GALLERY 9

In 1999, despite my protests, I was forced to experience first hand that great American institution known as divorce. At the time, my daughter was 9 & my son was 12. The 20 years of marriage down the drain & losing the product of our collective efforts was definitely a bummer. But losing our home & regular access to my children almost killed me.

I moved into my welding shop & lived alone for several years. Regular visits with my children, a handful of close friends, music, & the Scottish Fiddlers of Los Angeles kept me alive. It was during this time of solitude that I produced this CD. Since I didn't have a recording studio proper, I would stay up into the wee hours of the morning when all was quiet, playing, composing, & recording music.

I put my heart & soul into making this music & every track is special to me. Certainly, most of my original compositions sprang from profoundly deep personal emotions.


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Cameron's Rant Cameron's Rant is a personal favorite of my original tunes. It's me. I can still get lost in it, playing or just listening to it.
 
Em Air & Slip Jig I've written way more music than I've recorded. It's my hope to someday record it acoustically with some friends if we can make it happen. But until then, I've recorded MIDI versions merely to showcase the tune. No, MIDI is not music, it's merely a handy tool to use for writing, scoring, & hearing how what you've written might sound.
 
Archibald MacDonald I have a nice half set of Irish Uilleann Pipes which I can play a little bit. If you want to hear some real Irish piping, check out Joey Abarta. He's a real Uilleann piper & and an incredible musician.
 
Song of Misunderstanding Another of my tunes recorded in MIDI. Actually, it's an excellent exercise in counterpoint, & it probably would have gotten me an A in my music theory class back at Pasadena City College.
 



Una Reel Una Reel... the first reel I wrote... Any questions?
 
Whiteheather Jig A nice little recording of this tune on my Borderpipes & accordion.
 
From Peebles to the Sea A great tune by Dougie Pincock in 5/4 played on my Scottish Smallpipes in D & whistle.
 
El Lamento de mi Espiritu A tune I've been playing as long as I can remember on my Alto Recorder.
 



Children's Reel This is not a happy tune. It poured from the depths of my soul as a reflection of my feelings about child abuse, which is all too prevalent, sad as hell, & is fucking wrong...
 
My Sweet Lost Child Another of my tunes with deep personal attachment.
 
Macdonald of Isles set No one's ever accused me of being a great traditional Highland piper, and that's OK. I'm not. But here's a sample of my piping anyway, just for the hell of it...
 
Prince Charles last view of Scotland One of my favorite tracks on the CD, this recording is a great blend of acoustic playing with MIDI accompaniment. Look at it this way, playing with your computer beats playing with yourself!?!
 



My Only Daughter Written for my daughter, Sarah, who was wrongfully torn away from the father who loved her so. If you want to dump your spouse, so be it. Act your age & put your children's feelings & well-being ahead of your own.
 
the Lord of Mierda Not really sure where this one came from, but here it is...
 
the Flowers of the Fiddlers This suite of 3 tunes was written for the greatest group of people I know, the Scottish Fiddlers of Los Angeles. It includes: The Flowers of the Fiddlers, Ginny's Reel for my friend Virginia "Ginny" Porter, & Jim's Jig, for the late Jim Andersen.
 
Prayor for Delcia I was once scheduled to play with my dear friend Aubyn Miller for an event. She had to cancel at the last minute as she was helping with a friend who was seriously ill. I could feel her sorrow & pain when she informed me that she could not play. I went & did the best I could solo. On the way back home, this haunting melody appeared in my head, which later that evening became Prayor for Delcia, who passed away a few days later.
 



Chris' Reel Another close friend of mine, Chris Hendershot, used to accuse me of writing only sad, depressing music. I figured that, considering my whole life had been recently turned upside down with the divorce & all, this made good sense. But, I decided to break character & write this "way too perky" little tune just for Chris.
 
A minor Offense Reel I have this tendency to write stuff thats too damned hard to play. A minor Offense Reel is almost impossible (for me, anyway) to play on pipes, but I somehow managed to pull it off. It's also tied with the Lord of Mierda for my best title.
 
Captain Okane Captain Okane is a great traditional tune & one of my first recordings.
 
Woad More than one person's told me after hearing this that I ought to be writing music for cartoons. I had fun recording this, & also discovered that I can sing.
 



Stairway to Heaven My most ambitious recording, Stairway to Heaven on the pipes, came to be due to someone talking down bagpipes at a Christmas party I was playing at, saying: "You want to impress me, let's hear you play Stairway to Heaven on those things." Here ya are!
 
Theme & Variations Another of my tunes with some personal feelings attached to it, inspired by my friend, Trish.