Bandstand Stories

One of those little realities that every band has to deal with is the guest performer. Mostly it happens at weddings. "My uncle Joe can sing, he is the best irish tenor in town. Can he sing a number with the band?" Uncle Joe turns out to be a tenor foghorn whose sense of meter is limited to a waltz in 4/4. Then there is the soprano who wants to sing a tune written for an alto voice and wonders why the band can't change the key. You get the idea.

The fun part of this is the uncertainty. You never know what will turn up and it can also be a lot of fun with occasional rewards and great memories. We played for a wedding some time back where the bride's father was a former band director, now safely working in the corporate world. While not currently playing he had been a fine saxophonist. We arranged for him to have a solo piece on tenor sax, accompanied by the band, that he dedicated to his daughter. Later she told him with tears in her eyes that it was the high point of the day besides saying "I do", to have her dad play for her on her wedding day. You just never know how these things will turn out. The best such story we have heard in a while comes from our friend Wayne Dyess, who plays with a band in Texas.

"We've had so many things to happen during weddings. I wish I could remember them all. One was memorable, however. This lady came over to ask if her son could sit in with the band. They were from out of town... New Orleans, and she said her son was quite good and could sing and play piano. Bandleader Jimmy Simmons said OK, but he was never too keen on letting people do this. He put the lady off until the 3rd set, after all the special dances and the like. Well, up comes this pipsqueak of a kid

to sing, and he just knocked our socks off. Talk about a pro!!! Unbelieveable."

"Only later would we put two and two together. I don't know... one of the guys wrote his name down or something. But to this day -- we can say our band backed up Harry Connick, Jr."

The contents of this page will contain short notes of interest on a variety of
subjects, as the muse dictates. All of the stories will have something to do
(one way or another) with life on the bandstand...ours, theirs, even YOURS.
We'd love to add your favorite bandstand stories here as well!
Submit them to the SJO WEBMASTER.
Miss some of the past stories?
Check out our "Bandstand Stories Archive