The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

in his late teens, Coppins earned pocket money by taking his bagpipe music to the streets of Toronto (once being arrested for "projecting noise into the street") and in the late ‘70s coâ€" founded the Celtic fusion band Rare Air which went on to record six albums over its 13â€"year life span. "In a sense, | think we (Rare Air) were kind of into a world beat thing before it was called world beat," Coppins says. "We had a couple of bagpipes, African drums, and funk." After the demise of Rare Air, Coppins was looking to explore otherfmofmwxâ€"mmkmuwodanmmybebag- pipe dependent. He also became more interested in the art of the song itself and in discovering his own singing voice, which, as it turns out, year or so, but then, getting to be about 15 or 16, I started realâ€" izing the value in it and appreciating the fact that it‘s one step different." "Back in those days, everybody was getting into electric guitar and | was playing bagpipes," Coppins says. "I went through some awkward years wnh it and probably even put it away for a 14 Scottish descent, Coppins took up the bagpipes at the tender age of seven and went on to compete and do well in bagpipe competitions throughout his teen years. While his friends were picking up electric guitars, Coppins stuck to the instrument of his Scottish ancestors. For a brief period he suc cumbed to peer pressure and put his pipes aside, out as he became more sure of himself and more aware of the iniqueness of his chosen instrument, he began marching to the beat of his own drum Born and raised in Scarâ€" borough in a family of And from the justâ€"whenâ€"youâ€"thoughtâ€"you‘dâ€"heardâ€"itâ€"all cateâ€" gory, Torontoâ€"based band Taxi Chain is bounding onto the North American music scene flying in the face of all that is sacred in the churches of blues and Celtic music. Fronted by Grier Coppins, Taxi Chain, with its original blend of Amenicana roots, blues, jazz and funky bagpipes, is truly deservâ€" ng of the title unique. The band‘s recentlyâ€"released CD Bagpipe Juke Joint successtully meids an eciectic mix of elements. The album, as well as the band, is raw and raucous and brimâ€" ming with cheeky enthusiâ€" Marching to the beat of a different pipe and drum is gravely and emotional and perfectly suited to By Deborah Crandall "I came down to the city and met an old friend and started Iiving in his house and recording in his basement and inviting friends. And the thing that became the first Taxi Chain record (Pinocchio‘s Broken Heart) was more an idea in my head and a collection of friends," Coppins says. " It wasn‘t a definite unit." Now, with Coppins on bagpipes, tenor guitar, tin whistle and m&&fissuigonguiunandmls,msmonbas;losh Hicks on drums, and Sam Adamkowski on tenor saxophone, Taxi O\ainisadefiniteunittobesure.AndMileCoppimisme band’spredomimsovwim,ead\memberhandisfim preseruandmakeshiscomribotiontotheamstkprm *J mightmnwr'rtingthesongs,bmbymetimetfnbandper- forms_them,everybodyhasinjectedtheimuffinit,' Coppins says. 'lrsnotasituaionvwmefvegotitallinmyheadmdl walk in and tell everybody how to do it. Everybody dreams up Coppins retreated to country life in Bancroft after the demise of Rare Air, and headed back to the city on occasion to drive taxi (something he‘d done off and on for 10 years) to make enough money to "go back to the hills for a couple of weeks at a time." or so of starting Taxi Chain the music in a big way." "I was ready for something different," Coppins says. "I think that at the end of Rare Air, all the pieces that I was writing for the band were getting into a pretty heavy Americana sound, incorporating blues and funk. I had dragged these pipes around for so long,‘or they had dragged me along for so long â€" I‘m not sure which, that when | discovered the song, I just let them go for a little while and concentrated on singing songs. After a year R&B. And for a second time, Coppins but his bagpipes on the Financial assistance available to eligible students m”mwuas}wpwne},styfistm ECC o en e en ie nar edxntovindisb(dting.cormamlygrwring industry Start your new career at , the pipes started to sneak back into (Continued on poqofie. H Iiiinttiimntith camsatclila d d a s a Ad dBo d cfhs o5 d id fi nnnnflflmmnnmeg \Z)VAO Apgardable Prices THE BOOKWORM Trooper, one of Canada‘s most successful touring bands, will play Lulu‘s Concert Club July 13. Lead by vocalist Ra McGuire and guitarists Brian "Smitty‘ Smith, Trooper is a band with a long history of infectious lyrics and catchy melodies, from We‘re Here For a Good Time and Raise a Little Hell to Boys in the Bright While Sports Car, American Dream and Drive Away. McGuire‘s instantly recognizable voice and the band‘s personal approach to writing lyrics filled with wit, irony, and idiosyncrasy are the hallmarks of Trooper‘s music, and the reason the band has sold more than 2 million records in Canada alone. Tickets for Trooper‘s concert at Lulu‘s are $6 in advance. Call Lulu‘s at 650â€"0000 for further ticket info. It‘s ‘Opening Night‘ at Drayton Festival Every Night through Aug. 10 will be Opening Night at the Draytort Festival Theatre during a run of a comâ€" edy by Canadian playwright Norm Foster. The madcap antics of Opening Night, which preâ€" viewed last night, begin as Jack and Ruth Tisdale celeâ€" brate their 25th wedding anniversary with an evening at the theatre. it‘s a dream come true for Ruth and an imposition for Jack who would rather be at home watching the World Series. However, after the events on and off the stage that fateful night, their lives and those of all involved are irreparably altered. Foster has created two wonderfully familiar characters, played here by JW. Carroll and Liz Gordon, and surrounded them with a bevy of colorful and eccentric players. The action, which includes a play within a play, explodes like a time bomb of hilarity. Opening Night is presented Tuesdays through Saturâ€" days at 8 p.m. with 2 p.m. matinees on Tuesdays, Thursâ€" days and Saturdays. For tickets information, call the Drayton Festival Theatre box office at 519â€"638â€"5555. Trooper performs at Lulu‘s Set in an oversized junkâ€" yard where everything is four times normal size, the _ +/2$, ( yG° musical presents a tribe of . 3( @4 C cats as they gather at the an // Tro" full moon for the annual Jelâ€" e lice Ball. TD i Cats will be at The Centre [JJJ[Y in the Square Sept. 6 at 8 p.m., Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sept. 8 at 2 p.m and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $45, $55, and $65, and are available at The Centre box office, 578â€"1570. Andrew Lioyd Webber‘s smash hit musical Cats _ Thing That Lo pounces back to Kitchener this fall for five perfor. _ Die is the rock mances at The Centre in the Square. E Dumber. Tickets went on sale Monday for the musical based _ it‘s more the on T.S. Eliot‘s collection of poems entitled Old Possum‘s . cowniteriprod Book of Practical Cats. The winner of seven Tony _ Twain. Bankrug Awards has visited The Centre in the Square four times m previously and has virtually sold out each time. f Cats comes back to Kâ€"W 65 University Ave. E. Waterloo betwmmmdww_u ‘the butt eb uds (an 66 n + +7 HErmnINE! g 842 Victoria St. Instead, he‘s j to arrested even hit the From its 18 THI