Burns supper and a bag of mystery beer!

Well... it's been a bit since I've posted. Work's been busy, I've been running like a madman and frankly until tonight, I've not had a moment to myself... However, lots going on and lots to go over!!

The MUSIC:

Random thought - GN'R's appetite for destruction - Great album that gets the week off to a good start!! Definitely worth a revisit.

Piping:
SLOW going on the pipes... I'm able to get the drones going and I can get a scale out on the pipes themselves... with all the drones going however, I'm finding that I'm rushing things on my chanter fingering. This of course will only result in some horrific playing once I really get going on the bag... I'm crushing my C throws for some odd reason and my version of Scotland the Brave would make William Wallace himself rise from the grave and slap me silly. The bottom line is that I HAVE to take my time and work on my problem areas. I've started playing with the metronome which is helpful and the constant nagging voice in my head saying "hit the breaks!!!" has been helpful.


Saturday 1/23/10: The Robert Burns Supper in Leominster, MA.
What a FANTASTIC time! We were lucky enough to be invited by the Scots Highland Pipe and Drums to play the Burns supper in central MA. The Scots Highland band runs a tight ship and they're definitely a class act group. I was most impressed by each member of the group. Not only were they exceptional musicians... they were, to a person, great guys! I had to Hollywood as my drones wouldn't stop when I told them to but we played the usual tunes, Rowan Tree, Scotland the Brave and a tune written by Mr. Burns himself (words as I understand it, not music), Scots what hae ye. I've never been to a Burns supper before and frankly it was right up my alley. Good beer, scotch (not a fan...), great food, Roast beef, Neeps and Tatties (Mashed potato, Mashed Turnips & Carrots) and of course the guest of the evening... the Haggis! For those of you not familiar with Haggis, it's a sausage-like food traditionally a stuffed sheep's intestine stuffed with oatmeal, onions and offal, aka What's left of the animal... heart, lungs, kidney etc... turn your nose up if you will but you've all had a hotdog and it's no different! Go ahead, read Upton Sinclair's "the Jungle"... you'll think Haggis is pretty straightforward! To take the mystery out of it... it has a similar consistancy to meatloaf and the horseradish they serve it with makes it more than pallatable. Frankly, I liked it!

AYE! The Haggis!


We had a GREAT time playing as a band ourselves AND playing alongside the Scots Highlanders, that was a trip, playing with some total 30-40 musicians at once. My wife has posted some video to Youtube and I may post that later, but it was an experience to say the least.

Late night! Of course we ended the night by marching en masse into the hotel bar. To the bar flys hanging out there: my apologies, but your reaction was priceless... How SHOULD one react when 40 bagpipers enter the room in full swing and regalia? suffice it to say, we, members of the Sutherland AND Scots Highlander bands closed down a bar in fitchburg. Great band playing by the way, whoever you are... your version of AC/DC's TNT was AWESOME. I'm sure that seeing 15 guys in skirts screaming "OI!" helped the performance. Of course, I have to salute our best fans... a little love to the cougars who kept hitting on all of us as the bar closed down... god love ya... You may not have heard us play, but you recognize a bunch of sexy beasts when you see them.

A pic of me and one of my boys from the Scots band


Me and the ever classy Mr. White - Yes, I'm wearing a Rowdy Roddy Piper shirt!


No, it's not just the picture that's fuzzy...


THE BEER:

This may be my last post regarding beer for a few weeks, so enjoy!! I'm attempting to lose a few pounds and fight generations of Celtic, starch packing genetics... see my progress at my new blog, Project: Antichunk.

