The Hungry March Band is an American brass band with approximately 15-20 active musicians and performers. In performance, the group's size can vary from five to fifty: from a quintet to a large corps of musicians, dancers, baton twirlers, and hula hoopers. HMB has a repertoire of originals and traditionals that borrows from global brass band traditions, including

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

Gypsy music,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n wedding bands, and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

second line. The band also references punk rock;

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

, hip hop; various

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

traditions, including

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

and bop;

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

; and

chance music Aleatoric music (also aleatory music or chance music; from the Latin word ''alea'', meaning " dice") is music in which some element of the composition is left to chance, and/or some primary element of a composed work's realization is left to the ...

. They cite

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

, the Shyam Brass Band,

Fanfare Ciocarlia A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental perf ...

Rebirth Brass Band The Rebirth Brass Band is a New Orleans brass band. The group was founded in 1983 by Phillip "Tuba Phil" Frazier, his brother Keith Frazier, Kermit Ruffins,Skelly, RichardAllMusic Profile Retrieved 2013-02-9 and classmates from Joseph S. Cla ...

, the

Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many oth ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

Weird Al Yankovic Weird derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Wyrd, meaning fate or destiny. In modern English it has acquired the meaning of “strange or uncanny”. It may also refer to: Places * Weird Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. People *"Weird Al" Yankovic ...

, and

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

as influences.

History

The Hungry March Band was formed in 1997 at the Happy Birthday Hideout for the purpose of performing in the

Coney Island Mermaid Parade The Coney Island Mermaid Parade is an art parade held annually in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York. The event, the largest art parade in the United States, is held each year in June and celebrates the arrival of the summer season. Created and prod ...

. Some early members were Scott Moore on

sousaphone The sousaphone ( ) is a brass instrument in the tuba family. Created around 1893 by J. W. Pepper at the direction of American bandleader John Philip Sousa (after whom the instrument was then named), it was designed to be easier to play than ...

, Cuzn Johnny, Dreiky Caprice, Tim Hoey, Darius 'Boom Boom' Macrum, Noah on

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, Theresa Westerdahl aka Tara Fire Ball on

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

, Gam Mitkevich on

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

, and Sara Valentine as baton twirler. Sasha Sumner, Sebastian Isler, Atsushi Tsamura, Emily Fairey, Okkon Tomohiko, Greg Squared, Ben Meyers, and Jason Candler all joined the band during the early period, before 2001.

Performances

Part of the attraction for band members, spectators, and participants alike is the band's ability to move anywhere relatively quickly without need of electricity or artificial amplification. They have attracted attention with performances in unlikely locations, including

subway trains Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...

, the

Staten Island Ferry The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry route operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. The ferry's single route runs through New York Harbor between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island, with ferry ...

, and unannounced street events. They have also played numerous outdoor festivals in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and around

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, various protest marches, at Rubulad and Gemini & Scorpio events in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, and annually in Boston, Massachusetts (and

Providence, RI Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

) at the

HONK! ''Honk!'' is a musical adaptation of the 1843 Hans Christian Andersen story ''The Ugly Duckling'', incorporating a message of tolerance. The book and lyrics are by Anthony Drewe and music is by George Stiles (of the British songwriting duo S ...

Festival in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

. Around New York City, they have performed at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

and countless clubs throughout the five boroughs.

Notable gigs and tours:
2000:

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

during one of

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the Un ...

's rallies during his 2000 bid for the presidency of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

which included a march to the steps of the main branch of the USPS to deliver voter registrations.
2000: 24-Hour

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

Festival near

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

2001: Mummer's Parade in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

2004: Summer European Tour (Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands)
2005:

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

2005: Summer European Tour (Italy, France)
2006: Summer European Tour (Germany, Italy)
2007: Summer European Tour (Germany, Spain, France)
2009: Summer Tour in France, Sant'Anna Arresi Jazz Festival, Sardinia, Italy
In 2010, their concert from the 2009 Sant'Anna Arresi Jazz Festival in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

was broadcast on Radio3 throughout

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

.
On May 27, 2010, their performance of Conduction No. 188 under the baton of Butch Morris was also broadcast nationally throughout Italy.
2010: West coast US Tour
2012: XIII Festival Iberioamericano de Teatro, Bogota, Colombia 2015: Summer European Tour (England, France) 2016
Le Festif de Baie-St-Paul
Québec, Canada The band also makes an appearance in

John Cameron Mitchell John Cameron Mitchell (born April 21, 1963) is a two-time Tony Award winning American actor, playwright, screenwriter, singer, songwriter, producer and director. He is best known as the writer, director and star of the 2001 film '' Hedwig and th ...

