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Blue Grit Podcast: The Voice of Texas Law Enforcement
2024: Ranked #1 Law Podcast
Host: Tyler Owen and Clint McNear discussing topics, issues, and stories within the law enforcement community. TMPA is the voice of Texas Law Enforcement, focused on protecting those who serve. Since 1950, we have been defending the rights and interests of Texas Peace Officers by providing the best legal assistance in the country, effective lobbying at state and local levels, affordable training, and exemplary member support. As the largest law enforcement association in Texas, TMPA is proud to represent 33,000 local, county and state law enforcement officers.
Blue Grit Podcast: The Voice of Texas Law Enforcement
#108- "The Final Salute" with FWPD Jason Back
In this moving episode, we sit down with Fort Worth Police Pipe Major Jason Back and Plano Police Sergeant and TMPA Past President James Babb to explore the deep sense of duty and honor behind the sound of the pipes.
For Jason Back, leading the Fort Worth Police Pipe & Drum isn’t just about sound—it’s about memory, legacy, and honoring the ultimate sacrifice. From playing the final calls at officer funerals to representing Fort Worth at national memorials and civic events, Jason shares what it means to give a voice to grief and pride through the haunting power of the pipes.
Sergeant James Babb joins the conversation to reflect on his commitment to standing beside the families of fallen officers—and how the sound of a single bagpipe can speak louder than words.
This is more than tradition. It’s a calling.
email us at- bluegrit@tmpa.org
a police department that has to hire and there's nothing, nothing against. Uh, civilian bagpipers work with them every day. But you're like, wow, that's that civilian bagpiper just played the walk away for a police funeral. I mean, yeah, he sent the soul to heaven and that's the meaning of it. That needs to be done by a police officer hey, blue watchers, we are back this week.
Speaker 2:I'm one of your co-hosts. Clint McNair, tyler Owen how are you?
Speaker 3:Good man, good, good, busy, busy, busy weekend for the folks at TMPA and Texas Law Enforcement. Friday kicked off with our board meeting, followed by I guess the TTPOA had some field reps out there cooking at the Staccato Ranch, is that right? Staccato ranch, staccato ranch, that's uh I love the florence I'd love to visit that.
Speaker 3:That'd be pretty cool I've heard it's really nice, I'm sure, I'm sure. And then followed by the texas peace officer, moral, which is last night great, great event, hats off to concerns of police survivors, texas commission on law enforcement, um, tmpa and everybody else that was involved with that ceremony last night. Good job on your speech too, by the way, shanks it was awesome.
Speaker 2:The wind almost blew it out of my hand. At one point I didn't know what I was gonna do I was just gonna start rapping, or I didn't know what I was gonna do no, it was good.
Speaker 3:Lean in, uh. If I could sum it up, lean in, lean in on. Your blue family was pretty much the to wrap up clint's speech to everybody that was there and all the surviving family. If you want to, uh, take a look at that video or that that ceremony. We had it on our tmpa's youtube channel, so it'll be there for uh for years to come can you pop the link?
Speaker 4:yeah, I can pop the link right here right here in front of bab's face.
Speaker 2:Right there, yes, that'll be good. Right there, yeah, right there on his nose. Leave it on there the whole episode. Yeah, but uh, you it up.
Speaker 3:You know, speaking of the Texas Peace Office Memorial, lots of honor guards, pipes and drums crews were in town and we've been talking about this for many months and, man, what a good time to talk about it now. So why don't you intro our guest, james Babb, former past president?
Speaker 4:has been. Yeah, that sums it up. This is Jason Back. Yeah, that's, that sums it up. Um, this is uh jason back. He's an uh npo uh neighborhood police officer with a fort worth police department and he is the pipe major of the fort worth uh pipes and drums so cool dude, y'all, y'all.
Speaker 3:Man, I was telling james this uh, I guess my first officer funeral most likely was dale sherrill, followed by a trooper, scott Burns. And when me and bad were talking about that several years ago, uh, that was my first time to see and and and it was. It's so impactful and to say it's so meaningful for you guys. What year was that? Oh, eight, oh eight. Oh, april 29th was his long duty death and then followed do amazing stuff, but thank you, thank you one of my funniest stories of jason and um retired member james gray.
Speaker 2:Back, so right behind our uh headquarters, here is a double tree where we stay now yeah but it used to be right next door at the crown that yeah, they're re-turned down, turn it down. Oh yeah, yeah, you do know. So, hopefully probably 10 years, 11 years ago. We're staying there, we're in the bar. It's probably 11 or 11.30 at night. Him, james, fred, there's several of them there we may or may not have been buying supplies from the bar.
Speaker 1:Partaking, partaking, shirley Temple's only.
Speaker 2:And I was like hey, would y'all, would y'all play something? They're like oh yeah, I don't know. So I asked the bartender. She's like no, there's literally hotel rooms right above the bar. That's what? Could they play one song, like she gets that their bag bagpipe guys. I said yeah, yeah, they can play one we'll turn the volume down.
Speaker 2:Yeah they. They had it set on minimum, so so they all go out. Come back in. Fred comes back in with a drum. Four or five pipes come in instead of one. One song turned into probably I think about five, Probably five, at about 1130 at night. It was awesome. They're marching through the bar. Patrons are all up screaming and yelling. The bartender's about to faint. She's like I'm gonna get fired I'm losing my job.
Speaker 1:She probably made a lot of tips that night.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, it was so freaking fun.
Speaker 3:That's awesome cool and we're gonna touch on that about the meeting, because y'all do it at police week, and so the first time I was up there last year, um, you may have been there yeah, some, some of them came walking in and it was just, uh, and it's, it's awesome to see that and that type of environment, with everybody that's been there or there on site to celebrate and honor that week, and so for you guys to be there means a lot. Was that at the Irish Channel?
Speaker 1:Yes, tom is great. He's the one that owns the Irish Channel up there. He's awesome, he loves cops and he really rolls out the red carpet for that week he does.
Speaker 3:Yeah, let's kick it off by saying where you start off your law enforcement career, how you got involved with it and then what led you into doing what you do with the pipes and drums yeah, well, jason where were you born?
Speaker 1:and well, I grew up in mansfield before mansfield was the way it is before mansfield was mansfield, that's right, you know. Uh, it was a little old farming community back in those days and uhometown of Kelly Clarkson.
Speaker 3:That's what you are known for, yeah that Rendon Mansfield, that type of thing.
Speaker 1:You know she bought my granddad's old place.
Speaker 3:Really.
Speaker 1:When she first got started, yeah, when she got her first millions. But no, I grew up in Mansfield and, you know, went to Mansfield High School and then after that went in the Marine Corps Really yeah, and did four years. I forgot about that again. You always bring jarheads every single time. Well, I mean, were you in the Air Force, don't worry about that?
Speaker 4:Oh no.
Speaker 1:Space Force. I'm sorry. Space Force, Anyway. So you know, got out of the Marine Corps and went to work for White Settlement and they're in Fort Worth. Hang on, let me reposition this. Is that better there, you?
Speaker 2:go. Okay, here we go. Looks like we're in the Navy, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So you know, went to White Settlement and knew I was always wanting to go to a larger department. I had a. My great-grandfather was a Dallas policeman in the 30s and 40s and things like that. So you know thought about Dallas but you know, grew up over in the Fort Worth side so it just wasn't the right thing for me. So I tested for Fort Worth and, you know, started in 2000,. Started in the academy and then graduated in 2001 and went out of patrol.
