By Mike Morsch, Packet Media Group
The last group to take the stage at Princeton University’s eighth annual Battle of the Alumni Bands during the recent Reunions weekend was called 3 Guys Named Burt — which, of course, consisted of two guys named Dave and one guy named Hugh — that performed an original song called “Happy as a Clam.”
Up there on stage with the band, filling in on trombone and background vocals for the song, was Bill Webster, Class of 1973, the organizer and emcee of the Battle of the Alumni Bands since its inception. Every year Bill invites bands to participate, hires backing musicians to help fill out some of the bands and makes sure there are sound technicians on board to help the bands sound as good as possible.
It’s apparent by observing Bill Webster during the Battle of the Alumni Bands that he absolutely loves the event. If he were any happier, he’d actually be a clam.
“The fun part of it is the bands all get back together after so many years and relive the old magic,” said Mr. Webster. “There’s really no contest and there’s no winner. Everybody is a winner.”
This was my first experience with Reunions and the first thing one notices when walking through campus during the long weekend of events is that there is an overabundance of men dressing badly in orange and black. This, however, is not meant as a criticism. I am a big advocate of men dressing badly in support of their schools. In fact, I can go to my alma mater, the University of Iowa, on any football weekend and see men dressing badly in black and gold. I believe the best of all worlds would be if shirt manufacturers had a “college colors” line of Hawaiian shirts. To me, that would be the epitome of fine fashion.
But when looking for some aspect of Reunions weekend to observe, I gravitated toward the Battle of the Alumni Bands.
Although I don’t play an instrument, I love the marching and pep bands. And I come by it naturally. As a student at Pekin Community High School in central Illinois in the early to mid-1970s, I fell in love with the school bands, which were directed by a man named Dr. Lawrence Fogelberg.
You may not realize it, but if you are a fan of 1970s and 1980s music, you know Dr. Fogelberg. He is the father of singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg and is the inspiration for the song “Leader of the Band.” Written by Dan Fogelberg as a tribute to his father, the song was released on Fogelberg’s 1981 album “The Innocent Age.” The single went to No. 1 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart and peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
“The Leader of the Band” was the band director at my high school. How cool is that?
The young students at our school who learned from Dr. Fogelberg were outstanding musicians. Listening to the pep band at our basketball games was like listening to a record. They were note-perfect on such tunes as the theme song from the 1960s-1970s television show “Hogan’s Heroes,” and “Joy to the World,” a 1971 hit for Three Dog Night.
Let me tell you how good a Dr. Fogelberg-led band was in the 1970s — they were so good that they made the popcorn taste better at halftime of the basketball game.
So when I saw the Battle of the Alumni Bands on the schedule of events for this year’s Reunions, that’s what I wanted to see.
Held under a tent in the U-Store Courtyard at the foot of Blair Arch on the campus of Princeton University, the event featured seven acts. Included were P.U.R.E. (Princeton University Rock Ensemble), an undergrad group; Harbour Lights from the Class of 1975; Tribute to the Old Guard, which included various musicians from all alumni classes, including a piano player from the Class of 1956; Occam’s Razor from the Class of 1970; Prospective Sound, also from the Class of 1970; Side One from the Class of 1980; and 3 Guys Named Burt from the Class of 1985.
According to Bill Webster, last year’s lineup was heavy on rock and roll bands while this year’s groups generally leaned more toward jazz.
I got to the tent just in time to hear Prospective Sound from the Class of 1970 perform “April in Paris” by Count Basie. It was outstanding.
Up next was Side One from the Class of 1980, and I was particularly fond of its version of “Midnight at the Oasis,” a song written by David Nichtern and made famous by Maria Muldaur, which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1974.
By the end of the Side One performance, I caught a whiff of something sweet in the air. Turning around, I saw a booth offering free kettle korn, courtesy of (Shameless Promotion Alert) Sweet Jersey Kettle Korn, owned by Mark and Laurie Clayton of Monroe Township, Certainly it was worth getting up out of my chair between band sets to investigate what that was all about.
Man, it smelled good. Settling back into my chair with a bag of freshly popped kettle korn, I was ready for the closing band of the day. It was 3 Guys Named Burt, which performed a few of its original songs, including the aforementioned “Happy as a Bill Webster … er, Clam” and closed with “The Weight,” a 1968 single by The Band.
I wish I could have spent all day out on the university grounds and heard all the bands. But those that I did get a chance to enjoy were pretty good.
In fact, they were so good that the kettle korn tasted even better than it normally does.
Mike Morsch is executive editor/digital news director of Packet Media Group. He can be reached by email at [email protected].