Helmed by Howard Jay Patterson and Gavriel de Tarr. The FIKMCB/O has an incredibly broad, ever-expanding repertoire, with more and more originals being written for the ensemble, mostly by its incredibly talented members. We began in 1975 with "The Chumleighland March" by Carl Spaethe, expanded shortly thereafter into "The New Chumleighland March" by his alter ego Thaddeus Spae, which continues to
be our theme march. We play Sousa marches, other classic 19th and early 20th century marches, a version of "Teddy Bears' Picnic", Cumbias, Beatles tunes, a Bollywood Wedding March, a Mexican waltz, and a growing number of original compositions including the Funk march "Get Bent" by Stephen Bent and the mysteriously awesome "March to the Casbah" by Dave Bender. Our origins, and primary venue, lie at the Oregon Country Fair outside Eugene, Oregon. This remarkable Gathering of the Tribes has been occurring annually since 1969, an ever-expanding assemblage of alternative arts, crafts, entertainment, and politics that has become an essential event for every element of the counter-cultures, past present and future. We began when Reverend Chumleigh, the vaudeville impresario, assembled a small alternative "circus" in 1975, including the still-in-college Flying Karamazov Brothers. Music director Carl Spaethe/Thaddeus Spae put together a handful of musicians, and others soon began to accumulate. The Band would parade around the Fair to attract an audience, return to their performance space ("Chumleighland", now the "W. Fields Memorial Stage"), and accompany the performers from a driftwood bandstand. The surreality of the band's very existence - hippies! playing Sousa! in the woods! - was its primary attribute. The following year, in Thad's absence, Karamazov Brother Howard Jay Patterson took over the directorship. Each year, the Band's repertoire expanded and it became more integrated into the increasingly complex stage shows. After several years, Mr. Patterson found his onstage duties precluded his ability to deliver band cues in a timely fashion, and he handed the baton to Concertmaster Eben Sprinsock. Sprinsock helmed the band for 30 years before relinquishing the baton once again to Mr. Patterson in 2012. He co-directs with his son, Master and Commander Gavriel de Tarr, who directs and composes for the Stage Band. Literally hundreds of remarkable musicians have passed through the Fighting Instruments of Karma over the nearly four decades of its existence, including Steven "Flip" Bernstein (Sex Mob, Leonard Cohen, Levon Helm), Peter Apfelbaum (The Hieroglyphics Orchestra), and Doug Wieselman (Kamikaze Ground Crew, Lounge Lizards), among many many others. Our current roster features a wide range of phenomenal players, including Dave Bender (tpt.), Mark Growden (alto sax), and Matt Calkins (tenor sax), Bud Chase (sousaphone), Diane Chaplin (piccolo), and Ryan Chaney (trb.). The Band enjoys exploring the connections between band music and the origins of Jazz. At the peak of its popularity, Band music in America was so popular not because it was march music but because it was dance music. People would eagerly await their town band getting their hands on the latest Sousa, so they could all dance the two-step to it. African American town bands would play the music straight for white folk, but among their friends would syncopate the rhythms to create an early form of Ragtime. The Fighting Instruments like to ride the line between playing Sousa with the respect that great artist deserves and relaxing into more improvisational creativity. When The New Old Time Chautauqua began in 1980 to take the Country Fair shows on tour around the Pacific Northwest, the Fighting Instruments of Karma went along as both marching and stage band - though generally in significantly reduced numbers. Directors on Chautauqua have included Stephen Bent and Pachiel Smith, as well as Messrs. Sprinsock and Patterson.