Speaker 2:When did you know you wanted to be police Before you went in the Marine Corps? Or serving in the Marines made you want to continue. No, I think before.
Speaker 1:Either you know, I grew up in the volunteer fire department.
Speaker 4:Oh, bless you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so as a junior fireman and then as a regular fireman once I got old enough to, you know, do the big boy things. And so I knew I wanted to do something. I took the test a couple times for the fire department Back in those days. It.
Speaker 4:We can end it right there.
Speaker 2:We can just shut off the cameras. He graduated from being a second responder to a first responder.
Speaker 1:Well, you had to make 100, hundred pretty much yeah in fort worth fire department.
Speaker 1:So uh, but uh, you know, I mean the, the law enforcement thing was always in in my mind also, just being in the marine corps and and uh. So when I got out, you know, just uh, I actually my first academy was north texas council of governments. There I was sponsored by tarrant county constable's office. A friend of mine was a elected constable at the time and um and so from there it went to, you know, to white settlement and then and then fort worth.
Speaker 4:So yeah, another fact, I forgot clint. He was a motor jock too at one time. I just recalled that, oh yes. That's right. You might want to switch seats with Tyler.
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm surprised he didn't have boots on.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you never get rid of them.
Speaker 1:Did you look at my feet? I was a motor jock for about 10 years. You know that kind of gets ingrained in you, like the Marine Corps. You know we have a different way of thinking and a better way of thinking than people like James Babb. What did y'all ride? Started out on Harleys and then for a couple years we had the Honda ST1300. Really good bike. Had some electrical issues, but then we finally saw the light and went to the BMW 1200. Now it's the 1250, and I think they're riding 1300s now.
Speaker 3:Which ones.
Speaker 1:do you like better the Harley or the BMW? I'm a BMW guy, so yeah, you know, doing the off-road dual sport stuff. We still do police rides with those and everything. Yeah.
Speaker 2:What got out of Troll? Tell us about your career. Got out of Academy oh, I got out of patrol. What tell us about your career? Got out of?
Speaker 1:oh, I got out of academy, went to uh, to the east side in uh excuse me, to the north side in uh in fort worth, and spent a lot of time in patrol. And then uh went to south zt, which is Zero Tolerance Unit in Fort Worth. It's a street crimes unit and you know, just from there did about three years of that and that's about. You know it's a tough job and you know, decided to go somewhere else. Didn't want to go back to patrol at the time and so I went into the traffic division and spent a couple years there. And then I have no idea why I was thinking this, but I thought the grass was greener on the other side of the fence out of law enforcement. And for a couple years I went to Colorado and had a business up there renting ATVs, snowmobiles and dirt bikes and doing adventure tours and things like that, and it worked out really well. But you know, just too much baggage coming Just did it kind of wrong.
Speaker 1:I think a lot of guys in law enforcement that happens to them. There's two or three in my mind right now that are coming back to Fort Worth because they tried it. Uh, I do believe that once law enforcement uh, the, the, the notion of helping other people gets in your head. It's. It's hard to get it out. I know sometimes we joke about it and all that. And why'd you get in law enforcement? I wanted to help people. Well, you know we all joke about that, but deep down inside, that's really. You know, that's that's, that's that's really ingrained in in us.
Speaker 4:So it's kind of funny because my mentor was a trooper and he was my brother's father-in-law and he told me early on he said you know you're either going to love it or you're going to hate it. And if you love it, you might as well stay, cause you ain't worth a crap. Anyway gonna hate it, yeah, and if you love it, you might as well stay, because you ain't worth the crap anyway, yeah, well, that's true, that's true.
Speaker 1:But yeah, so, uh, you know, we did the, did the uh out of law enforcement thing for a couple years and we're in colorado uh in lake city and uh, yeah, it's a beautiful country and I'll probably retire back somewhere up there.
Speaker 1:you know, western colorado ut some Wyoming, I don't know. It's getting too populated down here for me. I'm a country boy, always have been, always lived in the country, still live there now, and so. But after that came, you know, I came back and got my job back and just it was funny because the first day back I hadn't done it in two and a half years and it was really like I never left it, like I was just gone for a long, extended couple of weeks and other than the CAD system changing, that's all I had to learn, got right back on the bicycle.
Speaker 1:Got right back on the bicycle and did I don't know another couple years in patrol and then dwi opened up. Back in those days that's kind of what you had to do, uh, in the fort worth police department. You had to go to dwi to get to motors and um, so I did a year and a half in dwi and finally a motor spot opened up and it was all history at some point you you probably attended sadly numerous funerals and identified the need or the want.
Speaker 1:I think it was when I started on the motor division because we do a lot of escorts and funeral stuff and I think that's really where most of it started.
Speaker 3:And that's where you kicked it off when you came back. Your second tenure, you got with the Pipes and Drones. At that point, yes, it started, you know, and that's where you kicked it off when you came back. Your second tenure was was you got with the pipes and drums? At that point, yes, did you know how to play? Are you, uh, are you which one? Are a bag or?
Speaker 3:um, I'll play the backpack, okay, okay so talk about that and talk about how you got interested in it and then how that rode uh to where you're at now well, I think that, uh, you know, you go to these funerals and you see stuff you're like, oh, we need to make that better.
Speaker 1:Oh, let's don't let that happen again. Oh, my gosh, you see a police department that has to hire. And there's nothing against civilian bagpipers, we work with them every day. But you're like, wow, that civilian bagpiper just played the walk away for a police funeral. I mean, yeah, he sent the soul to heaven and that's the meaning of it. But that needs to be done by a police officer or a fireman or somebody as a first responder. And I myself said, you know what, I'm not going to let that happen anymore.
Speaker 1:Well, I took a kind of initiative to. You know I play other instruments also the guitar and fiddle and kind of grew up doing some bluegrass stuff and I started investigating. Come up with my instructor, bob Richardson. He's a guy that moved here from Scotland. He did another career but you know, on the side he taught bagpipes. That's all he does now. And it just kind of snowballed from there and I started taking lessons and the word gets around. You know how the little word gets around a police department really quick. If you want to keep something secret, boy, don't tell anybody right.
Speaker 1:Because, boy, you tell the first person, and boy, that ship is starting to sink, you know. And so I said something to a couple of guys and they were like what You're learning? Oh so is a guy named James Gray, and James had you know, he was our first pop major. He had moved from don't get mad at me, james, but I think River Oaks. He came from River Oaks and he hired in as one of the first classes of lateral entries into the Fort Worth Police Department. And so we finally got together and he goes you're, you're learning the bagpipes.
Speaker 1:I said yeah you learned the bagpipes. He goes, yeah. And we both had the same, exact same story of we. We saw something that we didn't like at a funeral and or it. Well, not that it was a bad performance, but we wanted a policeman to be doing that for that fallen officer, and uh. So we were like, okay, great, we'll we performance, but we wanted a policeman to be doing that for that fallen officer, and uh, so we were like, okay, great, we'll, we'll start doing this. And then we're, you know, keeps getting around the police department. You know, and, um, walt Watkins, he's one of our, one of the guys, that one of our, you know, founding members. You know, tiny guy, yeah, he's little, he's real small, and uh and uh. And we came up to him and he goes hey, you guys learning how to play the backpack. He said a little bit louder than that you know, walt, he's, he's got a strong voice. And we were like, yeah, you learning yeah, I'm learning, and so this time, fort worth did not even have one.
Speaker 3:They didn't have a pipe. Syndromes never existed. Wow, ever, ever had a piper, ever had anybody interested? Well, probably had somebody. So at this time Fort Worth did not even have one.
