That old tuba argument again

This comic is very similar to discussions I have had, though without the unicycles. Really I do play the tuba, though I haven't in a long while. I need a tuba nook.

(via the excellent Wondermark, which you should read every day.)

Evolutionary Band T-short offends the masses

Shirts using the evolution of man to compliment a marching bands "Brass Evolutions" program them are apparently to offensive for the school district. The shirts ...

"... which were designed to promote the band’s fall program, are light gray and feature an image of a monkey progressing through stages and eventually emerging as a man. Each figure holds a brass instrument. Several instruments decorate the background and the words “Smith-Cotton High School Tiger Pride Marching Band” and “Brass Evolutions 2009” are emblazoned above and below the image."

The band debuted the T-shirts at the Missouri State Fair parade.

While the shirts don’t directly violate the district’s dress code, Assistant Superintendent Brad Pollitt said complaints by parents made him take action.


“I made the decision to have the band members turn the shirts in after several concerned parents brought the shirts to my attention,” Pollitt said.

From the article, "Pollitt said the district is required by law to remain neutral where religion is concerned."

Too bad evolution is science, not religion.

As a Tuba player myself I am offended at the concept of a monkey or pre-human hominid playing brass instruments, but I am guessing that the parents who complained were offended by something else.

I call bullshit that he would have taken the shirts if it said Brass Resurrections. He took them because somebody complained.

(via Castro's Favorite Color)

German Tuba Urinals

This blasphemy is being committed in a pub in Germany.


From the owner, "Most people see the funny side but we've had a few complaints from musicians."

The article calls these tenor horns, I might call them euphoniums. That doesn't make the scandal any less. Perhaps a pairing of these German Tuba Urinals with the Japanese War Tubas is in order.

(via TYWKIDBI)

Sousaphone destroyed in parachute accident

A parachutist overflew his landing site and plowed into a military band at a military review in Kansas Thursday, hurting several band members and destroying at least two sousaphones.



After some concern that there would not be enough members to continue the ceremonies, the band played on.

I am worried that incidents like this will quell the recent enthusiasm for playing the tuba and sousaphone generated by the advent of the Sousaphone Hero video game. Once kids realize how dangerous playing the sousaphone can be they may think twice about taking it up. Or it may have the opposite effect, as thrill junkies hop on the sousaphone bandwagon due to the romance of braving danger to play the instrument they love.

Will Sousaphone Hero inspire a new generation of Tubists?

The Onion reports that the new Xbox 360 game Sousaphone hero sales have lagged far behind the previous popularity of Guitar Hero. As a tuba player myself I had high hopes that this game would turn a whole new generation of tuba players onto how cool Sousaphones are. I am ready to go out an update to an Xbox 360 just to get this game.

For the uninitiated, sousaphones are merely tubas that have been wrapped around in a circle for easy holding. The computer game comes with a wireless controller for more convenience when marching.

Some features of the game are highlighted in the article.

Sousaphone Hero offers two dozen public-domain marches, including 1893's "The Liberty Bell," 1896's "Stars and Stripes Forever," and 1897's "Entry of the Gladiators." The bulky sousaphone-shaped controller coils around the body, and players wear white spat-like foot coverings fitted with sensors that monitor synchronized marching steps...

...Players may also choose from 27 different fat-guy characters who can be customized with Alpine hats, epaulets, and a mustache editor with a wide array of options.

There are some fun game modes as well.

"In the career mode, you can rise from playing in park gazebos for church picnics to performing in the halftime show of the Harvard-Yale game," Hendleman said. "If you score enough points, you can unlock the ultimate level: playing in the John Philip Sousa–led Marine Band at Grover Cleveland's inauguration."

How could that excitement not draw kids into the exciting world of the Sousaphone? Sousaphone players go on to have very rewarding careers and lives.

Soldiers

Beautiful Women

Me








It may be too early to redo this cartoon (apologies to carlh) which reflects the coolness of Sousaphone Hero vs. a real sousaphone.