[Dixielandjazz] Germs in instruments

[Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis]

When I was in the AF we were in the giant extravaganza that Ross Perot threw 
in Dallas.  There was 11 bands from various countries and a massive ticker 
tape parade.  I kid you not it was almost knee deep.  The zilions of bits of 
paper falling seemed to find a place in the sousaphones and kids were 
picking it up in large handfuls and throwing it at the sousaphone bells. 
After we got back the players cleaned about a 5 gallon bucket of stuff out 
of their horns.  Believe it or not several years later paper bits were still 
coming out of those things.

It was an incredible show that I will never forget.  They combined two AF 
bands together and the sheer power of that band was something else as we 
marched downtown.  There was never so many Medal of Honor winners in one 
spot as then.
Larry
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Haesler" <bhaesler at bigpond.net.au>
To: "Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis" <larrys.bands at charter.net>; 
"Steve & Cathy Pendleton" <bestofbreed at alltel.net>; "dixieland jazz mail 
list" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 5:06 PM
Subject: Re: Germs in instruments


> >Tubas usually won't fit in the microwave however Drano works.<
>
> Dear Larry,
> Years ago, here in Sydney, Oz, a band mate decided it was time he cleaned
> out his tuba, so he filled the bath with hot soapy water and soaked it for
> an hour.
> Apart from dirt and gunk, a mouldy old school tie floated out!
> Probably surreptitiously dropped into the bell by one of our pub audience,
> sometime during the life of the band.
> An occupational hazard for tuba players.
> Our band's clarinet player [before Jack Wiard], the late Rod Lawlis, once
> had difficulty blowing his clarinet and asked local mate, clarinettist 
> John
> McCarthy to look at it for him.
> John knew that Rod, rarely, if ever, 'pulled through' his clarinet.
> After sterilising the instrument in hot water and Dettol, John found that
> the bore was restricted with detritus by about 25%, and many of the 
> keyholes
> were almost completely filled with grunge.
> Yuk!
> That clarinet could have walked on and off the band stage by itself!
> Regards,
> Bill.
> PS: When he died, Rod left that fine Selmer clarinet to John McC.
>