Balagan Pipe Band

Enjoy a clip of the Balagan Pipe Band (Copenhagen, Denmark) playing a crackin' hornpipe. The band is led by our friends, P/M Bernard Bouhadana, D/S Anders Jensen and lead tenor, Tim Djursing. The Balagan band keeps the hands going during the winter months while the summer brings the contest season with Field Marshal for Bernard and Triumph Street for Anders who spends the summers in British Columbia. James P. and I had the honour of playing with Tim in the Spirit of Scotland last year and hope to re-unite soon!

-JLT

And we're off...

The outdoor games season has officially begun with the Bellingham Highland Games the first for us out west. Due to an oversight in the judging allocations, James P. was forced to withdraw from the Professional Piobaireachd since James W. was allocated that event. Playing two out of the three events he originally entered for, James P. managed a fine performance in the MSR, resulting in a 2nd place. 

The Pro drumming saw the usual competitors - with pretty much everyone having a good play - despite massed bands going on behind us and the random man yelling at us to stop playing...

A full summary of the solo results can be found at www.bcpipers.org. 

Georgetown marked the first of the Ontario outdoors. Hamilton Police Pipe Band, near and dear to JWT Reedmakers, went about winning the Grade 2 class. Watch their performance at this youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCxfOuxgOSA

Toronto Police Pipe Band brought out their newest medley, Idiomatica. Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiU4LT_-VAw. With yet again pushing the 'pipe band' boundaries, these guys will certainly make a wonderful showing in Lorient this summer. 

-JLT

A Night in Victoria

There's nothing better than live music. Especially when it's your friends...

The Folk Arts Quartet was finishing off their West Coast tour here in Victoria on Saturday night and of course, we went to support! They have been on the road for a while now promoting their new CD, which can be found on CD Baby.

We had the honour of being at their official CD release in Boston in March and still were blown away with the composition of this 'not so typical' string quartet. It was also nice to finally be able to share it with the rest of the family! If you're looking for new and wonderful, toe tapping music to enhance your CD library, I would suggest checking the FAQ debut album out....and keep your eyes and ears open, they might be in a town near you soon! 

 

With that show over, Jamie and I headed over to Logan's Pub to attend the CD Release party of Leeroy Stagger, a local alternative country rocker, whom James P. has played and toured with over the years. Leeroy, now based in Lethbridge, Alberta, has a newly formed band featuring drummer Pat Steward (Brian Adams, The Odds), Tyson Maiko (my old hairdresser and bassist for Gob) and Kevin Kane (formerly of Grapes of Wrath), who all played on the new album  'Everything is Real' (available on eMusic). 

Tight, energetic and well worth listening to, these guys are touring from the West Coast right through to Ontario throughout the summer. Check out the tour schedule and if they are rolling through your city, GO!

Speaking of music...if you're a fan of John Mayer (oh man, even if you're not!) check out his Live in Los Angeles DVD 'Where the Light Is' (nominated for a 2009 Grammy). It showcases the three incarnations of the musician...acoustic, trio and full band. The trio is the BEST part, featuring two of the best studio musicians you can get - Steve Jordan on drums and Pino Palladino on guitar. When you hear the way he can crank out a blues tune, you'll forget that poppy, commercial stuff he's released and appreciate him for the soulful musician he actually is.

The film is done by Danny Clinch, who is another wicked music photographer. He runs a NYC-based film company called Three on the Tree and has produced numerous EPKs, music videos, documentaries and music films.

Another piece to add to the library!

-JLT