Introducing The Firestand Band

When we were younger, my brother and I started several bands. I don't know if it was too many episodes of The Partridge Family, Donny & Marie Osmond, The Brady Bunch (remember those Sunshine Day episodes? - you can see them on YouTube - too funny :o) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaCCG7QkM_c) or my favorite The Jackson Five http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9h4qUsojyE - but starting bands was one of our pass times.

We only had one band with 'real' instruments though, we usually would use household items like pots and pans or my mother's Tupperware dishes (the Tupperware dish/pot band was our most popular because of this guy named Maxi who was on the drums - well, I mean pots - he would draw huge crowds, but best believe those crowds disappeared before my mother got home :o)

But the name of this particular band was Firestand Band. We named it so because 'Firestand' was the name on the drum set my brother received one Christmas. That Christmas I also got a set of maracas and a tambourine. We were so physced. Along with my brother and I we enlisted a neighbor to be in our band, he was one of the background singers and was in charge of putting on the record (yeah we played along with records most of the time) and the lighting - which consisted of him turning the bedroom light switch on and off really fast :o)

We had one original song entitled "Oh!" - too bad I don't have a recording - but "Oh" was actually the only lyric as well. It was a fast song that went something like "Oh - a few drum beats and tambourine/maraca shakes - Oh - more beats on the drum and tambourine/maraca shakes, then a longer Ohhhhhh." Then repeat until tired and/or out of breath. With the loud drumming and lights flashing, I tell you it was straight pandemonium!

Along with "Oh!" one of The Firestand Band's covers was Diana's Ross' "Love Hangover" ( check out this performance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEIC423qO9k) Of course, I was Diana Ross. That one started off with the lights off until the end of the final slow "Overrrrr" then it was on! Lights began flashing (complements of our lighting man) I picked up my maraca/tambourine combo and my brother went wild on the drums. Again, straight pandemonium! Not to mention how we would occasionally put the record on a faster speed - we'd be on fire!

As we got a little older and bolder, during summer breaks we got more creative with our setup. We had costumes, show programs, and we incorporated more performances from other groups (neighborhood kids of course). My mother's fur coats, wigs and high-heeled boots were great for our Prince, DeBarge and The Time performances.

The living room was transformed to an auditorium, decorated with Christmas lights to separate the audience from the stage (yep - we had an audience and charged a 10 cent admission - only one person paid though and, of course, someone was posted outside just in case mom decided to come home early).

Ahhhh those were the days :o)