Speaker 1:They didn't have a Piper's Syndrome. Never existed, wow, ever. Ever had a Piper, ever had anybody interested? Well, probably had somebody interested, but they never took the initiative.
Speaker 2:How crazy at one time without y'all communicating multiple people. Well, I'm not done yet, oh all right, continue on.
Speaker 1:Well, walt says I'm learning, y'all learning, oh. Wall says I'm learning, y'all learn. Oh, yeah, yeah, oh great. And then, uh, in amongst all that, uh, there's two other people um, mike cagle, one of our motor officers, motor sergeants at the time, I didn't even have motors and I didn't even learn. You know, he was kind of wanting to do this. And kathy fowler, she was one of our mounted officers and she was like y'all learning? Yeah, I'm learning. So we all had this vision and you know, so we all came together and formed a band and at first, I think the department was like whatever, what year is it? 2012, I believe?
Speaker 1:And maybe I don't know. It's been a long time ago. Yeah, uh, and I'm getting pretty old, but not as old as not as old as james bebb god, look at that. He ain't even got no hair, no more I thought for years you were his son.
Speaker 4:That was.
Speaker 2:That's from putting up with you for years I thought you were his son, until somebody explained I got the bill for breakfast this morning.
Speaker 1:You got to pay for you. Venmo me, Dad.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sure, okay.
Speaker 1:So we all came together and started approaching Walt is really good at finding money and finding sources of income. And so he's like, hey, I'm going to start hitting the department up. And the department at the time was like, yeah, y'all are not serious, you're going to do what? Go away. You know, sorry, chief, but you weren't chief at the time, and you know we were like, well, but we want to do this. Yeah, so we had to do this. Yeah, so we had to find other avenues of income to support us, because the department at the time I mean they do now, but the department at the time didn't want to have anything really to do with it, you know. And so Walt went out and talked to Walmart and talked to the Hillwood Foundation, which is the Ross Perot family, and they really stepped up and gave us a lot of funds to start our, you know, to do our first set of bagpipes not bagpipes, but first set of uniforms. And so it just kind of snowballed from there.
Speaker 1:After that, I think that the department figured out, after we played the first memorial there at our memorial, they thought, okay, you guys are serious. And at the time we had Jeff Halstead and then it finally got up to him. I think sometimes some of the information stops at deputy chiefs and assistant chiefs and, uh, it, it really never got up to him. Well, it finally got up to him and he was like, wow, this is a good thing, this is. You see what kind of good publicity we bring to the fire or to the police department. And not only we do, we do funerals, we do other stuff. You know, veterans events, 5k runs, and I always say, and we laugh about it, but we're not the cake, we're not the icing, but we're probably the sprinkles when it comes to you know, some deal, some ceremony, some ceremony, and you know we're not trying to steal the show, but we'll be the sprinkles on top of the cake. You know, just that little bit of refinement, you know, that makes your ceremony that much more memorable. And so finally the police department said okay, and they slowly but surely started to support us.
Speaker 1:And I can't sit here and not talk about Fred Long because he was a captain at about fred long, because he was a captain at the time actually, he was a lieutenant at the time and he started taking the initiative of writing sops, while myself and james gray were worried about music and and and the way we looked and and how we sounded and tuning and all that. Fred long and Walt Watkins were the ones that you know SOP. Hey, chief, can we start implementing some of this stuff? And eventually we got a van and Fred kind of spearheaded that and with our current ceremonial unit commander, which I'll talk about in a minute but Robin Krause, captain Krause, they actually got us this van and we start showing up to all these and we were kind of like the envy of all the pipe bands because no other department would let them. Nobody touches that van but us, nobody, even Honor Guard, yeah there is no other band in the state that has our own van.
Speaker 4:Yeah, what, what the support that they have had from their department?
Speaker 1:austin has a van, but it's honor guards too, right. So, you know, and we were split from honor guard for a long time and, uh, you know, so to digress here, so they gave us a van, van, fred and Walt kept working in the background, and finally we now have a budget and we split it with Honor Guard and finally we all got together and said, hey, why don't we start a ceremonial unit? Ceremonial unit and we can offer to the, the, the small departments, and I will. I will uh point out wood county sheriff's department that just had a line of duty death. They were lost.
Speaker 1:They'd never had that. They'd probably had it maybe in the 20s or maybe in the 1800s. They had lost an officer, but not since people, you know, uh, the current sheriff, and so, um, they called us and they said we need help. And, you know, chief noakes has always said go forth and conquer, go help them. You know, that's what a larger department really needs to do for smaller departments, because we have the resources where they don't y'all helped greenville, y'all helped taro, y'all helped wood county I don't even I I could.
Speaker 1:I got a spreadsheet of of all the funerals that we've been through all through these years and all the, the veterans events and all the, the 5k runs, and it all comes together, um, all those events, all those veterans events, 5k runs. I tell my guys that's what makes you better for the funerals, so you don't mess up in front of the, the families, the families, and so you're not. You know, they remember it and it was flawless. We do make mistakes, you make mistakes, all I made tons of mistakes yesterday at the Memorial and, uh, but nobody really knows it, because it's bagpipes, it's not the piano, you know. No, nobody really knows what we're supposed to be playing, unless we're playing amazing grace, right, you know? Or you know ACDC, then they know how those two, those tunes are supposed to go Right, so, um, but anyways, going back to the budget and how the Fort Worth, you know, finally bit off on the idea.
Speaker 1:Now we have a ceremonial unit which encompasses Captain Krause is our ceremonial unit commander. He is one of my bagpipers, but he wears two hats and in the future, when he either finally retires or does other jobs within the police department, he may give that up and and, um, we're going to get a captain that that knows nothing about either. But uh, you know, and they're just a, a guy we go to to say, hey, can we go help this department? Sure go, approved, you know. And so, uh, but we have a ceremonial unit and it's got a commander and it's got pipes and drums on one side on one leg, and honor guard on the other, and, um, and we have a budget and we split down the middle and they don't have their own van, but they're working so captain fred long, the artist formerly known as a drummer, now learning the pipes.
Speaker 2:It looks like.
Speaker 1:Oh, he's on the pipes. He's good, he's a very good piper now he posted a video a while back practicing.
Speaker 2:I was like, oh, he's off the drums now. Yeah, he's competing now.
Speaker 4:He's competing in solo competitions, wow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's really good. He's a good drummer too, you. And yeah, he's really good, he's a good drummer too. You know he retired from the Fort Worth Police Department and went over to TCU PD.
Speaker 1:And so he's kind of quasi-starting his own little band over there, which is great. That gets the word out, maybe to get more people involved, because we come together as a state band in most of these funerals. We have a Facebook page that we all. It's a private facebook page, but we we send out all the information on all these funerals because we have what? What would you say, james? Probably four days notice, usually, usually, yeah, about four days notice to get hotels, because our department it's kind of an unwritten rule If it's more than three hours away, we get a hotel, you know, and so, and a lot of times we're helping the department, so we need to be there earlier. So I don't know where I was going with it, but Well, we're talking about line of duties.
Speaker 4:We've got one tomorrow in O'Donnell, and if you don't know where O'Donnell is, it's an hour from anywhere. It's New Mexico.
Speaker 1:It's basically New Mexico. Which department was it?
Speaker 4:Dawson County.
Speaker 2:Dawson County so you all leave here to head there.
Speaker 4:Well, I'm going to go home because it's kind of odd. We were talking about it a little bit last night. It's a 3.30 funeral.
