If there were such a thing as too stylish, the March Fourth (M4) marching band would have to qualify. Instead, they remain the darlings of every town they storm into and the focus of many a band-camp urban legend.
This isn’t your run of mill radical, infectious, electric, gypsy-afro-vaudeville-multi-disciplinary marching band either, cause you see, these freaks are burners who RAWK the Playa consistently & without fail. And what’s more fine readers, they’re spreading their special brand of burning freaky-funk around off Playa the old-fashioned way traveling from town to town.
When M4’s on the scene there’s no denying it. From a distance, you can hear the sound coming your way, like your town somehow just became New Orleans while you weren’t looking. Then you see them, and your world forever changes.
Their fashion statement is Marching Band Punk meets Circus Sideshow with a little bit of Post-Apocalyptic Elks Lodge thrown in just for the funk of it. Andy Batt an award winning photographer captures the members’ individual styles at their fantastically freaky finest in a series of brilliant studio portraits.
I know what you’re thinking now, how can we be like them. Well if you don’t have any musical or circus-y performance experience you might have to just arrive on their doorstep all Fight Club style and refuse to leave OR you can choose to be happy enough just to look like they do.
The declining state of school funded marching bands in our country, while deplorable, creates numerous opportunities to purchase awe-inspiring vintage marching band attire for next to nothing. Not surprisingly, many such “Marching Band Uniforms/Jackets/Hats” can be found via simple search on Ebay.
Be forewarned, while these uniforms will arrive styled out to a brilliant degree you will want to take them even further. Study the M4 outfits closely and notice that all have been personalized. You see, it’s not just about looking cool. It’s about being radically empowered in the name of self-expression.
M4 will be at the Broken Spoke in Reno this Saturday night (Nov 7th). It’ll only cost ya $8 and I WILL BE THERE. Come on down, we can compare notes … and outfits.
