NWJPB closes a busy week filled with multiple performances, today: appearing LIVE on King 5 this morning, appearing on Northwest Cable News, and getting a special “web” version of a performance posted on King5.com. The video features our newest instructor and recent graduate leading the band; Ben Little, two of our newest pipers and three of our most experienced pipers, and several members from our Grade 4 drum corps. The story played live, then again at 12:40 on the King 5 noon news.
Photographer Ellen M. Banner from the Seattle Times took the below photo of one of our 11 year old pipers and posted it online in a photo album of shots from the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
We have pipers scheduled to perform on the air on “The Ron & Don Show” on Kiro 710 AM, available streaming live on their website by clicking the 
710 Kiro icon under “On the Air”.
Part of our appearance at the parade made it to YouTube as well. We were the biggest bagpipe band at the parade. It’s hard to believe we had just a dozen members 3 or 4 years ago. It’s even harder to believe that we’re going to be the first youth bagpipe band from Washington in nearly 40 years to compete in the World Pipe Band Championships!
This is compiled from a ton of responses to questions pipers and drummers receive, many of which are funny to those that are immersed in and committed to piping and drumming, and surround themselves with the unique community that devotes itself to the Scottish arts. However, in most cases, they speak to the ignorance and lack of understanding about bagpipes and drums. Sometimes they just speak to a human desire to be “in” or “have the inside track”…most of these cases are just funny. 
We recognize though, that as bagpipes gain popularity, more and more people are curious about the instrument, history, expectations, commitment and challenges. While many of the stories are funny…often it just illustrates how much work organizations like ours need to do to educate the public about our art. The original discussion thread is from the “Beer Tent” section of Bob Dunsire Forums, a growing discussion board and community of more than 10,000 pipers, drummers, and celtic music and arts fans around the world. See the discussion likely continuing to grow here>>
“Do you have to be Scottish to play Bagpipes?”
