I am a Christian hillbilly, born and raised near Sparta, NC in a community called Twin Oaks.
I got interested in Celtic music when I was in the US Navy and got an R&R flight to Prestwick, Scotland where I met my ex-wife, (Hannah) Anna Gilfillan, from Kilmarnock, Scotland.
When I got a job teaching electronics at Galax City High School in the vocational education department in 1985, I bought my first tinwhistle and got really hooked on the music.
At the age of 54, I decided to take up the uilleann pipes, so I bought a practice set from Mark Hillmann, and a year later, added the drones to make a 1/2 set.
At one of the schools I went to, Irish Week at Elkins, WV, I got to play a C chanter and fell in love with it. I ordered a C chanter from Seth Gallagher and later on, two regulators. I had gotten Pat Sky to make me a set of drones, and I use the Hillmann bag and bellows, so I have a "mixed" 3/4 C set, (working as a 1/2 set) which is what I play to please myself. I only play the concert set when practicing/playing with Naomi's Fancy.
The worst thing about playing the uilleann bagpipes is that you have to make your own reeds to get one that you can play well. I struggled for two years with an out of tune chanter reed, so I finally went to the school in Elkins, WV and took two weeks (two different summers) of reedmaking. I had a great reed after that that played for 7 years that hardly ever needed adjusting, just a bit in the winter and again in the summer.
Since I live in the hotbed for Old Time music, I like to jam with the local musicians using my whistles and bagpipes (when they are working).
I know quite a few old time tunes, but I don't know their names. My friend gave me a mountain dulcimer and I am trying to learn that instrument, even though I am string impaired.
I had to drop out of Naomi's Fancy due to illness. I am really looking forward to going to sessions and playing with the band occasionally again.
