Age: 53

Where are you from originally? Albany, NY

Where do you live: Delmar, NY

What is your job or major if a student? Majored in Economics, work in the commercial insurance industry.

Where did you learn to play? Henry Tisdall in Syracuse, NY and a member of the Syracuse Pipe Band was my first piping teacher in 1980

Instrument: Bagpipes, however, I developed a physical limitation in my left hand a number of years back, which prevented me from playing the pipes competitively anymore.  I switched to the bass when the band was in need of a player and I’ve been the G3 bass player ever since.

How long have you been playing? About 30 years, if you include my twenty odd years on the pipes and my time on the bass drum.

What got you interested?  My family has had close friends from Ireland growing up.  We spent times at the AOH when I was a kid and I always liked the sound, the kilts, the entire Celtic atmosphere.  When I moved to Syracuse in 1979 out of college I decided to indulge myself in lessons and bought my first set of pipes, Gillanders & MacLeod.

How did you go about learning/finding – private teacher, class, band, parent or relative?  I was living with my cousin when I told her I wanted to learn the pipes.  She remembered a boy from grade school who used to play.  I found his name in the phone book, called him and got the guy’s father.  He gave me the name of J. Avery Head, Pipe Major of the Syracuse Pipe Band, who, in turn, gave me Henry Tisdall’s name.

Teachers that had a big influence:  I’d have to say Henry Tisdall.  After I moved back to Albany in 1986 I looked up Donald Lindsay and started taking lessons from him.

How long did you take lessons?  I’d have to say at least 20 years.

How long did you play practice chanter/pad before moving to pipes/drum? How long from start to marching with the band?  I was on pipes about a year after starting on the chanter.  I didn’t get into a band until I moved back to Albany.  I believe I joined the Tara Hall Pipe Band around 1989 or 1990.

How long does it take you to get to practice? Fifteen minutes.

Favorite bagpipe player or drummer?  This isn’t something I devote too much energy thinking about.  In the professional ranks there are too many for me to single out.  On the amateur front, I’d have to say people in our band, Pat Sweet and Sean Moran for piping and Alison Molumby and Dean Walker for drumming.

Favorite bagpipe band?  Field Marshall Montgomery, Boghall & Bathgate, Shotts & Dykehead.

What other music do you like? Celtic rock, traditional Celtic, Blue Grass, Hard rock.

What other instruments do/did you play?  Nothing.

What is the hardest thing about playing? I found piping nerve racking in the competition circle.  With the developing hand problem, I become acutely aware that I’d never move up in grade.  Jumping to bass allows me to play at a higher grade without the pressure I felt with piping.  I’m just a walking metronome.  The real playing goes on in the piping and drum sections.

Do you compete? Not individually, although I’ve been thinking about it.  The problem with bass is that there aren’t a lot of people that teach the instrument, so you kind of learn as you go.

What is the one thing you would tell a beginner about learning?  Get a teacher and practice.

Do you play solo events like weddings and funerals?  For the bass? 

What hobbies or other pursuits do you have?  Golf, when time permits, and riding my Harley Davidson.