[Dixielandjazz] If you play it - they will come

[Steve Barbone]

>From the Asheville NC newspaper. Here's a Dixieland Band "exploding onto the
Asheville music scene in the fall of 2003." And the kids there love it.
Don't look now, but similar success stories are occurring in other areas of
USA, even on the Left Coast. Kids love Dixieland? Kids playing Dixieland?
What's this country coming to?

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


Jump and jive with the Firecracker Jazz Band

by Mary Snow, Take5 Correspondent December 22, 2006 12:15 am

Asheville¹s Firecracker Jazz Band will have you jumping and jiving to the
sounds of the Roaring ¹20s. The mix of high-energy beats and jubilant
rhythms creates an all-night dance party for crowds.
 
³When you see people who are charged up in your performance, it energizes
you as a musician,² says Earl Sachais, songwriter and trombone player. The
band will release its new CD ³The Firecrackers Explode² with a Friday night
show at the Grey Eagle.
 
We asked trumpeter Jerome Widenhouse, trumpet and cornet player and Sachais
about where the Firecrackers have been, and where they¹re going.

Question: How has the band changed since exploding onto the Asheville music
scene in the fall of 2003?

Answer: (Sachais) We have diversified and expanded the music of various
artists from the ¹20s, ¹30s and ¹40s era. Originally, we were playing mostly
standard Dixieland tunes, and then we started expanding into various artists
like Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong and other musicians of that era. We
have also had two performers change since we started, but thatŒs just
because they moved.

Q: What time period is your music influenced by?

A: (Widenhouse) Our music dates back to the early 20th century. Around the
turn of the century, you could only buy sheet music and set up a piano in
your house to play music. If you had music in the house, it didn¹t come from
a gramophone. Most people could not afford to buy one in 1907. There were no
jukeboxes, there was only a piano. Music from that period is the style of
music that we play.

Q: When you first started, did you think it would take off to such great
heights?

A: (Sachais) When we started playing at Tressa¹s, we were basically a pickup
band, and we really didn¹t rehearse. We just all got together and played
Dixieland tunes. After a few gigs at Tressa¹s we laid dormant for a few
months. Then four of the musicians started playing at (the now-closed)
Thibodaux Jones Creole restaurant. From there, we expanded the band from
four members to six.
 
Q: Whose idea was it to add a siren to the performances?

A: (Sachais) It¹s an old air-raid siren. We just started doing it as
something original and as a gimmick.
 
Q: How would you describe the band¹s chemistry?

A: (Sachais) I¹ve been playing for 50 years, and this is one of the best
bands I¹ve ever played with. We have two young members that bring a lot of
youthful energy to the performances. Henry Westmoreland, tuba player, is 22,
and Mike Gray, drummer, is 20. It¹s truly a thrill playing with these young
musicians because of their talent. It¹s really unusual for young people to
be able to play this kind of music. It¹s not the style of music that young
people are drawn to, and a lot of them donŒt know what Dixieland music is.

Q: Does it surprise you when you see so many young people at a show?

A: (Sachais) I can¹t get over the wide range of age groups that come to hear
us, and it¹s a thrill to be able to play with them. The young people are out
there creating a lot of energy while the old people are sitting in a chair
listening.
 
Q: Does your music control you, or do you control your music?

A: (Sachais) I think it¹s a little of both. If the music doesn¹t turn you
on, you don¹t naturally put yourself into the music. It¹s almost like you¹re
engulfed in the music. It¹s an emotional thing, it¹s hard to describe in
words what it¹s like to get emotionally involved in music.
 
Q: Who is the lady singer that joins you at some of your gigs?

A: (Sachais) We usually don¹t have a singer, but we¹ve been using Carolina
Pawns for a few gigs, and we plan on using her more as time goes on. She
also plays violin, so we are thinking of coordinating some violin music into
the performances.
 
Q: What¹s next?

A: (Sachais) We are looking to take it to another level. We would like to
try and expand our playing area. It would be wonderful if we could become
nationally known.