[Dixielandjazz] Fwd: The Army Band gig

Mon May 1 20:54:03 PDT 2006

Those guys should have joined the AF.  The Army has a different philosophy 
about their musicians than the AF but if anyone joins any of the service 
bands looking for a soft job then they should look elsewhere.  A band tours 
with lots of stuff and someone has to load the trucks and set up and do a 
lot of things and play multiple concerts in a day although that isn't the 
rule but does happen.  I played a concert on a battleship deck once and we 
all thought we were going to fry.  While I was lucky and didn't end up in a 
combat zone the guys in my old outfit are posted to Iraq sometime this 
summer.  Then there is also a possibility that you might run into a nut case 
with a bomb.  I understand that happened to a British band.

The service bands are a job like any other but there are perks too such as 
educational grants and other things.  So far as marching goes - I got pretty 
tired of that but that's one thing that bands do is military ceremonies and 
parades.  While I thought at the time that these things were drags, now when 
I see a military band it makes me feel pretty good that I was a part of 
that.

The service bands aren't the same as anything else and young people 
shouldn't fool themselves that it's a cushy safe job but the rewards are 
great too.  I played a gig Friday night and the band was so incredibly good. 
The lead alto and tenor both are Active AF and many of the band members are 
retired AF bandsmen like me.  These guys are killer players.  The friends 
from the AF that I have made are lifelong and I will never regret it.  I 
play about a half dozen gigs each year with these guys and I'm looking 
forward to Memorial day to the next one.
Larry
St. Louis
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <tcashwigg at aol.com>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 12:04 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Fwd: The Army Band gig

Hi folks:

Thought some would be interested in reading this conversation between
two Army Band players,

don't shoot me,  I am just passing it on for amusement or abusement  as
the case may be individually.

Cheers,

Tom Wiggins   "who prefers strolling to marching"

      Go Army Reserve Band? A rebuttal
 Reply to: comm-156160330 at craigslist.org
  Date: 2006-04-30, 4:01PM PDT

 Conrad,

  As a former member of the band, I wish to bring to attention some
misleading information disseminated out of your post. I'll take this on
a point by point basis.

  CM- We meet one weekend a month in Dublin, CA on a reserve base
called Camp Parks RFTA.

  EW- Well, sure, outside of the extra duties, like funeral gigs,
performaces out side of drill dates, the opportunity to be called into
active duty. These all happen outside of your "one weekend a month"
rubric.

  CM- You can join the Army Reserve as a band member, and not be at
risk to go to war.

  EW- OK, now this is a blatant LIE. You CAN go to war a member of the
band, as many reserve and National Gaurd component soldiers will tell
you. I was mobilized as a part of Enduring Freedom and it sure as hell
felt like a war to me. Granted I wasn't over seas, but there were bands
that got sent, so saying you'll "not be at risk to go to war" is just
false.

  CM- Your job would be just to play music!

  EW- That is true, until the Chief of Staff decides that it's more
useful to post your ass on the front gate, pulling a meaningless gaurd
duty shift, with out any weapons and an afternoon of training, for
months at a time. Sure you can schedule a rehearsal for the evening,
just as long as your not to loud an inturrupt the meeting going down
the hall. Your "job" as understood is to be secondary security personel
first, muscians second

  CM- And the benefits are great...

  - $200 each weekend
  - an $8,000 sign-on bonus!
  - Get A New Instrument that you can keep!

  EW- OK- $200 bucks a weekend is a little more than I was getting, but
it sounds right. Your tax dollars at work people. The sign up bonus is
only is you press your recruiter for it and even then it's not a sure
fire thing.
  Now the "new instrument you can keep!" should read like this; "Get A
New Instrument that you can keep as long as you're in the Army!"

  CM-
  - If you go to college, the Army will
  - pay your tuition up to $4,500 per year, AND
  - repay a $10,000 student loan, AND
  - give you a $10,000 scholarship
  (paid in 34 monthly payments of $300 tax-free.)

