The first time I ever had a krispy kreme donut was on my way to a Rebirth Brass Band show. I had three of them because they were good. I was with a chaperone. This chaperone was aware of my legendary appetite. After the krispy kremes we went for some pizza.
With my reputation in mind our chaperone, of her own volition, ordered two whole pizzas for, get this, three of us. I couldn’t finish my second slice. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so humiliated in a dining environment. Lesson learned? Krispy kreme donuts expand in the stomach.
On the way to the show we dropped off most of an entire pie with a homeless man. On the way back from the show we saw the pie abandoned and untouched. That was a bit sad, but in between we heard great music.
This one time at a Rebirth Brass Band show I saw a man named Derrick “Khabuki” Shezbie smoke while playing his trumpet. It’s a rare day indeed that I’m an advocate of smoking, but in this particular case… spectacular!
Earlier in the day the band had done an impromptu mini second line right through Times Square… spectacular! In between those spectacular moments certain members of the band got lost on their way to the venue they were to play at that night in lower Manhattan. I ran into them wandering the streets and helped them find where they were going. They invited me into the musician’s lounge before the show began. I was stunned.
You have to understand that at the time I was about 18 years old and an avid trombone player myself. These men were larger than life to me. I didn’t quite know what was going on other than that I was in the same room as them, I couldn’t speak, and they were offering me beer… in hindsight, spectacular!
Back in high school, my friend and I wanted to start a Rebirth Brass Band tribute band. We called it the ShakyBootyBeat. Unfortunately, we never got very far with the band because we lacked the appropriate instrumentation. Specifically we never found a sousaphone player, let alone a sousaphone player worthy of filling the shoes of “Big Tuba Phil.” If only I knew “Big Meg” back then.
Since we didn’t have an entire band we worked on what we could, meaning we worked on the names of albums yet to be produced. My personal favorite is “Santa’s Got the Funks.”
At the time we came up with the title my friend and I were working as caddies at a local golf club. One of our peers was a laid-back-heavy-set-bearded-middle-aged-black man named Harvey. Another co-worker was a much smaller heavy-set fellow people called “Roger the Dodger.”
For our album cover, we envisioned Harvey wearing a Santa suit and sipping a lemonade while lounging on an inflatable raft as he floated on the pond between the fourth tee and green. Roger would be standing in front of the pond, wearing those curly little elf shoes, a green leotard, and an appropriately elfish cap. He would be sipping a cocktail while casually leaning on a seven wood.
Santa’s Got the Funks.
Next week the Rebirth Brass Band of New Orleans, LA comes to Pittsburgh for the first time in quite a few years. A momentous occasion to say the least. Those of you in the Pittsburgh area should visit MCG Jazz or rebirthbrassband.com for more details.
They are a spectacular live act to catch. To celebrate their arrival we will be recounting our favorite Rebirth Brass Band memories for the rest of the week rather than talking tube steaks.
Wednesday=Santa’s Got the Funks
Thursday=The Red Room or Times Square and the Smoking Trumpet
Friday=The Krispy Kreme Virgin
Stay tuned for details!
