Drumming Instructor Stephen Cameron hosted the second drum clinic at his house in Gerogetown, TX on June 6th. Students from Georgetown, Lancaster and Houston Fire Department’s Pipes and Drums attended. It was hot but there was some shade and some good progress was made on fundamentals and technique. Lunch from a local Mexican Food restaurant was provided and it was great! The next clinic will be on October 17th. Check out the page dedicated to the drum clinics here.
TPPB Pipe Major Ian K. McDonald will be in Georgetown TX teaching pipers from all over the State as we host the 2009 State Practice! I don’t know about you but I’m looking forward to learning from him. They seem to be breaking into new territory with their music. It seems to be very cutting edge competition pieces! Wow! Good stuff there!
The Texas Line of Duty Death Task Force would like to
announce the launching of their official website, www.texasfallenfirefighter.com or www.texasfallenhero.org. This
website offers a comprehensive collection of information and
resources for fire and EMS departments that are either putting
together protocols and procedures for handling a line of duty death
or injury; or for those departments that are currently experiencing a
death and need quick access guides.
The website offers: the Task Forces official response manual,
funeral planning information, sample procedures and guidelines,
information and articles on grief and trauma, resources for caring
for a department after a death or injury, investigations and
near-miss incidents, education & classes, memorial information, and
much more.
We set up an account with Twitter.com for our cool groupies! It is a way for anyone to follow the band’s activities. We are now able to send updates from a cell phone containing a short message informing you what the band is up too. We will be able to have new posts from our website appear on our Twitter account as well. Sign up and “follow” the band!
The Fire Department assisted the band with the upfront cost and ordering them. The band has been able to purchase some from the FD and they are now available for an $8 donation to the band. Piper Scott Laurich designed the patch and Drummer Robert Gordon and Drummer David England were able to get them ordered through the Fire Department. Thank you Asst. Chief Shell and Fire Chief Fite for your support and assistance! Contact a band member to get one of the patches.
The Band made two different designs of T-shirts and they are available with a donation to the band of $15. Each design comes in Forest Green and Navy Blue. Piper Scott Laurich and Drummer Robert Gordon came up with the designs. They range in sizes from M, L, XL, and XXL. Contact one of the band members to get one of the shirts.
This is the front design to match our custom Hat Badges.
This is the back of Scott’s design and we will post better pictures soon. Maybe someone will model them for us…Henry?
Snare Drummer Amador Anguiano has returned from Iraq after bravely serving our country for one year. We are so thankful that he is home safe and sound!! We are really looking forward to him getting back on the “line”! Amador was able to attend a band practice and we were all able to enjoy some great dance moves as well!
Amador, thank you for your service and for keeping this great nation safe.
Thanks to the support of our families and the Fire Department, 6 members of the band attended the 2nd Annual Keeping Tradition Alive Pipes and Drums / Honor Guard Symposium in Lewisville, TX. This years Symposium was attended by over 300 Fire Fighters from 14 states. Members arrived Wednesday night, visited with attendees and went to eat twice! Thursday kicked off with an amazing opening ceremonies and then a meet and greet. We started in on the workshop about 1pm. We broke about 5pm and went to downtown Lewisville to perform with all of the other Pipers and Drummers in a Massed Band setting. We were treated to Firehouse Subs thanks to the LFD and then it was on to the Pub Crawl at a couple of Lewisville’s old pubs downtown. Friday it was back to work and a chance to sell and buy T-shirts. On a side note…one of our members is in fact still alive after returning home and informing his wife he had purchased 15 T-shirts from all of the bands in attendance.
At T.G.I. Friday’s in Lewisville, on 5/14/2009, members of the band voted unanimously to ask Stephen Cameron with Cameron Highland Drumming to honor us by becoming our honorary Drum Sergeant. He said he would be thrilled to do that. Stephen Cameron has been instructing since the Spring of 2007 and the Georgetown Fire Department Pipes and Drums can not thank Stephen enough for coming by the station many times to help us learn the drumming, putting up with us when we get calls in the middle of practice, being a huge supporter of the band and letting us call him Brother! Thank you Stephen!
