Yay band geeks: sousaphone humor

[Arkietuba]

In high school we didn't wear hats, which was unfortunate seeing as how we had "pimp hats"...hahaha They were actually kinda cool. After I left, the sousas got to wear black, leather Kangol hats like Samuel L. Jackson wears.

The first two years of college we wore purple berets....not cool at all, plus they were 100% wool along with the uniforms and that doesn't work here in AR in the summer...too dang hot! We got new uniforms after than and we wore visors for a year, then last year due to a miscommunication we didn't wear hats but I think we're gonna get black flat bill UCA hats...much better (and cooler) than berets...haha

[sloan]

Did anyone else ever HAVE to wear a tall marching band hat when playing a Sousaphone? My high school band did not allow any optional headwear, and it was very uncomfortable!

Oh dear....hobby horse time.

In high school (1961-5) I played Sousaphone and wore the standard high hat with plume.

Because we configured and wore the Sousaphones correctly (according to Bill Bell's diagrams), this was no problem at all. Some people (but not all) had to take off the hats to put the Sousaphones on.

Oh yeah....no plastic was involved - all solid brass.

In college, I wore a straw "boater" on the football field, and a beret on the hockey rink - but so did everyone else in the band.

[lgb&dtuba]

Did anyone else ever HAVE to wear a tall marching band hat when playing a Sousaphone? My high school band did not allow any optional headwear, and it was very uncomfortable!

In high school (1961-5) I played Sousaphone and wore the standard high hat with plume.

Oh yeah....no plastic was involved - all solid brass.

We appear to be the same age. At least we spent the same years in high school. We wore the old style uniforms that looked like police uniforms, except in red. Barney Fife style hats, so no problems with the sousaphone. Which was 28 lbs of solid, well dented up, silver plated brass. Don't remember the brand. Didn't matter to me back in those days. It was what we had. Both of them. Our whole band was smaller than some modern sousaphone sections.

[TubaDole2620]

My high school didn't have enough berets for the tuba section so we have gone 2 years without them. (we have 13 tuba players) i hope they buy some for us because we just look plain out there.

[bearphonium]

HS (74-76): Band wore tall shakos with plumes; sousaphones wore berets.
College (77): Ditto.
OMTMB: Sousaphone player wears tie dye. That's me.

[iiipopes]

Did anyone else ever HAVE to wear a tall marching band hat when playing a Sousaphone? My high school band did not allow any optional headwear, and it was very uncomfortable!

Yes! Ours were modelled as smaller versions of the British bearskin tall hats. After fighting it for years, our band director finally gave in and let the souzy guys wear floppy hats in the school colors.

When I went to grad school, they were wearing the usual corp hats, and I showed how the corners of the hats were actually scuffing the souzys, and convinced the band director also to let us souzy guys wear the same floppy hats in the university colors.

Great cartoon! The day it came out, it went straight to the refrigerator magnet!