A Warning to Alumni of Show Band West

Fellow alumni of U.S. Navy Show Band West:

Every year, more and more guys who played in that East Coast show band infiltrate the NMA reunion. Their mission is insidious: they're trying to convince the world that their Show Band was the Show Band.

This flimsy assertion is primarily based on their occasional pleasure cruises to various, sunny South American resort areas. We who have endured the rigors of three-week tours through California's hazardous wine country know the real meaning of sacrifice and service. We know which Show Band was the Show Band.

Help stamp out this East Coast Show Band heresy. Come to the 2016 reunion of the Navy Musicians Association and set the record straight.

Navy Musicians Association 2016 Reunion

Kansas City, MO

June 15-19, 2016

Reunion information here.

Shipmate Frank's Goin' to Kansas City.

Navy Musicians Association 2016 Reunion 

June 15-19 Kansas City, MO 

Get more information.

A Seasonal Message from Shipmate Frank

It's time for all who have served in the Armed Forces to remember the Reason for the Season...

CNO's 2015 Navy Birthday Message

Whom is the Navy Birthday intended to honor?

We have Navy Day later in October, as well as Navy Weeks, Fleet Weeks. They're fun, informative and patriotic, for sure, but those are public relations events.

So, then, is today's Navy Birthday a private party for those on active duty? I took off my uniform long ago. I'm not even retired. Do I get to celebrate?

I find my answer in the CNO's 2015 Navy Birthday Message to the Fleet. ADM J.M. Richardson says, in part:  

... our ships, submarines and aircraft form the muscle and bones of the Navy, but the heart and soul of our Navy is you, our people.

Who is this "you"? Who are "our people"?

I find the answer in the admiral's conclusion:

To all our Sailors, Navy civilians, proud families and Veterans around the globe, Happy Birthday and thank you for your service.

The Navy Birthday is for all of us. It's for all who serve, for those who have served and for those who have supported us. It's for all of us.

Happy Birthday to us!

MWNBV: Most-watched Navy Band Video

What Navy band video do you think is the most popular on YouTube? A U.S Navy Band concert band performance on the Capitol Steps? A swinging performance by the Commodores?

Nope. The Most-watched Navy Band Video award goes to Seventh Fleet Band. Their rendition of "When the Saints Go Marching In" has scored nearly 200,000 views.

Granted, the video's been attracting viewers for five years. But even the Commodores's most popular video, "Sing, Sing, Sing," has logged only 25,000 views in eight years.

So, in my opinion: Hail to the fleet!

Verbatim: "Trouble"

Truman Capote claimed he didn't take notes during interviews because he had nearly absolute recall of conversations.

I will make a lesser claim. I can accurately recreate conversations if I make notes soon after and transcribe the conversation in full within a few hours. As a newspaper columnist, I often have to do this. The results are "verbatims," accurately recorded conversations that have been only barely edited for clarity.

Having said that...

---

"Trouble"

a Verbatim 

transcribed by Frank Mullen

Frank is sitting in the passenger seat of the Holiday Inn van on the way to the airport after the 2015 NMA reunion when the driver asks a question.

Driver: So, you were with those Navy guys?

Frank: Yes. We had a great time.

Driver: I thought so. There was this guy smoking a cigar out front of the hotel; coupla the other guys told me he was trouble.

Frank: Lots of those old guys are trouble.

Driver: They said you musician guys aren’t having fun unless the shore patrol has to come and break it up. Said that guy with the cigar was the ringleader.

Frank: The guy with the cigar—was he a big guy?

Driver: Real big. Wish I could remember his name; Jerry, something like that.

Frank: Terry?

Driver: That’s the guy! Wooeee, he’s big. Bet he’d cause a lot of trouble.

--The End--