Pipers Scott Laurich and Joshua Ratliff have become performing members with the Georgetown FD Pipes and Drums. Scott and Joshua have been working very hard for the last year or two to get up on the pipes. They started on the practice chanter learning the notes and embelishments. Soon they ordered their Great Highland Bagpipes and began to learn how to play the new tunes on the Pipes.
Their first performance was at the Williamson County Courthouse to play for the memorial for the victims of violent crimes of Williamson County on 4/27/09. The very next day they joined the band at the Weslyan Retirement community for a performance in front of about 25 residents. They are doing very well continuing to learn more and more tunes. Both new members will be attending the 2009 Keeping Tradition Alive Pipes and Drums Symposium in Lewisville soon.
Here are some photos and videos from the 2009 Red Poppy Festival Parade. This was the 10th annual festival and the 2nd year that the band has marched in the parade. The Emergency Service Pipes and Drums Assosiation marched with the band to make this the best year yet. Members of the Fire Department including our new Fire Chief Robert Fite marched “Rank and File” behind the band followed by the recently reworked 1922 Seagrave Pumper named “Betsy”. The Georgetown FD Clown’s rode on the back. Recently retired BC. Mark Moss drove and retired VFF Wiggy Shell rode the “seat”! Following Betsy was the new 100′ Platform Truck Co. #1.
Members of the Pipes and Drums and Honor Guard wlecomed our new fire Chief Robert Fite on March 6th at Swearing in Ceremony at the Council Chambers.. We were assisted by members of the Emergency Services Pipes and Drums. There are some pictures and video of the cermony online.
Hey folks! ESPADA is an Emergency Service band we play with and our performing members are all members of ESPADA. Members of ESPADA have come and assisted Georgetown FD P&D on several occasions. One of the fundraisers is providing manning for the gates at FADO’s on St. Patrick’s Day.
This is a blast for the folks that sign up to help and in return FADO’s donates $$$ to ESPADA. ESPADA use the money for band equipment, uniforms, travel, and training. If you are interested in helping out please sign up. You get a free T-shirt and I think some refreshments!
Here they are! A big thanks to Piper Scott Laurich for designing and ordering these awesome hats! The hats are black Flexfit hats and we ordered several sizes. They have some green in them too!! Contact a member of the band to obtain one - all we ask is a $20 donation to the band!
Stephen Cameron with Cameron Highland Drumming hosted a drumming clinic at his house on on Saturday, Jan 31st. The clinic was open to all interested drummers wanting to get some top notch instruction in a relaxed environment. Stephen opened up his “tool box” on the students and introduced “voicing” adding some needed music to our mid section drummers. We had Irish Stew thanks to Mrs. Cameron and the clinic concluded with some ice cold drinks in the evening. Stephen has such a nice place and it is perfect for hosting these types of clinics. There will be more in the future. Departments attending included College Station FD, Denton FD, Plano FD, ESPADA, Georgetown FD, Cleveland (OH) FD, and I think McKinney FD.
After over 33 years in the Fire Service (15 of those with Georgetown FD) BC Mark Moss Retires on 1/30/2009. The Fire Department held an outstanding ceremony with the Pipes and Drums, Honor Guard, Final Inspection if the Rank and File, and awards and proclamations. BC Moss will be missed but he is looking forward to spending some time working on his Model A car and practicing his chanter. Mark is going to remain in the band and continue to strive to be playing the Bagpipes soon!
Members of the Band performed at a Promotional and Swearing In Ceremony for the new promotions on January 23rd, 2009. The event was held at the City Of Georgetown Council Chambers on 7th Street. The promotions included Bass Drummer David England to the Rank of Captain. There was a welcome and pledge by Interim Fire Chief Clay Shell followed by the Band performing the Scotland the Brave Set. Afterward there were plenty of photo ops and Cake!
