What’s interesting about Kevin is that he knows things and details about even some of us “never heard of” pipers. I was sitting in a pub several years listening to an Irish band On St. Patrick’s Day in Portland, and this guy walked in with an uilleann pipe case in his hands. He sat down right close to me, so when there was a break, I said to this stranger…“what kind of axe you piping with there lad.”
This piper pulled out this old set of D pipes and I said, “let’s hear a tune.” So he played a nice hornpipe and sounded pretty good.
Then we started talking about pipers in the NW we might know in common. This piper said, “yea there’s a guy named Larry Dickerson (me) who lives out East somewhere and makes funny reeds and ties on flashy fishing lure thread over the hemp. Crazy. But they seem to work.”
I thought, hey maybe I should just be quiet and ask him some more about this piper out East. But my wife started gigling and poking me in the ribs, so I confessed that I was that piper out East.
And this stranger with the old pipes confessed that his name was Kevin Rietmann!
So you can imagine how incredulous I am to think that a guy like Dionys would be living right under Kevin’s nose without him knowing it! :roll:
You should post a picture of those reeds with the glittery wrapping, Lor. I mean Lar. Hey, you blew your cover!
Another local piper has a naughahide pipe bag that looks like gold glitter sprinkled on refried beans! Fantastic stuff, it looks like a bowling ball. Suits the person it was made for, too…
When I get interested in a subject I read all I can about its history, for some reason. Perhaps some genetic motivation. I always remember heaps of details about something, but forget certain crucial parts, which hasn’t always stood me in good stead with employers…
I have heard one Britton set other than Tim’s personal set that seemed to work pretty well, a deluxe full set made for and played by Roy Rogers, the Philadelphia piper. It was loud but it was in tune, and Roy sounded great on it, but then again Roy’s a very good piper. I haven’t seen, heard, or played one since that I liked as well as Roy’s set or Tim’s own set…and I’ve seen and heard maybe half a dozen of his instruments at the various tionols around the US.
I found the chanter reeds to be the biggest issue: either too open or too closed, and adjusting them is difficult since they have no bridle. Making a new reed can solve the problem, but I feel that a beginner should spend time learning to play pipes instead of making reeds.
