The What Cheer (question mark) Brigade
The What Cheer? Marching Brigade is from Providence, Rhode Island. If you were clever, you would come to a performance of ours. If you ever more clever, you would offer us a performance. If no one is clever enough, we create our own performances.
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
The history of the word "band"
"an organized group," 1490, from M.Fr. bande, from O.Fr. bande, traceable to P.Gmc. root of band (1), probably via a band of cloth worn as a mark of identification by a group of soldiers or others (cf. Gothic bandwa "a sign"). The extension to "group of musicians" is c.1660, originally musicians attached to a regiment of the army. To beat the band (1897) is to make enough noise to drown it out, hence to exceed everything.
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
Playing live beats playing dead anyday. I mean, when you're dead, you can't really play, now can you? I hear the worms play cards about your snout when you're dead, now does that sound like fun to you, really?
Your musical influences
Diamanda galas, Charles Schultz, fartparty.org, Hogan from hogan's heroes, and Shakira.
What equipment do you use?
Sousaphones, trombones, trumpets, baritone horns, drums of different kinds and things that go bump in the night.
Anything else?
"anything"
