Youngblood Brass Band
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| Youngblood Brass Band | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Genre(s) | Riot Jazz Hip Hop Punk |
| Years active | 1997-present |
| Label(s) | Layered Music |
| Website | youngbloodbrassband.com |
| Members | |
| D.H. Skogen Tom Reschke |
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| Former members | |
| Nat McIntosh Carl Bartsch |
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The Youngblood Brass Band is a brass band from Oregon, Wisconsin, United States that was started by students at Oregon High School in 1995 when they were known as the One Lard Biskit Brass Band with the name changed to the current name in 1998.
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[edit] History
The band's founding members, sousaphonist Nat McIntosh and snare drummer/lyricist D.H. Skogen, both went to Oregon High School and first played together in 1994. The band came together in 1995 as the One Lard Biskit Brass Band. The Youngblood name dates from 1998, the year the group put out their first album, Word On The Street. In 2000 Youngblood released Unlearn, which featured appearances by Talib Kweli, Mike Ladd, DJ Skooly and Ike Willis. Unlearn, which like Word On The Street was released independently, garnered the band significant attention and led to them being signed to Ozone Music NYC. The band's first album for Ozone, called center:level:roar, came out in 2003. They tour consistently in the United States and Europe, and in 2005 released a live album entitled live. places. on their Layered Music record label. Their newest album, Is That a Riot? (2006) was supported by multiple international tours and festival appearances. The band is also known for frequent educational visits to a range of public and private institutions.
[edit] Musical style
The Youngblood Brass Band combines the inspiration they took from the traditional New Orleans brass band sound with influences from jazz music, improvised music, a decidedly punk ethos, and a strong hip hop component. More than many New Orleans groups, the Youngblood band focuses on tight ensemble playing and pushing the boundaries of brass band music beyond its traditional genre, which allows them, even when performing live, to provide solid, diverse backing for Skogen's rapping and McIntosh's virtousic sousaphone work. Unable to be classified as either jazz, hip-hop, punk or any other existing genre, the band coined the term Riot Jazz. The band acknowledge the debt their music owes to the New Orleans bands, however, with performances of traditional tunes such as "Chinatown, My Chinatown", which they included on their Unlearn album.
[edit] Educational work
Band members credit "really good public school system arts-education programs" [1] for inspiring their love of music, and they make an effort to play for schools as well as at clubs and larger venues. Under the aegis of the Layered Arts Collective, which band members co-founded, they also present musical lectures where in addition to performing they speak about the history of brass bands and hip-hop. Layered also promotes free workshops for local Wisconsin youth, brings in national touring musicians and functions as label/publishing house for their family of artists (including Cougar, another genre-bending group of experimental rockers that also count D.H. Skogen as a member).
[edit] Members
Youngblood's current lineup features
- D.H. Skogen - percussion/vocals
- Tom Reschke - percussion
- Moses Patrou - percussion
- Jonah Gaster - percussion
- Arian Macklin - sousaphone
- Charley Wagner - trumpet
- Mike Boman - trumpet
- Tony Barba - saxophones
- Zach Lucas - saxophones
- Jerome Harper - trombone
- Matt Hanzelka - trombone
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
* recorded by One Lard Biskit Brass Band
