Post Party thanks!

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Thank you very much for sharing the end of our 6th year with us, we hope you enjoyed the evening as much as we did. This coming summer we will be traveling to Glasgow to compete in the World Championships and you all are very much part of the NY Metro family.  Your support is what inspires our continued focus. The entertainment for the evening was great and we owe a thank you to Jameson’s Revenge, DJ Gallo from Big Time Productions and of course the Miss Eire Irish Dancers. 

 

 

A Special note of thanks goes out to the business that supported us for the evening in many different ways. Please support these establishments whenever you can. 

  • Wicked Wolf Restaurant, Bronx, NY
  • Frank’s Pizza, Bronx, NY
  • Monahan’s Pub, Rockville Centre, NY
  • Anheuser Bush
  • Long Island Bagpipes, N Babylon, NY
  • McCallum Bagpipes, Scotland
  • Bennett Pipe Bags, Scotland

Finally, we have NY Metro Merchandise available and if you are interested you can email us nymetropipeband@gmail.com and we will do our best to accommodate 

  • Short Sleeve T-Shirt (Maroon)   …….…..  $15 
  • Short Sleeve T-Shirt (New Style Blue) ..  $15 
  • Long Sleeve T- Shirt(Navy) ……………….  $20 
  • Beanie(Navy) …………………………………..  $15 
  • Baseball Cap(Maroon) …………………….  $20 
  • NY Metro Logo Sticker………………………...  $ 5 

Thank you very much for your support and remember NY Metro is a 501(C)3 Tax-Exempt organization. Visit our Face book page and Like to follow the band. It makes a difference! 

 

 

 

Bagpipe Skin Case Review: Shane Culleton

As a commuter in New York, I’m very familiar with the challenges that come with moving your bagpipes from A to B. Crowded subway trains and sidewalks make it difficult to get around especially if you’re carrying a pipe case over your shoulder or in your hand. The Bagpipe Skin pipe case is designed to be a comfortable way to transport your bagpipes while ensuring they are well protected from the scuffs and bumps associated with travel.

The backpack style straps and padded back make long commutes on foot a breeze and the optional side strap allows for shorter commutes where you’re regularly picking up and putting down the case. At a price point from $99-$109 (depending on the website you visit) it’s also one of the cheapest cases on the market.

My initial impression of the Bagpipe Skin was that it seemed quite solid. There is a hard plastic in the lining around the side of the case that offers good protection from damage. The bottom of the case, or the part that is on your back when carrying it like a backpack, is very well padded. The top, or lid, of the case is soft and offers very little protection. This, to me, was a little disappointing as I think some of the same hard plastic used in the sides would have served well here too. Overall, the case offers good protection to your instrument as you travel around. I would not, however, use this case if I were checking my pipes on an aircraft (something I never do anyway).

Inside the case, the hard plastic is nicely hidden behind a soft lining. There is a mesh pocket running most of the way up the side of the case for accessories (hemp, corks, etc.). On the inside of the lid there is an area to hold your chanters and brushes. An elastic material forms 5 loops to hold the top and bottom of the item you’re putting there and a raised pad offers protection where a pipe chanter would be narrowing. I liked this feature but would have preferred a different method of holding the items in place. The elastic relies on stitching which I can predict is going to deteriorate over time. A Velcro attachment may have been better here. Again, the soft lid was a bit disappointing here as some rigidity to the lid would have been nice, especially when the additional weight of chanters is added. 

I found the case dimensions to be a little bit tight. I find myself having to maneuver my bag and stocks a bit in order to get them to fit best. I also don’t carry a lot of accessories, so for those who want to carry a lot of extra gear, I’m thinking in particular about pipe majors, they will struggle with space. An extra inch in height, inch in depth and maybe 2 inches in width would be nice. This would also allow for a second pocket to be added inside the case which would also be a plus. If a pocket could be added to the outside of the lid for additional storage I think this would be beneficial as well.

 

 

The additional bag that attaches to the front of the case was a great idea. I can put a couple of music folders in here and it allows me to access my music without having to open the case. The backpack style straps and padding on the back of the case make carrying the case on your back very comfortable and the straps can be hidden away if not being used. There is an optional sides trap that can be attached if this is your preferred way to carry the case. There are also handles on the top and side of the case which appear to be very tough and durable.According to the website, the case comes with a rain cover that can be removed from a pocket at the bottom of the case and pulled over the entire case to keep your instrument from getting wet in the rain. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t receive this with my case so I can’t comment on its effectiveness. I think, at this price, you get great value for money. 