Speaker 1:3 a little bit.
Speaker 4:Last night is it's a 3.30 funeral 3.30 in the afternoon, which is really, to me strikes me as kind of odd, because I've probably been to, with Honor Guard and bagpipes, probably, sadly, over 100 funerals at this point, and so, since it's so late in the day, I've got plenty of time to get there, but we're going to stay that night instead of trying to hook it up.
Speaker 1:So that's a perfect example of they called me and said we don't know what to do, and I said we got you. You know, dps Honor Guard is top notch and they take control of the Honor Guard portion of it and then we take control of the Pipes and Drums portion and we've, in the last what couple years we started talking about this map, this region area we have pipe majors that are kind of controlling each region, and so I have a pipe major major. Yes, he is a fireman and uh, but he's a very good piper and he's he can control things and he can say what we can and can't do it during planning of funerals. So he's been out there ever since thursday planning. Well, ever since we got the word I think it was thursday, didn't we? I think?
Speaker 4:uh, thursday or friday, yeah, it might, may, didn't we, I think Thursday or Friday. Yeah, it may have been Wednesday, because I think the death was on Tuesday.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Well, we get the word, and so I got to start having a pipe major, because they start planning these funerals and they see stuff that happens other places, maybe over in England, the way they do things or whatever and they're like, oh, that would be great. You know, we would love the Piper to.
Speaker 1:You know, come running out and turn somersaults and cartwheels and play, you know, long way down or whatever you know, and that just doesn't happen, you know. So we've got to have somebody there that's a competent pipe major that can say, yes, the band, right now, our ability as a state band, we can do this and we can pull this off flawlessly.
Speaker 3:My favorite is not hearing just Amazing Grace, but what do you all call it where it's like just the tunes, like the random songs, yeah we started to do kind of the march-in thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and all that comes from, we're not reinventing the wheel. All that comes, you know, it starts over in england. If you, if you watch the um, the queen's funeral, how they processed, we're just, we're just emulating that. And then you know, down through the years, um, we're, we've been emulating, um, I have a friend, a good friend of mine, that's the um, uh, luke mckee, that's, that's a pipe major in Chicago. So very, you know, grade one piper competed over in Scotland. So a lot of times I'm on the phone with him, you know, on all these funerals and saying, hey, is this something? You know I'm running things by him because way more experience than I am, and so he goes, yeah, yeah, yeah, that'd be good, way more experienced than I am. And so he goes, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's, that's, that'd be good.
Speaker 3:Do you know the history of how, uh, the bagpipe and drums got into law enforcement? Obviously we know the originated in Scotland and then it kind of got involved. Can you do it?
Speaker 1:originally in Scotland and then uh, but you can chime in when you want, but the it came over because the All the Irish cops Well, yeah, the Irish, it was a nobody wanted to be a cop back in 1800s in New York, Okay. And so they said, okay, well, let the Irish do it.
Speaker 4:They were second-class citizens at that time.
Speaker 1:They were literally second-class, and they said, well, if I feel like we still are, yeah, the McNairs are just. Hey, quiet down over there.
Speaker 3:Literally second class and they said well, if I feel like we still are, yeah some of the mcnears are just so hey, quiet down over there so, uh, we, you know.
Speaker 1:They said, well, let the irish do it. Wow, and so, um, and, and the scottish, you know the, the scots irish I mean it without going into the whole history of how you know ulster scots and all that, how they came over and all that but, um, the irish said, okay, we'll do it because it was a.
Speaker 1:They pay more yeah but it was absolutely the most dangerous job. That and, being a fireman back in the day, they lost more firemen and policemen than anything, and so they would have line of duty deaths and they would bring the bagpipes and then it just, you know, from the northeast, not just New York, but I mean all those departments up there, yeah, boston.
Speaker 1:The Yonkers and all that stuff and it came over to Chicago. All the big departments, you know, would have that. And then you know, I don't think maybe in the 90s Jeff Kortz was playing he's an officer from Viter that plays with us all the time. He's here today and he was playing in the 90s doing it by himself, because there just wasn't the bands that we have now and it wasn't popular down here.
Speaker 3:You know that maybe that's a bad word we just hadn't weren't, we weren't exposed to it no, we have a different uh, we have a different way, a lot different culture down here and everything.
Speaker 1:So, um, you know a lot of the scottish that were down here. Um, that's all that kind of culture had left years ago, you know right, and so we're trying to, we're trying to bring all that back, and so um.
Speaker 2:What's the oldest police band in the country? Do you know?
Speaker 1:Well, the oldest Stockyard Kilty, which Luke McKee, the guy I'm talking about in Chicago. He's the pipe major up there. He's a member of it.
Speaker 4:I believe it's the oldest he might correct me you think it's older than the NYPD band.
Speaker 1:It's pretty old and I don't know if any NYPDs listen to this.
Speaker 4:I've never really researched the history of when they started so it's an interesting question.
Speaker 2:Well, while I'm throwing crazy questions at you, just if you don't mind sharing, just so somebody, the the listener, knows a lot of you guys, jump into this on your own. What is a nice set of bagpipes cost?
Speaker 4:um well, your your base set of wood, black wood or coca bola. Right, they do make some plastic ones that are a little cheaper, but you're you're lucky to get get out of there under $1,500 for just a.
Speaker 1:We just looked at them the other day because our department we buy our own backpipes but we're looking at maybe transitioning to departmental-owned DPS does?
Speaker 4:I knew he was transitioning.
Speaker 1:Departmental-owned. And that's the big thing now Departmental-owned backpipes. Dps does that. We kind of resisted it since we started because we wanted our own bagpipes. But we think that that might be a hang-up of recruitment and so we're going to look at buying some departmental-owned. But you know, the cheapest we looked at is $1,400 right now for the wooden bagpipes. We don't do the plastic bagpipes.
Speaker 2:Well, you seem to be musically inclined, so I'll ask James.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I'm not.
Speaker 2:No, no, no. I don't mean it disrespectful, but, like I'm not, there's steam coming off the top of that head right now. If I decided tomorrow to I didn't mean it as a shot, but he said he plays all kind of instruments If I bought a set of pipes tomorrow, I know that it is one of the hardest instruments to play. How long, reasonably, is that process? Cause I know it's long.
Speaker 4:So I was just talking to uh, the pipe sergeant for Fort Worth, about this last night, because I've had four people at my department that come to me with interest. Um, and I tell them by this, this book it's called the green book, the oh, the old green book, it's the college of piping yeah, that's, that's the standard to learn from.
Speaker 4:And um, in fact, the last guy said hey, I found a, a steel on a, on a practice channel, which basically looks like the, the recorder that you play in third grade or whatever, and generally you're going to be on that for a year before you even pick up a set of backpacks, which basically looks like the recorder that you play in third grade or whatever, and generally you're going to be on that for a year before you even pick up a set of backpacks, wow.
Speaker 4:So, and to put it in perspective, I was on evenings. I worked evening shift, no children, so I practiced at least 30 minutes every single day On the practice channel and I was lucky because my department sent me to a very prestigious school about nine months after I started.
Speaker 2:The bagpipe school.
Speaker 4:Yes, really. Yeah, the Balmoral school in Chicago and um, I had just gotten my pipes, just got gotten them set, and uh went up there and and it really launched me off the pad. But I am I say it all the time I'm a player, I'm not a musician like, I'm not gonna rearrange anything, I'm not gonna just give it to me. I'll learn it and I'll play. That I don't, and you know I don't do my own embellishments or anything like that, I just.
