Dave Rowlands's Storefront

Dave bought his first set of pipes about the time Blowzabella first started playing in public, circa 1979. This was at the beginning of the bagpipe revival in the UK. A resourceful dance caller, he has combined his extensive knowledge of dance with his love of the many and varied styles of drone music in Europe, writing many tunes, specifically for dancing.

Dave has studied under some of the best pipers in Europe, including Dave Faulkener, the late Gunter Bauweraerts, Jon Swayne, and Judy Rocklife. He was the Co-organiser of the successful South Coast Bagpipe Day's, and has organised the Bagpipe Society Blowout twice. Dave has played in the Ploughmans Bunch (80's), Wizzard Wheeze (80's-90's), Citizen Camembert (1996-2003), and Snaketown (2006-2008).

Drone Rage is his first collection of tunes. This volume contains 31 original tunes, (most with harmony parts) by Dave, 1 tune by Hurdy-Gurdy player extrordinaire, Simon Raine, and a further 61 traditional tunes from Dave’s library, and old, dusty collections he has had the pleasure of looking through.

Dave's tune section has a strong French bias, while the traditional section is a mix of Border, Irish, and English tunes well suited to Swayne/European fingered pipes. There is a section detailing the sources, any changes made to the tunes, and any historical information available about these tunes.

A second collection of traditional tunes, "The Register", is planned for early 2010.