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THE ROUND TABLE -- ARCHIVE, 2004
December 29, 2004
Happy holidays to one and all. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a
round table entry, and I won’t lie – I can’t remember anything that’s
happened since April. Just some small tidbits of information for you to chew
on. We’ve got a new Vice President, as Bill Armet has stepped aside after
over 20 years with the band. Bill was always a reliable member of the group
and could be seen in the front row of many parades leading the color guard.
Good luck in your retirement, Bill. Stepping in for Bill as Vice President
is Damien Murray. Damien’s meteoric rise to the top of the ACPB ladder has
been heralded in books and on film, so likley you’ve heard his tale before.
He’s sure to build on the work of his predecessor. We’ve also got a new,
slimmed down version of our Pipe Major, and a rebirth in the drum corps….
The band hired a Tenor Drumming instructor, Dick Hanley (who Cutch loves
seeing), over the summer, and the results have been excellent. We’ve got a
new tenor drummer who’s joined our ranks and she’s sure to be a welcome
addition to the group. Welcome aboard Maureen! We’ve also added a couple of
new snare drummers. JulieAnn O’Callaghan and Mike Guardino came aboard over
the summer and, after some fine tutelage, were able to jump right into the
fray. It looks like our drum line is starting to grow a little bit…. Just in
time for the St. Patrick’s Day season! Any more new members and we’ll need
name tags for Wednesday nights (we may need them anyway).
As the drum corps continues to grow, the pipe corps strives to improve.
Though we’ve not made the foray into the contest circuit for a couple of
years, the group is looking forward to throwing our hat back in the ring in
2005. All well and good as we near the end of December, now it’s just a
matter of showing that commitment through the early months of next year.
Hopefully we’ll be back.
The Piper’s Ball this year will be on March 5th at the
Feustal-Kurdt American Legion Hall,
80 Herbert Avenue, Lindenhurst, NY. For details and tickets, contact
Tom
Etter. We’ll see you in March!
----
April 15,
2004
Well another St. Patrick’s Day season
has come and gone, and the calendar for this year was no different than in
years’ past. At one point, the band had performed in 5 parades over the span
of 8 days… with 3 dance performances thrown in for good measure. Though the
season officially started on February 7 with the Ronkonkoma Grand Marshall’s
Ball, we didn’t really get into full swing until the East Islip parade on
March 6th. Usually bitterly cold, we were blessed with nice weather and went
out with a strong sound. It was the first parade performance for a new
father/son team in the band. James Elliott joined the pipe ranks for the
February 7th gig, but got his first parade opportunity in East Islip. His
father, Roger, shored up our drum section after a crash course on the bass
drum. Roger’s a quick learner, and the band is quite proud to have these two
join the mix.
The real test started on March 13th.
We had a parade in the afternoon, and the “night of a thousand dances” made
its return, with three gigs over a four hour period. That was just a warm-up
of things to come. Sunday brought our first “double” of the year, with
back-to-back parades in Bayport and Center Moriches. Congratulations to
Wayne Skelton on his first parade with the American Celtic Pipe Band.
Another new piper to the ranks, Wayne comes to us from Brooklyn, by way of
Canada. He’s been playing for many years and, with tutelage from Bob
Worrall, brings experience and a high level of playing to the group.
March 17th brought us to the city
(as usual), marching for the Fighting 69th. It was a chilly, wet day, but
once again the group managed to provide a strong sound all the way down 5th
Ave. As usual, the group ended up back at the pub after the parade (it was
past 12:00, so no comments please…) Along with the usual good time had by
all, we were able to hear some solo performances by Tom Patton Jr, Pat Ryan,
Colleen Patton, and Wayne Skelton. The crowd was thin (probably the weather)
but the performances were well received (though one was obviously alcohol
induced). It’s always good to get out in public and perform without the
benefit of a full pipe corps. “Builds character.” The remainder of the
March parade season brought us to Rockville Center on the 20th, and Montuak
on the 21st. Notoriously cold, Montauk actually wasn’t too bad. And, as
we’ve been doing for years, we finished the season at the Graham’s house for
one more performance, some cigars, and maybe an Irish Coffee or two (or
three). We even had a chance to watch some world-class Irish Step dancing.
Megan and Kimberly Maxson have been performing at the Graham’s for a few
years now, and they never cease to amaze the audience with their talents.
The end of the St. Patrick’s season
also marked the end of an era for the American Celtic Pipe Band. Harry
Resnick announced his retirement from the Pipe Corps. Harry has been with
the group nearly since its inception, and has been a reliable piper for many
years. He has seen the highs, lows and everything in between for the
organization, and has been a key influencer in improving the direction of
the band throughout his tenure. Fear not, Harry fans… He’ll still be with
the group. Only now, he’ll be picking up a Tenor Drum. Good luck Harry!
Finally – well-deserved congratulations to Damien Murray on being awarded
Band Member of the Year for 2003. Damien has been the most dedicated member
of the band for the past couple of years now, since joining us from Tara
Pipes and Drums. His dedication is truly unmatched, and he was undoubtedly
the most deserving of this year’s award.
----
February 10, 2004
We kicked off the St. Patrick's Day
season a little early this year, with our fist gig this past Saturday night.
The band went out with strong numbers throughout, and a huge sound. The new
reeds certainly helped, and the band sounded great (must be the tuning...).
Congratulations to James Elliot on his first performance with the group. It
seems like James just picked up his practice chanter a few months ago....
wait, I think he did. Great job to the young man on an outstanding effort to
get up a running so quickly.
We're getting ready for another full
parade season this March. With John Cronin providing the impetus for
increased attendance at practice, we should be humming by the Piper's Ball
(February 28th... get your tables now!)
We'll see you on the cold streets of
Long Island in the coming weeks!
----
Round Table Archive
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