How many of you have ever played on a float in a parade? I was asked to furnish music on a float in a parade in a neighboring town yesterday. It was great fun!!! I had to go out and buy a suitcase generator in order to have something to plug into but that was ok, I needed one for emergency power for Minnesota winters anyway.
One thing I liked was that you didn't need to know too many different songs as the audience was constantly changing! If you ever get the chance to do it, try it, you'll like it!
Erv
<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Erv Niehaus on 21 July 2003 at 08:09 AM.]</p></FONT>
Erv, my first gig ever was playing guitar in the Corn on the Cob Days parade in Plainview, MN. The guy I played with only knew two songs, Jumbalaya and the Auctioneer's Song. They both had the same changes. The guy driving the truck had a jerky brake foot- I almost fell off the truck several times. I was 13 years old and they paid me $10 afterwards. Man, was I excited!<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Tony LaCroix on 21 July 2003 at 08:47 AM.]</p></FONT>
Yeah, many times. I had my students Guitar band on a float in Traverse City, in the National Cherry Festival Royal parade.
That was a Biggie Held for one week in July and half a million people showed up in that little town.
Joe Dolan had his accordian band on a float too. I have a picture of it somewhere. Maybe I can get Bill Moore to put it on my website.
My band "the tunetoppers" played at the Grand Hotel, in Mackinaw Island, MI and played also on a float in the Lilac Festival they had every year. These were the main biggies I remember.
That was in the '50's.We had good times playing in those days...where did the time go...al
Man, Floats! You guys are so lucky... when I play the annual "Corn Squeezins' Festival" parade, I have to play a few notes, pick up my amp and steel and run 30 feet, play a few notes, pick up my amp and steel... and then it takes a whole day cleaning the Horse pucky off all my extension cords. I do get my picture taken with the Grits Queen, though...
My bluegrass band played for a Christmas parade (first Sunday afternoon in December) on the back of a stake bed pickup. It was about 35F and windy, and we all wore brown cotton gloves with the fingertips cut out. Even with a big propane heater hid up there amongst us, that had to be the coldest my fingers have ever been. Are we going to to it again next year? Don't know -- but we probably would if they asked us, because it was a hoot!
This float was pulled by a John Deere tractor and the driver wasn't the smoothest. I have a spring reverb in my rack unit and every once in a while, when the goin got rough, it would let out a racket. One of the kids on the float thought it sounded like someone was shooting at him!
Uff-Da!
