March in March 2011

March in March 2011 went off with a bang. Thanks to all who supported us along the way. Standing room only in most bars. Sold out of the beer glasses and most t-shirts. Filled the helmet a few times. Again thanks so much for the support. This event is our biggest of the year, and much needed to survive throughout the year.

March in March 2011

Hey Everyone. Just wanted to take a second to thank everyone for all the continued support. We could not do it without all of you. Just a reminder to all, March in March is set for March 17, 2011. Starting at 4:00 at The Whinery on N. Eastern and going well into the night. Playing at 8 bars in downtown Idaho Falls and ending the night at O'Callahans around 9:30. Please come out for some fun and friends. Glasses and new T-Shirts will be in limited quanity. Be sure to get them before they are gone.

some more pics from Vegas

Nate is our new Drum Major. He moved over from the pipes. He does a great job leading us in. He has a certain style that adds a lot to the band's presentation.
Jeff does a great job keeping us tuned.

Here's McAffee warming up.

2009 Firefighter Combat Challenge World Finals Las Vegas

We just got back from Vegas. We were honored by Dr. Paul Davis and the whole Firefighter Combat Challenge crew for inviting us to play at opening ceremonies for this year's World Finals in Las Vegas.

Our own guys competed this year in World's and did better than ever. We took 14th in the world overall. Parker Ruby, Dan Muhlestein, Sam Harmer and Richard Benson accomplished that. Go to http://www.firefighterchallenge.com/ and see for yourself.

You might be able to catch a spot on their website under the live streaming section and catch the "LVFD Pipes and Drums" perform opening ceremonies on Thursday night November 19th. We were honored to pipe in the colors carried by Las Vegas FD Honor Guard, but that's us piping, not LVFD.

The Challenge was run on Fremont Street right next to the Plaza. We played both Thursday and Friday nights for opening ceremonies. We were well received by all the firefighter contestants and we really were honored to perform.

2009 Fireman's Ball

We had another successful Ball this year. It was held on November 6th at the Shilo Inn in Idaho Falls. As always we had great support from the brothers at the IFFD as well as area departments (Rexburg, Ammon, INL, Blackfoot and such).
We started the night with a meet and greet at 6 pm. Then at 7...well 7:20 after a certain drummer finally tracked down his helmet, we started with opening ceremonies. The Idaho Falls Firefighters Honor Guard did a great job posting the colors. The band piped in with our Patriotic Set (The Marine's Hymn and America the Beautiful). Then we piped out with the 3/4.
Dinner was fantastic. My wife was looking hot as usual, and the food was great.
After dinner, the band reassembled and we dedicated Highland Cathedral to Chief Carl Poulter. He retired a long time ago and has been one of our biggest supporters and fans.
Then we played Cajun Grace and Rakes of Mallow.
The live band came on and played a song or two and then we came back out and McAffee played a little Thunderstruck and then we all played 'It's a Long Way To The Top If You Want To Rock and Roll' by AC DC.
It was fun and we did OK.

You can see it all on our YouTube channel. Thanks to Liza from Classy 97 Radio for filming us and putting us on YouTube.
As always, we're not perfect, but we're getting better. And we had a good time.
So go to YouTube and check it out.

IAFF Fallen Firefighter Memorial 2009

We just returned from Colorado Springs where we helped honor the fallen firefighters who died in the line of duty in the last year. It was an honor to be part of the memorial service held at the beautiful memorial site in Colorado Springs. I'm told there were nearly 300 pipers and drummers and over 700 honor guard members who participated in the service. This was only our band's second year in attendance at the service. McAffee, Parsons, Roger, Mule, and myself were able to go and I think we represented the band well.

Listen for yourself. The video link is in Jack Quinn's Pub on Saturday night at the street party after the memorial. Many thanks to Boise's Pipe Major Mike Menlove, and a bass drummer from St. Louis?, a tenor drummer from Milwaukee? and a couple other pipers from I don't know where. The good people of Colorado Springs were most hospitable and received us very warmly.

FDNY 343 9 11 2001 NEVER FORGET

www.thehousewatch.com