The bee. (Earlington, Ky.) 1889-19??, 1908-06-18
tn ( EXTRA
STOUT MAN
10 TelIa Why Brass Bands Have
q Peculiar Interest for Him.

NO" said the extra stout man, II
never exactly played in q brass band.
but I came pretty near It once when
Joined a band that was forming In
the small town that lived In then IN
the west.
I'VE had a band leader out once a
week from our nearest big city, nifty
odd miles away, TO try US out and get
US started, and he put me on the bass
drum.
and on that made good could
pound as well as anybody and could
pound in time. and light and heavy. ac-
cording to the music. II was a great
delight to me to practice with the
band, to be of II and do my share, for
I'd always wanted to belong to q
band.
And, my. how we workedl And we
made Roadway, too. Got so you could
tell what we were playing. and then
the professor said he was going to-
get US out and give us q little march.
ing practice. -.----.
What we we're going to do was to
march down the road a piece and be
reviewed by the professor, who was
going to criticise us here for forma-
ton and marching aa well as for
music, and with that great RESPONSE,
bility on us and all anxious we ala
certainly make pretty weird work OF
1t when we started OF, but we pulled
ourselves together and when we came
to where the professor was sitting
on top Of a fence We were proud OF
ourselves anyway, and 90 we marched
past, with the professor scanning each
man closely and as near as we could
tell in the moonlight he was much
pleased, and when came along, slam
ming away the best / knew how. he
pretty nearly fell on the fence, aud
so I thought had made the biggest
hit with him OF all. -.
"And then we countermarched and
marched past him again aud so back
to our practice room, the professor
coming with US this time. and when
we'd got back there he told us that
we'd done ourselves and him proud;
that we were making great progress
and that he Thought now we could
safely enter the county band tourna-'
ment that was to be held in the fall.
"And were we pleased? Well! And
the professor called me off to one side
and l thought he was going to give
me some especial praise that he didn't
want the rest to hear, but"
you will note If you look at me
that l am man of somewhat portly
construction, and | was even more so
then. Yes, I know that is contrary
to the usual way; we are likely to be
portliest in our maturer years, but 1
was so then when / was young; in
fact, in those days my own corporosity
Appropriated bass drum dimensions,
and this is what happened
you see, in all our practice In
doors l had pounded on the big drum
while 1t was lying on the floor in o
position where l could readily ap-
proach 1t. but the minute we got out
doors where had to carry the dVum
found myself in contact with q very
different proposition.
III carried the drum square In
front In the ordinary way 1t was 90
far In front that was as liable to
pound on the rim as was to hit the
irum head, and that wouldn't do, so
did the only thing / could do: I
raised the drum up and over back
toward me to where could pound IT,
That wasn't the most convenient thing
n the world for me, for carrying It
'aised up so the drum was higher
han my face in front and shut on
ny view there.
Il was carrying the big drum like
hat and slamming away on 1t when
We marched past the professor when
lie almost fell Off the fence, which
thought was because he was so
pleased with my playing.
When he drew me on to one side
o speak to me after we'd got back
le told me that l was a good drum
ner, he didn't know but what | was
he best drummer he had ever met,
tut he said bass drum carried that
way would just queer the whole busi-
less.
Eyes, he said he'd known some fat
Ass drummers. but never one. SO fat
IS | was. Why, he said, we might
make the finest music ever heard.
ut the sight of me carrying my bass
rum in that way-welf, he said hel
ated to give me up, but they'd have
0 get a thinner bass drummsr
"And they did. and OF course they
st me out. and OF course was great
= disappointed over that; but whale
was no longer an active ptenber.
'as still considered as belonging 10
he band in, a way. | was sort ot,eK-
ficio member, kind OF bass drum
ieTl emeritus. You understand what
mean? And as long as lived in the
1wn fused 10 go to the bands, prac-
ce meetings and that was pleasant
, me. .,,..4
and that's why say / never ex-
City played Id a brass band. because
never actually played in one ON a