Tom Creegan (and other little known great pipers)

A forum about Uilleann (Irish) pipes and the surly people who play them.
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Lorenzo
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Tom Creegan (and other little known great pipers)

Post by Lorenzo »

Image
http://www.mosquitonet.com/~gcn/suffgael/index.htm

Just to keep a true perspective on things, there's many excellent pipers you may have never heard of and who never use the internet or discussion boards like we do. Tom Creegan is probably one of the best piper I know of, but there are many, many more. I'd guess that only a small fraction actually use the internet.

A couple of years ago I heard Phil White playing The Musical Priest in Bm, flawlessly, and which involves starting out with the high B note in the 3rd section. I was pretty amazed because that's something pretty hard to do consistently for even an accomplished player, and here was a guy that hardly anyone has even heard of, kind of a closet/yet out of the closet piper playing with a great band.

Can you think of others that might fit into this category?
Last edited by Lorenzo on Sat Jun 28, 2003 12:38 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by tok »

Lorenzo , I have heard both of the above mentioned pipers and I am wondering , how piping can get any better than that ?
Tom .
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Post by Lorenzo »

A few years ago, I heard the Suffering Gaels over here in Eastern Washington State (quite dry it was, too). I think I enjoyed their concert more than some of the big-time pros.

There was another band from Colorado that opened the show, and I forget that bands name, but a singing cowboy from the group introduced the Gaels. He said he'd been wondering about the name ever since he'd heard they were gonna share the stage, so he called them up to chat a few days before the concert and talked to the wife of one the band members. Her name was Gail. Come to find out, all of their wives' names were Gail, and none of them played music...they just had to listen, and so he assumed the band's name was derived from all the suffering the wives had gone through over the years. It's true...he made up that story. :D

After the concert, Creegan came over and played a lot more for a party. Should have heard that guy! I remember when he first came down out of Canada (via Dublin) and all the good pipers in Seattle were not just a little awed.

Hey, good to hear from you Tom! Hope you had a good winter. Been missin ya :) Hey, that reed of yours is still singing too!

Oh, and you're right. It doesn't get much better than those guys.
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Post by tok »

thanks L ,, oh ,, of all the drink o' er I had ,,
lol .
:)
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Post by Jumper »

Phil White is one of the best pipers on the left coast, no doubt. I've known him since 1979, and played in two bands with him; Dogs Among the Bushes in the early '80s, and briefly and much more recently as Bruscar Ban ('White Trash' in Gaelic). I was hoping to lay hands on (and post) a photo from our Dogs days, but it hasn't floated to the surface yet. Here's a consolation prize, a card of Phil's from long, long ago:

Image

I remember when he came over to my house one day in 1980 to show me his first full set of Uilleann pipes, which had just arrived that day. It was a lovely Eugene Lambe set in lignum vitae and brass. I still recall that the first tune we played together that day was Sixpenny Money. The first of many, I should add.

Here's a site that offers a recording that includes Phil's piping, along with a short clip of him playing The Gold Ring:

http://www3.telus.net/schnider/swarm/cds.html

Phil and I both grew up in San Diego, and we both learned to play the Highland Pipes long before either of us were interested in Irish music. I went to a high school that had a pipe band, and Phil's father Dick White played the tenor drum in the Cameron Highlander Pipe Band in San Diego, and got Phil involved when he was quite young.

Rumor has it that Phil has taken up the pedal steel guitar lately. I expect he's already mastered it, even as difficult an instrument as it is. What a great musician!

Jonathan in San Diego
Last edited by Jumper on Mon Feb 28, 2005 12:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Lorenzo »

Jeeze Loueeze! The pedal steel guitar?

Did Phil use to live in/near Seattle? I'm trying to remember, but last time I talked to him he was trying to get me to come to San Diego.

Do you play the uilleann pipes too?

Hey Jonathan, that business card of Phils you posted above...
rotate it 180 deg. and you get a picture of another face, his boots being the eyes. Good art. But I'm always seeing faces in everything I look at! :D

Edit Note: hey I just listened to that sound clip of the "Gold Ring" and if the rest of you haven't heard it yet, you aught to! :) Remember who made the pipes he's playing?
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Post by elbogo »

You got me on that one Lorenzo, I was just going to say and ask the same question. That is really wonderful piping (The Gold Bug)... extraordinary! I liked it so much, that I've ordered the CD.

And, yes, who made those pipes?
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Post by Jumper »

Yes, Phil lives in Seattle. I don't think he's been down here for at least five years, or I would have dragged him down to our session at The Field:

http://www.thefield.com/index.html

If your travels take you to San Diego, please come and join us, Sundays 7-10 p.m.

I don't recall what pipes Phil is playing lately, only that they have stainless steel regulator keys. I just tried calling him, but didn't get an answer, so this will have to remain a mystery for the monent.

