THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, AUGUST 17,2009
BACK TO SCHOOL
9
MUSIC
Student plays bagpipes for bucks
Bagpiper Chris Hannemann, Wichita junior, holds a note during one of his weekly performances at the Campanile. Hannemann picked up the bagpipes about two years ago and performed every Sunday over the summer.
Chance Dibben/KANSAN
BY STEPH SCHNEIDER
sschneider@kansan.com
With bagpipe in tow and kilt swinging around his knees, Chris Hannemann goes to work. He has played the bagpipe since his freshman year of college, and playing at public events was his main source of summer income.
"I would just sit in my house and listen to him play from across the yard in his house," Hannemann said. "And I could, because the pipes are so loud."
Hannemann, Wichita junior, said his interest in learning to play bagpipes was sparked because he grew up next to a neighbor who would play the bagpipes with windows open.
After deciding he wanted to learn, Hannemann said, the perfect opportunity came along when his friend started a bagpipe band. He began taking lessons from William McCollum, a professional bagpipe player from Wichita.
McCollum said Hannemann told him he was already a musician, and that playing the jazz guitar was his first love.
"I told him he would probably give up the guitar," McCollum said. "When you start doing bagpipes it gets into your blood."
After working with Hannemann for about a year, McCollum said, he asked him how his jazz guitar playing was going. Hannemann said he had not picked up the guitar in months.
"Nine months later I was in a bagpipe marching band," Hannemann said. "The hardest part is the road to getting there, it takes a lot of practice. It's like you have four little brains doing four different things at once."
McColllum said the more musicians get to know the bagpipes, the better players and entertainers they become.
"Chris has the ability to be entertaining and a great musician," McCollum said. "He is a dynamic man who looks to go far."
Hannemann said he had learned from McCollum that he could make a good amount of money playing if he was good enough at it.
"He is a professional bagpiper and makes ridiculous money doing it," Hannemann said. "No one does it — how many people do you know who play the bagpipe?"
McCollum said that after teaching Hannemann for about a year, Hannemann told him how much he appreciated everything he had been taught.
"I told him to promise me something," McCollum said. "Teach someone else, just like the way I taught you. To keep the music alive"
For two-and-a-half years, Hannemann has played on Massachusetts Street with a tip jar and business cards.
Hannemann advertises his business on Craigslist and gets hired most often for funerals and weddings.
"I advertise because a lot of people don't even know it's there and available to them," Hannemann said.
Josh Connor, Lawrence resident, ran into Hannemann in February when they were both advertising their instruments at the Lawrence Arts Center.
"Chris called me about my drum lessons, told me about his bagpiping, and we started playing and listening to Zeppelin together," Connor said.
On St. Patricks Day, Connor saw Hannemann playing near The Replay on Massachusetts Street and told him he would love to play his drums with him sometime. The first time the two practiced together a neighbor called the police on them, Connor said.
Hannemann said that he had played at about 10 events in the last year, and that his most memorable was a military funeral.
"I was playing and everyone, even tough generals, started crying," Hannemann said. "It's a really powerful instrument."
"I looked back, and there was an officer standing there," Connor said. "He said, 'Well boys, you sound good, but we do have noise complaints.'"
Although Hannernmann said that business was sometimes hard to come by and that it was a spur of the moment kind of thing, he said he
loved doing it.
"I will have two gigs in a month, then none for another four months," Hannemann said. "It always comes in waves."
Hannemann said that his audience ranged from 6-year-olds to 60-year-olds, and that his outfit caught many eyes.
"I get asked from women more than any other question, 'Are you wearing underwear under there?' Hannemann said. "I say, 'You wear skirts with underwear; I wear a kilt with underwear.'"
Seeing how people react to his outfit is a highlight to Hannemann's job, he said. However, the technical side of his job is not.
"It takes a lot of work to keep it sounding good," Hannemann said. "Bagpipes are a very technical instrument."
Hannemann said that when the nice weather came this summer, he began playing on the hill by the Campanile every Sunday at 8 p.m.
"People say they've heard me from like a mile and a half away." Hannemann said. "Younger people come see what it is, hide behind bushes, then run away"
After hearing Hannemann play from across' campus and around town, J.R. Harper, Lawrence resident decided to stop and listen.
Harper said he became interested in bagpipes because of a bagpipe marching band back in his hometown.
"He plays really well," Harper said as he listened to Hannemann play. "I've heard him a lot of different places. It's awesome."
— Edited by Hannah DeClerk
Chance Dibben/KANSAN In full traditional garb, bagpiper Chris Hannemann plays during a performance at the Campanile this summer. Playing at public events was Hannemann's main source of summer income.
Chance Dibben/KANSAN