The Carnival Band - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Carnival Band is a marching band

Marching band

Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...

and community orchestra based in the Commercial Drive area of East Vancouver

East Vancouver

East Vancouver is a region within the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Geographically, East Vancouver is bordered to the north by Burrard Inlet, to the south by the Fraser River, and to the east by the city of Burnaby...

, Canada. As a frequent presence in public spaces and supporter of local social and environmental wellness organizations, The Carnival Band is a part of the Activist Street Band movement best known in the United States through the HONK! festivals.

History

The band has gone through many changes in structure and performance. With a floating membership of around 30 individuals playing sax

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

, brass

Brass instrument

A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...

, percussion, and stringed instruments, it has appeared both as a mobile unit for parades, and as an amplified band with bass

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

, fiddle

Fiddle

The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

, guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

, and banjo

Banjo

In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

1997–1999

The band was formed in 1997 by Dan Vie. The events were local, such as Parade of the Lost Souls

Parade of the Lost Souls

The Parade of the Lost Souls is organised by the Public Dreams Society and takes place in East Vancouver's Commercial Drive area. It occurs the Saturday closest to Halloween...

1999–2006

In 1999 tenor saxophonist Ross Barrett was hired as musical director; In 2000 entertainer/multi-instrumentalist Marcos X was brought in to the group to give it more focus and develop the style and format that the band still uses to this day In 2003, the group made their first international tour, to England and Germany under the musical direction of Marcos X. Dan Vie remained artistic director and band manager until he left the group in early 2006 to prepare for the birth of his first child.

2006–2007

With Dan gone, one of the youngest members, Devon 8, soon became the general manager. She booked and handled the shows in England, Germany, France, the Basque Country

Basque Country (autonomous community)

The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....

, the eastern United States, and China.

A spontaneous performance in London, England, lead to the "internet phenomenon" of Traffic Wardens Need Love, created about a video on YouTube (filmed by friends of Rainbow George Weiss

Rainbow George Weiss

Rainbow George Weiss son of a diamond merchant, is a fringe UK politician who stood in 13 constituencies at the 2005 General Election....

) of the Carnival Band serenading traffic wardens.

2007–present

After eight years in the group, both Marcos X and Devon 8 and many of the founding members including 'queen of bass' Vicki Rae left the group in the summer of 2007. Driven by a desire to return to the band's roots as a community centred group, the remaining members formed a non-profit society called the Open Air Orchestra Society to manage The Carnival Band and to promote live, original, and culturally diverse music that is accessible to musicians of all skill levels and backgrounds. Ross Barrett and his son Tim Sars are still active professionals leading many of the band's workshops and shows. James Griffiths is the current president of the society.

Performances

Regularly appearing at numerous peace marches, Critical Mass

Critical Mass

Critical Mass is a cycling event typically held on the last Friday of every month in over 300 cities around the world. The ride was originally founded in 1992 in San Francisco. The purpose of Critical Mass is not usually formalized beyond the direct action of meeting at a set location and time and...

rides, Vancouver's Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is an all East and South-East-Asia celebration...

parades, Illuminares

Illuminares

Illuminares is an annual lantern festival held every summer in John Hendry Park in east Vancouver. The event is put on by the Public Dreams Society, a group formed in 1985 to encourage community events. Illuminares is a mixture of events put on by the society, such as fire-breathers and bands, and...

, and Parade of the Lost Souls

Parade of the Lost Souls

The Parade of the Lost Souls is organised by the Public Dreams Society and takes place in East Vancouver's Commercial Drive area. It occurs the Saturday closest to Halloween...

, the Carnival Band has also performed at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival

Vancouver International Jazz Festival

The Vancouver International Jazz Festival is an annual summer event in Vancouver, Canada.The festival grew out of a local jazz scene that centred around Vancouver Co-op Radio , a community radio station, in the early 1980s...

, the Gibsons Jazz Festival, Altonale in Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

, Germany, the Blaydon Races

Blaydon Races

Blaydon Races is a famous Geordie folk song written in the 19th century by Geordie Ridley, in a style deriving from music hall. It is regarded by many as the unofficial anthem of Tyneside and is frequently sung by supporters of Newcastle United Football Club and Newcastle Falcons rugby club...

and the International Street Band Festival hosted by the Tenth Avenue Band in Newcastle

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

, with the Baybeat Streetband in Morecambe

Morecambe

Morecambe is a resort town and civil parish within the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. As of 2001 it has a resident population of 38,917. It faces into Morecambe Bay...

, the Vancouver Sun Run

Vancouver Sun Run

The Vancouver Sun Run, sponsored by The Vancouver Sun newspaper, is a 10-km race held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada each year on the third Sunday in April since 1985...

, the Vancouver Children's Festival

Children's Festival

The Vancouver International Children's Festival is an annual event that is a major tourist attraction in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2008, the Festival ran May 12-19 at Vancouver's Vanier Park...

, and many other festivals, weddings, funerals, community related events, clubs, and parties in and around British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

.

In October 2006, the Carnival Band traveled to Honk! Fest, in Somerville, Massachusetts

Somerville, Massachusetts

Somerville is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located just north of Boston. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 75,754 and was the most densely populated municipality in New England. It is also the 17th most densely populated incorporated place in...

, performing with groups such as the Hungry March Band

Hungry March Band

The Hungry March Band is a brass band with approximately 15 active musicians and performers. In performance, the group's size can vary from five to fifty: from an intimate quintet to a giant entourage of musicians, dancers, baton twirlers, hula hoopers, and second-liners...

and the Rude Mechanical Orchestra.