Speaker 3:But in reality, I mean the bagpipes, it seems, at least seemingly to us, right. The outsiders is that it's just several melodies that just repeat themselves for the mothers, there's only nine notes.
Speaker 1:Right well and, and a lot of tunes repeat other parts of tunes. If you start looking at the bagpipe music, there's only a couple of different measures of music and then they kind of repeat themselves. And you know bagpipe music until oh, I'm going to get crucified by Jack Lee if he hears this podcast. If he hears this podcast, but I think it was in the 1500s when the first written bagpipe music was ever. I mean, they know about, and then really not until the 1700s was it really a big thing? Before that it was me. I would sit and play something for him and then he would go okay, and then he would try to play it and I would go you messed it up, it's like this. And then we go back and forth and eventually he would get the tune but he was award-winning.
Speaker 1:Uh uh, you played the recorder and as a senior, didn't you? You're award-winning. Well, in the band.
Speaker 4:Well, that, and I read on an eighth grade level, so something like that you are a recorder champ.
Speaker 1:I would like to point out he is a sergeant, so you know, when you make sergeant, you oh yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, when you make sergeant it gets kind of warm.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it goes downhill, well you talk about the recipe of a person Me and Clint say this a lot on this podcast and talking to different people is that, uh, just like us within TMPA, the, the, the recipe within you know having cops serve cops, and then what you identified, um, with having you know private citizens no shot to them at all. We appreciate their support, uh, and them doing what they do, but you've got to have somebody that knows the industry, knows the traditions, uh, and quite honestly shares the same passion right For for our, for our stuff, to be able to do that.
Speaker 1:But anyway, Will we got anything else? I would like to touch on, if anybody's out there in the TMPA land that wants to. What is going on over there with you? Are you making a statement? Yeah, he is.
Speaker 3:So I guess on a podcast. Several months ago I made the statement. Uh, in fact, one of your uh colleagues uh fort worth.
Speaker 3:He, uh, was in the in the military and went to japan. And so he said he got out of japan and moved to abilene. And uh, my quote was is abilene's a cool town but it's no japan? And so I'm on a podcast on ato, just like what just happened, and uh, bab seems to change shirts or take off his jacket during the podcast. And uh, now I've got a quote that's on aaron slater relentless defenders.
Speaker 1:Uh, you can catch they made it, they made it all. It's official.
Speaker 3:Yes, you can buy that you can buy, that you can buy that shirt and wear it, and, uh, all the proceeds will go to my kid's college fund.
Speaker 2:And you've got to say right, Abilene's cool, but it ain't no.
Speaker 3:Japan. It ain't no Japan.
Speaker 2:Well.
Speaker 3:I've been in.
Speaker 1:Japan in the Marine Corps.
Speaker 3:I've never been.
Speaker 1:Abilene ain't no.
Speaker 3:Japan.
Speaker 2:I've never been, but if I do.
Speaker 3:I'm damn sure going to wear that shirt. And and you got a bottle of bourbon during the board meeting.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so, man, there's a funny story about me at a San Antonio conference and Angels Envy where.
Speaker 3:I had a little accident. We all have accidents, yeah, and so the bottle of Angels Envy was presented to me. That something TO don't be pissy and drank me is what it says engraved on this bottle, of course, they can't get drank now because it's got engravings on it. But you know I tend to be the the brunt of the jokes and I'm cool with that. I love it. That means you guys love being no. I call you a philosopher.
Speaker 1:Well, that's what happens to the pipe major, to a philosopher. But I tend to be the brunt of the jokes because I'm always having to, you know, make the calls, and then you know something doesn't go right, and boy it's. You know how cops are, and that's fine, I mean we're pretty hard on.
Speaker 1:you know we eat our own, but that's fine. But getting back to the recruitment part of it, yes, this thing bagpipes that everybody likes. It doesn't run itself, so we have to have, uh, officers that are interested, like you just said. Matter of fact, you, I'm going to show you where to get the recorder or the chanter and the green book, yeah, your recorder. Well, you can talk to james because, like I said, when he was a senior in high school, he was like the world's best recorder, uh player.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I didn't want this to be about me. You can move on, okay, well anyways, there is a.
Speaker 4:There is a good segue, though, and this is something that I've talked to tyler about and you about as well is, uh, looking for a way to form whether it be a 501 or something, to be able to get more band members to these line of duty. Death funerals, yeah, uh, because it you know, a lot of them are going to come on their own time and on their own dime, and if you're looking at a hundred and 25, $150 a night for for a room and a lot of them we can get to go down day of, come back day of, but you know that's really not going to be the case for either of us tomorrow to go way out to West Texas and then try to turn, yeah no, it's dangerous.
Speaker 1:Three, four hours. It's dangerous. You don't do that to a truck driver.
Speaker 2:You don't make him drive that long, because it's dangerous yeah so your point about recruiting, that's the thing that has always stood out and you and james and and all the guys there, man, have always had a special place in my heart, because it takes a year to try and figure out how to learn to play this instrument.
Speaker 2:Then you guys, no fault of your own, are usually given two, three, four or five days, five days notice. I guess five or six days notice is really nice. You need to travel to Abilene or you need to travel to Amarillo or El Paso and it may be on your personal time and your personal dime. After spending a year learning to play this instrument, you guys are passionate about what you do and there is no dipping your toe in the water to be a part of your group. You can't, and that has always stood out to me is not just hearing you guys march in or hearing that lone piper as he marches away, but by god you're not dipping your toe in the water. You're all in on this or you're all out because you can't.
Speaker 1:Well, there's no guitar uniform either? Yeah, but there's a backpack uniform and you have to learn that. You have to learn your instrument, you have to learn the regalia that goes along with it.
Speaker 1:And the meaning of each one, the meaning of each one, because it's not the guitar. You pick up a guitar in Japan, and it's just a guitar, you know. Or an Abilene, yeah, and In Japan, and it's just a guitar, you know. Or an Abilene, yeah, and it's still just a guitar. You could wear the Abilene or the Japan shirt, you know, but with bagpipes. You pick up a set of bagpipes. Everybody wants to see you in a kilt and you've got to look right, it's got to be right.
Speaker 3:But it goes back to what you said, though, and if you're not going to understand the meaning and from the sense of the family aspect and the honor that goes with that unless you're in this profession, so kudos for you for kind of identifying that and moving forward with it and so just real quick and I was talking to my wife on the way over here what I wanted to get out.
Speaker 1:If chiefs are listening, or assistant chiefs are listening, the people that make the calls on these smaller departments that are even larger departments. Dallas is one of them. Dallas had a band years ago and now we're trying to restart that for them and we got a couple guys learning and the Dallas command staff, I think, is starting to understand when an officer comes to them and says, hey, I did this bagpipe thing. I know how to play the bagpipes. Now I want to go to help at Houston or you know wherever, abilene, and they say, well, you can go and we'll give you a car. We ain't got no money for a hotel, we've got no money for meals, we got none of that. Well, but then in turn, when that same department has a line of duty, death, they expect and want their family to have to see a sea of police everywhere.
Speaker 1:And the biggest band that can show up, and the biggest band that can show up, but they're the same department that a month ago said oh God, we would love for you to go, but we don't really have the money. So I think that the departments have to take a good hard look at themselves. You've got to support other departments when they have their time and need and just let whoever, if they've put in the time whether it be Honor Guard, whether it be we have trumpeters, or whether it be bagpipes let them go.