I've decided to give Trader Joe's another shot regarding their beer selection... so far, I've not had the greatest of luck and frankly the TJ's own brand of beer is god awful by any standard and in any style. I grabbed a beer from Rogue Ales (to be reviewed later, and then saw a "mystery bag" on the top shelf. $7.00US for a 6 pack, not a bad deal. Considering that I'll not be able to have carbs anytime in the next two weeks, this, a whole baked potato and a pack of Ramen Noodles makes my 8 course meal for the weekend. I should have learned from the Family Guy episode... I could have had a boat... I can' totally complain, my wife, Laurie and I had a lot of fun tasting the beers and the brown bag presentation and anticipation that gave it a christmas morning feel. Sadly, out of the 6 beers, I found one to be completely undrinkable and a few others to be merely pallatable and two to be actually enjoyable. I've never gotten a can mixed in with a six pack of bottles, much less two... kind of disappointing at least from a presentation standpoint. Strike one...
I did get a few beers in the batch that piqued my interest, The Magic Hat Vinyl Lager seemed interesting and the Fat Weasel Ale from Steinhaus Brewing were two that caught my eye. Magic Hat was a MOST pleasant surprise. It was an odd flavor combination, but after ruminating on it for a bit, I recognized that it actually worked! It's got a dark brown hue, I could see clearly through to the other side of the glass and a good head. I did note that the bubble pattern on the glass was a bit weird... don't ask me why I noted that... What might turn most ordinary beer drinkers off is what gravitates me to this beer. It not only had a mid malt, light hop flavor, but the expresso taste added an interesting twist to this beer. They call it a spring beer... but really I would deem this to be an experimental anytime beer. Good buy, if you can get your hands on one, grab some Tiarimisu and have at it.

The Fat Weasel was what I consider to be a standard ale. Full bodied, well balanced and would go well with burgers and fries. It didn't knock my socks off, but compared to the rest of the pack, this one was still pretty good.

I did have one surprise in the sixer... The wife let me have a sip of her choice for the evening, the Newton's Folley Granny Smith Draft Cider. Normally I don't drink cider, due in part to a rather interesting day at the Scranton, PA St. Patrick's day. Another story for another time... However I was pleasantly surprised by this beverage. Clear apparance, some head and an eerie greenish hue. Interesting to say the least. I was most impressed by the lightness of the flavor. It tasted exactly like ordinary cider. The Granny Smith Apple has a bit of a bite to it and this held off the acidity and the achohol taste. Not a bad drink although given previous experience, I'd keep it to one.

On to the real folley... The Simpler Times Lager from the Minhas Craft Brewery was, in a word, UNDRINKABLE. I've powered through my share of crappy beers but I couldn't get beyond the almost skunked, acrid quality of this one. I've never been so vehemnently opposed to a beer so much in my life. I can't quite describe why it hit me funny, but it's taste from the front of my palate to the back of my throat puckered my face and set me into fits. It was simply awful. I had a thought to use the rest of this beer, sans my two sips, for beer bread, but I can't imagine that the flavor would bake well into my usually tasty bread. In short avoid this beer at all costs!!

So far, it's been a sort of 50/50 deal with Trader Joe's... I saw a few beers that I actually enjoy, the Duvel Abbey Ales, The Smuttynose brewery line and a few other notables. However, the bag of mystery beer is a gamble that I will not take again. Although I had some pleasant surprises, I would suggest going to your local package store and blindly picking a 6 of singles as opposed to letting TJ's do it for you.

I hope within the next few weeks to come back to you with more beer reviews, but in the mean time, please check out my newest blog, Project: Antichunk.

Check in with you soon! Nastrovia!

Rob

Is it bad if your teacher laughs at you?

Sorry gang, no beer reviews this week... only a heathy glass full O'shame...

Wow... of all the instruments I've learned (Up to 12 if my count is right...) Bagpipes are by far the most difficult!! The fingering alone has been a process but WELL worth it. My goal is to get these perfected over time to Gordon Duncan like consistancy. I've gotten as far as the Lemluath and the Touralouath (sp), however this week, I recieved my first lesson in humility. The practice chanter vs. the actual pipes is a completely different animal. While I've done fairly well at the Chanter, the phrase "playing the pipes is more taming a beast than playing an instrument" has never been more true. My teacher Brian has been remarkably patient, however his sadistic side has now come to light. Ahhh sweet revenge for all my poor playing over the last 10 months. I received my new pipes, a set of Duncan Soutars, the news of which the Band responds with either quizzical looks or gazes of admiration. They are, in short an exemplary example of the Great Highland Bagpipes. So... that brings me to my lesson on Thursday. This by the way is my Second time inflating the bag beyond the day that I bought the pipes (being last Sunday...)

