Drogheda Brass Band bring some blue skies online
AT least the one thing we can’t complain about during the lockdown is the unseasonably good weather we’ve been having, so it seemed appropriate that after weeks of rehearsal, Drogheda Brass Band revealed their online performance of Mr Blue Sky.
The ELO classic performed by the award-winning ensemble, debuted on their facebook page last week, and has racked up hundreds of views across Youtube and social media.
“The band has been unable to rehearse since the Covid-19 pandemic came to Ireland, so the band’s Musical Director John Carpenter came up with another way of keeping us in practice and “playing together”, so to speak,” explains band member Anthony Murphy. “He arranged the music of Mr. Blue Sky by ELO and emailed the parts to band members, and when everyone had recorded their parts, the video clips were all sent to John, who put them together using video editing software.”
That’s quite a complex task as each audio track has to be edited and the videos placed in various patterns and at the right time with the music. It took a couple of weeks to put the whole thing together.
“It was great to see so many members taking part, and thanks to the help of solo tenor horn player Martin Cassidy, the band’s president and B flat bass player, Tony Collins, was also able to take part,” explains Anthony. “There’s a great clip at the end showing Tony bringing his bass away in a wheelbarrow – he celebrated his 80th birthday in April, and despite being locked down in Tinure he is keeping in constant touch with band members and is practicing every day.”
The band was preparing for the National Band Championships in April but that contest was cancelled, as were the South of Ireland Band Championships in Clonakilty scheduled for July, and the North of Ireland Band Championships scheduled for Armagh for October. It is not known when they will able to return to rehearsals. Practicing together is not an option for bands because of social distancing.
Mr. Blue Sky was the second lockdown video we produced. The DBB members first played a beautiful rendition of the hymn ‘Be Thou My Vision’ (Slane): https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=kSarAHQQ3qg
And there’s more in the pipeline. Watch out for a special performance coming soon by the Drogheda Youth Brass Band!