Seed & Feed Marching Abominable
Encyclopedia
The Seed & Feed Marching Abominable is a street band from Atlanta, Georgia
. The band is composed of volunteers from all walks of life and can range in size from ten to over one hundred performers at any given performance. Most of their music comes from songs arranged for marching bands, including Swing, Latin, Marches
and some notable original pieces. Performing at home and on the road in festivals, on stages and in unexpected places, they play in support of community events and fundraisers of all kinds.
's play La Turista
on a spring night in 1974. There were no uniforms, no majorettes, and the band was led by a highstepping conductor keeping time with a broom. At this early event only two tunes were playable by the band: The Washington Post
march and March Grandioso.
Alumni of the band who leave the Atlanta area have been known to form their own versions of the band in other cities. One example of this is the Hill Stompers, formed by two previous members who married and moved to Los Alamos
.
, the Inman Park
Festival and Tour of Homes and the Spoleto Festival USA
in Charleston, South Carolina. However, the Seed & Feed is best known for its trademark "blitz" performances. During a blitz, band members will show up unannounced and unexpected at neighborhood bars, coffee shops, restaurants, grocery stores, book signings and subway stations playing to all who will listen. As a result, the mission of the band is sometimes stated as "bringing the gift of music to those who didn't know they needed it."
The band has some stock routines that they use during performances, including a version of Stars and Stripes Forever with a "wander and die" feature. During the trio, the members "wander" aimlessly and slow the tempo of the song until all the members lie "dead" on the ground. The band is then resurrected by a member playing When the Saints Go Marching In
.
Some other notable performances:
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. The band is composed of volunteers from all walks of life and can range in size from ten to over one hundred performers at any given performance. Most of their music comes from songs arranged for marching bands, including Swing, Latin, Marches
March (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
and some notable original pieces. Performing at home and on the road in festivals, on stages and in unexpected places, they play in support of community events and fundraisers of all kinds.
History
The band was formed in 1974 as an outgrowth of a community theater. Kelly's Seed & Feed Theater was formed in 1973 by founder Kelly Morris. Kelly wanted a band associated with his theater, one that would later appear in stage shows. The theater closed its doors in 1979, but the band that was formed originally by many of its actors has lived on. The band's first public performance was after a production of Sam ShepardSam Shepard
Sam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
's play La Turista
La Turista
La Turista is a play by the American playwright Sam Shepard, first performed in New York in 1967. The title refers to the most common illness among tourists. The two main characters are Salem and Kent, which are also the name of cigarettes. It is a two act dramatic play. The first act takes place...
on a spring night in 1974. There were no uniforms, no majorettes, and the band was led by a highstepping conductor keeping time with a broom. At this early event only two tunes were playable by the band: The Washington Post
The Washington Post (march)
"The Washington Post" is a march composed by John Philip Sousa in 1889. Since then, it has remained as one of his most popular marches throughout the United States and many countries abroad.-History:...
march and March Grandioso.
Members
As noted above, members of the band come a variety of backgrounds. The members are generally divided into following groups:- Abominables play instruments, whether they are horns, drums, or accordions
- Abominettes wear majoretteMajorette (dancer)A majorette is a person doing choreographed dance or movement, primarily baton twirling associated with marching bands during parades. It derives from girls', in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, involvement in drill and gymnastic teams or groups that used apparatuses similar to those found...
costumes and march in front of the band - Despicables act somewhat like rodeo clowns, surrounding the band and providing crowd control or warning the other members of road hazards on the route
- Incorrigibles are children of band members
Alumni of the band who leave the Atlanta area have been known to form their own versions of the band in other cities. One example of this is the Hill Stompers, formed by two previous members who married and moved to Los Alamos
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos is a townsite and census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, built upon four mesas of the Pajarito Plateau and the adjoining White Rock Canyon. The population of the CDP was 12,019 at the 2010 Census. The townsite or "the hill" is one part of town while...
.
Performances
The band can be found playing in a wide range of locations throughout Atlanta. While some of the performances are sponsored, most are at community-oriented events such as the Little Five Points Halloween FestivalLittle Five Points Halloween Festival
The Little 5 Points Halloween Festival & Parade is an annual Halloween festival and parade held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is the signature Halloween festival in the southeast and one of the top ten Halloween events in the country. On the Saturday before Halloween , over 35,000 people...
, the Inman Park
Inman Park
Inman Park was planned in the late 1880s by Joel Hurt, a civil engineer and real-estate developer who intended to create a rural oasis connected to the city by the first of Atlanta's electric streetcar lines. The East Atlanta Land Company acquired and developed more than 130 acres east of the city...
Festival and Tour of Homes and the Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the world's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy...
in Charleston, South Carolina. However, the Seed & Feed is best known for its trademark "blitz" performances. During a blitz, band members will show up unannounced and unexpected at neighborhood bars, coffee shops, restaurants, grocery stores, book signings and subway stations playing to all who will listen. As a result, the mission of the band is sometimes stated as "bringing the gift of music to those who didn't know they needed it."
The band has some stock routines that they use during performances, including a version of Stars and Stripes Forever with a "wander and die" feature. During the trio, the members "wander" aimlessly and slow the tempo of the song until all the members lie "dead" on the ground. The band is then resurrected by a member playing When the Saints Go Marching In
When the Saints Go Marching In
"When the Saints Go Marching In", often referred to as "The Saints", is an American gospel hymn that has taken on certain aspects of folk music. The precise origins of the song are not known. Though it originated as a spiritual, today people are more likely to hear it played by a jazz band...
.
Some other notable performances:
- 2008 - 2011: Performing in the annual HONK!HONK!HONK! is a series of music festivals held in various cities across North America. These festivals showcase ambulatory, acoustic bands playing music in public spaces.-Description:...
Music Festival in Somerville, MA. - 2005: Leading the annual Sweet Potato QueensSweet Potato QueensThe Sweet Potato Queens is a women's organization based in Jackson, Mississippi, that has over 6000 chapters in over 20 countries.-Organization:...
Parade in Jackson, MS. - 1994-1995: Performances with the Indigo GirlsIndigo GirlsThe Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
and a collection of other Atlanta-based bands in productions of Jesus Christ SuperstarJesus Christ SuperstarJesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
: A Resurrection. Recorded on CD (http://www.daemonrecords.com/jcs/index.htm), and live performances at three venues: Variety PlayhouseVariety PlayhouseVariety Playhouse is a music venue in the Little Five Points neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is located on Euclid Avenue and features a variety of music acts including rock, country, folk, bluegrass, jazz, blues and world music as well as other live shows.-Details:The building...
(Atlanta, 1994), South by Southwest Music Festival (Austin, 1995), and summer concert series on the pier in Seattle (1995). - 1990: When MARTAMartaMarta may refer to:* Marta or Marta Vieira da Silva , a Brazilian women's football forward* Marta Estrella, a recurring fictional character from Arrested Development...
, Atlanta's rapid transit rail system, extended its train service to the Hartsfield International Airport, the band marched single file back and forth through the length of the train, playing Leaving on a Jet PlaneLeaving on a Jet Plane"Leaving on a Jet Plane" is a song written by John Denver in 1966 and most famously recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary. The original title of the song was "Oh Babe I Hate to Go" but Denver's then producer, Milt Okun, convinced him to change the title....
and Off We Go into the Wild Blue Yonder.