The most important thing that I've learned so far is that you don't blow the bagpipes, you squeeze them. This for me is like when I learned jazz music... it's about the notes you DON'T play. Equal parts enigmatic and rediculous. However, there is an ounce of truth to both sayings. Please don't ask me to elaborate. It's much like figuring out what the sound of one hand clapping sounds like... I can get the drones going and fairly steady for the most part thanks to my training as a singer (thank you Carol Ann, my chamber singer director). Diaphram breathing is MOST important as it allows for the most air to enter the bag. So long and short of it, the drones are going OK and somewhat steady.

Now comes the hard part. Fire up the drones AND the chanter... I only have so much air. I have to say, I've got a LOT of hot air to spare but this is was a challenge for me. This task was only made more difficult by the fact that my instructor gave me a hard reed to work with. Whoooooo! It's tough! On a medium reed, like the one that I tried at Dick Chane's shop, I could get out a full scale, with some difficulty. BUT... On the hard reed, it takes a TON of air and quite a bit of coordination to get this thing going. If I get one note at a time, I'm lucky at best. Suffice it to say... it will be quite some time before I get a full song on the books. I WILL tame this beast!!!

Cheers!

Rob Anderson

Sierra Nevada Porter

Last night was Halloween, one of my favorite Pagan Celtic holidays! Trick or treaters, please... give me something to work with next year. The effort level on our street was mediocre at best. However, iPhone guy was my personal favorite. Also, I had the opportunity to hang out with some of my neighbors and sip a few beers on the porch whilst we distributed candy to the greedy beggars at our door. Jason introduced me to what could possibly be my new favorite beer, the Sierra Nevada Porter. It's a solid beer! Dark, beefy and slightly malty, it's got a good body and a hoppy snap at the finish that makes it a more than interesting beer to drink! This will be a short post in the fact that I'll say, pick up a sixer of this one, you'll not be sorry!

Also, the pipes are in house and ready for assembly. A guy in my band has to help me tie in the chanter this week, but other than that, they're BEAUTIFUL and they sound great! I had the opportunity to play them on another bag (I'm switching the bag out for the traditional leather instead of the gortex that came with the set) and I could keep the drones going and if I really pushed myself, I can get the chanter going. It's going to be a process, however, as the technique is fairly complicated. I should get the basics down, I've got a good teacher and a ton of hot air to expel!

Make it a GREAT week!

Rob

On the pipe

So I finally did it... This Thursday, I plunked down a deposit on a set of bagpipes. They're winging their way from Scotland as we speak!

The process for buying these pipes is as much as journey as my last 10 months have been. In January of '09 I've been working with the Sutherland Pipe Band in Newton, MA and they've been kind enough to provide me with free lessons, which some bands often do. Their only requirement is that I play with them in parades & special events, which, I already have and will continue to do so as I've enjoyed it greatly!

Events Thus far:
1 St. Patrick's day parade: Dummied on the bagpipes*
1 Memorial day Parade: Nahant, MA Dummied on the bagpipes*
2 Parades on the 4th of July in Bourne, MA and Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, MA: Played the tenor Drum and finally got a basic twirl down by the end of the day.

*Dummied means that your drones and your chanter have been corked. You basically wear the outfit but don't make any noise. It's also known as Hollywooding

My teacher Brian has been most patient with me through several tribulations in my first few months of lessons. One sticky chanter, (the reed wouldn't play when I'd hit my grace notes) thanks to me cheaping out on my first run through. A word of advice, pay the money! I bought a John Walsh practice chanter with a water trap. (approx $100) Well worth the money if you're a drooler! Another embarrassing issue was that I broke Brian's chanter reed on a loaner practice chanter while I was waiting for my new chanter to come in. He's also been most patient with me as I've fouled up line after line of pipe music. Most days it doesn't sound like music, but we're getting there!