  No Joke! I'm getting all of these benefits just for playing in a
band, and you can too.

  EW-Well, he isn't joking. This is one side of the equation I must
conceed. They hook you up if you're a student. But that begs the
question, if you're a student and interested in joining the military,
why not check out ROTC. They pay more, you become an officer, so you
get PAID MORE and these dipshits in the band have to salute your ASS!

  --------------------------------------------------------------
  CM-
  For more information, write me back or give me a call.

  I am NOT an Army Recruiter-- I just play in the band!

  EW-Conrad, dear Conrad, you ARE a recruiter. Just becasue you don't
wear the funny thing on your pocket or prey directly each and every day
on young people doesn't make you less of a recruiter. It's OK though,
you like the Army and are trying to do your part, but just don't
mislead the people with lies. I had your job in that very band and I
never lied. I only recruited a hnadful of people, but atleast they knew
what they were getting themselves into.

  --------------------------------------------------------------

  CM-We are accepting auditions for any of the following instruments:

  - Baritone or Euphonium,
  - Bagpipes,
  - Bassoon,
  - Clarinet,
  - French Horn,
  - Oboe,
  - Percussion,
  - Saxophone,
  - String Bass,
  - Trombone,
  - Trumpet (1st chair only),
  EW- HA, that was MY chair! Still haven't replaced ME yet huh SUCKAS!
Ok, sorry, that's just not nice...
  - Tuba

  CM-
  On a typical workday, we may:

  --entertain an audience by playing military marches for soldiers
during a military ceremony;
  EW- Tedious and bagpipes can't play in tune to save their lives

  --put together a small jazz combo to add some background music to a
General’s retirement dinner.
  EW- Play horribly dated music, but with a good group a guys. OK, I
used to do these all the time and they suck, but they're the best gig
they have... A bunch of old white men hardly listening at all...

  --send a trumpet player to play taps and a bagpipe player to play
“Amazing Grace” at a military funeral
  EW- Yup, know this one well. My first and last gigs in the 91st were
for dead people. With things going the way they have been for the last
few years, this promises to be a very busy part of the band

  --play free concerts for the general public just to spread goodwill
and to represent the Army.
  EW- Actually, the power of the uniform over women made these events
almost bearable.

  --play the national anthem for the Raider’s, the A’s, the Giants or
another local event.
  EW- Never happed while I was in the band, but that was on 8 years, so
I'm sure they're due for their "once a decade" gig at a sporting event.
Oooo, mayby the NASCAR races, hey that's a sypathetic Army crowd...

  --We give performances and march in parades every Independence Day,
Veteran's Day, and Memorial Day.
  EW- Good point. All of those holidays your friends, family and
coworkers all have off and are left free to party, BBQ or just sit
around and be lazy can be kissed off. Instead you can look forward to
getting up at an unholy hour, showing up in uncomfortable clothes,
sitting around for about an hour or so until it's time to get the
bus/vans loaded, being rushed to eat crappy (but free) food, march up
an down the street for people who do generally appreciate your efforts,
but would rather have a tax break if it meant shutting the band down.
So ask yourself, if marching in the morning of July 4th and then an
evening concert that same day, getting home well after midnight, is
your cup of tea, then enjoy.

  CM-As you can see, the band is a very important part of representing
the Army.
  We are needed here at home, not overseas.

  EW-That's right, bagpipes don't handle the heat well, so Iraq would
really be out of the question for the guys in kilts...

  EW- In case this gets back to the band, I understand that you all are
up in numbers, which I must say I'm very proud of you guys. I still
love a bunch of you, but I'm pretty sure this is illeagal. Unless there
have been some policy changes, this kind of advertising was not allowed
under the rules that governed my recruitment efforts. I don't want to
see you guys get in trouble, so maybe a Group Leader can have
Counseling Session with the young SGT, God knows I had my fair share!

  VERDUKIE FOREVER!!!!

  EW

  this is in or around Camp Parks, RFTA

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