“The Patriotic Piper, Vol. I” — my first Highland bagpipe sheet music book — has PUBLISHED!!! Since it’s launch last Sunday things have been non-stop. I’ve spent nearly 10 hours each day promoting the book online — mostly talking with people about its contents and my approach to the work. Positive reviews are coming in on Amazon and people are saying great things on Facebook. The book and e-book even hit Amazon’s “#1 New Release in Military Marches“.
Here’s the short list of what’s in the first installment of
The Patriotic Piper …
- 20 traditional Scottish American military and patriotic bagpipe compositions, arranged into 8 performance numbers
- 15 delicious Scottish and Irish recipes
- Numerous history and trivia writings accompanying the tunes and recipes
(Click here for a Longer Description)
Various people have messaged saying that their copies are already showing up in the mail. They tell me the book looks great, and it is even more interesting and fun than they expected. As an author … well … that tells me I did my job!
Several proud new book owners claim to like my concept of accompanying the compositions with the tune histories. Some even said that this was a deciding factor in their book purchase. Numerous people have indicated their excitement about my inclusion of traditional Scottish and Irish recipes as the second half of the book. Certainly, there’s something for everyone in The Patriotic Piper, Vol. 01.
The Patriotic Piper is a fundraiser item for the Scottish American Military Society Post #1889. Not only am I a member, I also serve as an officer leading our small but stout Pipe & Drum corps. This is the official music collection of the Post. The monies raised by this book will assist Post 1889 with their projects. S.A.M.S. is a national organization and is a Congressionally Chartered Veterans Service Organization, which is dedicated to the preservation of the contributions of the Scots to the American Military and Society.
The Patriotic Piper is Available Now on Amazon
Print Edition — Published 22Nov2020
E-Book — Published 05Nov2020
Find The Patriotic Piper
At GoodReads and
At Whidbey Island Baking Company
The first time I heard Tom Petty – and I mean REALLY heard Tom Petty – was at a ski condo where I spent many winter weekends during high school. If you consider a lot of his songs being in high school could not have been a more fitting time.
One night during the winter of ‘89/90 some folks down the hall at the condo building had a party. They put on 
Every week the concert would pick up where it left off, and over a number of weeks I caught most of the performance. Something about the music and the presence the musicians had caught me. To this day I don’t know what the specific concert was or much reference to make for the footage – and I would love to see it again. All I recall was that there was this HUGE tree prop behind the band on stage, and I think chandeliers hung from the branches. Their performance was engaging, electrifying, authentic, and the roots of rock’n’roll were palpable.
I get the impression that some folks think that because I play bagpipes that I’m not a musician, that I don’t tie in with the rest of musicians the same. While I hold the opinion that there is a vibe every musician experiences that comes with their genre of instrument, there is a vibe that all musicians share. I didn’t start out as a bagpiper, I’m not now only a bagpiper, and with that I’ve always viewed myself as a musician first. When you appreciate the work of another musician both from an audience standpoint and from musician standpoint …. when someone who’s work was incredible and they move on … it hurts in two ways. You lose a star in the night who was a point of great creation, and you lose someone you understand because of the vibe you shared with them.
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