's 2006 movie

Shortbus ''Shortbus'' is a 2006 American erotic comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colorful characters trying desperately to connect in an early 2000s New York City. Th ...

Discography

Running Through with the Sadness (2018)
Live at the Sant'Anna Arresi Jazz Festival (2009)
Suspicious Package (Roll Out the Poncho) EP (2008)
Portable Soundtracks for Temporary Utopias (2007)
Critical Brass (2005)
On the Waterfront (2002)
Hungry March Band Official Bootleg (2000)

Running Through with the Sadness

Recorded over the course of four years, this album was produced and recorded by HMB member Jason Candler. It is composed entirely of original material written by band members, the cover art is by HMB member John Heyenga, and is the first album by HMB to be released on LP format. Basis tracks were recorded at Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO, Brooklyn, and the rest of the production was handled at the Maid's Room, Lower East Side.

Portable Soundtracks for Temporary Utopias

Recorded in March 2007 at The Hook in Red Hook, Brooklyn, this CD was produced by

Danny Blume Danny Blume is an American music producer, musician, and composer. He is a Grammy Award winner and multiple Grammy nominee. He operates a studio and lives in Woodstock, New York. Before becoming a music producer, he played as a guitarist and bass ...

, Matt Moran and the Hungry March Band, and mastered by Scott Hull. HMB member Jason Candler provided additional production. It almost exclusively comprises original material written by band members, and the cover art is by Samantha Tsistinas with design work by Julie Hair, both of whom are percussionists in the band.

Critical Brass

This CD was recorded at LOHO Studios on Clinton Street on

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

a few weeks after the Hungry March Band returned from its first

an tour. In a similar style to ''On the Waterfront'', the entire thing was recorded live, but this time with many well-placed microphones, and in a more controlled sound environment. It was produced by Jason Candler and the Hungry March Band, recorded by Joe Hogan, and contains cover art by Troy Frantz.

On the Waterfront

''On the Waterfront'' was recorded in two sessions in 2001 with the entire band playing live into two microphones (one for the bass drum and one for the band at large). It was recorded in a loft apartment in Williamsburg,

by John Gurrin and edited by HMB member Jason Candler. The cover art is by East Village artist Fly. This disc is named after and dedicated to the vacant lot on the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

where the band used to rehearse and to which it attributes its miraculous rebirth.

Official Bootleg

The first Hungry March Band CD is a fairly accurate reflection of what the band was doing for the first few years of its existence. Several tracks were recorded at the now-defunct Rubulad art space in Williamsburg,

in the

fall Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...

of 1999, but most of them were culled from field recordings made by band members. The opening track, ''Disco Bhangra,'' was recorded at the Ship's Mast bar on Kent Avenue. Most of the material was improvised based on loose structural ideas that were conceived by sousaphonist Scott Moore, and designed to allow for maximum improvisation and spontaneity. The CD arrangement was completed by Ben Meyers & Scott Moore.

Related performance projects

The following is an incomplete list of other musical and theatrical projects that involve or have involved members of the Hungry March Band: Ram Umbus (Scott Moore, John Lewis)

Crash Worship Crash Worship or ADRV (''Adoración de rotura violenta'', Spanish for "crash worship") was a San Diego, California based experimental music and performance art ensemble formed in 1986. They were most renowned for live performances partly inspired ...

(Dreiky Caprice)
Nimble One Minded Animals Here (Scott Moore)
Sink Manhattan (Scott Moore)
THRUST(Tara Fire Ball)
Tung Fa Lupa (Tara Fire Ball, Tim Hoey)
Female Bureau of Investigation (Sasha Sumner)

Live Skull Live Skull is a post-punk/experimental rock band from New York City, formed in 1982. In an overview of their abrasive no wave-influenced music, ''Trouser Press'' said, "As part of the same New York avant-noisy scene that spawned Sonic Youth, Lyd ...