Speaker 1:If you expect it for your own, then be willing to give yourself absolutely, you know, and so um, and then just to round it out, it, you know I would be dumb, not to to mention my band members, because my, my, my pipe sergeant, josh van brunt, without him I couldn't do, I couldn't be the pipe major, because there's a lot of stuff that I don't have time to do, and he does that, and my band members that practice every day, because that's what has to happen. You have to get those bagpipes out at least twice a week, because that's what has to happen. You have to get those bagpipes out at least twice a week.
Speaker 1:And you know, basically, you're conditioning them, because they're a reeded instrument, it's a wood, it's a piece of wood in there and they've got to be conditioned. So you've got to have them out every two weeks or every, you know, twice a week, and then so it. They practice. The reason we sound good, we make mistakes all over the page, but the reason we sound the way we do as a state band is because every officer practices, you know, and they take time from their families, because they want to give that time to families that are in need and hurting at the time. You know.
Speaker 4:So, if I can make an analogy I mean, most of the listeners of this podcast are going to be law enforcement. The pipes are a diminishing skill, just like shooting, literally, because if you put them away and don't play them and I've been guilty of it at times just getting too busy and not playing them, you're not going to be crisp with your notes, but also your lips are going to go. And if you're not conditioning oh yeah that's the big joke and you can't fill the bag anymore because you just can't.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's the weak point in the instrument is your lips, because everybody's going to. That's the big joke. But you can't make a seal around. Yes, it's called the blow stick. You can't make seal.
Speaker 2:There's 500 cops watching this.
Speaker 4:Oh, is that what you call it, they? Are laughing you know, and so yeah.
Speaker 1:But you know, you'll know right off if somebody's been practicing like they should, Because if they're, we call it. Your lips are going. After two or three tunes we like, well, somebody ain't been practicing their instrument. Yeah, you know, and it shows, but they'll get there. I mean everybody's not. You know, everybody's not the musician. I mean you, I don't want a musician. Because you get a musician and he's like, well, that doesn't sound perfect, well, it's not going to be perfect.
Speaker 4:That's not our mission.
Speaker 1:Our mission is to make sure that the family is taken care of, you know.
Speaker 4:And something else I want to touch on that a lot of people don't know is from yesterday we tuned at 6 o'clock, our final tuning give or take. We played in right with with its complications, but we'll get into that if you want to. And then we set those instruments down for two hours, yeah, and they it's not like a guitar or something else they go out of tune and you can't fire them up in the middle of a ceremony and to retune them. We could walk a mile away and fire them up in the middle of a ceremony to retune them.
Speaker 4:We could walk a mile away and fire them up and you'd still hear them. Yeah, that's one of the things. That's a struggle that people think you just walk up to a gig and pull them out of the case and go to work and that's just not how it works.
Speaker 1:It's a funny story and I know we're getting on our. I don't know how long the podcast is supposed to be as long as y'all want, yeah. So only podcast I've ever looked at is the you know Sean Ryan's and all that. So I'm kind of giddy right now because I think Sean Ryan's going to call me after this. He might Get you on there.
Speaker 4:Well, I think I saw your phone line up. Well, you being the, champion recorder player.
Speaker 1:He might want to call you Maybe. So yeah, about the tuning, you know you can tune all day long and, like James said, you can set them down and you can't just fire them up because you would blow, everybody would hear it. Oh, the funny story. That's where I was going. We were in San Antonio and this was years ago and if he's listening, I don't even know his name. He's the honor guard commander. He was down there. So the funeral was going on. That's our MO is.
Speaker 1:While the funeral was going on, pipes and drums and usually honor guard are outside practicing because nobody's watching us and nobody can usually hear us because the churches, the walls and things, and we were about there practicing, you know left and right, I mean doing it over and over and over and he come running out in his little honor guard uniform. You know things clanking and you know whatever. He's like whoa, stop, stop, stop, stop. What. What's going on? Oh, I can hear you in there.
Speaker 1:Okay, so well, we got to practice. I guess we'll go up front. He goes. No, no, no, just. Can you just take the volume knob and? And in their volume knob on the back and I think it was a Todd Bertra or or BK uh, both of them retired pipe majors from Austin. And then sure, sure, sure, let me go. Yeah, because there's a volume knob on backpacks. There ain't no volume knob, it's either on or off, you know, and it's loud. So that honor guard commander, you know we said sure and he ran back in. You know, we just went up on the hill a little bit further.
Speaker 4:So that was.
Speaker 3:What did you want to get into about the memorial last night? If you guys want to dive off into it, I thought it was great. I mean, from my perspective of me being there, I couldn't tell any missteps or mishaps or anything.
Speaker 1:You're right and see, we did our job as seasoned bagpipers. We pulled it off. We pulled it off because there was a huge, huge deal. We were supposed to march around and go into a a different location, but that location was blocked. I'm not going to say what department okay, it was black and white cars. It had to stay texas on the side.
Speaker 4:They had it completely blocked um, yeah, that that north entrance, where the north steps go up to the capital. There's that concrete pad or or whatever granite or whatever they have over there, and we were supposed to go straight and let the honor guards go down.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we were supposed to turn into that spot and keep playing and let the honor guards just pass us. Well, it was blocked. But you know what you know? In the Marine Corps they teach you. You know, own your own your mistakes, just like police work. But it's, it was drilled home into the army from the own your own your mistakes, just like police work. But it's, it was drilled home into the inmate from the marine corps. Own your mistakes.
Speaker 1:Well, that's the pipe major, and the pipe major last night was me, and because we trade off uh, next year I think it'll be back to austin and then it goes to dps and then back to fort worth. We trade off so we don't have to the the responsibility, well, and the, and we come up with new and inventive ways to make the ceremony good. And so that was on the pop major last night and that's me. And I should have walked over there or sent my runner, my champion recorder player, over there and said, hey, is that stuff clear? Because he would have done it. And you know, as much as we teased James Babb and especially when he was the president of TMPA, we teased him I thought we were going to like there were some times when he would just bow his head and just walk away, because me and James Gray were just on him all the time. He did file a bullying report with us.
Speaker 4:Oh, he did Well. I just want to point out it took two on one.
Speaker 1:Well, can I?
Speaker 1:I'm just saying I'm sure it went to the other association. Hey, will you slack up? Will you slack up? And I won't say that other name. But James is really and truly. And if Plano, if the chief listen, he is always there. I can call James and he is kind of like my fire department wrangler. If I'm running a we're spearheading a funeral, I can call James and say, hey, can you spearhead the firemen? Because we all know about firemen, right, Because they love sitting in their recliners. Well, you've got to get them going, Right. And so he's great at spearheading all the firemen and they help us nonstop. But James is always there. That's cool, Even when he was TMPA president, Even when he was TMPA. Maybe that's why he's not anymore, or is it just a year deal? It's just a year deal.
Speaker 3:He tried to get it extended, but the board shot it down Well actually, oh, you're trying to do your third term.
Speaker 4:Somebody came to me and asked me to do another year and I said you know you're trying to do your third term. Somebody came to me and asked me to do another year and I said you know you would have had to have told me that back in August because I don't have another year in me.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, to the membership, he was steadily hard trying to get us to come over, but we didn't ever get any free stuff from TMPA. We didn't get any cool hats or cool coins Come over.
Speaker 4:We'll shower you with gifts, you gotta, once we're there, you gotta showers before yeah, I don't wait a minute.
