TubeNet

Hey everyone sorry if someone had already posted something like this. I am thinking of joining a active duty army band and I was wondering if any of the army tuba players could pm so that we can talk. Thanks for your support.
Zach

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That link is to a topic from a copy of weeks ago where The Elephant gave everyone some great advice on life in the military. It is definitely a good starting point.

TMB

Zach,
I am also looking into this. Do you have the army band recruiting packet? If not I can email it to you if you want. It has contact info for all of the band recruiters. I'm sure you know to talk to those guys first. Before you can audition you have to go to MEPS and have a physical so they know you can actually serve and take the ASVAB, you will also have to pee in a cup a few times and have bloodwork done, just a heads up if thats going to be a problem. All of this has to happen before the band recruiter will hear you. I haven't auditiond yet because I was disqualified for being underweight, yes I said underweight. I'm 6'2 and am supposed to weigh between 145 and 208-ish just to give you an idea.

Good luck and maybe I'll see you around.
-Jay

Interesting, Wade. I took the US Navy band audition back in 1995 (or was it early 1996?). All of us played for the committee without physicals or any of that, and I recall one candidate was extremely overweight...I mean, extremely. I believe he was a student of Roger Behrend that I had met that summer at the TUBA convention at Northwestern. I'm not positive I remember correctly, but I think he even made the finals.

If Jarrod Williams is around and reads this, maybe he remembers better than I...we went there together for the audition.

the elephant wrote:I had heard that in the 1990s they were experimenting with sending players out into the field for single hitches for whatever reason.

Never really heard of that. I do know about someone getting sent to the field for drawing a moustache on the Colonel's photograph and it was for far more than a single hitch.

Tom Waid wrote:

the elephant wrote:I had heard that in the 1990s they were experimenting with sending players out into the field for single hitches for whatever reason.

Never really heard of that.

Yes indeed Tom,
We had a junior officer in the Field Band at that time who
came up with the idea that all 02S bandsmen should rotate to other bands for one hitch. Later when this genius went to Bands Branch, we heard he was trying to implement his plan.
He soon after retired as a Major.
(You can PM me if you want the name ...)

This in no way had any effect on my great respect and admiration for musicians in ALL the service bands.

Best wishes,
Tim Loehr

Toad Away wrote:This in no way had any effect on my great respect and admiration for musicians in ALL the service bands.

Hello Tim,
Great hearing from you and thanks for making a point that I should have made in my original post. I'm sure you remember all the great players from all the American and foreign service bands that made up the Armed Forces Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble each year at TUSABTEC. Everyone pulled their own weight and more. As for officers and their ideas; I'll let it rest.

I hope you are enjoying your retirement as much as I.