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AFTER playing alongside Madonna on her Re-Invention Tour, local lad Lorne Cousin has been tipped for fame with a new band which will see him illustrate his clear passion for the bagpipes which started under the tuition of the late Pipe Major Tony Wilson.
DRAM! comprises Lorne, Steve Sidelnyk, Ted Hutt and Sean Spuehler, has been together since they first performed in August last year in Shanghai, China and the band’s ambition is to produce quality music and to bring bagpipe music to a wider audience never before reached.
Lorne has been playing the bag pipes since he was six, influenced by his grandfather and the late Pipe Major Tony Wilson, and left his job as a property lawyer in Edinburgh to lead a life as a full time musician in Los Angeles.
Lorne lived and went to school in Campbeltown, and although he moved away to Edinburgh, his love for the bagpipes and traditional Scottish music has went with him.
When his father, who is the local vet, tended to Sir Paul McCartney’s cattle, Stella and Lorne became friends. Lorne was asked to play the pipes at Stella’s wedding on the Isle of Bute where he was spotted by Madonna who recruited him for her 2004 Re-Invention world tour.
As a result he has teamed up with some of Madonna’s musicians to produce DRAM!
Lorne said: ‘I feel privileged to be playing with such high profile people. Steve for example has played with artists like Madonna, The Style Council and Robbie Williams. It is therefore an honour that they wish to be involved in my project. I think however it is also a testament to the quality of the music we have produced that they are willing to put their names to it. I am very excited about it.’
Lorne’s life has been turned around in the space of a few years, and he has now become a full time musician, but he finds this as a challenge and said: ‘My life has changed in that I am no longer a property lawyer and am now a musician full time. This means that perhaps there is not the same element of job security but it is a challenge I enjoy. It is exciting to be working with musicians like Steve, Sean and Ted Hutt. Los Angeles is also a great place to live and the climate is great. I do miss home though and will be back throughout the year I’m sure.’