Speaker 1:I don't want to shower, you're gonna yeah yeah, so but yeah so, but you know, not non-stop and you all tmpa, you know, and I'm not down and I mean I'm a member of another association but and I'm not downing them and they do a lot too. But TMPA, you always see TMPA and maybe it's because of the truck that's a cool truck, by the way TMPA is always there. I've been a member of TMPA back when I was White Settlement and so you guys are always there and we appreciate that. And the partnership between the Pipes and Drums or the ceremonial part of this whole deal. Maybe we can make in the future some relationships that you know.
Speaker 4:Maybe we can make some relationships if people want to jump in and sponsor things, whataburger.
Speaker 3:Whataburger. I heard a commercial this morning with laney wilson on there talking about how good water burger. You know damn well, laney wilson, they'd eaten a water burger with those ozempic shots.
Speaker 4:She's been on the last couple years, yeah have you guys ever told the story of how we got the memorial truck?
Speaker 1:no, you know the story. Wait a minute. Did I need to run the license plates? They've been 60 this whole time, which in fort Worth we call that stolen.
Speaker 4:No, it's a very funny story. We were in Dallas that year and I don't remember exactly what year it was, but we had more brand-new board members elected to the board than we've had since TMPA was founded and some of my local members were talking to a guy from Anthony, texas, and he was talking about fueled for the fallen and it's a military deal where they do basically what we were doing and they said, hey, you need to come talk to this guy Cause I was on the board at the time. And, uh, he tells me about it that they paint these cars up, put the names of their fallen from their unit. And I'm looking around going why have we not already done this?
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:So I said can you come to the board meeting tomorrow? And he presented to the board and the rest is history.
Speaker 3:I'll be done.
Speaker 1:I never heard that before, so as far as recruiting, when you all edit this, I don't know. It's not live, is it?
Speaker 3:No, it's not live, but we typically don't edit anything.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, when you do whatever you do with your videos, can you put my email up there and James Babb's email up there? Yeah, right here. Actually, you put it in front of James' nose.
Speaker 4:Yes, you might want to put it in front of that forehead.
Speaker 1:That thing is huge. If somebody wants to get involved, if they're from gosh, if they're from Pampa, if they're from Text Line PD, call us, email us, we'll make it happen for you. If you want to learn the bagpipes or you want to learn the drums, because we need help, especially in West Texas. Especially in West Texas because I mean, you know, to go from Fort Worth to and I'm not saying anything text line, I'm not putting any bad juju on anybody, but that's a long drive, that's a summer vacation almost drive, you know. So we would love to have bagpipers in that area that could supplement us.
Speaker 4:We would still come, but they could help with the planning and everything, because that's what really yeah, somebody needs to be on the ground from the start, from the from the get-go, that knows our capabilities, so that we don't show up and they're expecting something that we cannot perform kind of like a pre-op oh you, we have to, we have to.
Speaker 1:You know, a forward team, just like in the marine corps, does you send to japan? Uh, they send over there. You know that they. So not everybody's expecting something different, you know. So, um, you know, there's a lot of things that I think maybe we could come back and touch on in another podcast, because I would love to keep this going, because I don't have, but you know, three years left and I'm retiring and I'm going to do something different. I don't know. Yeah, going to another department. I don't know what I'm going to do.
Speaker 4:He ain't going to another department if they do a background. Probably not, it's not the background.
Speaker 1:It's the psych. So they did a background on me and asked me when I came back from Colorado whoa, whoa, what have you been doing up there, Not consuming anything a green leafy substance if anybody in law enforcement has ever used that statement before, Never consumed it. But so me and James are not going to be here forever, Right?
Speaker 3:You need to pass on the torch.
Speaker 1:I mean, he's pushing 60. So look at him. Anyways, he can't do this forever, right, and I can't either, and so we're all going to retire, you know, and so we need new blood that can take it over, and new blood doesn't happen in a year. New blood happens in five years.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you know like, yeah, well, think of think about it in terms of training a new police officer. Right, if they're green coming right off the street, they've never worked in a new police officer. Right, if they're green coming right off the street, they've never worked in law enforcement. Before it's a year, before they're productive for you, before you can turn them loose in a patrol car by themselves.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And then they get better with season. That's after almost a year of academy too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so we're going to give it up eventually. You can't do it forever. Now we may, in retirement, come back and supplement, like some of the Austin guys do and some of my guys do Fred Long, you know he's moved on to another department. He supplements us and so we've got to be able to turn it over to somebody like me. I'm going to turn my pipe major ship, if you want to call that over to Josh Van Brunt, my pipe sergeant, and I've been grooming him, you know.
Speaker 4:Yeah, my pipe sergeant and I've been grooming him. You know, yeah, and if he doesn't know that you know he's been grooming him during his transition.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, transition, yeah, and so we've got to have that, yeah, and so, uh, it's not the honor guard, uh, and I'm not down in the honor guard, but you know, after of a week-long school of the honor guard, you know how to do the, the rifle salute, or you know how to fold a flag, and but all of our music we're marching around, it's all up in our head. You know, we have to memorize that every note, and so, um, and so do the drummers, yeah, even though it's just two notes yeah, ping and pong right and left and so uh, but we love our drummers.
Speaker 1:It's a constant feud, you know, yeah, Kind of like the deal that me and James have. You know it's all in fun, but you know it's constant Right.
Speaker 3:Well, man, I can't thank you enough for what y'all do. Yeah, it means a lot.
Speaker 4:Well, I mean, it's all about the families. Yep, you know, try to show them that their loved one was valued by us. And you know, I've had some very cool things bestowed upon me from being a piper. I got to one of mine was.
Speaker 1:I was in the mass band for Chris Kyle's funeral, but someone sitting amongst us had a really big honor as a solo, piper Gosh, yeah, sergeant Major Overst street, uh, he was my sergeant man in the marine corps and uh, he was the sergeant major, the highest, and uh, and I didn't really know him per se, he didn't inspect me a couple times in the marine corps, you know.
Speaker 1:But you don't know the sergeant major marine corps and if you do, you probably got in trouble, you know. So, uh, but when I got out I met him one time at a I was a motor officer and we were doing an escort for some kind of I think it's Medal of Honor recipients and he was there supporting that. And so I became to know him and his best, his real good friend, was Arlie Ermey. And so I knew, I become to know Arlie Ermey just a tiny bit Not, you know, we weren't drinking buddies and so I knew I become to know R Lee Ermey just a tiny bit not, you know, we weren't drinking buddies, and so, but me and the Sergeant Major you know doing a lot of, he would call me and say, hey, can you get the pipe band to come over here, because he does a lot of veterans events. That's his big thing now and he's also, I think, in the casket business.
Speaker 1:But we won't talk about that everybody's just dying to get to talk to him. But um, that's a dad joke, by the way, and uh, so, uh, he, he called me one day. He said uh, you know that lee wasn't feeling good, arlie, as everybody called him, lee wasn't feeling good and that that, uh, you know, we don't know what's going to happen. And and then he passes away. Well, arlie Ermey has recruited more people for the Marine Corps than ever recruiter combined, more than likely. And so you know he was a staff sergeant but he was an honorary gunning. He said, hey, would you come play Arlie Ermey's funeral? I said, will I? You just tell me I'll walk there. You know, you don't have to do anything. He said, no, no, no, we got you. And so they did a private ceremony in California and then, about a year later, they finally got him in Arlington, because, truthfully, he didn't rate to be in Arlington. But what he did for the armed services, you know, for DOD and Marine Corps and all that, they put him in there. He was a special exemption.
