Maybe political but that's on you - Marine Band yesterday

[steambent]

Now we are walking on the edge of this become political.

 

[RIDDIM]

The US Military bands are one of the best kept secrets on the planet. US Coast Guard, Airmen of Note, US Army Band, US Navy Band, USNA, US MD&BC, US Army Field Band, Old Guard Fife and Drum Corp. All of these are comprised of incredible musicians and you should take the time to listen, or better yet, see them live. Used to be their recordings were only available to educational institutions, and this is probably still true, but they can be found. I have many vinyl LP's from the 60's-70's of the military bands and they are all excellent. These folks are dedicated to their instruments and music, not fame and stardom. I had the extraordinary opportunity to work with Gary Malvaso back in the 80's, Chief Musician and guitarist with the US Navy Band, an absolutely incredible guitar player.

- The DC area military bands - world class.

 

[drummer5359]

My job took me to the White house on Veteran's Day several years in a row. I got to hear the Marine Corp Band play each time, a few times on the south lawn of the White House, once playing on a White House balcony, and once playing at a parade event at a hall in New York City.

 

[Ghostin one]

- The DC area military bands - world class.

I grew up in that area. My drum teacher used to take some of his students to the Jefferson memorial concerts in the summer. It was spectacular with the setting sun and the scenery, and usually the navy concert band, sometimes with guests or other armed forces musical groups. Looking back now, I can't imagine where people had to park!?

One time a tuba player did a solo of the Cannon tv show theme. I thought he was going to have a heart attack.

Another thing about DC - there were some crazy bands out there - Rootboy Slim, etc. He might have an outrageous costume (multiple capes, removed one at a time to reveal a a 7-11 uniform, for example) but the horn players looked like straight-arrows. They were often hired for the occasion from the marines.

 

[RIDDIM]

I grew up in that area. My drum teacher used to take some of his students to the Jefferson memorial concerts in the summer. It was spectacular with the setting sun and the scenery, and usually the navy concert band, sometimes with guests or other armed forces musical groups. Looking back now, I can't imagine where people had to park!?

One time a tuba player did a solo of the Cannon tv show theme. I thought he was going to have a heart attack.

Another thing about DC - there were some crazy bands out there - Rootboy Slim, etc. He might have an outrageous costume (multiple capes, removed one at a time to reveal a 7-11 uniform, for example) but the horn players looked like straight-arrows. They were often hired for the occasion from the marines.

- Musical standards here are pretty high. Part of that is due to these guys being available for local gigs, teaching in local colleges, or retiring and staying nearby. That raises the bar for all of us, which is a good thing.

 

[CSR]

The Air Force Academy Band is holding auditions for percussion/drum set July 12-16. You would start at E-6 with full military benefits, 30 days paid vacation, and GI Bill for college. There is a four year minimum enlistment with basic training required. You must also be under 39 years of age. If you’re interested in more info, go to music.af.mil/careers

 

[cworrick]

Adam Neely. Fantastic as always.

For those that don't want to sit through a 15 minute video:

 

[m_anderson]

 

[Pat A Flafla]

In high school, I thought my buzz rolls were good enough. I mean, I was first chair, getting all the good parts in band. Then The President's Own came through town and I heard what buzz rolls are supposed to sound like. And his sounded that good TRADITIONAL. I figured if he could do it trad, I could do it matched if I worked hard enough at it. I think 12-15 years later mine were in that same ballpark. They stayed that way for a while, but when the rock gigs came rolling in my left hand finesse took a small hit. Also, I stopped practicing my Rimsky-Korsakov excerpts every day. It was bound to happen.

Anyhoo, The President's Own pointed me to a valuable long term technique pursuit.

