What Cheer? Brigade (WCB) is an 18-member punk brass band from Providence, Rhode Island, USA that proves great parties need no electricity. WCB explores varied musical styles unified by danceability and joyousness: Rajasthani wedding music, Balkan and New Orleans brass, samba, metal, and klezmer. Formed in 2005, the band has been as likely to appear at community benefits as at all-night parties, playing bars, clubs, streets, libraries, cemeteries, weddings, bus stops, and playgrounds.

We seek to use music and dance to energize ourselves and our audiences, whether at a DIY venue, a concert hall, or a political rally. Our mission as performers is to break down the barrier between audience and performer, expose musical forms unrepresented in mainstream culture, and to make traditional instruments relevant to young, diverse audiences. As a community of people who work, play, and travel together, we strive to be inclusive, which to us means exercising anti-racist and feminist values.

Other—fleshed out more below

In the past, we have shied away from calling ourselves an “activist band;” we try to be honest about the fact that, first and foremost, we are trying to make people dance. Some fans and friends have claimed that it is “inherently radical” to make people dance or to claim public space by playing in the street. However, we don’t find this reasoning rigorous, particularly when we think about truly radical bands like the Rude Mechanical Orchestra and the Brass Liberation Orchestra. They put so much energy into their tactics and politics, and we have felt it would be disingenuous to claim an activist identity and imply that we have put as much thought into tactics and practices as those bands have.

That said, as mentioned in our response to the last question, we are currently reconsidering our relationship to activism. For the band’s entire history, members of What Cheer have been deeply involved in politics and activism, and the band has always played at rallies and marches in Rhode Island. We also make decisions collectively, and we have turned down lucrative show offers based on politics. So, we have always done activist work, and many of our activities are motivated by our values. Now, for a variety of reasons, we are in discussions about formalizing and/or clarifying this element of our work. Among other things, we have reached out to members of RMO for some help in understanding the implications of this potential shift and advice on how to have the necessary conversations.

We are excited to contribute our musical energy, which we feel is particularly intense, to the festival. We have been told that our music is inspiring to other Honk bands, especially new bands, and we often get questions from new bands around the country asking for advice on organizing and logistics. Furthermore, given our shifting relationship to activism, it might be of interest to other bands to learn that, even after 13 years, a band’s values and politics can change and evolve.

We played at a fundraiser event for AMOR (Alliance to Mobilize and Organize the Resistance)
https://www.facebook.com/events/900857430068079/

We played for middle schoolers at Nathanael Greene Middle School, the only public middle school in Providence with a music program, to promote the music program/young people getting involved in music.

We played outside of RI Housing at a protest/press conference organized by DARE (Direct Action for Rights and Equality) to protest their support of luxury condo development instead of low-income housing.

We played at the Labor Day March with local unions and activist groups.

The band's call for auditions in recent years has stated that priority will be given to people of color and those who identify as queer and/or trans. Our desire to create an inclusive space within the band comes from an understanding that more privileged groups are disproportionately afforded access to musical training and experience. However, we feel that we still have some distance to go before our band really reflects Providence’s diversity.

We have systems in place for rotating leadership on tour and in rehearsals, and we employ structured dialogue with a facilitator during band discussions to encourage a diversity of voices and opinions.

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