The Bagpipe Incident on Which I Thought We Had Agreed Not to Dwell

This podcast episode recounts the speaker's experience as student director of the UC Berkeley Cal Band at the 1984 Bay to Breakers race. The main event involved a planned performance with a bagpiper at the race's conclusion, where the band would join the piper for the second verse of "Amazing Grace." However, the piper played in the key of D, while the band was prepared for B-flat, creating an unexpected on-stage challenge. The speaker chose to have the band continue playing despite the key mismatch, resulting in a humorous and chaotic finale. The episode highlights the unexpected problems that can arise in live musical performances and the speaker's quick thinking under pressure.