The City of Georgetown hosted the National Honor Guard Academy the week of 11/10-11/14. The course was cram packed full of top notch instruction. The 24 students received 60 hours of instruction in one week! This was an honor to be able to host this type of class in Georgetown. PM Jeff Davis was asked to play for the graduation today. Congratulations to all grads!
Members of the GFD Pipes and Drums marched with with the Emergency Services Pipes and Drums Association for the Veteran’s Day Parade in Austin. One of our Snare Drummers Amador Anguiano is currently serving in Iraq. He is in our thoughts and prayers everyday.
Georgetown Fire Department Pipes and Drums has joined forces with the Chisholm Trail Communities Foundation for our donations. We have an account with them so we will now be able to accept tax-deductible donations to the band. Anyone wishing to make a donation to the band may do so by sending a check to their address (116 West 8th Street, #105, Georgetown, Texas 78626) or using the link to PayPal.
Brian Morrison is Georgetown FD Pipes and Drums Mid-Section instructor (Bass / Tenor). He is also instructing members of the Emergency Service Pipes and Drums Association in Central Texas. Brian is a very accomplished Bass and Tenor player and is currently the Bass for the Westminster PB. Brian resides in Houston and is currently employed with the Lake Jackson EMS as an EMT. He just finished up his Paramedic class and is hoping to move to Central Texas.
Brian Clark Morrison, 24
Bands:
1993-2002 - St. Thomas Episcopal School Pipe Band
2000-2002 - Hamilton Pipe Band
2002-2004 - St. Thomas Alumni Pipe Band
2004-Present - Westminster Pipe Band
Band Awards:
World Chamionship
1998 - 1st place with St. Thomas Episcopal Juv.
1999 - 3rd place Hamilton Pipe Band Grade 2
2000 - 10th Place Hamilton Pipe Band Grade 2
2001 - 2nd place St. Thomas Episcopal Juv.
Cowal Championship
1998 - 1st Place St. Thomas Juv.
2001 - 1st Place St. Thomas Juv.
North American Championship
1998 - 1st Place St. Thomas Episcopal Grade 3
U.S Championship
2006 - 1st Place Westminster Pipe Band Grade 4
2007 - 1st Place Westminster Pipe Band Grade 3
Bass Drumming Awards:
World Championship
1998 - Best Bass St. Thomas Episcopal Juv.
2001 - Best Bass St. Thomas Episcopal juv.
North American Championship
1998 - Best Bass St. Thomas Episcopal Grade 3
2004 - 4th Place Open Bass Drum Solo
Instruction
I have been taught by the following people:
Mike Cusack - St. Thomas PM
Bob Shephard - Dysart and Dundonald PM
Bert Barr - Shotts and Dykehead, British Airways drummer
Jim Kilpatrick - Shotts and Dykehead LD
Donald McPhee - Scottish Power, Field Marshal Montgumery
Craig Colqhoun (Hoss) - 78th Fraser Highlanders Bass
Tyler Fry - Shotts and Dykehead, 78th Fraser Highlanders Tenor
Scott Currie - Scotish Power Tenor
Ian Mckellan(Sp?) - Strathclyde Police PM
Eric Ward - Strathclyde Police LD
Steve Foley - LA Scots Bass
Mike Hunter - 78th Fraser Highlanders LD
John Fisher - various bands LD
Graham Brown - Milton Optimust, 78th Fraser Highlanders, Shotts and Dykehead, Peel Police
Mike Savage - Toronto Police
The Band had a blast marching in the parade. We were able to get some pictures and You Tube videos to share with you. We would like to thank the Emergency Service Pipes and Drums Asso. for marching with us. We hope you enjoy and we will see y’all next year for the 2009 Red Poppy parade!