Now, I've hemmed and hawed about this purchase for several months and finally decided to sell some stock (GREAT time to sell, pardon the sarcasm) in order to make the purchase. It's a REALLY expensive purchase so I needed to be sure that I really wanted to do this. The band has a loaner set, but they're being used by another new guy. The funny thing about my decision making is that I decided to get some advice from the guys in the band first. I couldn't help but draw the parallels between my conversation about buying the pipes, and the conversations I had just before I got married.

"You can buy used, but I wouldn't recommend it, sometimes they end up being more expensive..." - So did she date a lot before she met you?
"You need to buy from a reputable dealer, make sure they know their stuff." - So tell me about her parents...
"Choose carefully, these pipes will be with you for life" - No translation needed!

There are only a few reputable dealers in the area and frankly, I think that the band pointed me to one of the best. Dick Chane up in Gloucester, MA is a master at his craft and was really helpful in the purchase process. His website, listed below is a good starting point for the process and I'd highly suggest that you read it if you're in the market. There's a lot of stuff on there that really you wouldn't think about. One thing you should know first and foremost is that you don't just walk in and BUY a set of pipes. The pipes are made FOR you. Dick took the time to measure me for bag size, drone placement, blowtube length etc. I've bought a LOT of instruments in my day and I've never seen a fuss like this This is a truly customized instrument. Every inch of this thing had questions from Dick. Imitation Ivory mounts, Nickel or Silver? Blackwood or plastic drones, stocks and blow tube? Leather bag or goretex?

My set up is going to be as follows:
Duncan-Soutar Blackwood drones - Very high quality competition level pipes according to Dick.
Poly blowstick (10") and stocks*
Most damage occurs due to moisture, these are the areas that end up attracting the most water due to the fact that these are the parts closest to the bag and to your mouth. Polypenco is a high grade plastic used to make the stocks & the blow tube as well as my chanter and practice chanter.
Nickel ferrules
Imitation Ivory Caps
Leather L and M Scotia bag
I've got to tell you, the bag is really cool, it's got a zipper on the side for easy maintenance and is already set up to accept the drones so that you don't have to cut into the bag when setting it up.
Soutar drone and chanter reeds
White silky cords - Matches the band for the most part.
Dick is also setting me up with a beginner's package that includes Corks, Hemp, seasoning etc. All the stuff that a soon to be asthmatic skirt wearing noise maker needs to get rolling!

Things I'm not ordering are the Chanter and the bag cover as the band will be providing those for me. It saves me a bit of money for now and I have no plans on leaving the band at any time in the foreseeable future. Most bands will provide you with a matched band chanter as they want to get the sound as close as possible to the rest of the band.

Either way, I'm really excited about this purchase and can't WAIT for my pipes to clear customs! Thanks to Dick Chane for all his help and thanks to the boys in the Sutherland Band for pointing me in his direction.

Rob

Here's Dick's Website. Read first THEN call him.
http://www.rchanebagpipes.com/

A Selfish Irish Evening

Holy crap, gang... Behold my rant and ramble!

What a WEEK! I'm fairly certain that my legitimate job is sucking my will to live... And yet, here's the weekend!!! It's been here waiting for me all along like a faithful puppy! Down boy, DOWN!!



Tonight I've dedicated myself to all things Celtic! The ethnic people, not the team... depressing loss to Chicago last night! I'd rather not think about it until they're back in Boston. I've got Guinness in hand (see comments at the bottom of this post), I'm searching out Bagpipe music both Uilleann (Irish Elbow Pipes) and the Highland Pipes and I'm thinking about how I'm going to make money brewing beer and playing music. Ah, the Irish American Dream! Over the past few years, I've made it my mission to learn everything I can about my Gaelic Roots. To BORE you with my family history, My mother, my Dad's Cousin, also named Robert and I have all done our part to try and trace our roots back to their places of origin. We've gotten about 17 generations back on a few sides, but recordkeeping in Ireland and the UK tends to get a little dicey the further back you go thanks to the climate, church fires and an apparently genetic issue of poor penmanship. All I'm going to say is be glad that I'm typing this blog.

