NOTES FROM PIPEY'S CORNER

Volume V Number 3; March 2000

THE CRYING GAME, Act II, Scene 1

And you thought it was all over. HA! Boy, it seems I've really come up in the world. I've joined the ranks of John Mitchell, Ringo Bowen, and others in PPBSO. I've been offically slagged TWICE on the newsgroup by that great and glorious piping guru, Royce Lerwick, aka Emperor Lerwick the Turd, the man who has led thousands of bands to world championships. In Tiddlywinks, maybe. I guess that's one reason why I joined PPBSO last month, even though I'm out here.

I don't understand why some people have to open their yaps any time they're criticised on the net. especially when they keep droning on and on and miss the original point entirely. Not to mention making false claims and disparaging solo piping - I guess when you suffer from PMS (Pipe Major's Syndrome) it develops into being a Legend In Your Own Mind and that's incurable! Well, we'll pause to wish the Royster Happy Bloody Birthday, and thank him for the kind thoughts spewed from his fundament on the web. Imagine what his proctologist thinks of him!!!

COMPADA NEWS: With the election of Chris Hossack as the new WUSPBA President, we hope that differences between COMPADA and the PBA will be resolved amicably. We fully intend to act in a positive manner to resolve problems with the WUSPBA solo rules and regulations. In addition, COMPADA plans to track results from ALL competitions in North America and report them on our pages; eventually we hope to sponsor a solo contest for a North American Champion of Champions in each grade, to take place at the end of the competition season (well, we can dream, can't we?). Competitors would be chosen from the top finishers in each Association in each grade, competing in a time limit challenge match. More details as they develop.

We are introducing a regular piece from John Partanen on technical developments and new products. This will be serious reviews of reeds, chanters, pipes, recordings, you name it, John will tell you about it. We'll also answer any questions you have - just email us at pipey@netwiz.net and we'll put our reply in next month's column if it's a doozy! We'll answer every question sent us - best question will receive a new Chris Armstrong CD!

To start out, here's John's comments on Mark Wygent's new Duatone™ Drone Reeds:

I tried out the Duatones. In my old set of Lawrie Drones they are hard to distinguish from cane drone reeds. Cane reeds were always very quiet in my Lawries. I played cane for 38 years! Then I tried out Mark Wygent's original synthdrones. It's like my drones had been asleep all of the years I had them. The originals are just simply wonderful in the old Lawries. However, in more modern instruments with slightly wider bores, the original Wygents were a bit loud. This has been overcome with the Duatones. When in Kintail drones, they are very mellow. In Naill drones, also very mellow. In MacCallum's also quite nice. So how are they in older drones besides the Lawries? In a set of older Grainger & Campbell's excellent. And the fellow who has them now in his older set of Henderson's, well he won't give them up and says he wants to buy the set. For those pipers that are "stuck" on cane, and are finding as I did some years back, that really good cane drone reeds are getting pretty hard to find, the duotones may provide a good alternative. Try the Duatones out! You WILL like 'em!

John Eric Partanen, Ph.D. and Professional Piper with 43 years of experience!

For those who are interested, John Partanen is one of the hardest-working pipers on the circuit today. He currently teaches several students, competes at the professional level at every WUSPBA-sanctioned competition (and a few that aren't sanctioned), and works as an analytical chemist. John holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, a Masters in Chemical Engineering, and Bachelors' in Biology and Industrial Management.

He was taught by the late great Donald Shaw Ramsay, and was Pipe-Sergeant of the San Francisco Caledonian Pipe Band in the late fifties and early sixties. Since then he has played in and pipe-majored numerous bands in the western US, most recently playing in the Mesa Caledonian Pipe Band in Arizona (nice commute from California!). He has competed as a professional since 1962, and is currently the oldest competing piper on the professional circuit other than Bill Livingstone. Last year he was accepted as a member of the prestigious Piobaireachd Society in recognition of his composition, 'Lament for Princess Diana;' he'll be flying to Glasgow to attend the Piobaireachd Society AGM later this month. He plays a full-sterling mounted set of blackwood Lawries made in 1911 which he has played his entire professional career, using Wygent drone reeds for the last four years. He currently plays chanters by Naill and Kintail with Megarity-Ross chanter reeds.

He and his wife Amelia live in Santa Maria, Ca., on the central coast.

 

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Just a small item - post St. Patrick's Day:

I spent all afternoon playing for Carlsberg Beer on a pub crawl in the city - hit six Irish bars (many thanks to the folks at Liberties and The Field) and one English place in the Haight (shudder). Got great reception at every place - must have been the cute girl with us handing out glow-in-the-dark buttons! Anyway, get home and take the wife to the local 'British' bar with pipe case in hand, sit down for dinner and offer to play a few tunes for the customers. This place is quiet as a grave on St. Pat's - plenty of people at 9 pm, but no party in sight. The owner comes over and says 'No pipes tonight - it's St. Patrick's Day.' !!!!!

What a maroon. He had canned pipe music on the sound system - didn't want live! And they say the bay area isn't interesting...

...until next month - or until Lerwick the Turd spews again!