The Georgetown Fire Department Pipes and Drums and Georgetown Fire Department Honor Guard will proudly be marching in the 2008 Red Poppy Festival Parade on April 26th in Downtown Georgetown. This is the first time our band has marched in the parade and it will not be the last! The Band feels strongly about bringing a sense of tradition to the Fire Service in Georgetown and promoting Great Highland Bagpipes and Drums music. We will be joined by members of the Emergency Service Pipes and Drums Association. We hope you enjoy this event as much as we will!
The Georgetown Fire Department Pipes and Drums will host it’s 5th mini drum clinic on Sunday April 13th, 9am, at Fire Station #4 located at 4200 Airport Rd. The clinic will run from 9:00am - 3:00pm. We are very fortunate to have Stephen Cameron from Cameron Highland Drumming return to Georgetown to instruct our local Fire Department drumming students. We have room for around 20 Drummers. We are taking this opportunity to freshen up on our skills before the season kicks off.
Agenda:
09:00 - 09:30 Introductions, Objectives, Coffee, B-fast tacos
09:30 - 10:30 Skills Assessment / Back to the Basics
10:30 - 10:45 Break
10:45 - 12:00 Scores / Exercises Part I
12:00 - 13:00 Working lunch ordered in
13:00 - 14:30 Strike in / Marching / Exercises Part II
14:30 - 14:45 Break
14:45 - Close Corp Drumming:
- Playing and Practicing together
- Instrument tuning and Maintenance
- Review, Q&A
Things to bring…sticks, practice pad, drum, carrier, (If you have this equipment) recording device, books / materials, just whatever you need to be in a comfortable playing position. Bring it all! There will be light breakfast & we will order out for lunch. Please contact David England at 512-748-9721 or let us know if you need anything or for more information on fees and directions. The GFD P&D will have our T-shirts for sale at the clinic
Stephen grew up near the village of Cullybackey in Northern Ireland’s piping and drumming heartland. A student of the legendary Bobby Rea and Andrew Scullion from the age of 7, Stephen had the privilege of learning from and playing with what are now household names in pipe band drumming circles, including Eric Ward and John Scullion.
Over the course of 30 years, Stephen has seen solo success on the All-Ireland and North American stage. By the time Stephen moved to Ontario, Canada in 1988, he had won Ulster and All-Ireland solo drumming titles, and quickly established himself firmly at the top of the North American solo drumming list. Under the watchful eye of Drew Duthart (Metro Toronto Police), Stephen remained unbeaten in Professional Solo Drumming events from 1988 to 1991, grabbing a North American and Canadian Professional titles in the process. A lead drummer from a very young age, Stephen was part of the double World Championship winning Cullybackey Junior Pipe Band, a feeder band for the famous Cullybackey Pipe Band of the 1970’s and 1980’s. The velocity of the junior band’s meteoric rise from Novice Juvenile to Grade II in the mid-80’s has only recently been matched by Boghall & Bathgate’s feeder band and Robert Malcolm Memorial from Vancouver, B.C.
During his 3 years in Ontario, Canada, Stephen was wing-man to the fearless Drew Duthart, helping to form what was to become one of the most highly accomplished and respected drums corps ever assembled in North America. Many of today’s top drummers on the North American (and now world) scene got their start in that corps. Following his return to Northern Ireland in the early 1990’s, Stephen led the Cullybackey Calendonia’s drum corps, until handing over control to Andrew Scullion in 1993.
After winning the Champion of Champions drumming awards for two of the next three years, Stephen moved to Austin, Texas, where he now lives and works. He has been a popular fixture on the southern and central U.S. teaching circuit, with a number of bands retaining his services in pursuit of drumming excellence. He returned to Ontario in 2003 to compete in Grade I with the Toronto Police Pipe Band for the season, where the band once again qualified for the Grade I finals. Since then Stephen has spent his time teaching students as part of their home school curriculum, as well as clinics and workshops hosted by an assortment of bands and societies.
