Starting the new year off with a bang . . . er, honk . . . the Bolting Brassicas enjoyed an amazing spring circus tour of the gulf islands called: LasQuirkus, The Lasqueti Circus featuring over thirty performers and dozens of circus acts.
We then feverishly rolled our spare nickles and dimes so we could afford to attend the amazing Honk! Fest West Marching Band Festival 2011 in Seattle. As the summer progressed we spent two glorious weekends in Reid's back yard to record our first full-length CD "Pleased Bees" featuring 10 original songs and one Balkan Classic!
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In The Beginning...
The story of the Bolting Brassicas from tiny Lasqueti Island is not the story of your everyday Balkan Gypsy Klezmer Marching Brass Band from any remote community . . .
The story of the Brassicas is a heartwarming tale of struggles met and adversities overcome by a ragtag gaggle of stalwart musicians from a place where the fine trappings of culture, like espressos, electricity, soap and blackberries, are hard to come by.
Our story began with a candle-lit meeting over hot cups of nettle tea on a cold, rainy night in a little cabin with future band leaders Pachiel Smith and Jacob King. Jacob had just taken an inspirational road trip to Honk! Fest in Boston, a marching band festival. On this trip he picked up a few things. The first things he picked up were a pair of bedraggled hitchhikers on their way to sell some magic beans. The second things he picked up were a pair of new shorts from K-Mart. The last, and most important things he picked up, where a half-dozen Balkan Klezmer Marching Band CD's.
While listening to these CD's that cold, rainy night, they came to hear the essence of their their own souls echoed in the joyful exuberance of the Roma, the wandering Gypsies, and the proud and hopeful Klezmer music of the Jewish people. They mused at how amazing it would be to form a Brass Band on small, remote Lasqueti Island and to play this music from the other side of the world. They thought how funny and stunning it would be for people to witness a full brass band march out of the woods like some sort of carnivalesque apparition from a Fellini film.
They became resolved to form a Marching Band. Permanently shelving their ubiquitous electric guitars, they set out to accumulate and master enough brass instruments, as well as to accumulate enough passionate bandmates, to bring their dream to fruition. Eventually, their fledgling band had fourteen members who would put down their pitchforks, wash their hands and pick up their instruments to perform at local community events.
Fast forward a few years and The Bolting Brassicas routinely catapult themselves from the woods and into festivals and events all over the Pacific Northwest and has developed a worldwide following online. They have quickly become known as an amazing band not to be missed! Best of all, We may be available to play for your next event! Feel free to contact us!
The Bolting Brassicas on CBC Radio 3
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The Bolting Brassicas Marching Band is a Klezmer Funk and Balkan Gypsy Marching Band playing gigs throughout British Columbia, Canada and the Pacific Northwest!
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