(Julie Hair, Rich Hutchin
>< RICH HUTCHINS >

Of Cabbages and Kings (Rich Hutchin
>< RICH HUTCHINS >

Digitalis (Julie Hair, Rich Hutchin
>< RICH HUTCHINS >

Ruin... (Rich Hutchin
>< RICH HUTCHINS >

3 Teens Kill 4 (Julie Hair)
Bite Like A Kitty (Julie Hair)
Guarsh (Jason Candle
G U A R S H
br> The

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

Hawkeye Marching Band (John Barker)
The Bleeding Reeds (Emily Fairey, Greg Squared, Jason Candler, Okkon Yokoyama)
The Bindlestiff Family Circus (Ben Meyers, Tim Hoey, Kris Anto
Main
br> Torch Job (Samantha Tsistinas, Tara Fire Bal
Torch Job
br> Scorchers (Dee Jay Mush One, Ben Shanle
///////////////// The Scorchers - Brooklyn Ska ///////////////
br> Fireproof (Ben Shanley, Anders Nelson, Dee Jay Mush One)

Circus Amok Circus Amok is a New York City-based circus and theater troupe that produces free outdoor performances every year in the NYC parks. Founded in 1989 by performance artist Jennifer Miller, who directs the company, the troupe began touring the city p ...

(Ben Meyer
Circus Amok!
br> Little Miss Big Mouth (Sara Valentine, Rich Hutchin
>< RICH HUTCHINS >

Neues Kabarett (Urania Mylonas)
Juliet Echo (Jen Emma, Rich Hutchin
>< RICH HUTCHINS >

Jollyship the Whiz-Bang (Tim Hoey, Kris Anton)

Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping is a radical performance community based in New York City. The Stop Shopping Choir is accompanied by a comic preacher, Reverend Billy, portrayed by performer William (Billy) Talen. The philosophy of ...

(Sasha Sumner, Urania Mylona
Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir , Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir
br> Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters (Jason Candle
Gary Lucas - Official Website
br> Earth People (Jason Candle
Earth People
br> Gelcaps/Millbrook Falls/The Lids(Doug Anson, Gam)
Guitar Trips
Golden Haze Society , Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos
(Doug Anson)
Doug Douglas and the Road Agents(Doug Anson)
The Woes (Joe Kead
the woes
br> Zagnuts Cirkus Orchestra (Greg Square

br> Rude Mechanical Orchestra (Michele Hardesty, Joe Keady, Ben Meyers, Rich Hutchin
>< RICH HUTCHINS >
Quince Marcum, Julie Hair, Jean Loscalz
Rude Mechanical Orchestra
br> Veveritse (JR Hankins, Don Godwin, Joe Keady, Greg Squared, Emily Geller, Quince Marcum, Sarah Ibrahim)
Stagger Back Brass Band (Michele Hardesty, Quince Marcum, Joe Keady, Don Godwin, Greg Squared, JR Hankins)
The Red Hook Ramblers (Joe Keady)
Squeezebox (Joe Keady)
Phideaux (Rich Hutchin
>< RICH HUTCHINS >
Julie Hair
Phideaux

Lubricated Goat Lubricated Goat are an Australian noise rock band which originally formed in 1986 by multi-instrumentalist Stu Spasm. They achieved brief notoriety in November 1988 for appearing nude on the ABC TV program '' Blah Blah Blah'', wearing only thei ...

(Rich Hutchin
>< RICH HUTCHINS >

Minor Mishap Marching Band (Adam Loudermilk)
o'death (David Rogers-Berr
O"Death – Out of Hands We Go
br> Raya Brass Band (Greg Squared, Don Godwin)

References

Shortbus - film by John Cameron Mitchell - appearance and musicLa “Hungry March Band” da New York al Poco Loco di Alghero
* ttp://www.thevillager.com/villager_200/thehungrymarchband.html The Hungry March Band are metal heads of another sort - by Brooke Edwards - The Villager -Volume 76, Number 4 February 28 - March 6, 2007br>Playing Oompah In the Key Of Whatever; A Brooklyn Band Marches To a Different Sousaphone- by Andy Newman - NY Times - June 29, 2000Hunger Force: Brooklyn’s own Hungry March Band heads up a spitvalve triptych of highly mobile musical units, late Saturday night in and around the Asbury Lanes.
* In Netflix series

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Wo ...

season 1 Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) * Season 4 (disambiguati ...

, episode 10, the characters Piper and Larry talk about going to a Hungry March Band show

External links

Official Website

Facebook Page

Live radio performance on WFMU
{{Authority control American marching bands Gypsy punk groups American brass bands Musical groups established in 1997