For my fieldwork project, I plan on researching a 35-piece brass band from Rome, Italy called “Titubanda” that will be performing here in Providence on October 13-14. Prior to coming here however, they will be performing in Somerville, Massachusetts (Davis Square) for this year’s third annual Honk! Festival. I have contacted one of the band members and have an interview scheduled. Unfortunately, the interview and the performances are scheduled after the due date of this assignment, so instead of writing my fieldnotes on an actual performance and interview, my current fieldnotes will consist of my impressions on the band’s website and a few of their songs I managed to obtain through iTunes.
The first song entitled “Mra” begins with a steady snare beat with voices and whistles intermittently interrupting in the background. From the sound of it, it seems like this was a live performance being recorded. It is difficult to pick out the source of the yells and whistles, whether it is the band members or the stirred up crowd, but nevertheless, the isolated shouts of encouragement and cat-like calls elicit comparisons to the kakagoe of taiko players. Within a few seconds a trumpeter joins the scene and begins to solo over the drumline. One by one, each of the band members joins in, adding to the accompaniment and filling out the overall sound. About 00:54 seconds into the song, after everyone sounds like they have joined in on the song, the entire band breaks into the song’s main catchy riff, which continues on for the next four minutes or so with very little variation on the main line. What strikes me the most is the fact that although the song began with an improvisational solo, there were no apparent breaks in between the main riffs of the song for solos. Even though in another song the band seems to dedicate parts of the song to improvisation, I am curious to find out whether the band has a specific reason for doing this and whether it highlights any striking ethics of the band. They seem to favor unison over individual improvisation; however, when the time comes and the band opens up for solos, it always seems to veer towards dissonance and cacophany. A band that prides itself on stirring up crowds and just plain having fun, Titubanda surely has the audible aspect going for itself. Now, I am curious to see them live to see if the their performance aesthetic contains the same amount of energy and eccentricities as their music.
Almost on cue, four minutes into the song, the entire band diverges from the main melodious riff and completely transitions into a slower, more dissonant sounding ending with a drum fill that draws out more cries and yells. In an attempt at musical humor, after the quick and final burst of a chord, amidst the applause and cheers from the crowd, some of the band members extend the ending with random outbursts of trumpet and horn, almost teasing the audience into guessing when the actual ending of the song is. It seems to have generated the desired effect as a few of the crowd members chuckle in amusement. This bring about the theme of connection between the street honk bands and their audience or crowd. Unlike several other musical performances, this type of performance seems to be more interactive and arousing. How does this work towards the band’s ultimate goal of making their ideologies known/heard? Do we hear them through the music? Or is the music merely an accent to their pre and post-performance message?
Taking a step back from the musical aspect of Titubanda’s performances, I think it is equally if not more important to discover why this band decided to make the trip all the way from Rome, Italy to participate in this “grassroots, non-profit event” dubbed Honk!Fest. What is most intriguing is that none of the bands performing in the festival will be making any money off their performances. Locals from all over Cambridge and Somerville are generous enough to provide these musicians with places to stay and food to eat, and the fact that all of these performers are making this great personal sacrifice to come together to “honk their horns” in rousing unison to support their causes, speaks volumes about the strength of their convictions. I hope to uncover what their convictions are and how they intend to make them known, when I participate in Honk!Fest this weekend and attend their performance here in Providence.
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2 comments:
The format of "Mra" as you have described it has a striking resemblance to the electracoustic improv ensemble that I am studying. They too tend to improvise all at once. In my research, I have found that this simultaneous improvisation succeeds based on the fact that each person has a relatively melodic pattern that they embellish while staying within the original realm. Did you find something similar? I had never really listened intently to music like this before and I was impressed at the group's ability to pull it off.
These non-traditional "fieldnotes" are quite effective in giving you a way to engage with the band's music and think through its relationship to their professed ideology. The connection to taiko is a good one -- not just in terms of the shouts of encouragement (which have parallels in many musical traditions, of course) but in terms of what it means to be an activist ensemble (Wong's thoughts about taiko in America are obviously relevant). One suggestion: since this is a blog, you could have easily included links to the band's website, the HonkFest site, etc. in your text. You also didn't keep the promise to reflect on your impressions of their website (clearly the recording was enough to keep you busy) -- I'd encourage you to show the site as part of your presentation.
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