The lives and times of St. Louis’ own uilleann piper, as told to St. Louis Magazine.
- I’ve been playing music since I was 10. One day my dad proudly handed me his father’s fiddle, and I was dragged to music classes, where I was the only boy, so I switched to the whistle. Then my dad had this notion to get me to play the Irish pipes.
- At that time, I just wanted to kick a [soccer ball] around and listen to ZZ Top. [But then] I bought a record by a rock band called Moving Hearts, which had a piper. so I thought it might be cool after all.
- I suppose, as musicians, we can refer to it as the Riverdance factor. When the show boomed, about 20 years ago, the second or third piece of it featured the uilleann pipes—then everyone wanted that sound on records or soundtracks.
- When I moved here, in 2003, I was busy as a musician. I was the new kid in town, getting party gigs, weddings, and shows. The novelty wore off a few years later, so I bought some machinery and started making my own instruments.
- The advantage I have as a decent maker is that I’ve been known as a decent player… I’d been playing the damn things for 20-something years, so I knew how they were supposed to sound.
- The tools I needed just weren’t available. You can get companies to make them, but they’re expensive, so I started making my own.
- I have about an eight-month waiting list. It’s good job security, but it’s very daunting. It’s almost a bad sign if you don’t have a wait. An ambition would be to have a three- to four-year wait. There are some people who have 10-year waiting lists.
- There are about 50 uilleann pipe makers worldwide. It’s a very close-knit therapy group.
- When you meet someone who also plays the pipes, the first question you ask is, “Who made your pipes?” It’s like the high school question.
- The pipes are like cars: Some of them you can show them off more than others, but they’ll both get to work in the morning.
- It’s a very complex instrument. I ask the people who buy my pipes, “Do you have a teacher? No? Then get one.”
- I don’t like to have favorite songs to play, because you may end up having to play it every night in a show for the rest of your life.
