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New Disneyland Band performing infront of Sleeping Beauty Castle
- Thread starter brb1006
- Start date
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
I Love it!!!
TP2000
Well-Known Member
I'm here! What am I apologizing for again? I honestly couldn't follow the logic path.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Ha! Love it! The USC Marching Band is truly epic. But of course you had to bring them into this. My neighborhood is full of USC alums and every fall the flags go up and at every BBQ and cocktail party I have to smile bravely through USC chatter and rousing renditions of the SC fight song. It can be trying.
Exactly. This was a positive change that should have been made for the 50th, but better late than never.
GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
For having the wrong opinion of course! What do you think this is, AMERICA?
RandomPrincess
Keep Moving Forward
I like the new band. It's nice to see all those smiling faces. They all look like they are having a great time!
GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
Whoops!
[one guess as to where and when this was taken]
I'm not sure what this is supposed to mean. Is it because his arms are crossed? Or is it the sunglasses?
FerretAfros
Well-Known Member
Oh, of course I had to! I'm performing in the video (though I was on the other side of Town Square). The USC Band loves Disneyland, and Disneyland seems to like us pretty well in return. We bring in our own crowds into the park, and also do a pretty good job of getting the other guests to stop and watch too. In addition to the Rose Bowl-related appearances that are a requirement of the game's festivities, we've done several other appearances in recent years, including appearing in the televised Christmas parade in 2009Ha! Love it! The USC Marching Band is truly epic. But of course you had to bring them into this. My neighborhood is full of USC alums and every fall the flags go up and at every BBQ and cocktail party I have to smile bravely through USC chatter and rousing renditions of the SC fight song. It can be trying.
Not to mention, DL's original entertainment director was a former USC drum major, the former director of the All American College Band has been USC's band director for 45 years, the head of DL's entertainment department's son was in the band for a few of the years I was there (and may still be?), so it's good to have friends in high places
Of course, that just means that the DL audience is familiar with a band that doesn't look like they're about to fall asleep while they play, which raises the stakes for the in-house groups
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Oh my gosh! I didn't know you were in the USC Marching Band. You and I have chatted on other forums before, so I'm glad to see you here and learn that about you. How funny! I live in the little suburb of Villa Park, which is absolutely chock full of USC alums.
So, since you are a marching band member yourself, it's good to know you were seeing what so many of us non-musicians were also seeing with the old Disneyland Band. They just looked bored to tears and shuffling towards retirement, or maybe just lunch.
The old band were obviously good musicians, as their performances were always pitch perfect, but the showmanship and the energy had unfortunately vanished for most of those men about two decades ago.
Sage of Time
Well-Known Member
Cough hack cough cough CC @TP2000
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Oh, hi.
The Side Street Strutters usually perform on the dining patio of the French Market. The Disneyland Band used to perform one set per day on the bow of the Mark Twain, at 11:00 A.M., during busy tourist seasons only.
It's very early into this new schedule, and it could change, but it appears the Side Street Strutters have replaced the Disneyland Band for the 11:00 A.M. departure of the Mark Twain, before they head up to the French Market for their regular sets through the rest of the day. While the Disneyland Band now performs a mid-day show in front of the Golden Horseshoe.
flynnibus
Premium Member
Yet is how/why the union got Disney to change the dress code to allow Cms to wear sunglasses on stage....
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
And yet not every CM wears sunglasses. I almost never wore sunglasses as a CM and my eyes were fine.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
That's not the first time I've heard that. And if that was a union-generated change, it seems to be for the best as I don't think anyone would have a problem with a ride operator or outdoor vendor or some front-line CM outdoors for 8 hours not wearing sunglasses in the bright SoCal sun. Although, it seems to have been a change that is many decades old at this point, and is subject to abuse as this photo of 1980's Jungle Cruise Skippers shows...
Hey 1984 Jungle Cruise guys, Katherine Hepburn called and she wants all her floppy sunhats back.
That said, and I think Ms. Hepburn would agree with me, the issue here is performers wearing sunglasses when they perform their shows in the park.
The old Disneyland Band was the only group that somehow got to wear dark sunglasses as they performed their sets for the third or fourth decade of their career. No other musician or performer or dancer or singer wears sunglasses while they perform their show. The sunglasses were just one part of the tired look and feel of the old Disneyland Band.
They were old guys going through the motions under umbrellas and wearing brimmed caps that shielded the sun, but they didn't even want to look at you when they played Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah for the 18,652nd time.
June, 2015: Facing due north, sitting under umbrellas, wearing brimmed caps, and still 90% of the band has dark sunglasses on. Hey boys, cheer up, it can't be that bad!
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Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
It's funny that you mention brims, @TP2000 ... they are really magical creations that can keep the sun out of people's eyes even without sunglasses! Notice that none of the new performers has the sun in their eyes, thanks to these wondrous devices!
\
Is it appropriate for a turn-of-the-century mid-America small town? I know everyone looks very serious in those old pictures and everything was sepia-toned, but they were real live people in full color who liked to have fun. It wasn't all sedate people standing around, doing everything prim and proper. They could indeed get down, possibly even get bi-zay on a good day.
Is it appropriate for a turn-of-the-century mid-America small town? I know everyone looks very serious in those old pictures and everything was sepia-toned, but they were real live people in full color who liked to have fun. It wasn't all sedate people standing around, doing everything prim and proper. They could indeed get down, possibly even get bi-zay on a good day.
Sage of Time
Well-Known Member
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the response. SO eager to see all of this... but especially music on the Twain.
FerretAfros
Well-Known Member
Having worn similar shako hats, the brims do absolutely nothing to keep the sun out of your eyes. The performers in these photos have their faces shaded because they're facing north (Main Street Station in the background), which means that the sun is in the audience's eyes (something that Disney is typically pretty good about avoiding)It's funny that you mention brims, @TP2000 ... they are really magical creations that can keep the sun out of people's eyes even without sunglasses! Notice that none of the new performers has the sun in their eyes, thanks to these wondrous devices!
\
Is it appropriate for a turn-of-the-century mid-America small town? I know everyone looks very serious in those old pictures and everything was sepia-toned, but they were real live people in full color who liked to have fun. It wasn't all sedate people standing around, doing everything prim and proper. They could indeed get down, possibly even get bi-zay on a good day.
That said, there's really no reason that the performers need to be able to see. Their choreography and drill isn't especially complicated, and they should be able to do the whole performance blindfolded. I've marched much more complex shows facing into the sun around sunset, without sunglasses, and we managed just fine
The only reason I can think that the old band might need to see is to read their music. That said, do they really need music to play Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah 18,652nd time? Yes, they occasionally played some music that was more complex than that for their seated concerts, but their repertoire was always rather limited. Given that all the other musical acts manage to memorize their stuff (including the All American College Band that only exists for 8 measly weeks, and all the holiday music that's performed for a limited period), I imagine that the old timers of the old Disneyland Band could have done just fine. Even most high school bands require musicians to memorize the halftime show music and a handful of school songs. The new band seems to have memorized their music already, and they've only just popped into existence...
But what always bothered me most about the sunglasses was that they weren't consistent; some people wore them while others didn't. They wore uniforms, so everything should be uniform. Either everybody wears sunglasses (like the USC Band, which has rules for approved styles) or nobody does (like my high school, where even Transitions lenses were discouraged). What they did just looked sloppy.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Bingo!