My mom's parents are both the children of Irish immigrants from I belive Killarney and Kilkenny. This makes the trace back fairly easy should I someday need to prove my overall Paddy-ness. In fact we still have some somewhat distant relatives still over there. My dad is roughly 3/4 Irish with names like Mahoney and Sheehan to his credit and the rest is Scots/English and possibly French Canadian my ancestors having allegedly been "Two Steppers" or those coming from Ireland to Nova Scotia and parts of Southern Canada on their way to Boston. It at least explains my love of Hockey... My Grandfather's Father was the son of a rubber factory worker from Woolich U.K. a small industrial town outside of London and his son, my Great grandfather was a prominant Accountant here in Boston. His wife was a the young daughter of Irish Immigrants and their wedding was somewhat of a scandal for the time as my Great Grandfather was Protestant (he "converted") and his bride Irish Catholic. That story is another one for another time, frankly it's full of intrigue and I've been facinated by it! Their son, my grandfather, partly as a result of the strained relationship with his father, always sided with his Gaelic roots and to that point, I think that my family and I have always sided with the Irish. Let's face it, the reputation for merry making is just CLEARLY on the side of the Irish. However, my last name is predominatly Scottish. Anderson is the 4th most popular name in the US and it's only fair to give the scots their due.

"SCOTS ARE A PEOPLE, SCOTCH IS A DRRRRRINK! IF IT'S NOT SCOTTISH, IT'S CRAP!" - Mike Meyers

Getting all that out of the way, I've been interested in Gaelic Culture really since grade school, but having a daughter made me really want to get into keeping the traditions alive. The Gaels are a beautiful people with an extraordinarly skill for telling stories, have BEAUTIFUL art work (i.e. the book of Kells) emoting through music and dance and celebrating in the face of adversity, vis a vis 800 years of English oppression.

I've been told I'm a naturally musical person and frankly it comes easy to me, mostly because I enjoy playing and I spend a LOT of time attempting to practice. In the last few years, I've learned to play the Bodhran (Irish Frame drum), a few Irish tunes on the guitar & piano and most recently, the tin whistle, the Kerry Low Whistle and starting in January '09, I joined the Sutherland Bagpipe Corps in Newton, MA. (AYE!!) My sister, Kathy has joined me on all but the Bagpipes and she's been a remarkable partner in crime!

Kathy and I so far have gotten serious on several Irish Tunes and despite a few squeaks, we've come a LONG way in a very short period of time. The two of us come from a long line of musicians, My great grandfather, Jack Sheehan was a well known local pianist in the East Boston/Medford/Sommerville area, My mother is a champion Accordion Player and my Grandfather was a clarinet player for the Boston College Marching Band. So pedigrees in place, Kathy, my sister Marie and I have all taken Piano lessons in the past and Kathy and I play fairly well by ear (its a blessing and a curse, I've gotten quite rusty at reading music). Kathy and I have found Irish music to be great fun, but the techniques involved to make it sound typically Irish are quite difficult. The cut and hit for example on the tin whistle sound REALLY cool, but are somewhat difficult to master... we're getting there!

The following songs we've gotten quite good at and plan on including Mom ASAP. My hope is that we take these tunes and post them on you tube at some point in the somewhat distant future.

-Star of the County Down
-Mairie's Wedding
-Saddle the Pony
-The Silver Spear
-The Red Haired Boy
-Ah Ha's "Take on me" - Seriously... too funny.

My bagpipe lessons have been going slowly but well. I play about 12 instruments in total and the Pipes from a technique standpoint is the most difficult I have learned yet. I've made some decent progress in the past few weeks, however I will probably not be off the practice chanter and "on the bag" for several months. This is a competition piping group and they take playing VERY seriously. Mistakes are tolerated... but only during practice! The two tunes I know by heart at the moment are:
-Scots what Ha'e
-The Brown Haired Maiden.

My ultimate goal, and I know this is going to sound silly, is to play Gordon Duncan's version of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck". It's a REALLY good version and I'm all about it. However I'm working to learn this right. Check out the link below... awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EwDlUHoDFo

I have so many bad habits on so many other instruments and it does affect your play. Better to learn it RIGHT the first time!

