• happybadger [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    It's wild to me that military music is so terrible when military band member is one of the best paid gigs for a musician. They enter as E-6 making like $60k a year and the military recruits symphony-level musicians. Meanwhile if you work a smaller symphony like San Antonio's, they're on strike because the symphony wants to only pay a fraction of them a fast food wage without health insurance. Everyone there is an expert in making music and this is the product.

      • happybadger [he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        It seemed really dreary to me from the outside. They'd practice with the same grueling military schedule to play the same three songs at that day's retirement ceremonies. Sat in a parking lot for three hours before the next one, audience doesn't care about their elevator music, functionally it's just a left foot-right foot marching cadence for everyone in uniform. Their dress uniforms had to be in perfect condition, probably to a higher standard than a top-tier symphony, despite spending all day driving between parking lots. Just one big stupid fuck-fuck game.

        • InevitableSwing [none/use name]
          hexagon
          ·
          2 years ago

          Just one big stupid fuck-fuck game.

          Well, at least they are making at $60,000 at a minimum.

          Their dress uniforms had to be in perfect condition

          It's funny to think they could give flawless performance after flawless performance of their elevator music and nobody gives a shit. But if there's a tiny stain that somehow formed on the back of their white trousers - they could get hell.