A piper's rant

[JS Sanders]

DWFII,
Sure hoped you expressed your disappointment to him - in no uncertain terms. To me, that sorta behavior & deportment is unacceptable and unforgiveable.

Clients have an odd propensity to hire pipers without even hearing a demo recording or attending one of the venues. For years I've provided a presentation video to potential clients - it has acquired me an extraordinary amount of income.

I rarely get asked for references either. It really baffles me, because the same folks go completely outta their way to hear the band hired for the reception.

For me, $150 to perform at a wedding would be insufficient. I charge much more and perform at 70-80 weddings annually.

I have a 'competitor' who charges even more than I and he is a complete numpty. He can somewhat dress the part, but his piping ability is borderline. It is embarassing to hear him. He's also bailed-out on clients at the last moment and I've gotten the call to fill in for him from some mighty unhappy people.

I really hate to hear of incidents such as yours. These hurt bona fide pipers and our art more than we'll ever know.

Slan,
steve

[DWFII]

Steve,

Well, thanks for the "condolences(?)" We live in a somewhat rural area...at least it is not densely metropolitan. I emailed and called around looking for a piper ahead of time and this one was the only one I could find. There may have been one other piper in the area but he was not available to answer either email or phone messages. And the $150.00 might have been standard according to what I was told...although in retrospect, I certainly would have been willing to pay more to get more "value."

Truthfully, I am not qualified to judge the playing of a piper...although hearing Wicked Tinkers this summer made my hair stand on end and the wedding piper did not do that...that said, the tunes our piper played were recognizable and I never thought to compare it to a "flock of alarmed geese."

I only posted my comments to illustrate how someone could be a little leery, especially if they didn't know any better...if this person is the standard bearer in my area, then $150.00 might even be a little excessive.