Album Notes

This is fair warning.

Honk bands are on the march, and we're getting louder every day. We are geeks and geezers, doctors and bike messengers, rank amateurs and seasoned professionals. We are acoustic and mobile, and the streets are our stage, as we follow in the footsteps of musical liberation encompassing the entire post-colonial world: New Orleans second line jazz bands, European klezmer, Balkan and Romani (gypsy) music, Indian wedding bands, Brazilian samba bands, Afrobeat and highlife bands, American folk, funk, punk and hip hop traditions, as well as the passion and spirit of Mardi Gras and Carnival. Like all those who turn swords into sousaphones, we aspire to breach all boundaries: between musical genres, between classes and cultures, between performer and audience.

We don't honk for fame or fortune. We toot our horns – or beat our drums or wave our flags – to warn fellow travelers, celebrate worthy causes, and play tribute to community milestones. And because we've seen the numbers, and read the writing on the wall, we also honk just for the fun of it, knowing full well that tomorrow may never come. To express our hopes for a more just and livable planet, we band together to turn the world upside down, mix it all up, and beget a passing moment when everyone is free and anything can happen.

These 18 tracks were recorded at the final blow-out cavalcade of the first annual HONK! Festival at Davis Square in Somerville, MA, featuring tunes by:

Hungry March Band (Brooklyn)
Brass Liberation Orchestra (San Francisco)
Revolutionary Snake Ensemble (Cambridge)
Environmental Encroachment (Chicago)
What Cheer? Brigade (Providence)
The Carnival Band (Vancouver)
Black Bear Combo (Chicago)
Rude Mechanical Orchestra (Brooklyn)
Stick & Rag Village Orchestra (Jamaica Plain)
Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band (Somerville)

Proceeds from the sale of this album will be used to support "Return of HONK!" this coming October (www.honkfest.org)