I’d recommend this to any piper who is looking for a cost-effictive, durable, pipe case that can traverse any urban setting with comfort and ease!

-SC

 

ABOUT SHANE

Shane Culleton hails from County Wicklow in Ireland. He began learning to play the bagpipes at the age of 10 with his local Arklow Pipe Band and was competing with them in Grade 3A by the age of 13. Since then, the bagpipes have afforded Shane numerous opportunities including playing in Stormont Castle, the Waterfront Hall in Belfast and for Irish President Mary McAleese in Áras an Uachtaráin in Dublin. 

Shane was part of the competition band when Arklow won the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow in 2007 and has been competing in Grade 2 with Arklow since. Shane moved to the New York area in late 2014 with work in the aircraft industry. He is looking forward to making this season a successful one with New York Metro. Shane is a graduate of Trinity College in Dublin and is an avid runner and golfer who is also learning the uilleann pipes

New York Metro Annual Yearend Party

This is an event that we all look forward to every year as it is a chance to get together with friends and family to celebrate the band.  This is our 3rd year doing this at the Parish Center at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre, NY. It’s a large venue that is conveniently located across from the Rockville Centre LIRR Station at 29 Quealy Pl, Rockville Centre, NY 11570  

The Band gets to share a performance to the “Home Crowd” that may not always get to hear us live. We also are lucky to have the band Jameson’s Revenge add to the evening’s entertainment as well as some Irish Step Dancing show cased by the Mise Eire Dancers. 

 

Saturday 12.03.16

🎅🏼🎉🎁

 

Reservations really help in planning of the buffet and refreshments of beer & soda so please reach out to us at NYMetropipeband@gmail.com to arrange for tickets and payment of $40 per person.   We have tables of 8 or 10 and there is sure to be plenty of Swag on hand to purchase to support our mission.

We are very appreciative of any donations from vendors of Food trays and or items for our raffle: booze, kit, swag, gear etc

Looking forward to seeing you there!

-M

An event 50 years in the making

The “Balvenie Fifty”.

Members of New York Metro Pipe Band were participants in a very classy media event held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Park Avenue in NY City Tuesday night. We had a Mini Band of 4 pipers, 2 snares and a bass in to help ceremoniously welcome the hand delivery of a cask of 50 yr old Balvenie Highland Single Malt called “Balvenie Fifty” to the iconic hotel.  The Whisky was older than all of our players, with the exception of Michael Faughnan who had 6 years on the uisge-beatha.

We were set up in front of the building playing a few tunes to enthusiastic crowd of media writers, cameramen, Hotel management and onlookers awaiting the delivery which was made in spectacular entry in a vintage Morgan touring car with Management from the Wm. Grant Distillery including the National Ambassador of The Balvenie Single Malt Lorne Cousin who held on to the cask like it was a vintage set of McDougall’s J.

After posing with the car and the precious cask and the eager and growing Whisky enthusiast at the Park Avenue entrance we struck up to escort the growing entourage through the main lobby and down to the Bull & Bear restaurant and lounge for a ceremony of story and education, a few chunes and well a few drams. The Bull & Bear will be one of only a few places that will serve Balvenie Fifty as there are only 150 bottles that created.

-M

 

Introducing a new website

Hello! Γειά χαρά, Salut, Hola, 今日は, Здравствуйте, Marhaba!, Guten tag, 大家好, Salām ‘alaykum, Goddag, สวัสดี.

Welcome to the new home of the New York Metro Pipe Band, NYC’s premier pipe band. 2017 marks an exciting year for the organization as we celebrate our 8th birthday!

We have a variety of events to look forward to outside of our regular US-based competitive commitments including the World Pipe Band Championship in Glasgow, Scotland; the biggest pipe band event of the year.

With this in mind we felt it was important for us to develop a new, vibrant website through which we can communicate with the vast reaches of the pipe band fraternity.

We have built this site in-house using some of the extensive talent within the band ranks and we hope that you will enjoy some of the new features of the site. You can also follow our Facebook feed for up to the minute news from the band. We have installed a comprehensive media archive stretching back to the beginnings of the band. We are also opening a secure online shop very soon for the first time and are proud of the high quality merchandise we are able to offer. 

 


We are delighted with the look and feel of the new site and hope that you enjoy it too. We are always keen to receive feedback and if there is anything that you would like to see included please get in touch.

www.nymetropipeband.com

Hope you enjoy!
-M