The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Leap year birthday boy gets big surprise
All-volunteer group surprises special-needs fan with house call.
Myles Howard turned 20 with help from The Feed & Seed Marching Abominable band.
Feb. 29 only falls on a Saturday once every 28 years, and so Neal Howard knew if he were going to throw a blowout birthday bash for his Leap Year baby, now was the time.
And since son Myles loves music so much, Howard knew a band was a party must. He also knew he couldn’t afford to hire the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a favorite of father and son.
To the rescue came The Seed & Feed Marching Abominable, an outlandishly dressed, theater-inspired, high-energy community band that’s been marching in parades and entertaining audiences around Atlanta since 1974.
The all-volunteer band based in Atlanta’s Little Five Points waived its $1,250 fee for playing a private party outside the perimeter to be a part of Myles’ 20th birthday celebration.
That’s not unusual. The band, with a playlist of feel-good, danceable rock and pop standards, regularly performs for free for good causes, said Paige McKay Kubik, chief executive officer of the education nonprofit, Frazer Center, and the band’s musical director and conductor.
Band members are all ages, from middle schoolers to 90-somethings. They represent a wide range of professions and levels of musical experience.
They come from all over metro Atlanta and play at all types of events, from parades and weddings to funerals and festivals. They’ve even performed on a merry-go-round.
The band was busier than usual in the run-up to Myles’ birthday, playing five events in eight days, including a Mardi Gras party for hospice patients, family, and staff at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
They had a band fundraiser and silent auction planned for the night of Feb. 29, but still couldn’t say no to making a trip to Howard’s Woodstock home.
Myles’ story had touched the heart of Patricia Pichardo, director of product management at RentPath and the band’s booking manager. In a passionate plea for the band’s help, Howard had described Myles, a special needs adult with Down syndrome, as “one of the angels walking among us.”
Myles was lucky to be alive at 20. Just after his 18th birthday, he spent 69 days in the hospital with acute respiratory distress syndrome and had to be revived by doctors when his heart stopped beating for a moment or two, his father said.
And there couldn’t be a better birthday gift for Myles than a band concert.
One of Myles’ favorite pastimes is to be in a swing in the doorway of his playroom. Opera or other music is playing, and Myles is pretending that he’s conducting an orchestra consisting of some of his favorite action figures.
Between the fundraiser that evening and the long car ride from Little Five Points to Woodstock, Pichardo and Kubik weren’t expecting a big turnout of band members for Myles’ party.
“We were wrong,” Kubik said. “Myles and his dad inspired about 30 band members to show up.”
Band members came from as far as Blue Ridge and Hogansville and were dressed in superhero costumes, befitting the theme of Myles’ party. They gathered in the cul de sac down from the Howards’ home, as about 30 guests mingled in the front yard.
On a signal from Dad, band members began marching toward the house.
“Myles had no idea we were coming,” Kubik said. “When he saw us, he ran up the street to meet us and joined our ranks.”
The guest of honor was able to try his hand at playing the drums and trombone.
“He danced, did a little conducting, pumped his fist, and gave us the rockand-roll hand sign throughout the performance,” Kubik said.
Howard had hoped the band might do a song or two, but, instead, they performed for 30 to 45 minutes.
Myles was elated. Dad was overwhelmed.
“I was almost overcome at what these amazing people were doing,” Howard said. “They were all dressed up in wacky costumes, wigs and such. They had their instruments, and they were all there to help my sweet son have an amazing day.”