 

[cruddola]

I know little about the Air Force, Army or Coast Guard bands as I've only experienced the Marine and Navy Bands. I will assume every one of them are top-tiered musicians. They can Rock and Roll with the best of the best musicians on the planet. Steve Gadd was Army. I've witnessed guitarists that'd make Eric Clapton look like a wreck. Singers that'd make Barbara Streisand sound like a pissed-off goat. and make Mariah Carey's best sound like a fart. My understanding is they have to audition for the gig. And boy do these guys travel good! I was stationed with a prior Army Band vocalist /pianist in the Navy's Medical Corps. Andy was a Cuban immigrant who carried almost four octaves flat out pitch perfect. Guy could sight-read in a nanosecond. Sing Opera to Zeppelin, he had it all. Never a second of formal musical education as it was already in his blood. Probably the best overall musician I've ever witnessed. His strength was Classical and equally Motown. He knew over a thousand songs by heart including Perry Como and Rogers & Hammerstein. He could put them on paper in minutes. In a single song one would hear Minnie Ripperton, Tom Jones, Dolly Parton, James Brown, Tina Turner, Elton John, David Lee Roth and Barry White. Close your eyes and you'd swear that they all showed up on the stage to sing Get Ready. He was vicious on the congas, bongos and djembe. He was that good! The hospital base had their band in which I got volunteered to play drums. 14 members and Andy killed it as our singer! With his musical genius, arrangements and leadership we were chosen to open and close the Kool Jazz Festival of Tidewater, VA. We played Carnegie, Apollo, Shea Stadium, Cow Palace and Kennedy. Here's the kicker, Andy was passed over on his first two auditions. Just made it on his third audition. Give him a piano chart and he'd have all the member's transcribed in an hour with the best penmanship I've ever seen put on paper. Including the drum charts. Hard to believe there were others judged to be better than Andy. His greatest was Malaguena composed as a metal piece. Took our guitarist a week to get it right. Goes to show how good a musician has to be to get accepted. Andy and I got sent to Field Medical School and off to war. Sadly he wasn't able to come back.

 

[drumnhands]

After high school I enlisted in the Navy. My recruiters didn't know how to get someone into the band, so I enlisted as a Gunners Mate with plans to go to SEAL school. My master plan was when I got to boot camp I requested an audition for the band, and if I didn't get in I would have a guaranteed school for something I was interested in. After seven weeks I was granted an audition. It was a pretty tough audition, about four hours all together. Rudiments, sight reading, playing with a combo, trading fours with one of the drummers. I was accepted and I had to agree that if conflict broke out that I would revert back to GM, it being a more critical rate. After boot camp, I studied for six months at the Armed Force School of Music in Norfolk VA. I went to school with musicians in the Army and Marines. There were so many great players there from all over the country. We also had visits from several of the DC bands and they were mind blowing. It was challenging, but so much fun. The kicker was that if you flunked out, you were still in the Navy and you got sent out to be a deck ape on a ship. After school I was stationed with the Navy Band on Treasure Island in San Francisco. I played with some amazing musicians, just about every style of music, and toured all over the country. Of note was a keyboard player that would sight read transcriptions of Chic Corea solos while working out the daily chess problem from The Chronicle, on a little magnetic chess board he kept on his rig. He was one of those "one brown sock, one blue sock" geniuses. Goes to show how one little event will change the course of your life. Had I not cut the audition and went on to be a SEAL sniper, imagine how much different my life would be today.

 

[cruddola]

After high school I enlisted in the Navy. My recruiters didn't know how to get someone into the band, so I enlisted as a Gunners Mate with plans to go to SEAL school. My master plan was when I got to boot camp I requested an audition for the band, and if I didn't get in I would have a guaranteed school for something I was interested in. After seven weeks I was granted an audition. It was a pretty tough audition, about four hours all together. Rudiments, sight reading, playing with a combo, trading fours with one of the drummers. I was accepted and I had to agree that if conflict broke out that I would revert back to GM, it being a more critical rate. After boot camp, I studied for six months at the Armed Force School of Music in Norfolk VA. I went to school with musicians in the Army and Marines. There were so many great players there from all over the country. We also had visits from several of the DC bands and they were mind blowing. It was challenging, but so much fun. The kicker was that if you flunked out, you were still in the Navy and you got sent out to be a deck ape on a ship. After school I was stationed with the Navy Band on Treasure Island in San Francisco. I played with some amazing musicians, just about every style of music, and toured all over the country. Of note was a keyboard player that would sight read transcriptions of Chic Corea solos while working out the daily chess problem from The Chronicle, on a little magnetic chess board he kept on his rig. He was one of those "one brown sock, one blue sock" geniuses. Goes to show how one little event will change the course of your life. Had I not cut the audition and went on to be a SEAL sniper, imagine how much different my life would be today.

