Bad Dog IV Brass Band

The Bad Dog IV Brass Band was a New Orleans, Louisiana, style brass band established on August 5, 2000 and last performing February 11, 2006. The Bad Dog IV in its short lived history became the prime brass band ensemble in Northern Indiana before dissolving after the 2005 tour season, performing a variety of brass band, jazz, swing, and popular culture pieces.

History

Formation

On August 5, 2000 Eric Bradley, Bryan Kuhn, Melany Hatfield, and Nolan Morse met at Pierceton Elementary, Pierceton, Indiana, to prepare for a marching band parade with their high school group, the Whitko Marching Pride. With a new director and a shaky direction of the next year of the high school program, where they were all juniors and seniors, they decided to form a brass quartet to focus on their own individual MusicAL interest.

This new group, known only as ‘the quartet’ played its first song together in the home of Bryan Kuhn, Larwill, Indiana. After Melany’s long struggle playing the theme Mission: Impossible, which is in 5/4, the band played numerous light pep band tunes before and after high school sporting events. Times were light hearted and fun for the group, and in this time the group acquired its name, the Bad Dog IV, after a group of original compositions band director Jason Bennett wrote called Big Dog I, II, and III.

Yet times for the Bad Dog IV would not be light and sunny for long. After a relationship spark and default between Melany and Eric, tensions grew high and talks of a breakup began growing. After several break up fears, the group remained together, however with the four mutually inviting Joey Shepherd as a temporary member of the group, and eventually with Melany leaving the group and Joey taking her spot.

Upon Joey entering the group, the Bad Dog IV took an emphasis from high school sporting events to local concerts, which they remain strong to today. Preparing a small number of pieces, the majority of them from the high school pep band collection, the Bad Dog IV presented their first public concert at the South Whitley first annual community garage sale on April 28, 2001.

At this concert the Bad Dog IV gave their first show opening with “Gimmie Some Lovin’” and they have continued to do so. Also at this show the group met Robin Plaster, photographer for the Columbia City Post and Mail. Robin photographed the group, which later made the back page of the Post and Mail in color, and invited them to the Turtle Days talent show, Churubusco, Indiana, to play a selection.

The Developing Bad Dog IV

Because of scheduling conflicts with Joey and Nolan, the group had to find two players to fill their place for the talent show. The group quickly found Matt Metzger and Patrick Bradley to fill in the gaps, and opened the talent show on June 16, 2001 with “Gimmie Some Lovin’”. After that unique setup the group made the decision to avoid such situations whenever possible, inviting guest musicians on only unique occasions. For the rest of the summer the group did not play, and did not have a public performance until November 2001, when the group played their original piece Mission: Impossible theme at the Whitko High School variety show.

The following month the group prepared their first concert tour, a holiday music tour traveling to local churches. With the stress of the tour pressing on the group, Nolan announced in an email that he would be leaving the group at the end of the tour to spend more time with his girlfriend, Jennifer Crampton. Filled with the reality of what was to come, the group put together a series of emotional set of concerts, building up to a packed South Whitley United Methodist Church on Christmas Eve. After a full hearted response from the crowd, including a visit from former member Melany Hatfield Love, Nolan chooses to remain with the group.

The next month Nolan, Bryan, and Joey performed an original arrangement of “God Bless America” at ISSMA solo and ensemble contest at Wawasee High School, Syracuse, Indiana, where they receive a division I rating. While there was always much talk among the group from the very beginning to play at contest, the group did not did together until this point, in which Eric could not play because he had since graduated.

The group refrained from public performances the rest of the winter and early spring months, preparing new pieces for the upcoming spring and summer events of a year ago. On April 27, 2002 the group performed at the second annual South Whitley garage sale, and that evening to a filled room at the Whitko band fish fry.

The Bad Dog IV Brass Band As the group entered into separate colleges in Indiana, the group's ability to meet and perform was limited to only summer months. Yet in the next four years of "College, Drunkenness and Finding the Lord" the group developed from a high school mini pep band into a serious New Orleans' style brass band. The four tours (see Tours below) were highly successful musically for the group, however as the years processed tension developed among the band members and their personal lives.

