, the fact is that the genesis of piping in the public safety community was more Irish in character, with bands more likely to play "The Minstrel Boy" than "Scotland the Brave."
Ironically, as we enter the 21st Century, the era of Irish-American dominance in the fire service and law enforcement professions is on the wane, but the musical tradition has grown and come to be embraced by the whole public safety community. It's reached the point where you can't lay a police officer or firefighter of any ethnicity to rest without someone in a kilt playing "Amazing Grace" at the graveside.
The growth in this tradition has been phenomenal. A few years ago, I could have named you every fire service pipe band in the country; today I can't. Every time I surf around on the Web, I find a new band or two.
I don't know that everyone playing pipes or drums in a fire service band understands the legacy they hold. I've toyed with the idea of making a retirement project out of trying to research and write a book about the whole phenomenon of police and fire bands...it'd be a great experience to do some site visits and interview some of the "founding fathers."
The larger question is what all this growth means to fire service piping and drumming. While in the past there were a relative handful of bands playing, usually on their own, in different parts of the country; we now have more and more situations where we're playing with other bands at large-scale events. This has led to some complications.
I followed with interest the whole discussion that broke out in the wake of the Charleston tragedy earlier this year, when FDNY played the service and a number of fire pipers and drummers who wanted to play were left out.
To be honest, I have some really divided feelings about this. The FDNY band, while seemingly a bit distanced from the rest of us; practices together, tunes together, plays the same settings and, by all accounts, turned in a great performance in Charleston.
At the same time, the motivation of those outside FDNY who showed up in Charleston to play and honor the brothers is admirable, and exactly what we're about. But consider the following scenario...
Two bands show up at a line of duty funeral. Band "A" is playing their brand new competition-style matched chanters, pitched at around 470. Band "B" is playing older chanters, pitched at 440 Band "A" plays one version of seconds on "Amazing Grace," Band "B" plays another. Mix these differences together, add different drum settings and little or no time for rehearsal, marinate them in a little alcohol, and you have the recipe for a real train wreck of a performance...despite the fact that both bands may be, independently, quite good.
It's one thing to thrash your way through a massed band performance at a "fun" event, like the South Side Irish parade in Chicago. Even in Colorado Springs, the band is so big that someone could play "Yankee Doodle" in the middle of the pack and no one would know. But there are no "do-overs" at a funeral, especially one captured on tape by the national media.
Others have suggested that it's time to have some serious discussion about tuning and massed band settings. We've taken some steps in this direction with Hunter Schappaugh's (Houston Fire) leadership and settings for the IAFF Memorial, but we can do more. Every band needs to have it's own identity, and a few tunes unique to itself; but it would be good if we had some agreed-upon common music, both pipe and drum settings, for those occasions when we play together.
Pipe bands CAN play together well (we've done it on many occasions), but it doesn't happen without some behind-the-scenes work and rehearsals.
I don't want to sound like a hard-ass (I'm not), but at the end of the day; patches, badges, and bunker-style bag covers aside; it's about musical performance. We lose sight of that at our own peril.
What is the biggest crowd you have played in front of?
A number of us in the band are big football (soccer) fans and belong to the Timbers Army, the supporters group that backs the local Portland Timbers in the USL. When Sunderland AFC came over from England to play an exhibition match against the Timbers in 2005, the band was invited to play on the field as part of the pre-match ceremonies, and there were over 15,000 people in the stands.
Anything else you want to add?
Well, if you're trying to decide who to talk to next, I'd love to learn more about the Bergen County Firefighters Pipe Band.