As part of 2007上海-浦东国际音乐嘉年华 (the 2007 Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

Pudong

Pudong |Bank]]") is an area of Shanghai, China, located along the east side of the Huangpu River, across from the historic city center of Shanghai in Puxi. Formerly a little-developed agricultural area linked only by ferries, Pudong has grown rapidly since the 1990s and emerged as China's financial...

International Music Carnival), the Carnival Band performed during the Labour Day Golden Week

Golden Week (China)

Golden Week in the mainland of the People's Republic of China is the name given to two annual 7-day national holidays, implemented in 2000:* The "Spring Festival Golden Week" begins in January or February....

, in Century Park over the first week of May, in Shanghai, China.

The summer 2007 tour through Europe included performances at Altonale in Hamburg

Hamburg

, Germany, Haizetara, in Amorebieta-Etxano

Amorebieta-Etxano

Amorebieta-Etxano or Zornotza are two different names for the same town and municipality located in Biscay in the Basque Country, an Autonomous Community in northern Spain. Athletic Bilbao defender Xabier Etxeita was born in Zornotza, as is Beñat Intxausti, a professional cyclist.-External links:*...

, Biscay

Biscay

Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...

, the Basque Country

Basque Country (autonomous community)

The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....

(Spain), and Le festival des fanfares de Montpellier in Montpellier

Montpellier

-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....

, France.

In March 2008, the band participated in the first annual Honk Fest West in Seattle

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

, Washington. The three-day convocation of alternative street bands from around the U.S. was celebrated with performances in the Ballard

Ballard, Seattle, Washington

Ballard is a neighborhood located in the northwestern part of Seattle, Washington. To the north it is bounded by Crown Hill, ; to the east by Greenwood, Phinney Ridge and Fremont ; to the south by the Lake Washington Ship Canal; and to the west by Puget Sound’s Shilshole Bay. The neighborhood’s...

and Georgetown

Georgetown, Seattle, Washington

Georgetown is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is bounded on the north by the mainlines of the BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad, beyond which is the Industrial District; on the west by the Duwamish River, across which is South Park; on the east by Interstate 5, beyond which is...

neighborhoods, as well as workshops and the exchanging of ideas regarding musicianship, performance, and cultural and political advocacy.

The Band returned to Honk Fest West in Seattle in 2009 and 2010 as well as to the original Honk! Festival in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Music

Songs performed by the group include originals by members, as well as traditionals from Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, France, Suriname

Suriname

Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...

, Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, and Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

, and covers by artists such as Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...

, Ennio Morricone

Ennio Morricone

Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...

, Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....

, Dizzy Gillespie

Dizzy Gillespie

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...

, Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....

, Luiz Bonfá

Luiz Bonfá

Luiz Floriano Bonfá was a Brazilian guitarist and composer best known for the compositions he penned for the film Black Orpheus.-Biography:...

, Miles Davis

Miles Davis

Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...

, and Mongo Santamaría

Mongo Santamaría

Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez was an Afro-Cuban Latin jazz percussionist. He is most famous for being the composer of the jazz standard "Afro Blue," recorded by John Coltrane among others. In 1950 he moved to New York where he played with Perez Prado, Tito Puente, Cal Tjader, Fania All...

Press

Coverage of the Carnival Band has appeared in the Ubyssey (http://www.ubyssey.ca/?p=7785 March 17, 2009), Vancouver Sun, the Province
The Province
The Province is a daily, tabloid format newspaper published in British Columbia by Postmedia. It has been a daily newspaper since 1898.According to a recent NADbank survey, The Provinces average weekday readership was 520,100, making it British Columbia's most read newspaper...

, the Georgia Straight, the Vancouver Courier
Vancouver Courier
The Vancouver Courier is a Canadian semiweekly local newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia by Postmedia Network Inc. Currently, it is Canada's largest distributed community newspaper, with a weekly distribtuion of 265,000...

, various small publications in and around the Lower Mainland

Lower Mainland

The Lower Mainland is a name commonly applied to the region surrounding and including Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As of 2007, 2,524,113 people live in the region; sixteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located there.While the term Lower Mainland has been...

, and the Boston Phoenix (appearing at Harvard Square Oktoberfest).

The February 2006 issue of Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...

magazine featured a several page article by Caryn Ganz on the Extra Action Marching Band

Extra Action Marching Band

The Extra Action Marching Band is an American musical group loosely based on the American marching band construct. The instrumentation is entirely brass and drums...

, noting "...now there are several artsy-oriented cities with envelope-pushing groups like them. In addition to New York's Hungry March Band

Hungry March Band

, there are Portland, Oregon's March Forth [sic Marching Band], Seattle's Infernal Noise Brigade

Infernal Noise Brigade

The Infernal Noise Brigade was a Seattle, Washington-based musical group, who originally formed to participate in the protests at the WTO Meeting of 1999...

, and the Carnival Band in Vancouver, all viewed by Extra Action as kindred spirits."

When the Carnival Band performed in Shanghai

Shanghai

, an article in the May 2 edition of 新民晚报 (the Xinmin Evening News
Xinmin Evening News
Xinmin Evening News , formerly known as Xinmin Po, is a newspaper published since September, 1929 in Shanghai, China.It is now owned by Wenhui-xinmin United Press Group...

) about the Shanghai Pudong International Music Carnival mentioned the band's entertaining performance and colourful costumes.

Future

The band continues to gather new members, build strength as a community, support local initiatives, and have a lot of fun.

The Open Air Orchestra Society will strive to fill the city with live, original, accessible music by building on the momentum of The Carnival Band to include other bands, choirs, and performance troupes under its umbrella. These groups will mirror The Carnival Band's vision of inclusiveness, empowerment, and generosity.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.