Ballarat boys bang the drum abroad

A FATHER-son snare-playing duo have been hitting the skins together as part of the world’s largest festival celebrating Celtic and traditional folk music.

Ballarat’s Tim and Spencer Bodey were two of the City of Melbourne Highland Pipe Band’s 42 players performing in France for the 10-day Festival Interceltique de Lorient earlier this month.

The trip was both Bodeys’ first-time taking part in the event and Tim said it was a momentous occasion to perform beside his son.

“It was very humbling to be given the opportunity to play alongside my son,” he said. “Obviously it’s an experience for him but for the both of us to do it together is very special.

“Every day we performed. The highlight for us was probably the grand march which is a two-and-a-half kilometre through the city with a swarm of people watching. We felt like rockstars.”

Both at the troupe’s highest rank of grade three, Tim managed the drum corps’ 14 percussionists, which included eight snares, five tenors, and one bass drum, with his son serving as a senior player.

The pair were joined by fellow Ballarat drummer Stephen Matthews.

In preparing for the event, the Bodeys learned about 25 pieces with the City of Melbourne Highland Pipe Band, a group they joined about 12 months ago.

Between practicing the songs together at home and driving to rehearsals in Melbourne roughly three nights a week, they also took part in events like the Portarlington Folk Festival to lead into the overseas trip.

With his 35 years of playing compared to his son’s roughly a decade of experience, Tim said the festival experience will likely have an inspirational impact on Spencer.

“It’s the opportunity for him to look at so many variations of drumming and to see other musicians and the different cultures and how they interact through music,” he said.

“I think that’s blown his mind to see it’s not a few people on the sidelines watching but a whole festival.

“My 10-year-old daughter has just started her career in pipe band drumming as well starting with the Ballarat Grammar Pipe Band only recently.”

The City of Melbourne Highland Pipe Band’s drum contingent saw the event off with a top-place win in the festival’s drumming competition.