Even though North Little Rock Fire Department Capt. Alan Tetkoskie doesn't have any Irish or Scottish ancestry, he's says he's always felt there was something special about the wail of bagpipes.
Mayor Joe Smith said he feels the same way, enough that his office has covered the $5,125 cost of custom-fitted kilt uniforms for the North Little Rock Fire Fighters Pipes & Drums Corps, which Tetkoskie is leading.
"I've always enjoyed bagpipe music," Tetkoskie said. "I think everyone is charmed or enchanted with bagpipe music."
Mainly self-taught on the bagpipes, Tetkoskie is instructing three of the corps members in the intricacies of playing bagpipes, and Lt. Josh Cox is teaching drums to two others in the now seven-man corps. The group formed early last year and the pipers have been learning the bagpipes using a practice chanter instrument. The kilts and accessories arrived late last month.
The seven members concede they're not ready to perform publicly yet, though Tetkoskie does play solo at firefighter funerals and other memorial events, averaging 12-15 a year, he said. Tetkoskie will play his bagpipes tonight at Cregeen's Irish Pub, 301 Main St., North Little Rock, for a St. Patrick's Day fundraiser and 7:30 p.m. raffle to benefit the group.
"I started playing for the department in 2006," Tetkoskie said. "It was an agreement between me and the chief [former Fire Chief Joe McCall]. Chief McCall said he really wished we had someone who could do that and I told him, 'You know, I always wanted to learn.' From there, a partnership was born. Since then, we've had one bagpipe player.
"Playing the bagpipe is not an easy thing to do," he continued, adding that he spent a year teaching himself -- something he called "not a good idea" and later took lessons. "I'm not going to win any competitions, but I can bring something to a funeral, so I'm satisfied with that."
Cox, who played drums in his Bryant High School concert and marching bands and plays with local bands, said that teaching drums, and specifically, the type of drum music and style required to complement the pipers, is also challenging.
"The biggest challenge is having two guys really eager to learn, but who never had any experience," Cox said. "It's a different style [of drumming]. Now it's traditional Irish, Scottish and Celtic music. There's a different feel to it, that's the best way to say it."
At Smith's request in late 2013, an email went through the Fire Department ranks to gauge interest, Tetkoskie said. Cox, Lt. Mark Wittenburg and firefighters Aaron Henderson, Corey Platt, Charlie Hobson and Sean Walker volunteered to join Tetkoskie.
Smith said Monday that he's enjoyed the performances of other cities' pipes and drums corps so much that he wanted North Little Rock to form a group, if there were firefighters interested.
"It'll give you cold chills," Smith said of hearing a bagpipes and drums corps play. "Anytime I've ever seen or heard a pipes and drums corps in any other city I've always been overly impressed. I can see us being able to use them on numerous occasions and I think it'll make our citizens even more proud of our Fire Department."
The North Little Rock kilts with matching flashes and dress sporrans were bought with startup money from the mayor's contingency fund. Future items will be purchased in stages through fundraising by the band, Tetkoskie said, adding that members probably will buy their own instruments.
The kilts' tartan pattern is Firefighter Memorial, a tartan registered by USA Kilts, a Pennsylvania company that manufactures and sells traditional Celtic garments and products. The tartan honors fallen firefighters, and its deep red background symbolizes fire and firetrucks, according to the Scottish Register of Tartans.
"We have a targeted goal of being able to perform at the [city's] Christmas lighting ceremony," in early December, Tetkoskie said. "We think it's best if we're standing still for a while before we try to walk and play at the same time.
"But the guys are just as enthusiastic about it as they were when they began," he added. "They're all ate up with it."
Metro on 03/17/2015