Sept. 29, 2012 – Joe Correia (center), a member of Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band, shouts while playing the sousaphone alongside his band mates outside of Whole Foods Market on the corner of Edgerly Road and Westland Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. Correia described the band’s musical style as “a fusion of Balkan gypsy funk.” Photo by Billie Weiss. Sept. 29, 2012 – Members of Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band play outside of Whole Foods Market on the corner of Edgerly Road and Westland Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. The band performed as part of a ‘Rock The Vote’ event, and encouraged passers-by to register to vote for the upcoming 2012 elections. Photo by Billie Weiss. Sept. 29, 2012 – Members of Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band perform as a shopper enters Whole Foods Market on the corner of Edgerly Road and Westland Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. The band performed outside the store for two hours on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Billie Weiss. Sept. 29, 2012 – Spectators gather outside of Whole Foods Market on the corner of Edgerly Road and Westland Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts as Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band performs as part of a ‘Rock The Vote’ event. The band encouraged passers-by to register to vote for the upcoming 2012 elections. Photo by Billie Weiss. Sept. 29, 2012 – Instrument cases belonging to members of Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band are shown outside of Whole Foods Market on the corner of Edgerly Road and Westland Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. The band, which consists of 17 people, is based out of Somerville, Massachusetts. Photo by Billie Weiss.
Here is my second five photo story for my Advanced Photojournalism class at Boston University. On Saturday afternoon, I set out down Mass. Ave in Boston to cover the Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival.
It’s funny how things work out sometimes, though. On my walk there, I heard some loud music coming from across the street. Naturally, I figured that it was the beginning of the Jazz Festival area, but as it turns out, I found nothing more there than a Whole Foods Market – and a 17 member band playing funky music right outside of it.
This isn’t something you see every day, so I stuck around for awhile. I think it made for a neat little story. Although this was technically a Rock The Vote event, I tried to focus more on how the band interacted with the every day shoppers that passed in and out of the store. It was interesting to see the varying reactions. Some people stopped everything they were doing and watched the band. Others walked in and out of the store with their shopping bags and carts as if nothing was different. I tried to convey that in some of these images.
I think this could have worked nicely as a multimedia piece as well. If you’d like to get a feel for the type of music that Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band was playing, click here.