Speaker 1:Well, he called me one day. He called me one day. He called me like on a wednesday, and the funeral was literally on that monday. He said, hey, I need you to pack stuff and head to dc. I said, sergeant major, my stuff's packed, you just put me on a plane. So we went up there and it was snow on the ground snow on the day of and I was scared to death because I thought I was going to mess up yeah you know, and excuse me all these, uh, the daggone secretary of defense, I mean sergeant major marine corps, the armed services generals, you know everybody was there and I was.
Speaker 1:I was scared to death and so but it went off without a hitch and and, um, you know, I was able to send a marine, an old salty marine, home, you know, to the lord.
Speaker 2:So yeah, for our younger listeners that don't know who arlie army is. He was a real marine corps drill instructor, but you would know him as the drill instructor in full metal jacket. I need to get with you. Uh, my uncle passed away. Marine corps lieutenant general lives in plano, let's do it. Um, I need to get with you on that. The funeral's going to probably not be immediate. It may be 10 days, 12 days.
Speaker 1:I know a fairly good piper in Plano, but he was.
Speaker 4:Will you introduce me to him?
Speaker 1:He was world champion recorder player when he was senior in high school. Uil state champ.
Speaker 3:UIL state champ. Well, I'm sorry I started that.
Speaker 1:I know that's probably going to stick. Now, hey everybody out there in TAP land, now I'm going to get a T-shirt made. You're going to get a T-shirt on that one For sure.
Speaker 4:All right, aaron Slater, get ready Japanese world record, that's right.
Speaker 2:Japan champion recorder player.
Speaker 4:Yeah, Well, a lot of people don't know. I was actually in the beginning, I was second, but I had to file an appeal with UIL to get my rightful place at the top.
Speaker 2:He had civil service in his record.
Speaker 1:He had that one civil service point that put him over the Japanese guy.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Japanese guys are always the best. I'm going to get with you Prestonwood Baptist Church, probably May 7th or 10th.
Speaker 4:Lieutenant.
Speaker 2:General Richard Carey. Okay, fought in Korea, frozen chosen.
Speaker 1:It's going to be you. I'm going to be in DC.
Speaker 3:It is National Police Week, yep, well, hey, we like to end each episode with three rapid-fire questions. If you haven't studied, we hope not. I didn't give anything away.
Speaker 1:Oh, I haven't I haven't listen to a lot of podcasts, but my son does one. It's called Backtalk. There you go. I guess I better plug that, because he'd be pissed at me if I did oh yeah, but he's in college. Well, I'll get you a link. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 3:For sure. What's your favorite cop car, live from a cop movie and your favorite drink of choice?
Speaker 1:That I've ever driven.
Speaker 3:Ever driven. Oh, it's the.
Speaker 1:Crown Vic. There you go, my band. Yeah, oh, the Crown Vic. I mean you literally jumped it over in a pursuit. Jumped it Chief, that was a long call Jumped it over a railroad track and it just kept right on trucking and I think sparks came off the back of it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Well, this is very fortuitous, because I've got my.
Speaker 1:Yes, it's the best police vehicle ever, never forget. But I will say that I'm getting older and my knees are stiffer. I got a Tahoe now and for taller people, we just slide right in.
Speaker 3:Those are nice, those are nice. What's your favorite cop movie or line from a cop movie?
Speaker 1:Oh, you know all the Clint Eastwood movies for a cop movie. Yeah, you know, I mean Clint Eastwood was the. We all wish we could go out there and be Clint Eastwood.
Speaker 3:You know, we can't anymore, we're kinder gentler, what's your favorite drink of choice when you're just hanging out relaxing?
Speaker 1:Old fashions and a good cigar from Drew Estates. There you go.
Speaker 2:Any certain bourbon in your old?
Speaker 1:fashion.
Speaker 2:Bullet I like it.
Speaker 1:You know, I mean, excuse me, tx. Tx is the drink of choice. Yes, since it's a Fort Worth company, tx is really good. They are.
Speaker 2:They could be a sponsor of the pipe band.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they could be Shout out for sponsorships, you know if they ever listen to this. But TX has done stuff in the past. I mean, they made commemorative bottles. They made one for us, for a conference two years ago, I believe they made the Garrett Hole bottles and I don't know the financials, but I don't know that those were. I think they were very, very cheap, like $10 a bottle. I mean we sold them for more to make money for the family, but TX is absolutely the best company. Maybe I should quit the bullet, though. It's absolutely the best company, maybe.
Speaker 4:I should quit the bullet. Well, I would also say the Old Fashioned is the official drink of the board of directors.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and employees, and the National Recordist Players Association of Japan.
Speaker 4:Yes, well, that's really classified information. I'm not sure how you got your hands on that or broadcasted it. I went to Abilene.
Speaker 1:We should have stayed in Abilene for the O'Donnell funeral, just so I could walk around with this shirt on.
Speaker 3:Now that you've got that T-shirt, that's what we're going to do, Clint you got anything else?
Speaker 2:Nada Police Week coming up DC. This may have already aired by then.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think it'll be probably that week Police week.
Speaker 1:Please come see us at the Irish Channel.
Speaker 2:Yes, which night.
Speaker 1:Were there, or ever not, drinking non-alcoholic drinks or TX or TX, yeah. So come see us, come introduce yourself to us. If you ever thought that you wanted to do it, we'll take your name and number and we'll get back, even if you're from another state. Yep, you know, if you're listening to this.
Speaker 3:We'll help you. It's a cool event For those that haven't.
Speaker 4:It's a bucket list for sure. Yeah, one thing I'd like to throw out there is search up some of your local police and fire pipe bands and if they have a fundra of people, uh, police and fire are doing everything on their own dime. They're. Because, let me tell you folks, like he said, those pipes are not cheap, drums are not cheap, kilts are not cheap, so it's two thousand dollars for the, just the uniform.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, so if you're doing it right, you're not doing the. The kmart special.
Speaker 1:The kmart special we do not do the kmart special no when we do it, we do it right and we do it. You know, we we want to make the families I mean really and truly that is what this job is about and and each department. You have to remember that because sometimes there's there's a drama in bands I was just like, just like there's drama in a police unit um, we always say, whoa, stop, stop, stop. Remember why we're doing this. Yeah, we're not doing it because we sound good or we, like you know, we want to be the best. We're doing it because that wife or that husband is sitting over there with their kids and they've just lost everything, absolutely everything. And or a mother just lost a son and we want to make sure that she remembers the funeral for her son or husband or daughter or whatever. It is. Wow, that that honor ceremony with the honor guard and the pipes and drums is just over the top, and she can re-look at that you know that video if she wants to yep I agree.
Speaker 3:Well, I can't thank y'all enough for coming in. We greatly appreciate it. We greatly appreciate you guys continuing the service and doing what you guys do.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir appreciate you having a conference in houston july 26 through 28. Yep national fop conference is in miami august 4th through 8th be there, be square I can be persuaded to come down to Miami.
Speaker 4:Oddly enough, I talked to our local president and he goes. Yeah, we got four people going this year. I said yeah, because it's in Miami.
Speaker 1:Pipes and drums. You know, if you want to send your pipes and drums down to Miami.
Speaker 3:Make a little formal request.
Speaker 1:Pat.
Speaker 4:Yost.
Speaker 1:Do a little presentation down there at Little Havana maybe.
Speaker 2:Smoke some cigars.
Speaker 3:Popping on the beach. You guys take care, stay safe. God bless you and, as always, may God bless Texas. We're out. Thank you, thank you.
