Updated: Livingstone, Rowe add to bass drummer story

Bill Livingstone, pipe-major of the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band, has shed additional light on the story about the band’s new bass drummer, Bob Hartlieb, who has taken the place of incumbent bass drummer, John Rowe, after Rowe announced that he has to have back surgery.

“This [is] a temporary measure until John [is] well again,” Livingstone says. “It’s nothing more than bad luck, requiring someone (thank God Bob Hartlieb) to step up and cover for big Johnny, who is our man, while he undergoes shaving of two prolapsed discs.”

John Rowe commented, “I have every intention to play with the Frasers for years to come and plan on keeping the great tradition of kick-ass bass drummers alive in the 78th [Frasers].”

Livingstone says that his band has had “two serious bass drummers – Luke Allan and Craig Colquhoun – and, apart from some short period of finding our way between those two, the situation has been very solid. The band has existed for 23 years – pretty good stability I’d say.”

Bob Hartleib previously played with the Grade 2 Windsor Police Pipe Band. The current bass drummer for the Windsor Police is Mike Cole of Chicago, who was a tenor drummer with the 78th Fraser Highlanders in the mid-1990s.

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