Double Bass Mummers String Bands in Philadelphia: Marching band double bass?

jmlee

jmlee

Catgut? Not funny.
Supporting Member
Jun 16, 2005
5,532
13,774
6,046
Halifax, Nova Scotia
bme.medicine.dal.ca
#1
Lately I've stumbled onto the (new to me) fascinating world of Mummers string bands which appear to be a thing singular to Philadelphia. There's some really interesting history about how this all got started, but at its core each of these bands has a dedication to playing really well and at times dressing in crazy costumes which are sort of reminiscent of Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans. There seems to be a lot of regulations around how these bands are put together—and some serious competing for prizes when multiple bands appear in the same parade on a given event day. The bands can't have any brass instruments, but can have banjos, accordians, reed instruments, drums—and weirdly, multiple double basses which are held up by straps and played while marching. The multiple banjos are inevitably cheerful.

There's three videos below. The first is the band I've come to enjoy most: the Quaker City String Band, this one in costume. (They've won lots of awards and there's lots of video of them marching and playing in various cities for different events.) The second is the same band in uniforms, also marching. This is a *very* good, well-organized, and entertaining outfit. The guy strutting out front is a bag of fun. The double basses are on the right side of the screen, back a few rows. The third video is an indoor event with the Uptown String Band which appears significantly lower scaled, but where you can see the sort of strap assemblies used.

So...who knows more about this. Anybody actually marched with a double bass in one of these string bands?





 
  • Like
Reactions: Tedford, steve_ss, Leo Smith and 1 other person
#2
Here's what I would use, a 21" scale bass uke, double bass style, to which I had Pat Wilkins add a cherry veneer on the top, and I added stick-on ƒ holes. The only issue is having to carry a small bass amp too. I do have a Blackstar Fly3 Duo Bass amp, but wouldn't be loud enough, and I have a Phil Jones Double Four, but not easy to lug around, would have to fashion some kind of rolling cart setup.

Veneer cherry ƒ 1024.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: jmlee
#5
BadMonk said:
The Mummer's Parade on New Year's Day has been happening for well over a hundred years. I live outside Philly and it's always televised. They really pull out all the stops for the parade. I honestly can only take so much of it but I wouldn't say that out loud in South Philly.
Click to expand...
Thank you for saving me the trouble of having to say what you just said. The idea in general of mummers I believe goes back to Shakespeare's time, but you're quite right about the hundred year history of the Philadelphia parades.

1722435364838.jpeg


 
  • Like
Reactions: jmlee and BadMonk
#6
Yep - I live only 20 minutes outside of Philly too, so I often get folks who march their basses here at the shop, looking for supplies. Some of the strap contraptions that they use to carry those basses are really something; some are sophisticated, some are really quite "hack." Necessity is the mother of invention, and I've seen some really "innovative" means to allow them to play on the go.

Most of the basses they march with are really beat up and abused; I've seen them transported to the parades, sans cases, 3-4 in the back of an open pickup truck. They play them in the sun, in the snow, and in the rain. Strings are generally only replaced when they are broken (and cannot be tied in a knot to save them).

The people who march in those parades are a rare breed - and their performances are fueled by legendary quantities of alcohol. But despite the revelry, they take it VERY seriously. It's a whole culture.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tedford, Leo Smith, DJ Bebop and 4 others
#7
I mentioned in another post about a marching band article that advocated the use of six string basses on wheels and six banjos as part of a standard marching band with all the brass, etc. Was that inspired by the Mummers? Maybe.
 
#11
Leo Smith said:
The Mummers Parade is the most Philadelphia thing that can be, but it's so unknown outside of Philadelphia.
Click to expand...
I guess that's right. I'm Canadian, so although I've been to Philly for a conference and saw the historic sites, had a steak sandwich, and drank at a historic pub, I don't know anything about the Mummers parade. A good friend of mine who's a Philly boy born and raised says that the parade was "appointment viewing" in his home when he was growing up and he regrets never having attended one. Personally, I find this sort of arcane festivitiy really interesting—all the moreso when it involves music and crazy double bass practices. That's why I started this thread. Anybody else? :woot:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Leo Smith, Mark Gollihur and DJ Bebop
#14
I’m in my second year of playing upright bass in Avalon String Band, second year of playing upright altogether.

I grew up less than two hours away in New Jersey but had no knowledge of the Philadelphia Mummers tradition. The origins are in the UK and Ireland and Northern Europe, but what happens here is something else entirely, and the New Years Parade is the longest running folk parade in the US. It’s a whole subculture unto itself, with its own customs and lore, and playing in a string band is like being in a combination marching band/ Elks lodge/ softball league—lots of camaraderie, lots of competition, and and lots of fun.

Philadelphia starts drinking on December 31st and doesn’t stop drinking until early on January 2nd. Many of the mummer clubhouses are in South Philadelphia on 2nd St. (colloquially known as “Two Street”) which on New Year’s Day becomes a mile long street party where everyone is cheek to jowl and the later it gets, the sloppier the crowds. You don’t want a nice bass out in those conditions.

Strapping on a bass for marching is kind of like being a Jedi. Everyone builds their own harness. I was surprised that there wasn’t someone who made them, or templates available to make your own.

There also aren’t ready-made mounts for marching lyres to hold sheet music. Some guys screw or glue mounts onto the top, some strap on mounts that are less permanent but not as integral-looking.

As anyone in any kind of marching band knows, you are constantly retuning as your instrument warms up from playing, and also as the surrounding conditions change. It might be 27°F between the skyscrapers as you start the parade, warming up by 20° as you get into some sunlight, and then down again as the sun sets. You will also parade in the middle of the summer, sometimes around 100°F in full costume, and you can feel the heat baking the wood and yourself.

Some of the guys liken it to marching up the street with a canoe. It’s heavy, poorly balanced, ungainly. And maybe you have to be a little bit of a masochist to do it. We do have doubling from bari and bass saxes, but it’s a string band, so string basses it is.
IMG_2498.jpeg
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0289.jpeg
    IMG_0289.jpeg
    4 MB · Views: 2
  • Like
Reactions: Mark Gollihur, garrett2 and jmlee
#15
Thanks so much for this @Tedford! That really helps us to understand that experience.:thumbsup:

Philly's such an individual, eccentric place.

The last time I was down there, I ended up having breakfast with some friends in a greasy spoon next door to a bail bond place. The restaurant was filled with cops yacking it up with each other and various hangers on. It was assumed by the tough-as-nails waitress looking after us that you were going to order "eggs over medium". Now, we do eggs over easy up here, but a medium egg was news to me—but de rigeur there. It's like knowing exactly what to order at a Philly steak place so you don't look like an idiot. Complicated place to act like a local.:laugh:

[This a related aside. My wife and I were travelling in Australia and spent a night at a B&B in a little town the Blue Mountains. That morning we found out that we were the very last guests that the hostess was ever going to have and she was retiring from the business. So...she asked us if we'd like some eggs and bacon for breakfast. We said sure. She then asked how we wanted our eggs. My wife said "over easy" and the hostess lost it. "I'm so goddamned tired of you Americans and your stupid eggs over easy. Nobody in his right mind talks like that or, would eat an egg like that, and I'll be goddamned if I'm going to cook them now. You're getting them sunny side up and you're going to enjoy them.":rage: She then stormed off into the kitchen. My wife and I looked at each other :eek: and agreed that retirement was a good idea for this lady. Hospitality seemed to have lost its charm. I later discovered that most Aussies say "sunny side down" to refer to what we'd call an "over easy" egg up here in Canada. (Yeah, we weren't Americans either...)/ :whistle:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back