Second-Last Brass Band Story
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382329)
Rockingham, Australia
March 1, 2017 7:26pm CST
Following on from a previous story about music changed forever by a particular circumstance, another story directly involves my husband Vince. We were living in Esperance on the south coast of Western Australia and had joined the brass band there.
These small towns were always short of players and often had beginners or players with little experience. So it was always a bit hairy playing a concert as the inexperienced ones were prone to get lost or fail to notice repeat marks.
On this occasion we were playing an arrangement of 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters' and it wasn't going well. Vince was playing bass and had a rhythmic but reasonably simple part to play so he was just keeping the beat going, playing his part but one by one other players kept getting lost and dropping out.
Once one stopped playing in a section the others lost confidence and stopped too. Eventually only Vince was left and the whole thing ground to a halt. Very embarrassing but another one to laugh about weeks later.
The photo is Vince and I and many have seen it before but I don't have a lot of band photos.
14 people like this
14 responses
@JudyEv (382329)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 Mar 17
We were able to laugh about it later but it wasn't so funny at the time. Glad you like the photo.
@allknowing (153529)
• India
2 Mar 17
That's a cute photo there.
Strange as it may sound - that which brings us despair we can talk about it and even see it as funny when time diffuses situations.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (382329)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 Mar 17
@allknowing @jstory07 That's very true. It was a difficult piece really. Once you got lost it was very hard to find where everyone was up to.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
2 Mar 17
Had a few concerts like that over the years, I would have been playing along with Vince myself.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
3 Mar 17
@JudyEv lol if everyone else dropped out, I'd just pick a spot and go then!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382329)
• Rockingham, Australia
4 Mar 17
@Jessicalynnt Love it! If you did that, probably even the band-master would stop conducting! 
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382329)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 Mar 17
Thanks. 
Can you see the card on the lyre holding the music? We all had a nice flash card with the name of the band on it. We used to paste march music onto cardboard so it wouldn't blow away in the wind and most people cut up cereal packets for the purpose. In the country band I'm talking about here one person pasted the music on the blank side so they marched up the street proclaiming to everyone that they ate Cornflakes. 
Can you see the card on the lyre holding the music? We all had a nice flash card with the name of the band on it. We used to paste march music onto cardboard so it wouldn't blow away in the wind and most people cut up cereal packets for the purpose. In the country band I'm talking about here one person pasted the music on the blank side so they marched up the street proclaiming to everyone that they ate Cornflakes. 1 person likes this
@Happy2BeMe (99353)
• Canada
2 Mar 17
What a great photo of you two. Sounds like things fell apart rather quickly. I am sure it was embarrassing at the time even though you can laugh about it now.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (382329)
• Rockingham, Australia
4 Mar 17
@amandajay I kept my hair permed for years but it is very straight naturally.
1 person likes this
@amandajay (23262)
• New Zealand
4 Mar 17
@JudyEv hehe.. But you still look the same.. Only hair style is differs
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
2 Mar 17
I love your photo. Is that a French horn? I can only see half of it. I used to play the baritone horn in a marching band until I was in high school.
@Tampa_girl7 (54716)
• United States
2 Mar 17
I think it is my first time seeing the photo. I don't recall it.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382329)
• Rockingham, Australia
3 Mar 17
That's good. I don't like using the same ones too often - except for Herc - but I like them to relate to the text if possible.
- but I like them to relate to the text if possible.
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
2 Mar 17
Great photo! So Vince did a solo performance!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382329)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 Mar 17
Thanks. Yes he did! He was the only one to soldier on to the end. He's always been quite proud of that.
He's always been quite proud of that.
@JudyEv (382329)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 Mar 17
The country brass bands really struggled - for members, instruments, everything. When we went to Perth and joined a 'proper' brass band we didn't know what had hit us. I think if they'd had a training band we'd have been demoted.
I think if they'd had a training band we'd have been demoted.