"Juggling the instruments of his trade" Kirsty Macnicol The Southland Times July 04, 2000 Invercargill musician Brad MacClure will juggle three different instruments when he makes his Pipin' Hot debut later this month. The City of Invercargill Caledonian Pipe Band's annual Celtic rock production opens at Invercargill's Civic Theatre on July 19 for a seven-show season.

MacClure will play in all but one act, jumping between keyboard, acoustic guitar and mandolin_sometimes all within the one tune.

His prefessional training consists of one year at Central Southland College after-school music classes as a 12-year-old and he is now something of a jack-of-all-trades.

"I think I'm a guitarist who plays piano and keyboards. Mandolin is just a recent thing."

A qualified piano tuner, MacClure owns a music shop in Invercargill. He has previously been an itinerant music teacher.

He plays in four bands.

Secret Weapon is a covers band playing rock and roll; Little Green Men is a two-piece playing Irish pub songs, "good for rugby dos"; Reelfolk is a barn dance band that "only comes out once or twice or three times a year, but it's a good band"; and Weasel in the Dyke is a five-piece ascoustic "Celtic-folky, jigs and reels and a few songs in there type band."

Playing The Pogues-style Irish pub songs with his sons James and Leon kicked off his interest in Celtic music five years ago.

"They went on to more mature music and I stayed where I was," he joked.

Pipin' Hot had given him the chance to play the style of music he enjoyed_tunes by Celtic groups such as Capercallie, Wolfstone and Runrig.

He said he had hoped to play in Pipin' Hot for some time and was enjoying the lead-up_even if it meant long rehearsals.

"It's really, really tiring but it's starting to come together nicely," he said.