foreign players in bands

With the amount of foreign players today, there isnt one grade one band (i think) that doesnt have Foreign Players.
Do you agree with this? Or do you thinkthat it should go back to the old days, wehre if you played with shotts, then you lived in that area. If you played with boghall, you stayed in that area etc...
my feeling is that with the amount of foreign players playing in bands now adays, that bands are loosing their identity.

I wouldnt quite say the bands are losing their identity Rubes. We have 2 over seas players! 1 from Holland and 1 from Ireland. Myself I wouldnt like to be held to a band cause I stayed near it! Cmon mate your band could well be Alloa Bowmar that is probably your nearest and going by what you would like then thats where you would have to play! Also having internationals in a band would spice things up, lets face the facts basically the Irish, canadians and to a certain degree the soutern hemisphere top players are the 1's who have shaped piping as we have it today.

Who do ya think ya are Rubes?..........Seep Blatter.................

Naw m8, a don't see a problem, if the individual is talented enough and can play at the level required by the PM / L/D why not.

People keep telling me am stuck in the past, but piping is growing and so is the talent, only natural fer someone to wanna play wi a good band.

Why the thread?.........ya got a hidden agenda?.

Following on from my post in the drummers playing in two bands I think. Ruby stop bumping yer gums.

Fiona, a think something has rattled his cage........

Haha looks that way. I don't see it a problem if the player is good enough and can addapt to the style of the band then it's a good thing.

wee_fee-Fee wrote:Haha looks that way. I don't see it a problem if the player is good enough and can addapt to the style of the band then it's a good thing.

No surprise there seein as you travel through 3 counties to get to your band

I agree Fiona its a free world once people start puting restraints on others then we have probs - think Rubes is a bit confused not quite the 'Che Guivara i thought he was UK is such a nanny state without the Piping n Drumming World jumping on board

no agenda! Just trying to liven things up on the forums.

@SWH... funny ye should say that about the bowmar... i recently got chucked out of it haha

Robbie.Crow wrote:

@SWH... funny ye should say that about the bowmar... i recently got chucked out of it haha

yeh goin senile m8 we all know the script with bowmoar

Don't see a problem with it at all.

We have a Yankee doodle playing with us this year, plus a couple of Aussies doing August, worlds etc.

We also have 2 Engerlish players as well.

Bottom line is, If they are good enough, and you are happy, and they can afford it, and are willing to put the money into it, and they respect your band enough to do it, then no problems.

One of the English guys played last year, and did quite well, the other came over, got a run through the stuff, and came back with it on pipes, showed a couple of the NI new joiners up in doing so.

Freedom of choice, and most bands are glad to have the standard of player they need, no matter where the are from

Cheers

So how does that work, exactly? I can understand the English... that's not that far away. And you said the Aussies come for August. But what about the American? Does he come for the season? And if not, how does he practice to be sure he plays exactly like you do?

I'm a foreign player in my current band. I know when the PM is mad about something when he's go's off in German. If he's speaking English then I know something is up.

I'm gonna boot you next time I see you Cabbage!

Robbie.Crow wrote:

@SWH... funny ye should say that about the bowmar... i recently got chucked out of it haha

I would nae hae owned up to be not up to scratch for Bowmar mate!!! Oh dear ya big Cabbage you should o kept yer gub shut!

Sean wrote:I'm a foreign player in my current band. I know when the PM is mad about something when he's go's off in German. If he's speaking English then I know something is up.

I'm gonna boot you next time I see you Cabbage!

You're an exception though, Sean. You didn't go over there just to play in a band!

Yeah we've got an aussie, Kiwi, english, german and Dutch this year. At moment we have scheduled practices for the foreigners to come over and its pretty much a day event.
Last year we had a canadian piper who spent the summer in Scotland then flew back home at the end of the season.

scots wa hae wrote:

Robbie.Crow wrote:

@SWH... funny ye should say that about the bowmar... i recently got chucked out of it haha

I would nae hae owned up to be not up to scratch for Bowmar mate!!! Oh dear ya big Cabbage you should o kept yer gub shut!

It was discrimination!!!

Aye right pull the other 1!!! Ill crack the jokes.

Canadians? well at least they speak the lingo albeit with a few differences. Ditto for the Yanks, Aussies and Kiwis.

The big issue is surely.......how a band deals with translation when there are Weegies about....

Ass all weegies are civilised people.... i see no problem..... but i dont see much anyway

All right own up?? who is that pinched Rubies Rattle??

There are some G1 pipers who chop and change bands for nothing more than the chance of winning glory. I don't believe they have the best interests of any particular band at heart. They are bringing the PB world into the realms of football.

Playing for 1 month (August)......glory seekers.
Play with the band (any band) all year or not at all.

stormy wrote:There are some G1 pipers who chop and change bands for nothing more than the chance of winning glory. I don't believe they have the best interests of any particular band at heart. They are bringing the PB world into the realms of football.

Playing for 1 month (August)......glory seekers.
Play with the band (any band) all year or not at all.

Agreed!

Not my decison though.

KatieMc wrote:So how does that work, exactly? I can understand the English... that's not that far away. And you said the Aussies come for August. But what about the American? Does he come for the season? And if not, how does he practice to be sure he plays exactly like you do?

The American is here for the season, he attends well, The Aussies are ex Viccy Police, and are aware, as we all should be that they are playing for their places

As regards playing together, they have copies of tunes played by the PM in the style he wants, so they can practise.

When they come over, they will then do the final fitting in, and are good enough players to do that, (In theory)!!
Grade 1 is becoming very cosmopolitan, Half of FMM are now in Scotland and have separate practises, seems to work well for them.

cheers

True_Blue_Piper wrote:Canadians? well at least they speak the lingo albeit with a few differences. Ditto for the Yanks, Aussies and Kiwis.

The big issue is surely.......how a band deals with translation when there are Weegies about....

No need mate,

They'll have nicked all your kit and vanished to the pawn and Buckie shops respectively

Gordy88 wrote:
Grade 1 is becoming very cosmopolitan, Half of FMM are now in Scotland and have separate practises, seems to work well for them.

cheers

Hope da friars tuck yer not try to make a comparison here m8, the only thing in common is yer PM............. ..... ( that's wat ya get fer sayin' am old. )