US Navy Band National Tour

[Tom Holtz]

Have to remember that Punta Gorda is where the tuba guys are. Good luck finding the free wi-fi, it's getting harder and harder to come by anymore.

[Karl H.]

Just a quick shout out for a little place in Orlando. Nope, not the Mouse, nor even the Studios. I’m talking the House of Beer. 48 crafted beers on tap, and dozens more in bottles. I found happiness with a couple of Turbo Dogs. Bring your own food: none is available on site. But Fate Smiles on the lonely Sailor far from home: no sooner had we settled our behinds into the comfy bar stools but some guy walks in with no less than 6 pizzas! And not just chain-variety cardboard, but some hand-tossed thick-but-light-crusted circles of heaven. Wonderful cheese-dripped sun-drenched-tomato-laden spheres with exotic varieties of veggie-and-meat goodness.

And they were all for us (no one else was in the placer) for the price of a smile and a handshake!

Karl “who would have guessed: I like beer!” H.

[Evil Ronnie]

Karl,

Upthread, I mentioned that I was a member of the US Army Field Band of Washington, DC, back in the seventies. Back then, the Field Band spent about three months out of twelve on the road, with 6 to 7 week spring and fall tours, as well as a 10 day summer tour and many shorter run out jobs throughout the year.

Summer tour was always especially fun, as our regular stops were: Hatch band shell at Boston's Esplanade, Guggenheim band shell at Lincoln Center, NY, The Chautauqua bandshell in Rochester, The Steel Pier in Allantic City, NJ (what a dump AC was back then), the one in Philly, etc...

I can relate very well to what you've said about the pride that you feel playing for appreciative audiences, especially in small town middle America. Standing ovations every night. Encores most evenings. (We always played The Yellow Rose while touring Texas).

We finished every show with Stars and Stripes, with piccolos, trumpets, bones, and field drums marching out in front of the band for the final strain. I'll never forget what i saw night after night for those six years. Everyday folks on their feet, applauding like crazy, and many folks with tears streaming down their faces! Especially the WW2, Korea, and Vietnam vets in their VFW caps.

But one night was very different. We played a high school auditorium in Gallup, New Mexico, where the crowd was mainly American Indian. The first tune after intermission was always a march, and after the break, our announcer introduced that night's selection something like this: "And now, back to the rousing tempo of a march! John Phillip Sousa's Sabres and Spurs...the official march of The US Cavalry!"

Usually there would be applause at that point, and our C.O. would go directly into the march.

That night, the audience was dead silent!!! Official march of the US Cavalry!!! I looked out and saw many, many unhappy faces.

After the gig, our senior NCO's told us that when we got back to the motel, we had better stay close, and not go into town as was often the case.

I'll never forget that silence.

Toad Away, were you with us at that time or were you in still in The Bicentennial Band?

Ah...the good old days.

[Karl H.]

Had a wonderful time at Kennesaw State yesterday! First of all, held a master class with enthusiastic students in the afternoon. Some fine music making, even though the class was at the end of their day. Only disappointment was not hooking up with my old friend Tom Gibson. Absolutely terrific concert that night in the Bailey Center! Easily one of the best acoustical venues we’ve played this tour. Special thanks to Dave Kehler, the Director of Bands, for getting us to KSU and providing a terrific meal (can’t objectively rate the experience since he picked up the tab: I must maintain objectivity at all costs!) Also met TubeNetter Kyle after the concert. Very nice guy, and he came prepared with a restaurant recommendation!

Karl “who thinks free food is automatically great” H.

[Karl H.]

I’ve saved my two favorite eating days for last. One was in Jacksonville, and I wrote the Navy Band blog for that day, so I’ll copy it here:

The members of the Navy Band are very proud of what we do on tour, and that is to represent the pride and professionalism of the Unites States Navy by providing the finest in musical entertainment. We do have some perks: it’s always delightful to see family and friends in the audience, and especially former shipmates; we get to perform great music with some of the greatest musicians this country has produced; and we get to witness first-hand the spirit of patriotism that still exists throughout this great land.

We experienced all these things tonight in Jacksonville, with the additional benefit of playing in a wonderful hall. The Robert E. Jacoby Symphony Hall at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts was an acoustically marvelous venue, and the Navy Band took full advantage! From the gorgeous grand piano that so marvelously showcased our own MU1 Darrell Partin in Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm, to the extremes in dynamics in our exhilarating Finale from Symphony No. 4 by Tchaikovsky, the Navy Band nearly brought the house down! The patrons in Jacksonville responded with multiple standing ovations and cries for more!

It’s hard to remain humble in the face of these kinds of overwhelming responses, but I’m a tuba player: it’s easy for me to stay humble!

(End of blog)

The next morning, some of us in the Band had the great pleasure to attend a rehearsal of Bruckner 4 with the Jacksonville Symphony. What a fine orchestra! Some very sensitive music making, and the low brass was nails! James Jenkins provided a massive bottom, with low register playing that was both organ-like in its mass and string bass-like in its agility. My joy was only tempered by my inability to meet/congratulate James: during break he and the trombones stayed on stage working out some fine points in pitch and ensemble and, as they had a second rehearsal scheduled that afternoon, I decided not to keep him from his lunch.

