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Our Brief History Continues…
Jim de Poortere and Steve Murray learned the art of bagpiping when they were teenagers going to high school. In 2004, they reunited and realized very little had changed, at least in their desire to play the pipes and their desire to pass this knowledge to their own children as it was once passed to them. They shared another common desire: make it fun, challenging, and most importantly keep it close to home. Fueled by these desires (and a few pints one evening), they formed the idea that became - The Guard. Another shared their aspirations: Kevin Donlon, his passion to learn and excel at the bagpipes was only surpassed by his passion to enjoy the experience. The three original founders all have enjoyed the band or team atmosphere, and provided each other a nice balance of stewardship, direction and lofty goals. After a handful of appearances in 2004, word began to spread and people started to collect in the basement of St James Church in Basking Ridge, NJ with a common goal – learn to play the pipes and drums. One of the first to arrive was a self taught, pakistani pipe playing intellectual by the name of Michael Callahan. The conscience of the band, he ensured all were mindful of the consequences of their actions (seriously needed since our Moms were not around to keep an eye on us). By that fall, a small group of dedicated students were meeting weekly to practice. During the following spring, The Guard put 18 pipers and drummers down the street for the Morristown St Patrick’s Day Parade, and followed up with appearances on Fox 5’s “Good Day NY” and Q-104.3’s “Jim Kerr in the Morning” on St. Patrick’s Day. After a few more appearances, they ended the St. Patrick’s season as a parade-tested group of veterans.Over the following year, The Guard continued to come together as the band and appeared at several local parades and highland games. A special appearance at the Somerset Patriots’ Commerce Park for Irish Heritage Day in late September capped off an impressive year of growth and improvement. Learning and fun continued as “off-season” work went into the music as well as the look of the band. The winter was used to tune up on fundamentals and add to the band’s performance repertoire. The time was also used to totally upgrade the band’s appearance through the procurement of the full military dress uniforms – an expensive endeavor.Today, what was born in a pub conversation between friends in early 2004 is now a BAND. A core group has gelled into a cohesive organization, to learn, to laugh, and to play. The Guard will be participating in St Patrick's Day celebrations across the area in 2006, including parades in Nutley, Belmar, Morristown, Jersey City and Newark, New Jersey. We also will be appearing “Live” once more on the Q-104.3 “Jim Kerr in the Morning” on St. Patrick’s Day, broadcast during “Breakfast at Connolly’s” in New York. The band also has been chosen to provide musical accompaniment to the launch of Michael Collins Irish Whiskey in the metropolitan area. This is still just the beginning – a mere two years from the initial idea. We are THE GUARD. Stay tuned.
LLTG
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