Klarinet Archive - Posting 000316.txt from 1996/08

From: "Joie Canada , Jcanada713@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: community bands
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 08:51:32 -0400

Dear Carrie,

We've had the same problem and we have been in the business for years! And
we play for all sorts of events, not just dances. Even the mayor has
mis-announced us. Our best bet has come from hard work--but fun work if you
divvy up the responsibility. For instance, I make posters--nice computer
graphics with pictures in black and white and our name in nice BIG letters
and the dates and times of concerts. Someone else xeroxes them so each band
member can have three copies or more and each person posts their three around
the community so that all during the playing season we have posters up
showing who we are and where we will be next. Also, we give a copy of the
poster to every radio and tv station in the area and ask them to put us on
their on-the-air community bulletin board. This goes for the local paper too.
We are preparing a banner--one of those nice fabric ones-- to put up at
concerts--we have a paper one that we can put on the bottom edge of the truck
or stage when we play but it needs to be re-printed about every other concert
since it gets windblown and tacky looking. A painted sandwich board stand-up
would work too, or an easel stand with showcards for each piece like Sousa
used (especially if you have a Vanna White or Chippendale type to prance up
and change the showcard for each piece!) Community bands are folk groups, of
a sort, and any funky publicity you can give yourselves will help make folks
remember who you are and what you do. The key is using the talents of your
members and their friends and families to do showmanship, not just play
music. The "floozie ladies" might really perk up if a Chippendale pranced up
with program cards! The band can also use (if there is a mike) verbal
announcements. I do the ones for our German Band including Why We Do NOT
Wear Lederhosen and The Origin of the Polka. These little explanations do a
lot to get the audience to notice the band and loosen people up so even
stiff-hipped Mid-Westerners might try to dance a little. Just setting up
there playing is daunting to some people in some parts of the country and
they feel shy in the presence of "entertainers" and unable to connect with
them. Too much canned professionalism, I suspect. The air is pretty
rarified in the recording industry, especially the audio and visual stuff and
people feel like there is no connection between their ordinary lives and the
"special" lives of professional players, Some of them even feel like the
musicians might be distracted if people tried to connect with them.
Children's concerts with symphonies (the kind where they get a bunch of
little kids to bang on things in time with Washington Post or the like) help
break the ice. Brainstorm with your band--see what everyone thinks might
work for you. If nothing else, you will have fun. We have a guy who does
lighting and one who has provided folders (bright red) Don't do the same
thing every time. People these days live with tv and its bouncy visual and
audio variety and its hard for most to connect with well dressed (or at any
rate, uniformly dressed) folks sitting up on a stage making instrumental
music without eye contact and interaction with them. We play, they listen
(or dance) and everybody goes their separate ways. If we can connect with
each other as people we might be remembered more. Best of Luck!

Joie