trombonik wrote:Hey Socal band dudes+dudettes from the 60's,70's+80's!
Wow-time warp time, great to see familiar band names here in print. I was a proud member of the San Fernando Valley Youth Band (previously the Sepulveda Youth Band, Claude Lakey directing) from 1959-1966. Ended up 1st bone and right guide in 1st row-cool gig! Someone mentioned our dancing tubas-tune was a western square dance, not the can-can (watch those meds!) What a time-played in the Hollywood Bowl+ Shrine Auditorium (Massed bands with conductors like Meredith Wilson, Ferde Grofe, John Scott Trotter,+Henry Mancini) LA Coleseum (Rams and USC halftimes) Dodger and Charger Games, 1st USA/USSR track and field meet, and the 1960 Democratic National Convention (JFK nominated). Alway had lots of competition with the Robin Hood Band, Whittier Elks, West Valley Youth Band, South Gate Youth Band, Los Cabelleros, James E. Son's Long Beach Band and several others.
Don't think this kind of experience will happen again-just something else! Anybody from these bands - please reply and jog my memory some more (need all the help I can get now!)
OMB again - I stumbled on this site this afternoon and am having good happy flashbacks reading this thread. I was in Claudehoppers starting in 1963, then moved up to SFVYB. The last thing I did with SFVYB was the HellDorado Days Parade in Las Vegas in 1970. I played bells, vibes, xylophone, and once in a while was trusted with a tambourine !!
I hadn't thought about the tuba players square dancing in years. I won't say the name (although I do remember who it was) but if you were there you may also know. It was halftime at a pre-season LA Rams/Dallas Cowboys football game at the LA Coliseum - do you remember when one of the tuba players lost the bell off his horn when he did the square dance bow? Then on the second bow, he bent over and picked up the bell again? A picture of that was on the first page of the LA Times Sports Section the next day or two later.
Did you also know that Claude Lakey Mouthpieces is owned by a former co-SFVYB member? Google the company and read all about it.
Valley Girl