it was rumored that the Nativity High School Band was planning a comeback for the Fall of 2007. Here is a early photo taken at one of the first concerts, years before the band performed at Altamont Speedway. Click the picture to enlarge (the photo, not you).Trout called Air Your Opinion and the following is a transcript of the dialogue that ensued:
Trout: I was delighted to read that one of my all time favorite bands is planning a reunion. Now if only they can get The Pottsville Kiltie Bagpipe Band to follow suit; one of the best all girl groups of all time, better than the Go-Go's. Seriously, I think the reunion of the Nativity Band will be the best thing for the county since Renninger's Market. You know, the band had been around longer than the Stones. Can you believe that? Yes, the band had been running out of steam, but I am positive it will be better than ever after its hiatus. Some say that a reunited or reconstituted band simply relies on the so-called "nostalgia factor" and creates no new magic. I disagree. Kiss got its groove back when the quartet reunited. So will the Nativity Band.
Commentator: A “new” Nativity band just won’t be the same. The new group will simply rely on the worn out oldies; I predict that the band will have a whole new lineup with maybe one or two old geezers thrown in. That stinks. I am definitely not interested in listening to new drummers or new piccolo and tuba players learning the great classics that I grew up with, and then trying to pass themselves off as "the Nativity Band." I am talking about those magical numbers such as the Notre Dame Victory March, The Star Spangled Banner and Anchors Aweigh. That magic is gone forever. Hip Hop and death metal now reign, get with it Trout.
Trout: The Nativity reunion band will put on the ultimate musical concert, a sensory experience that will be hard to describe in words. Those band members are old friends, in a sense, to all of us that grew up humming their tunes and singing along; they have been living in our heads for years or decades. I still can’t get the Pink Panther Theme, or The Hustle out of my mind. It brings back memories of a certain half-time show at a Shenandoah Catholic football game in the late 60s. I remember the band all decked out in their gawdy psychedelic green and gold uniforms. The theatrical presentation that they put on that night! Better than the Temptations or Steppin' Fetchet. They marched perfectly to the music. When the band intricately weaved together the themes from Batman and The Green Hornet, the Shenandoah crowd, normally subdued, went into a frenzy. Fire hoses were brought out. The band was on fire that night, for sure!
Commentator: Substitutions of band members are irritating. I hated when Pete Best was replaced by Ringo. What is the point of reuniting with someone you have never met before. I don’t care if the newer version even plays better than the original; it’s hard to match the excitement. If you want to hear The Pink Panther Theme, or Winchester Cathedral, then just download them from Napster.
Trout: You are being too much of a purist. A band should not just disappear and remain a memory. A reunion of bands like Cream, the Police and the Nativity Band can show young whippersnappers how to play real music. I think you are being a musical snob. Just because we were able to catch the Nativity Band during their original heyday, future generations should not be deprived of seeing a band that should be shared by the whole world.
Commentator: The end of the Nativity Band was a painful period. The band was worn out. We have to move forward. There are other newer, exciting bands out there. I bet you never even listened to Cradle of Filth. Now that is a band for today.
Trout: I was there for that legendary, last live performance: the celebrated rooftop show held on a cold, windy and wintry mid-afternoon, high atop the Nativity High School on Lawton’s Hill. It brought Pottsville to a standstill and police had to be called in. The Nativity Band performed its gritty rendition of God Bless America (Except for New Jersey) and that song alone placed the show in the annals of musical history with its wild bass drum solo, and blaring horn accompaniment. Not one of the new groups, even The Cradle of Filth, can ever generate so much raw, sensuous energy. The band really pumped up the audience that afternoon. As its encore, the band ripped through a powerful extended versions of The Pina Colada Song and I’d Like to Teach the World To Sing. Pure clarinet magic! I remember heading down to Mickey's Fountain on East Norwegian Street for a coke and a Raleigh cigarette afterwards, not realizing that I witnessed the end of an era. Music would never be the same, nor cigarettes.
