[Dixielandjazz] FW: dangerous bones!

[Kurt]

My band plays all of the Friday, Saturday and holiday Iowa Cubs baseball
games.  The I-Cubs are one step below the Chicago Cubs and it is great to
see the big leaguers up close and personal as they pass through Des Moines
on their way up and down.  Tickets (Sec Taylor v. Wrigley) are a lot less
for the fans too.

Anyway, early last summer we were playing our usual "dixieland get the crowd
in a good mood" music when about six kids ages 3 to about 7 started having a
really fun time dancing to the music.  At the time I wasn't sure where the
parents were, but eventually saw one mom standing about 20 feet away
watching the activity.

During a trombone solo (sometimes he plays with his eyes shut, so he didn't
see what was coming) on one of the songs, the kids were really working
themselves into a frenzy and having a ball.  This was great until one of
them (I think the little darling was about five) ran up to the front line
and raised his right arm above his head and lowered it on the trombone
slide, knocking it out of the player's hand and scaring the hell out of him.
If the kid's blow had been at any other angle, my trombone player (who makes
his living teaching music as a PhD at a local college) would have cut his
lip and probably lost a tooth or two.

What happened next was pretty ugly and involved alot of yelling.  Of course
the kids' parents accepted absolutely no responsibility for his actions.  In
fact the kid's dad said, we were just a bunch of musicians that should be in
a cage.  The rest is too ugly to go into here.

After that incident, we established a kind of "homeland security alert
system" for whenever kids approached the band while we are playing.  Level
Yellow is when they are within 10 feet.  Level Red is when they are within
five feet.  I actually yell out the level to the front line when danger is
present.  We make a joke of it now, but at the time it could have been
devastating.

-----Original Message-----
From: dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com
[mailto:dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com]On Behalf Of James
Kashishian
Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2004 10:30 AM
To: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] FW: dangerous bones!



Dave Hanson recently sent me the often seen post about the dangers of
sitting in front of a trombonist.  I answered him with.......

Dave, apparently that story has been on the internet for quite some
time, and is a hoax.

I went on to say:

 I did hit a lady once.....at the Rouge Et Noir in Seal Beach, CA.....in
my youth.  I hit her right in the throat as she walked in front of my
slide.  She fell to the floor gagging with a collapsed windpipe, and an
ambulance actually had to come and take her away!   That would have been
in 1959....with the South Frisco.

I am very aware of where my slide is now, and can come very close to
approaching crowds, but never hit them.  They might get a bit of spray
for a leaky spit valve, but that's just part of the joy of listening to
Jazz.........:>
Jim

Then, Dave wrote back with an even better story, which you all might
enjoy reading:

James,

I thought it might be a hoax, but that's why I sent it to you guys. I've
never hit anyone but  had the slide yanked off buy a drunk and he
flipped it across a club. I rushed to Giardenelli's the next morning to
get the slide fixed while I waited. That night the same guy came back in
and caught me again. The waiters took him outside the place and beat the
crap out of him, so I found out later. The club owner bought me a new
horn, that was the amazing part !

Regards, Dave Hanson

Has anyone else got some good "slide stories"?

Jim



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