The only pipes I have or play at the moment is a Swedish sackpipa, although in the past I've played Northumbrian Smallpipes and (as I mentioned) the Highland pipes. I also play the tinwhistle, flute, fiddle, guitar, and mandolin. One of these days perhaps I'll get around to taking up the UP. I keep hoping a nice set will fall into my lap :lol:

You asked about other unsung, but excellent pipers. I play every week with a very fine piper named John Tuohy. He learned to play from (and now owns the instrument that belonged to) Dave Page, who was in turn a student of Leo Rowsome. (Phil was also a protege of Dave Page, although he plays in quite a different style now.) John's pipes were made by the Kennedys in 1959; he's played them since the late '70s. He doesn't travel much, and isn't interested in recording, but others that know him will also attest to his skill.

tok? Eskin?

-Jonathan-
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Post by tok »

Yes , I have had the good fortune to meet John as my mom lives in San Diego . He has managed to maintain the now vintage set in perfect condition , no small feat in itself . Also he gave me some good advice , which again , is not easy , that being to choose a style for your piping .
tok . :) p.s. Why choose a stlye ? I think it is a good way to focus so that when you want to have a good practice , you have a base to begin from . Of course If you can't be happy with any of the styles extant ,, lol then create your own , and stick to that . lol
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Post by Jumper »

tok, you and I played together a bit when you brought that lovely B set down to The Field about a year and a half ago. Is that the same set that Lorenzo later bought?

-Jonathan-
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Post by tok »

yes . And my jetta made it all the way back to newhampshire ,, I heard a funny sound coming from the front , where the engine is ,, was , lol . It lost the timing belt in the white mts .. At least I was in walking distance to a garage . Advice ,, change the timing belt at 60 thousand miles , not 160,000. miles .
Tom :) . Now I have a turbo six , why complain ?
:) . p.s. I had the set though I just wanted somthing a bit more easy to play in the secound octave . I had them pumped up a bit , almost to c sharp . I found that was where I could play very fast on the reels , and give the set an electric sound . The set was very nice and I will miss it . I am still wondering how the regulators were so well made . They never had any problems .
tok .
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Post by Lorenzo »

tok wrote:At least I was in walking distance to a garage . Advice ,, change the timing belt at 60 thousand miles, not 160,000. miles.
Same thing happened to me tok on my Trooper a couple of years ago. about 160K. Trouble is, I was on the way back from the grocery store, and had just purchased several 1/2 gal. containers of vanilla ice cream for a party, it was about 98 deg. outside and I had to run for about 2 miles to get my other vehicle and rescue the frozen white stuff before it completely melted. :D

Yea that's the B set Jumper, fantastic set. I'll post some more pics of it soon.
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Post by tok »

:lol:
tok ,, p.s.
The thing I liked most about the set is that it had a large enough bag to run the set . I tend to play with the bag up under my elbow . If I try to play the pipes low , around my waist , I get a pulled muscle on the top of my sholder . Having the bag arrainged that way allowed me to reach the lowest regulators with ease , and I would use my wrist , and the base of my thumb , to reach the regulators near the stock . i ,, OUPPS CAPPS LOCK ,, I like to have the bag up high under my arm where there is the most leverage . I like an open loud set , and I tend to make the reeds easy to play , and quiet , then I play the reeds not the reeds play me . :) .
The roberts d set I have now is super fine , and I have trouble just keeping up with it , as it wants to play itself . I was lucky to have grabbed the set off ebay , and I am the third owner . The set was virtually unplayed , and it was made around the early 1980's . the drones will give a full sound and fill the session room when I kik them on . The chanter will play well in the secound octave , and has the skirrl in it . the nhahh . It wants to play . :) . Yes , it is an thinwall , and can be a bit thin in the second octave ,, and the hard d is sharp . I have solved these probs , with reedmaking , some tape , and a rush in the bell of the chanter .
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Post by tok »

lorenzo , mabey you should have ordered rocky road instead , it won't melt as fast . :lol:
tok ,, :) .
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Post by Lorenzo »

Those Robert's drones really do kick ass, steady as she goes. Believe it or not, I hadn't played my pipes for over a month, too much work on the house, and my wife has kittens in the house! Cats will have nothing of the pipes. But this evening, I was watching the Chieftains on TV all playing bluegrass for a while, the cats and lady being outside, so I cranked them up. Worked perfect with no warm-up. Those Robert's drones blew the dust off the kitchen floor (as you say), with a great roar. The Quinn chanter went right up into the 3rd octave. Temp was about 77 inside, 97 outside with good humidity. Everything worked just like they did when I laid them down. No tuning necessary.

Wedding season is coming up, got 4 or 5 lined up so far for the summer, 1st one's next weekend, so thought I'd better get 'em working before practice with the band tomorrow night.

tok, those Bs, I played the bag low (new bag and bellows), but tied the air supply stock (on the bag) to my belt, which pulled the regs up, so also found them easy to grab. I did a rush recording with a friend on bouzouki just before I parted with them. Syncopated the jig, and blew the drones on 1/2 way through.
http://www.tinwhistletunes.com/clipssni ... LarryD.mp3
Up for a little nostalgia?
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