Trout: I was delighted to read that one of my all time favorite bands is planning a reunion. Now if only they can get The Pottsville Kiltie Bagpipe Band to follow suit; one of the best all girl groups of all time, better than the Go-Go's. Seriously, I think the reunion of the Nativity Band will be the best thing for the county since Renninger's Market. You know, the band had been around longer than the Stones. Can you believe that? Yes, the band had been running out of steam, but I am positive it will be better than ever after its hiatus. Some say that a reunited or reconstituted band simply relies on the so-called "nostalgia factor" and creates no new magic. I disagree. Kiss got its groove back when the quartet reunited. So will the Nativity Band.
Commentator: A “new” Nativity band just won’t be the same. The new group will simply rely on the worn out oldies; I predict that the band will have a whole new lineup with maybe one or two old geezers thrown in. That stinks. I am definitely not interested in listening to new drummers or new piccolo and tuba players learning the great classics that I grew up with, and then trying to pass themselves off as "the Nativity Band." I am talking about those magical numbers such as the Notre Dame Victory March, The Star Spangled Banner and Anchors Aweigh. That magic is gone forever. Hip Hop and death metal now reign, get with it Trout.
Trout: The Nativity reunion band will put on the ultimate musical concert, a sensory experience that will be hard to describe in words. Those band members are old friends, in a sense, to all of us that grew up humming their tunes and singing along; they have been living in our heads for years or decades. I still can’t get the Pink Panther Theme, or The Hustle out of my mind. It brings back memories of a certain half-time show at a Shenandoah Catholic football game in the late 60s. I remember the band all decked out in their gawdy psychedelic green and gold uniforms. The theatrical presentation that they put on that night! Better than the Temptations or Steppin' Fetchet. They marched perfectly to the music. When the band intricately weaved together the themes from Batman and The Green Hornet, the Shenandoah crowd, normally subdued, went into a frenzy. Fire hoses were brought out. The band was on fire that night, for sure!
Commentator: Substitutions of band members are irritating. I hated when Pete Best was replaced by Ringo. What is the point of reuniting with someone you have never met before. I don’t care if the newer version even plays better than the original; it’s hard to match the excitement. If you want to hear The Pink Panther Theme, or Winchester Cathedral, then just download them from Napster.
Trout: You are being too much of a purist. A band should not just disappear and remain a memory. A reunion of bands like Cream, the Police and the Nativity Band can show young whippersnappers how to play real music. I think you are being a musical snob. Just because we were able to catch the Nativity Band during their original heyday, future generations should not be deprived of seeing a band that should be shared by the whole world.
Commentator: The end of the Nativity Band was a painful period. The band was worn out. We have to move forward. There are other newer, exciting bands out there. I bet you never even listened to Cradle of Filth. Now that is a band for today.
Trout: I was there for that legendary, last live performance: the celebrated rooftop show held on a cold, windy and wintry mid-afternoon, high atop the Nativity High School on Lawton’s Hill. It brought Pottsville to a standstill and police had to be called in. The Nativity Band performed its gritty rendition of God Bless America (Except for New Jersey) and that song alone placed the show in the annals of musical history with its wild bass drum solo, and blaring horn accompaniment. Not one of the new groups, even The Cradle of Filth, can ever generate so much raw, sensuous energy. The band really pumped up the audience that afternoon. As its encore, the band ripped through a powerful extended versions of The Pina Colada Song and I’d Like to Teach the World To Sing. Pure clarinet magic! I remember heading down to Mickey's Fountain on East Norwegian Street for a coke and a Raleigh cigarette afterwards, not realizing that I witnessed the end of an era. Music would never be the same, nor cigarettes.
I await the return of the Nativity Band and Mickey's Fountain. I miss them both; even more than the cigarettes.
2 comments:
How lucky both of you were to have actually had a "live" band during your days at Nativity. I attended Nativity during the stone age period, back when Yuenglings still only had 1 brewery and still made ice cream (a hedge bet). We didn't have real live musicians back then. During football games,
we were supposedly inspired by the playing of recorded music piped through the Pottsville High School football field speakers. Having endured that, I thinkm any live music would be preferable. So bring back the Nativity band but not with all those grade schoolers tagging along.
Great work.
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