Hawaii Tribune-Herald Island Beat Thursday, October 6, 2016 9 the time was we were playing the music of Duke Ellington and Michael Jackson — it was all these contemporary songs,” Lewis says. “We brought this music to the street with the traditional New Orleans beat. It made for a different sound ’cause nobody was doing that. Not that we tried to change the tradition of New Orleans music … we were just having fun playing the kind of music we wanted to play.” And people embraced it. Lewis recounts how the band caught the ear of American jazz promoter and producer George Wein. “He was the creator of all these jazz festivals all over the world, and he invited us to play on a record in his collection,” Lewis says. “That’s when we got ‘My Feet Can’t Fail Me Now.’ George brought us all over the world — we played just about every country there is.” The Dirty Dozen has been a featured guest on albums by other artists including David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Dr. John, Buckwheat Zydeco, the Dave Matthews Band, Modest Mouse, Widespread Panic and the Black Crowes. Lewis recalls the time they opened for Miles Davis, and when Dizzy Gillespie played on one of their CDs. And the time they played for a crowd in Germany that asked for five or six encores. “We were also the first black band to ever play an open concert in Beijing, China,” Lewis says. “And when we finished playing, all the people in the stadium charged the band! But as we were leaving on the bus, there were people walking out and they still was dancing to the music — it was in their brain, it trapped them — and they was going down the street still dancing and smiling.” That’s what you get, he says, when you come to a Dirty Dozen Brass Band concert: music for your mind, body and soul. “It’s like a party,” Lewis says. “People can expect to have a lot of fun. You name it, we play it.” He says the band doesn’t typically work with a set list. “We don’t know what we’re going to play, but whatever we play is going to be good,” Lewis says. He warns concertgoers, however, that there’s a guy in the band they call the “dirty old man.” “You gotta watch out for that guy because he be wanting to spank somebody!” laughs Lewis. “He usually appears towards the end of the show. Everybody loves him.” Lewis jokes a lot during our interview, but says the entire band is a bunch of serious guys. “We may not look like we’re serious, but we’re very serious when it come to this music,” he says. “We look like a bunch of guys up there having a good time, and we do have fun with it, but we ain’t jiving. We’re as serious as a heart attack.” Lewis, who turned 75 Wednesday, says Dirty Dozen audiences range from age 5 to 95. They still tour — nearly 200 concert dates a year — and currently are working on a new CD, set to be released early next year in time for the band’s 40th anniversary. Lewis and his bandmates are far from slowing down. “I’m probably moving faster at 75 than when I was 25. Everything you do brings a different audience to you,” Lewis says. “We’ve done just about every kind of music there is on the planet. But we’re always hoping to go somewhere in somebody’s mind where they haven’t gone before, musically speaking.” Kahilu Theatre interim artistic director Sherm Warner says this concert promises to be “a big, foot-stomping, rollicking party led by a band that will make (the audience) want to go marching and dancing down the aisles.” Five of the Dirty Dozen’s original members remain with the band today: Lewis, tenor sax player Kevin Harris, Davis, trumpet player Efrem Towns and sousaphone player Kirk Joseph. “We’re like a little family, you know,” Lewis says, chuckling. “Everybody knows everybody’s personality. You know, we’ve got that one guy who gets on everybody’s nerves. We know how he is. Some days we like each other, some days we don’t. We argue … but there’s a lot of love and respect that we have for each other. It’s a weird chemistry that works. “I’d say the Dirty Dozen Brass Band influenced almost all the brass bands in the world,” Lewis adds. “We changed that style of music. People embraced it. And still, when folks come to our concerts, people will be sitting down, and before you know it, they will be on their feet. Just come and we gonna let the music do what it do.” Doors open at 6 p.m. for the Kahilu Theatre show. Beverages and snacks will be for sale at the bar and guests can peruse the Kapa Kahilu exhibit in the Kohala Gallery, which features the work of today’s most respected kapa artists. Tickets are $68, $58, $48 and $20 and are available online at www. kahilutheatre.org, by calling 885-6868 or at the Kahilu box office from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday through Friday. In Hilo, doors open at 6:30 p.m. and there will be Cajun food, Mardi Gras beads and dancing. There will be an auction of signed instruments and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Connections New Century Public Charter School. Tickets are $45 general admission in advance; Gold Circle table seating is $65. Advance tickets are available at CD Wizard, Hilo Guitars and Hilo Music Exchange in Hilo; Kona Music Exchange in Kailua-Kona; Kiernen Music in Kainaliu; Waimea General Store in the Parker Ranch Center; Taro Patch Gifts in Honokaa; online at www.lazarbear. com; and by calling 896-4845. BAND From page 8 The Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Courtesy photo
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