Tell Your Band's Story.

Twenty years is a long time to love something. For two decades I have poured time, energy, money, patience, and more than a few gray hairs into this band. I have talked about it constantly. I have written about it. I have promoted it. I have defended it. I have meta glasses to take pictures of it. I have probably annoyed more than a few people along the way. And yes — I am extremely proud of it.

Photo Credit: Ryan Guthrie, NCSHP

I am proud of my band. I am proud of what Wake & District has become. I am proud of the people who have stood in the circle over the years and helped shape it into what it is today.

But pride and reality can exist in the same place.

From time to time I hear a familiar criticism — internally and externally — that I paint a rosier picture of the band than what may actually exist inside the circle. Some call it optimism. Some call it protection. Some call it hyperbole.

There is truth in that.

Pipe bands are complicated things. There are a lot of moving pieces. Music, leadership, rehearsals, performances, travel, competition, logistics, money, expectations. But the biggest moving piece is always the same one:

People. Every single person who steps into the circle brings a life with them. Work stress. Family obligations. Personal struggles. Successes. Failures. Ego. Doubt. Confidence. Exhaustion.

Baggage. And I bring my own baggage too.

Some nights the happy Joe Brady shows up.

Some nights the father of cats and storyteller shows up.

Some nights the tired Joe Brady shows up.

And if I am being honest, more times than not the angry Joe Brady shows up.

It happens. That is part of being human. It is also part of being in a pipe band.

Because a pipe band is not just a music group. It is a living, breathing community of people trying to move in the same direction while carrying very different lives. Carrying different weights.

And somehow we make it work.

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I love this music. I mean truly love it.

Bagpipe music is the greatest music in the world. Right up there with Irish rebel hip-hop from the likes of **Seanchai and the Unity Squad**, and somewhere not too far behind a good showtune if I am being honest. This music grabs hold of people.

What starts as a hobby — and yes, I still jokingly call it a hobby — slowly weaves itself into your life. Your calendar. Your friendships. Your identity.

Pipe bands become part of who you are.

But unlike elite bands such as the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band, where Pipe Major Jack Lee famously speaks about the band coming first, many of us live in a different reality.

I admire those words. I really do.

But for most of us, the band cannot always come first.

Family comes first.

Work comes first.

Life comes first.

And finding balance between those things and a pipe band can be difficult. Especially when competition becomes part of a band’s identity.

But competition is not the most important thing we do.

Not even close.

The most important thing we do is play for the fallen.

From day one our band has carried a simple mission: **For Our Fallen.**

As a police officer I have attended many funerals. Some in uniform. Some standing quietly with a set of bagpipes.

I have played with the Chicago Police Pipe Band, the Bagpipes and Drums of the Emerald Society CPD, and the Stockyard Kilty Band.

Those experiences teach you things.

They teach you humility.

They teach you discipline.

They teach you the true weight of this music.

If anything, we as a band should probably take that responsibility even more seriously. Playing a funeral demands the same preparation, alignment, and care as any competition field.

Because when the pipes sound in those moments, the music belongs to someone else.

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Over the past twenty years I have learned a few things about pipe bands.

Look after your band.

Love your band.

Love your bandmates.

Notice I did not say like them.

I said love them.

Because the truth is we will not always like each other. Personalities clash. Opinions differ. Tempers flare. It happens anywhere people gather.

But despite all of that, we still have the chance to come together and do something pretty remarkable.

We stand in a circle.

We strike the drones.

And we create a sound — pipes and drums together — which is one of the most powerful sights and sounds in the world.

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Yes, I talk about my band a lot.

Yes, I post about this band a lot on social media.

And yes, I usually talk about it in the best possible light.

Because I love it.

Every band takes an incredible amount of time and effort. None of us get rich from it. None of us get famous from it. We do it simply because we love the music and we want to share it with as many people as possible.

Our posts reflect life inside our circle — the good, the hard, and everything in between.

But I will admit something openly.

Sometimes I do paint a brighter picture.

Sometimes I do lean into optimism.

Not to hide reality.

To protect the band.

To motivate the band.

But motivation only carries you so far. Eventually people have to decide whether they want to be part of building something together.

Over the years I believe our band has inspired others to love their own bands more deeply.

And if that is true, then I consider that a win.

Because this is bigger than Wake & District.

It is bigger than Wasatch and District Pipe Band.

Bigger than Inveraray and District Pipe Band.

It belongs to every person who stands in a pipe band circle anywhere in the world.

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Right now, our band is in a good place.

Not a perfect place.

Not a great place.

A **good** place.

And I like that.

I like where we are going.

I love who I am doing it with (I don't like everyone).

I like the direction the music is taking us.

The band cannot always come first. Very few of us live in a world where it can.

But we can still do everything possible to protect our band.

Protect its reputation.

Protect the people in it.

Protect the artform we all care about.

And if you truly love your band, promote it.

Tell its story.

Be honest. Be reflective. Keep sharing what happens inside the circle. Because the story never stops evolving.

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So yes.

I will keep talking about my band.

I will keep posting about my band.

I will keep celebrating the people in my band.

Because if you love something, you should not be afraid to show it.

And if things feel darker than they should inside the circle, then do something about it.

Start by smiling.

Start by being kind.

Help make the circle better.

Or step out of the circle and find another hobby.

But for those of us who stay — who love the music, love the people, and love the sound of pipes and drums rising together —

There is nothing else in the world quite like it.