Summer…so there it was…Gone! And now it’s lips to the banding grindstone. Busy, busy, busy with back to back Open and Nationals. Did you bother to give your brass instrument an MOT over the summer? Did you spend any time at all with your expensive mechanical masterpiece? Did you even look at the case? Thought […]
If you have been playing for years you will have been next to many different players in the band room. Unless of course you are ‘Billy no mates’ on timp’s. It’s similar to sharing a hotel with a ‘roomie’ but for much longer. I have sat with some right weirdos in my time and have […]
Goodbye-eee! Goodbye-ee! Wipe the tear baby dear from your eye-ee What players say when they leave their band is not what they are actually thinking. It’s that really awkward conversation that we dread. Leaving is usually the result of being poached by another band or sometimes because you have had enough of the banding […]
Brass band discipline was summed up beautifully while recently interviewing the legendary James Scott he recalled a clock on the band room wall at Munn and Feltons. Under the clock was a plaque inscribed in large letters ‘Always on time, harmony sublime’. (listen to the podcast interview with James Scott Here here…) He also said […]
James Scott Recorded at James Scott’s home, Heswall on the Wirral, UK on 26th September 2018 Rob Nesbitt talks to James Scott about his long and fascinating career as a player, conductor and adjudicator that spans over seven decades – a truly remarkable achievement. From his early days listening to his fathers band at Besses […]
It always amazes me how much it costs to run a brass band and how little each player actually contributes in terms of membership fees. I can hear the creaking of raised eyebrows as I write! I was recently at the band AGM and the subject of band contributions came up. There was a proposal […]
Steve Stewart Recorded at the Cory bandroom July 2016 Nigel Seaman talks to Cory’s ace soprano Steve Stewart about a brass banding career that nearly didn’t begin with an almost disasterous first ‘audition’ in school. Thankfully he started on cornet at the age of six and has played soprano for most of his career with some […]
Owen Farr Recorded July 2016 at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff Owen Farr from Pontypool, South Wales is one of the leading exponents of the tenor horn. He has played in many of the UK’s top bands including Cory, Faireys and Tredegar. Owen has recently quit mainstream brass banding to focus […]
Jeffrey Curnow – Brass Musician and Cartoonist of Exceptional Talent I was delighted to find Jeffrey Curnow on Facebook as he is a fellow brass player, cartoonist and a wiz’ with graphics software. It was the cartooning that grabbed my attention as I haven’t seen many musicians who also publish cartoons. It was a no […]
Guestpost from John Barber – Courtesy of Brass Band World Magazine Whilst the musical rewards can undoubtedly be plentiful, playing in a brass band also takes time, effort, costs money, allows you the opportunity to dress in outsized uniforms, be occasionally disappointed by contest results and, if you’re unfortunate enough, get stuck regularly in an […]