Ending

Tensions developed between band members Kuhn and Shepherd and between Bradley and Morse's wife, who Bradley referred to as "the Yoko Ono of the Bad Dog IV" after several disagreements on tour planning and future performances. While the performance on February 11, 2006 drew a large crowd, disagreements and tensions grew to the point in the spring where the band could not develop a summer tour. Band members also began graduating from college and pursing other areas.

Bradley went on to reside somewhere in Nebraska, Kuhn into professional security, Shepherd into education, and Morse's and his wife's last whereabouts are unknown to other band members.

Tours

The Domesticated Animal Tour: 2002

In 2002 the group put together its first full string of shows in June, 2002. The highlight of this first, small tour was the Turtle Days Talent Show performance of Stray Cat Strut, when the four guys dressed as cats (tales, ears, whiskers, and all) to a humored crowd.

  • South Whitley Community Garage Sale
  • Whitko Marching Pride Fish Fry (South Whitley, Indiana)
  • Turtle Days (Churubusco, Indiana) Talent Show: 4th place in category
  • East Street Coffee House (North Manchester, Indiana)

The High School Sweetheart Tour: 2004 After a successful 2003 string of shows in the 'unnamed,' the group placed together a summer festival tour celebrating the High School Sweetheart, with Morse's wedding to his high school sweetheart which nearly wrecked the group countless times. By this time cute outfits were put aside for black suits with jazzy colored shirts and ties. The theme song of the summer was Centerfold which brought several crowds to their feet, including the first place overall performance at the Turtle Days talent show.

  • Kuhn's Neighbors (Larwill, Indiana)
  • Turtle Days (Churubusco, Indiana) Talent Show: 1st place overall
  • Old Settler's Day Festival (Columbia City, Indiana)
  • Kosciusko County 4-H and Community Parade (Winona Lake and Warsaw, Indiana)
  • Fun Fest Festival (North Manchester, Indiana)

The Abide, Gimmie, Tequila Tour: 2005

The group's last tour was in many ways a smooth continuation of the 2004 Sweetheart tour celebrating an album recording and the band playing at its prime. This included many random gigs outside at several town festivals in Kosciusko, Wabash, and Whitley counties, and a performance at a punk rock battle of the bands. With their strong touch of humor the group held their own against the serious punk and emo groups competing.

  • Whitley County Home and Garden Show
  • Chapman House (Warsaw, Indiana)
  • Turtle Days (Churubusco, Indiana) Talent Show
  • Old Settler's Day Festival (Columbia City, Indiana)
  • Battle of the Bands (Columbia City, Indiana)

Discography

  • 2003 - Under Arrest: Live in Columbia City (No Label)

Track Listing

Danny Boy

Amazing Grace

Abide with Me

25 or 6 to 4

Gimmie Some Lovin'

Tequila

Louie, Louie

Soul Man

Great Balls of Fire

Mission: Impossible Theme

Stray Cat Strut

That Thing You Do!

Cell Phone

Proud Mary

Sing, Sing, Sing

Say You, Say Me

Stand by Me

Tuxedo Junction

Peter Gunn

Saturday Night

Gimmie Some Lovin' (Reprise)

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  • 2005 - The Bad Dog IV Brass Band (Rocky Approved Records)

Track Listing

Gimmie Some Lovin'

Tequila

Abide with Me

25 or 6 to 4

Louie, Louie

Stray Cat Strut

Gotcha!

Tuxedo Junction

Mambo No. 5

That Thing You Do!

Say You, Say Me

Stand by Me

Amazing Grace

Gimmie Some Lovin' (Reprise)

Instrumentation

Eric Bradley

  • French Horn, Conn 8D
  • Mellophone, Yamaha
  • Mellophonium, Conn 16E

Bryan Kuhn

  • Euphonium, Yamaha
  • Sousaphone, Conn
  • Trombone, Conn

Nolan Morse

  • Trombone, Getzen

Joey Shepherd

  • Trumpet, Bach Strad
  • Drums