Charlevoix county herald., 1908-05-30
THE EXT RIA
STOUT MAN
re TeIis Why 1rass Bands Have
peculiar Interest for Him.

joined a band that was forming in
the small town that l lived in then in
the wee
we had band leader out once a
week from our nearest big city, fifty
odd miles away, to try us out and get
us started, and he put me on the bass
drum.
And on that l made good. ! could
pound as well as anybody and l could
pound in time, and light and heavy, ac-
cording to the music. 1t was a great
delight to me to practice with the
band, TO be of it and do my share, for
I'd always wanted to belong to
band.
And, my, how we worked! And we
made headwayy too. Got so you could
tell what VIZ were playing, and then
the professor said he was going to
get us out and give us a little march
ing practice.
r What we were going to do was to
march Gown the road a piece and be
reviewed by the professor, who was
going to criticise us here for forma-
ton and marching as we'll as for
music, and with that great RESPONSE
bility on us and all anxious we did
certainly make pretty weird work of
it when we started off, 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 so 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 l came along slam
ming away the best l knew how, he
pretty nearly fell off the fence, and
so l thought had made the biggest
hit with him of all
And then we countermarched and
marched past him again and 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 VT 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 | 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 a man of somewhat portly
construction, and l was even more so
then. Yes, know that is contrary
10 the usual way; we are likely to be
portliest in our maturer years, but |
was so then when l 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 I had pounded on the big drum
while ii was lying on the floor in
ition where / could readily ap-
4 ech it, but the minute we got out
ors where had to carry the drum
" found myself in contact with very
different proposition.
"If I carried the drum square in
front in the ordinary way 1t was so
far in front that l was as liable to
pound on the rim as / was to hit the
drum head, and that wouldn't do, so
/ did the only thing 1 could do; l
raised the drum up and over back
toward me to where l could pound it.
That wasn't the most convenient thing
in the world for me, for carrying 1T
raised up so the drum was higher
than my face in front and shut off
my view there.
IT was carrying the big drum like
that and slamming away on IL when
we marched past the professor when
he almost fell off the fence, which
| thought was because he was so
pleased with my playing.
when he drew me off to one side
TO speak to me after we'd got back
he told me that i was a good drum
mer, he didn't know but what l was
the best drummer he had ever met,
hut he said a bass drum carried that
way would just queer the whole bust
4 ness.
Yes. he said he'd known some fat
bass drummers, but never one so fat
as | was. Why, he said, we might
make the finest music ever heard,
but the sight of me carrying my bass
drum in that way-well, he said he
hated to give me up. but they'd have
TO get a thinner bass drummer.
And they did, and Of course they
let me out, and of course l was great
ly disappointed over that; but while
was no longer an active member |
was still considered as belonging to
the band in a way. was a sort OF ex-
officio member, a kind of bass drum
mer emeritus. You understand what
mean? And as long as / lived in the
town I used to go to the bands prac-
tice meetings and that was pleasant
to me.
And that's why I say I never ex-
actly played in brass band. because
never actually played in one on
formal public occasion, but / did be-
long to one once for time, and ever
since that, ~ is perfectly natural,