twangmeister
Wholenote
Posts: 349
Formerly Known As: Twangmeister
Age: 72 and fading fast.....
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Post by twangmeister on Jul 17, 2020 15:36:33 GMT -5
After retirement we moved from eastern NC to downtown Philadelphia, PA. For better or worse every major parade in Philly passes in front of or less than a block away from our condo building. Our first New Years Day in 2018 we saw the annual Mummer's Parade. It was bitterly cold with a windchill factor below zero. In 2019 it was more temporate and I had a chance to speak to a banjo player in full costume from one of the string bands. Long story short I joined a band shortly afterwards.
Mummer's string bands are groups composed of saxophones, banjos, string basses and drums. Mostly we do parades, but sometimes we play concerts of traditional music. Some of these events are in elaborate costumes with elaborate props during which time we do complicated drills. Others we perform in club shirt and black pants. My icon is me in 2020's costume.
On New Years Day I marched with my bandmates down Market and Broad Streets in costume and playing away. For the first third of the parade I had a 12 foot-high prop strapped to my back. With the gusty breeze I was worried that I would sail over the Delaware River to Camden NJ. But I enjoyed myself immensely. Unfortunately due to the pandemic our parades and concerts have been cancelled for the next six months. So there is plenty of time to rehearse at home and in small groups.
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Post by jazzguy on Jul 18, 2020 11:09:33 GMT -5
used to go every year but that ended in my 20s. you kind of have to be from around here to know what mummers are.
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twangmeister
Wholenote
Posts: 349
Formerly Known As: Twangmeister
Age: 72 and fading fast.....
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Post by twangmeister on Jul 18, 2020 13:22:58 GMT -5
Yeah, it seems that way, like a 30-mile radius of Center City. Or the Jersey shore in the Wildwoods, which seems to be the Philly coast.
For some odd reason we get a lot of Fourth of July parades in Massachusetts, which is kind of in my old back yard.
There is some rehearsing going on in my band and I assume others in the area. But not for me yet, as my wife and I are antiques with risk factors. Participation helped make me feel more like a local.
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Post by jazzguy on Jul 18, 2020 16:50:19 GMT -5
My folks had a building in south Philly they rented out to mummers for many years. They'd make their floats and props all year long.
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twangmeister
Wholenote
Posts: 349
Formerly Known As: Twangmeister
Age: 72 and fading fast.....
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Post by twangmeister on Jul 18, 2020 20:54:00 GMT -5
Ahh--South Philly--the beating heart of Mummerdom.
The props are usually in the early phase of construction about now with the biggest push occurring from September to December. Quite a few volunteers are utilized in building and decorating props and floats. It took a few big Ryder Trucks to get our props to Market St. All the expenses for costumes, props and transportation are obtained by parade and festival participation fees, local donations and fund raising, membership fees and clubhouse rentals. Port Richmond is catching a break from our fundraising parades. The final part of the New Years Day Parade for us is marching through Port Richmond to our clubhouse. There is a big turnout from the locals. The Polish American String Band is their'"home team".
Funny thing is our band is more Italian and Irish than Polish. We are lucky enough to have some great arrangers as well as good musicians as members. Most members have been participating for years, some in rival string bands. Because the 2021 parade has been cancelled we will be using our 2021-approved theme for New Years Day 2022.
The TV video has been archived. Too bad the video on PHL17 site is such a PTA to get to or I would paste a link. During our routine I was second screening fan guy from left.
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GmanNJ
Wholenote
somewhere deep in the swamps of Joisey
Posts: 315
Formerly Known As: Your Friendly Neighborhood Gman
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Post by GmanNJ on Jul 20, 2020 7:28:36 GMT -5
aaah the Mummers. Being from the NJ Shore I am very familiar with watching the parade on TV
So not only do they play and wear awesomely large costumes but they DANCE as well
complex well choreographed movements that anyone who did marching band should know. In High School we spelled out in script the school name like a pen. So if you were in the front you did every letter.
as a sax player I connected with the mummers. I did the St Patricks day parade in NYC for all my HS years. Even marched in the Presidents Inauguration parade (Jimmy Carter's). But never made it to the Mummers
still watch them on the Philly channel on TV
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Post by damuniz on Jul 20, 2020 10:44:24 GMT -5
I moved to South Jersey (Near Atlantic City) in 1985. Had never heard of a Mummer. Asked multiple co-workers at the time what a Mummer was, nobody could give me an answer.
Perplexed me for many years.
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twangmeister
Wholenote
Posts: 349
Formerly Known As: Twangmeister
Age: 72 and fading fast.....
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Post by twangmeister on Jul 20, 2020 18:19:13 GMT -5
aaah the Mummers. Being from the NJ Shore I am very familiar with watching the parade on TV So not only do they play and wear awesomely large costumes but they DANCE as well complex well choreographed movements that anyone who did marching band should know. In High School we spelled out in script the school name like a pen. So if you were in the front you did every letter. as a sax player I connected with the mummers. I did the St Patricks day parade in NYC for all my HS years. Even marched in the Presidents Inauguration parade (Jimmy Carter's). But never made it to the Mummers still watch them on the Philly channel on TV My introduction to mummerdom was when I saw a TV snippet way back in the mid-50s showing mummers parading. Then the NuTornadoes "Philadelphia, USA" was a Top 40 hit. Doing the highly choreographed drills takes weeks of rehearsing. I was worried that doing the routines while playing was going tobe too complex for me to deal with. I found the marching and playing wasn't as easy as what I did on a parade ground during my army career. The suits are too hot in the summer and cold in the winter. I had to wear several layers of undergarments and thin gloves to stay warm enough on New Years Day. Turns out that it is physically possible to play in fingerless gloves, but they *better* blend with your mummer suit. |
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