Hartford needed a funky marching band to bring brass, ruckus, and joy to all the parties. In 2012, we set out to be that band.

You remember how in the intro to The A-Team, it said, "If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire ... THE A-TEAM"? We're pretty much like that, provided that the problem you have is a lack of brass and ruckus. Also, we don't punch people, we're not on the run from the law (yet), and we're pretty easy to find. Our bus is arguably more awesome than the A-Team's van.

Basically, we aim to be Hartford's pep band - always ready to bring the ruckus to parties, fundraisers, and protests, and sometimes just popping up somewhere without warning to make the people smile and dance.

To bring joy to our city through music, by welcoming musicians of all skill levels, playing feel-good music in public places, and supporting music, the arts, and social justice through fundraising, teaching, and organizing.

Yes

Musically, we make fun sounds and are a little different than a lot of street brass bands because we incorporate a singer more prominently and have songs in English and Spanish. In terms of other activities, we would love to bring a percussion- and instrument-building workshop for kids to Honk!, with an opportunity for kids to build instruments from recycled materials and then play them in a parade. We're also nice.

We organized and sponsored Hartford's fifth annual Mardi Gras celebration, a day-long, free celebration on Fat Tuesday with professional and student musicans, dancers, stiltwalkers, and puppeteers. In addition to paying local artists and providing many hours of free entertainment, this event raised $300 for Artists Collective, which teaches music to kids in Hartford's North End. We recently backed up the Working Families Party at a protest outside a gathering of hedge fund managers, and we have a steady monthly residency at a local venue where we don't get paid but can invite and provide paying gigs to local musicians of color.

Our band is entirely open to musicians and non-musicians of all skill levels. We use accumulated gig money to provide instruments to people who need them in order to join the band. We still have a long way to go in terms of making our band reflect the demographics of our community. It is a work in progress.

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