Speaking of lunch, within walking distance of the hall was Jacksonville Landing, the must-go destination of this town, especially on St. Patrick’s Day! Found a little mexican food place called Cinco de Mayo, where a number of us were able to gain tables al fresco that included a fine view of the water, the other Jacksonville shore, the beautiful people walking/jogging by, and the curiously matching uniforms of the restaurant next door (Karl Bob says check it out).

Nothing too special on the menu, with the exception of the Cinco de Mayo fajitas. This included a spectacular blend of at least four different, succulently grilled portions of flesh: steak, chicken, shrimp, and chorizo that was expertly prepared and dispensed in vast quantities. The fortunate member of our group to order this smorgasbord of deliciousness (a bass trombone player, know what I mean?) had to admit that the scrumptiousness of the meal, as well as the truly Wagnerian heaps of goodness, more than appeased even his prodigious appetite. The rest of our meals were what a good mexican meal should be: large portions of eminently satisfying foods at low cost. For example, I did notice, as I sipped my Diet Dr. Pepper, that other patrons were being served cold beers for happy hour prices of $1.50 draft, and margaritas for $2.50! And even the ubiquitous salsa and chips was so good we went through three big bowls of salsa, and continued to munch on the chips until our rapidly approaching concert forced us to quit.

I enjoyed the Cinco de Mayo so much that I ate there 3 times in 2 days, even returning for a breakfast before our departure of huevos con chorizo.

‘Nuff said.

Karl “can never get TOO much mexican food” H.

[Karl H.]

Well...

Apparently the end of Tour, Easter, taxes, and two types of inspection have short-circuited my brain: I never posted my favorite restaurant review. It follows, with my apologies for my tardiness, my thanks to the bored readers of this thread, and to the moderators for not insisting I move it to off-topic. I'll go back to lurking (never know when I'll post something unwitty), hoping to be able to contribute in some meaningful way.

All the best to my fellow TubeNetters!

Tour has come to an end. It was a wonderful trip, full of good music, new friends… and fine eating! Even though I’ve delayed ‘till after Easter, I still wanted to at least mention what was easily one of my top five (maybe No. 1!) dining experiences. I talking about the Columbia Restaurant; a simple name for an extraordinary place. This multiple-award winning restaurant opened over 100 years ago on a street corner in Ybor City, an area just outside Tampa (Google it and check out their website: it’s worth it).

I went to the Columbia with four of our percussionists and a horn player. Thanks to Juan, we had a reservation for 6:30, and I’m glad he made it: when we arrived there were lots of folks standing around waiting to get in. My first impression of the restaurant was that I had been invited to dine at the lavish estate of one of the wealthiest families in South America. More like a multi-room, multi-floor villa, the Columbia is refined without pretension. Many patrons were in coat-and-tie, but our Florida-casual (i.e., standard band shirts and shorts/khaki slacks) was perfectly acceptable: our tuxedo-clad servers never turned up their noses!

And let’s talk about the service now: I have NEVER had more courteous and attentive service! We took up a table for over 2 and a half hours. We never once had to ask for anything: all of our needs were anticipated and delivered before we even thought to ask. You would have thought we were royalty the way our main server (forgot her name!) and a whole team of other folks looked after us. Salads were prepared fresh at our table, and I noticed (over my chilled Diet Dr. Pepper) another table being served pitchers of mojitos, loaded with fresh mint leaves, sugar cane, and an entire bottle of quality rum mixed right in front of our eyes.

As for the food: what could be plainer than bean soup? And yet this, my first course, was unlike any bean-like substance I had ever encountered. Bursting with a combination of perfectly balanced spices, smoked ham, chorizo, and potatoes in a savory chicken and ham broth, this soup would have satisfied any diner all by itself. But this was only the beginning. My main course was Merluza “a la Rusa,” a choice I made simply because I felt like fish that night (Lent and all that). Merluza is billed as “Spain’s favorite fish” but I must confess that, other than being perfectly prepared, light, white and flaky, I didn’t lose time contemplating the fish. I was instead experiencing taste bud euphoria as the combination of a coating of Cuban bread crumbs, Russiabutter (?), parsley and hard boiled egg (!) transported me to a sunny shore with waves gently lapping at my feet… sorry, I was miles away! This exquisite entrée came with “yellow rice and vegetables,” but that does not do justice to either one. I’m not much of a veggie guy, but these were crisp and flavorful and everything else was so tasty I just gobbled them up. The entire course was so delicious I seriously contemplated licking the plate… but my ingrained graciousness (barely) held me back. And my friends neither offered nor asked to sample any other plate: we knew each other’s food was too good to be wasted on band slobs!

For dessert I chose the “crema catalana.” Prepared like crème brulee, this was a lot of fun for the table and the server as she got to whip out her blowtorch and have at it! Her technique was perfect, as the result was a warm sugary caramelized top layer over a cool bowl of perfectly (not overly) sweet cream. (Drool…)

I cannot say enough good things about this restaurant. What is even more remarkable is the value: I have paid so much more for so much less at other “nice” restaurants. For about as much as you would spend on drinks, steak, and dessert at Outback, you can enjoy one of this country’s most memorable dining experiences.

And did I mention they have flamenco dancers every night? Just ask for “the show” when you make a reservation. The cost for this remarkable exhibition of skill and beauty?

Nada. Zilch. (It’s free).

Truly a can’t miss experience, I give the Columbia my very highest rating. If I am ever within 100 miles of Tampa, I will be sure to return to the Columbia, and bring as many friends with me as I can!

Karl Bob says check it out.

Karl “better late than never” Hovey