About The Bay: Local Bagpipe Player Draws A Crowd Wherever He Plays

REDWOOD CITY (KCBS) - The talents of one Bay Area musician are much in demand for a number of events - including funerals and cultural gatherings.

It's lunchtime and Brian Molver, District Coordinator of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services, isn't relaxing at a restaurant or snacking on a sandwich.

"We're at the Mission Cemetery in Santa Clara. We're at the old mausoleum," Molver said. "This is where I come to practice my bagpipe."

If Molver isn't at the cemetery, he's at a parking lot or parking structure.

"Open, not populated. I often draw a crowd," he said. "When I play, people will come up and park or come up and stand and they want to talk about it after."

There are two types of people in the world - people who like bagpipes and those who hate them.

"Folks listening to it either ask me to stop or request tunes," Molver said. And the most popular request? "Amazing Grace, Amazing Grace" he said.

Molver started playing because his dad did. And he loves to play. The only issue with the instrument – it's always set at 10. "There's no volume control on the bagpipe," he said. So you're sentenced to practice in large open spaces – like parking lots and cemeteries.

"It's peaceful and the old mausoleum offers an excellent acoustic for feedback to my sound," he said.

Tell Brian Molver he's a blowhard and drones on, he won't mind. It's the life of a bagpipe player, along with spending lonely hours in cemeteries and parking lots.

You can hear Mike Sugerman's About the Bay reports on Mondays at 6:40am, 7:40am and 8:40am on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.

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