Friday night, after a week of hell at school and work, I decided to unwind with some friends by seeing a
No BS show at The Camel. For those of you that don't know, the No BS brass band is an eleven-man group comprised of 4 bones, 4 trumpets, a tuba, a kit, and a sax. Now anyone who has any experience in musical arrangement might be asking right now, what the hell does a group like that play? After 3 years of attending their shows and events, I honestly couldn't tell you.
They say they draw influence from everything from Richmond funk (whatever that is) to the Wu-Tang Clan to klezmer, but what ends up coming out of their bells is unlike anything I've ever heard before. To understand what I mean, you'd have to hear it for yourself, which I STRONGLY advise (check their
blog for show dates/info). Friday, after a great opener from
Hot Politics, No BS took the stage.
The first few sets featured solos by Reggie Pace (founder, trombone) and my man Taylor Barnett (trumpet). Though he'd been gigging with with Devil's Workshop for some time, I only first got to know
TayBar as the jazz improvisation and music theory instructor at Maggie L. Walker High School. Since then he's moved up to become an adjunct professor at the VCU music school and join/found such local gems as No BS, the Oregon Hill Funk All-Stars, and his own Barnett Ten-tet.
Just when things were getting hype, Reggie P took the mic to calm people down and get their attention. He introduced one of his friends, Chris, who shyly took the stage. The guy began, amid some nervous stammering, to tell a story about how two years ago he fell in love with a girl named Sasha at a No BS show, and about how each day since then has been the happiest day of his life. Admittedly, I had no idea what was going on until he asked us in the front to back up a bit to let said girl come to the foot of the stage. Before we knew it, this sweaty, blushing mess was on his knee, ringbox in hand. She said yes.
Turns out, none of their friends remembered to bring a camera. I ended up being the only kid in the house to get any concrete evidence that this part of their lives took place, and, lucky for them, I was using a Canon EOS 300D. One of their friends noticed this and we all exchanged email addresses so I could get them the photos. Congratulations Sasha and Chris. Glad I could help.