Back to the beer!
So, this isn't JUST a music blog, let's talk for a second about Guinness! Some say it tastes like burnt toast, others, like my father-in-law, have more colorful language for it... I think my love of dark beers and the naissance of my beer geek-dom started with Guinness. Thick, frothy, opaquely BLACK and with the absolute perfect mix of flavor makes it one of my favorite of the commerical beers. There's not too much hop, not too much malt and it's got a dry almost charcoal taste that makes is a joy to drink AND to cook with. Guinness Pie, Steak & Guinness and oddly enough it goes well in chili balancing out well with the 100% bitter Cocoa that I usually put in mine. I've heard it makes a decent dessert as well. I honestly can't think of a thing this classic beverage wouldn't go well with, perhaps other than breakfast cereal.(although....). There are other Stouts, Murphy's for example is a fine beer. However none inspire a love of Hibernia (The Roman name for the Erin Isle)quite so much as "The black stuff". Call it motor oil, call it tar, call it what you will. I call it plain old delicious!

I know this one was an "All about me" blog, and I thank you for reading up on the things I'm passionate about. I want to thank Arthur Guinness for the beer, my ancestors (thanks Mom & Dad!) for their inspiration, my sisters and most importantly my wife for putting up with my Bagpipe lessons!

Slainte!!

Rob

First Post

Every Journey Starts with Just one step: This is mine.

I've never in my life blogged and frankly, for the longest time, I thought it somewhat well... sad. I felt it relegated to the ranks of Comic book Guys (worst reference ever...) However, as of late, I've had a change of heart. I have a few friends who have done it and frankly, it's fairly interesting to read up on. Either I'm overly nosey or I'm the most tame voyeur of all time. Through this, I'm hoping that I can at least get my thoughts out on the page and use this as a forum to help you, the reader. HOWEVER, my end all, be all hope is that I can entertain you. If I've done that, I will have succeeded. "Victory shall be MINE!!!"

A little about me:
My name is Rob and I'm a life long "Mass-Hole" as we're so affectionately called throughout the Union and yes, I love the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots and the Celtics. (the Sox, the B's the Pats and the C's). I drive like a total and unabashed jerk and, I use the word "wicked" on a regular basis. I'm predominantly Irish, although my last name is Scotch/English. Either way, PASTY is the best way to describe my skin pallor. Suffice it to say, the sun and I do NOT get along.! If they make an SPF 300 I'll be the first in line.

I have too many hobbies to list but I'll be blogging on a variety of them on a regular basis.

-Home Brewing: I LOVE a good beer and I'll be blogging on my recipies as well as my tour of my brewpubs of the world

-Music: I work for a record Label called "Brewhouse Records". Can you tell the ilk of people I hang out with?!?. Check us out! We have a brand new artist named Vanessa Kafka. She's GREAT!! Check her out as soon as you can! In addition, I've been writing a few things, mostly for myself but I'm going to be blogging on that as my projects progress. I play guitar, piano, banjo, Tin whistle, Harmonica and a HOST of other instruments

-Bagpiping: I'm in a group called the Sutherland Bagpipe Corps. I've JUST started in January but I have a history with music, so it's coming somewhat quickly. It is by FAR the most difficult instrument I've had to learn. They're a GREAT group of guys and I'm really looking forward to working with them further.

-Cooking: I fancy myself a home chef. I LOVE to cook and I have to say, my favorite thing to make is quickbread. My most recent success was with a Beer bread recipe I found. Could it be that I've combined two loves into one?!?! More on these later

-Fatherhood & Husbanding: Note that I didn't say Husbandry... If you've seen "dirty jobs" on Discovery Channel, you'll get the reference. EEwwww. Long story short, I LOVE being a Dad and I have a relationship with my wife and daughter that sometimes is just plain funny.

-Voiceovers: I'm getting into it! I've always had a knack for impersonations, accents and language. I figure of the 1001 ignorant things I can do, I might as well use this ordinarly useless talent to make some loot. Stay tuned!!

As you can see, I'll be blogging about nothing in particular. So friends and would be friends. I bid you good eve and I look forward to entertaining, informing you and hearing your feedback!!

-Rob