Dude! I used to hang out at Norfolk State's music program when off at Portsmouth or Dam Neck sick call. Sat in on as many classes as possible. One had to be a matriculated student to sit in wearing civvies. Wore my Crackers and I was in. No questions. Free Real-world education. As you well know NS is almost an all-Black institute. The only non-Blacks then were art and music students. There were a ton of Eastman, Berklee, Julliard, Rice, Yale and Manhattan refugees there. If you weren't a mainstream music person you were at Norfolk State. None of the other major music schools had Country, Rock, World Ethnic & Cultural-centered music programs like Norfolk State then. Only a musical outlaw would ever think to abandon Julliard, Eastman and Berklee to attend Norfolk State's music program then. I used to go to as many clinics as possible regardless of genre. Military ID and wearing Cracker-Jacks was worth a ton of gold then. In fact, I was there to experience a third Stanley Clarke clinic. Lenny White, Al DiMeola and Chick Corea joined to have a Return To Forever clinic and reunion as special guests. They had decided right there to go on a limited tour! Their first reunion concert was the next night at Norfolk State. Virtually all STAX, Motown, Decca/RCA, and GRP artists gave clinics there. I'm proud to have been a part of that scene. Them were educations no music school could ever dream of teaching. Unlike the vast majority of pinnacled music schools, Norfolk State's music and art educators had massive practical professional experience as a pre-requisite to teach. Glad you missed out grinding off rust and repainting while under way!

 

[studrum]

Dude! I used to hang out at Norfolk State's music program when off at Portsmouth or Dam Neck sick call. Sat in on as many classes as possible. One had to be a matriculated student to sit in wearing civvies. Wore my Crackers and I was in. No questions. Free Real-world education. As you well know NS is almost an all-Black institute. The only non-Blacks then were art and music students. There were a ton of Eastman, Berklee, Julliard, Rice, Yale and Manhattan refugees there. If you weren't a mainstream music person you were at Norfolk State. None of the other major music schools had Country, Rock, World Ethnic & Cultural-centered music programs like Norfolk State then. Only a musical outlaw would ever think to abandon Julliard, Eastman and Berklee to attend Norfolk State's music program then. I used to go to as many clinics as possible regardless of genre. Military ID and wearing Cracker-Jacks was worth a ton of gold then. In fact, I was there to experience a third Stanley Clarke clinic. Lenny White, Al DiMeola and Chick Corea joined to have a Return To Forever clinic and reunion as special guests. They had decided right there to go on a limited tour! Their first reunion concert was the next night at Norfolk State. Virtually all STAX, Motown, Decca/RCA, and GRP artists gave clinics there. I'm proud to have been a part of that scene. Them were educations no music school could ever dream of teaching. Unlike the vast majority of pinnacled music schools, Norfolk State's music and art educators had massive practical professional experience as a pre-requisite to teach. Glad you missed out grinding off rust and repainting while under way!

This is a cool story!

 

[multijd]

The Air Force Academy Band is holding auditions for percussion/drum set July 12-16. You would start at E-6 with full military benefits, 30 days paid vacation, and GI Bill for college. There is a four year minimum enlistment with basic training required. You must also be under 39 years of age. If you’re interested in more info, go to music.af.mil/careers

Where did you see the audition announcement? I cant find it.