Nostalgia & History > More "Water Service Band"

Several times in the past few years I have told the story of the "Water Service Band" from West Oakland that was sponsored by SP to go out in the community and put on some "Spike Jones" foolishness.  I found a couple of more photos.  I have more, somewhere, including "The Operation".
This was a comical skit where a white sheet closed off the front of the stage.  The cast (pretending to be from the SP Hospital) "operated" on a guy and because of the bright lights and the silhouettes made it appear that the medical staff was removing his intestines, et al..  The first part had a giant saw with huge teeth which was used to cut the guy open.  This was SP at it's finest!   I'll search for more photos..
Photo 1.  The shot of us at Roosevelt Junior High school in Oakland on 19th Avenue, which I have shown before.
Photo 2.  Another view of us on the same night.  The little guy in the center in the colorful shirt is ME.  My grandfather was the Band Director and my mother, Muriel, was the Pianist.  The occasion was Safety Night on the Western Division.
Photo 3.  A 1953 view of us at Belini's Restaurant at 40th & Telegraph in Oakland.  We were all wearing Halloween masks !

I was proud to be a member of this silly group.

KRK

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Very cool stuff...back before everything was painted yellow and you could have fun!

Dick Samuels

Some very curious looking brass.

Looks like "The Friendly" is having a good time.  Those are some classic shots to be sure.

Kent in CArmel Valley

Was the Band a 1958 recession casualty?

Were any of the performances recorded?  Looks like they made music that would fit right into the Dr. Demento Show.

DNRY122 Wrote:
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> Were any of the performances recorded?  Looks
> like they made music that would fit right into the
> Dr. Demento Show.

Unfortunately, none of the performances were ever recorded.  The instruments were fashioned in the SP West Oakland "Tin Shop" from Galvanized metal, drain pipes, downspouts, and other gadgets.  Soldered or spot-welded together in various shapes.  With a standard KAZOO soldered into the mouthpiece section of each ionstrument and the sound was amplified within the piping.  We usually marched in to the auditorium to the tune of "Our Director" by F.E. Bigelow !!  By this time, the crowd was going wild !
Some of the instruments would emanate thick white smoke (the sign of a "hot" player)..   Others would squirt water (the sign of a "wet" player.  Still others needed to be pumped up with a bicycle pump because the player was all winded and out of breath...  And on and on it went !
Another act we did was the routine "Scissors to Grind"..   The guy playing the symbals sat on a chair and rubbed the symbals together in a rotating fashion, while another player sat facing opposite with a long pair of shears and pretended he was sharpening them !!  There were other acts as well.  They should have had us play at the Paramount on Broadway in Oakland.  We could have brought down the house !

KRK

Note:  F. E. Bigelow (1873-1929) spent his life as a pharmacist but played cornet in numerous New England Brass Bands. Composed in 1892, Our Director (affectionately known as "O.D.") was adapted as one of Harvard's School fight songs. The Harvard Bands continue to perform O.D. at all Harvard events.
 

http://www.footballfightmusic.com/track/Harvard_-_Our_Director.html
Sounds great.
Roger Beckett

My goodness. Both Disney characters and Walter Lantz characters on the same stage at once! Now that was something you didn't see every day.