What happened at McCain's memorial service

[Green Piper]

Originally Posted by AndrewLam

Boy are there some right sanctimonious arseholes on here.

Just listen to some of you, "I take it a spare chanter, I wouldn't take on a job above my ability etc etc."



You make me want to puke. If the guy screwed up, he screwed up. Why do you have to be so nasty about it.

Actually, the problem is that paying members of the public get ripped-off by people claiming to be pipers. They hear poorly executed piping on poorly tuned and maintained pipes and think that the piper did a decent job. It is a disservice to piping and the heritage of the music.

I have no idea what caused the poor performance seen at the McCain service. It is possible that the piper is competent and a strange accident happened.

One good thing that could come out of this is that lessons may be learned and we’ll not have to suffer this kind of performance again in the future.

[3D Piper]

This may need to go into it's own thread,
but here is a link to the piper who played for the DC ceremony:

https://livestream.com/accounts/1694...deos/179702232

you'll have to forward to 2:14:18 (yes, two hours fourteen minutes and eighteen seconds)


Also: according to this link:

http://www.azfamily.com/story/389731...-service-plans

Bryan Jeffries was to be the piper.. Perhaps a last minute change..?


-Matthew

[gatormac]

Originally Posted by Jim McGillivray

I think the blame goes on the person responsible for hiring the piper. Not much due diligence here.

JM

Man, I was thinking the same thing. I was thinking the same thing for President Ford's funeral. Whoever organized the event should be strung up by his balls. It seems I remember for the Ford funeral someone stating that there was a tryout/rehearsal in a gym before the event, and that they guy played fine then. I'm thinking, you don't have a "try out" when you hire a highly respected professional. A big part about being a professional is not just being able to play the tune (simple tunes at funerals), but being able to deal with the pressure and understanding the limits of the instrument in various settings. Did the event planner for Reagan's funeral just luck out on Eric Rigler, or did he/she know how to do proper due diligence? That doesn't negate the fault of the guy taking the gig, but do you simply pick a guitarist or pianist out of the phone book or a random web site?

[Bob Harper]

Originally Posted by Adam Sanderson

Lots of people saying "new piper", but the guy is wearing full army pipe major's chevrons. He must have earned them to some degree.

Depending on the band, those chevrons don't necessarily mean much over here.

[3D Piper]

the guy is wearing full army pipe major's chevrons.

I hope we find out, but I surmise that:

- Bryan Jeffries was to be the piper to play going home (link)
- Bryan Jeffries steps down and gets Jay Smith to do it
- Jay Smith (or someone) says "this is a high profile gig, I better get full doublet/plaid dress".
- The doublet/plaid is not his, and only adds to the variables (if you are not used to playing in a doublet/plaid, it can be very different and cumbersome)
-A last minute rush to perform causes some "mishap", adding to the already uncomfortable situation


I hate very much that it happened, clearly a series of unfortunate events..


-Matthew

[el gaitero]

Instead of a pretend ‘regimental’ piper I think a USA military affiliated piper and kit ....the esteemed decedent’s family comuppence..would have been appropriate.

[DamhCabrachPiping]

Originally Posted by el gaitero

Instead of a pretend ‘regimental’ piper I think a USA military affiliated piper and kit ....the esteemed decedent’s family comuppence..would have been appropriate.

Yes. Exactly.

I was surprised it wasnt a duty piper.




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https://www.facebook.com/DamhCabrach

[Mainebagpipes]

I'm late to the party, but my (non-important) thoughts:

1. I absolutely agree with Jim. The fault lies with the person responsible with hiring him. There are plenty of strong pipers out there. Whatever went wrong - maintenance, nerves, or otherwise - that's what it comes down to.
2. It's frustrating to see that performance representing piping to a wide audience in a very public way. While criticism is warranted, what's done is done. Harping on the guy accomplishes nothing.
3. Knowing my own personality: if this was me sounding like that at a high-profile event like that, I'd be beating myself up to the point where I'd probably never play in public again.
4. I avoid gigs like the plague because I don't enjoy playing them. However, the next high profile gig I do I'll have at least two sets of pipes and four chanters with me, ready to go.

It reminded me of how I felt after the worst I ever played at a gig. It was outside in January, during a snowstorm. The deceased had one elderly relative. No one else showed up. I wound up helping the priest and the people from the funeral home carry the casket into an unheated chapel. Then I played outside in the snow for 20 minutes. At the end, I was a piper-cicle. It was about the worst I've every played, but at least it was for a limited audience and there was no one else outside with me.

[Mike Greene]

Thread closed, I think this discussion has run its course.