Portland Metro Pipe Band – Band Member Profile

Name: Ted McKnight

Piper or Drummer? Drummer

How long have you been playing pipes or drums? At around age 7. I got serious about age 12 though.

Provide some info about your piping/drumming background and other bands you’ve played with: I played with the Sir James McDonald Pipe Band since the mid–90’s, taking over the lead drumming position in 2002, and leading the "kid’s band" to the world championships in 2003, winning countless prizes along the way, including a 1st in 2002 at the Pleasanton Highland Games, for best band of some sort. Also, we got a 3rd, respectively, at the ’03 World Championships.

From there, I eventually found my way to Southern California in 2005, where I played with the LA Scots through the 2006 season, and then decided to head back to help my good buddy Andrew get this band started here. Now, I look to further the resume by building this band to a very high caliber band, and seeing where this takes us.

High points of your band and/or solo career, including awards or trips:
–Playing with the Chieftains to a packed house.
–Winning best drum corps in front of the home crowd in Portland.
–Leading the Sir James MacDonald Pipe Band to a 3rd Place at the World Pipe Band Championships in 2003
–Winning some big trophy at Pleasanton in 2002, and winning best drum corps at many, many games that year.
–Marching up to the line at Maxville in 2006, to get a third in grade 1 with the LA Scots pipe band.
–The Montreal Beer tent…awe inspiring.
–Working alongside my "brotha’ from a diff’rent motha’", Andrew Finley, to get the ball rolling in this band.
–My first Pro–drumming solo…very sobering.
–The great scores and comments I have received over the years from renowned judges and peers to improve and comment on my solo drumming.

Funniest band moment(s):
1.) Anything that has to do with Mullaney
2.) On of our pipers convinced me that he had joined an FLDS camp (fanatical/fundamentalist mormon polygamists), and had me going for 3 days, before I realized it was a joke.
3.) I choked on a hot dog the first LA Scots practice I flew down for (attended hospital instead of practice); dubbed "Big-Bite" McKnight ever since.

Misc. fact about you: I am the Senior Project Manager for a custom architectural sign company.
I have a beautiful wife and child, who somehow put up with my Pipe Band habits.
I am the instructor for the youth band’s side drummers.
Grade 1 drummer