By Cathy Miller

On September 19, the Washington Borough Business Improvement District’s expanded Farmers’ Market was treated to a Mardi Gras-style parade led by the BEEB, with a backdrop of fresh veggies, creative vendors, and bright blue skies. For the record, BEEB stands for Big Easy Easton Brass. Jeremy Joseph, founder, said, “Because few people remember our band’s full name, we get iterations like the Big Easy Band, or Easton Brass Band. We prefer Big Easy Easton Brass…the BEEB!!!”

Jeremy was born and raised in Easton, Pennsylvania, and now lives in Harmony Township, his wife’s hometown. He started playing the trumpet in third grade. With two older brothers who also played, Jeremy felt a strong drive to get better than them.

As a teen, while most of his friends were into the popular music of the day, Jeremy was listening to Maynard Ferguson, Chuck Mangione, Dizzy Gillespie, Tower of Power, Herb Alpert and many other jazz groups.

He was “100%” involved with the Easton High School Marching Band. He recalled, “In my day, EHS Marching Band performed at the Rose Bowl Parade and the Citrus Bowl. They also had a very active jazz band. We hosted Maynard Ferguson and opened for his show – a trumpet geek’s dream come true.”

It wasn’t a big stretch, bridging from high school marching band to a New Orleans-style Second Line brass band. Jeremy tried going professional in his 20s, but ultimately needed a typical 9-5 job to pay the bills.

In the know: The Second Line is a group of people, often including musicians, that follow the main parade action in order to enjoy music and community. This is an important part of New Orleans parades – and even funerals.

After almost 15 years, Jeremy Joseph realized how much he missed playing.

“After a year of getting my ‘chops’ back, I opted to start a band, one that featured the trumpet at the center of the music. I’d attempted to squeeze the trumpet into rock bands before, but it was always a challenge,” he said. Then he saw a Second Line parade band perform and realized it was exactly what he wanted: “After watching the incredible sense of community and the fun of the music, I believed it was something I could bring home to the Lehigh Valley.”

The other founding band members are Steve Nalevanko on drums and saxophone, Gene Palmiter on maracas, and Warren County’s own Public Information Director, Art Charlton, on trombone.

At heart, though, Big Easy Easton Brass is a community band serving areas between Washington, New Jersey, and Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The group is open to all ages and skill levels and at any time, there may be upwards of 30 musicians in the group.

Jeremy invites readers to share in the fun with the BEEB. “We have members who hadn’t played their instrument in over 30 years … If you know how to play ‘When the Saints Go Marching In,’ you can jump in anytime at any show!”

Lisa Silvius, a music teacher, arranges all their music, and Ken Gross, a retired world-touring professional musician, is musical director. Additionally, many others contribute to the overall sound, look and style of Big Easy Easton Brass. 

Two other integral people are Jeremy’s parents, Jake and Donna. He still plays the trumpet they bought him about 30 years ago and they actively take part in festivities. Donna sews Mardi Gras themed face masks and Jake Joseph’s stories of watching Italian bands parading through Easton partly inspired Jeremy’s wish to start a parade band there.

And the Lehigh Valley has certainly embraced the BEEB. Not only do they perform free shows for the community, they frequently participate in local causes as well.

Right now, Big Easy Easton Brass wants to celebrate people making a difference in their community.

The public may nominate someone special and if chosen, the BEEB will show up at their front porch for a concert. The honoree is treated to a 30-60-minute full-on show by the BEEB, at their home or other location of choice. While open to the public, these shows go unadvertised to limit audience size during COVID. They do ask that if you happen upon one, you wear a mask if you choose to join in the festivities. Nominations for honorees are accepted through Google Survey.

Prior to COVID, the BEEB held a parade each fourth Friday in Easton for Easton Out Loud, where they’d honor people making a difference in the community by having a Grand Marshal. 

They’d played holiday shows, graduation parades, and, “In 2018, we led a parade to honor the young Easton native Ja’siah Young, who landed his own series on Netflix titled ‘Raising Dion.’” There have been several other tributes and celebrations in the past two years, as well.

Jeremy shared a wonderful story of the Easton-Phillipsburg Mardi Gras Parade, which traverses the Northampton Street Bridge between Easton and Phillipsburg:

“We weren’t supposed to cross the bridge in the car lanes, everyone understood we had to stay on the pedestrian bridge. The mayors from Easton and Phillipsburg marched with us and as we moved down Northampton Street toward the bridge, it became apparent that the 400+ crowd following us was going to need to cross that bridge in the car lanes. The mayors, while walking at the front of the parade, quickly coordinated the police and the Bridge Commission to allow us to cross safely. It was a great moment on a very grey day, following six inches of snow that morning. As we crossed the bridge, a blue sky opened up and a flock of birds flew overhead as we played, ‘I’ll Fly Away,’ a New Orleans standard.”

Big Easy Easton Brass is free to join. Rehearsals are usually held at the Easton Area Community Center, 901 Washington Street. Currently, indoor rehearsals are suspended and they plan to “go into hibernation” over winter until the weather is nicer for outdoor rehearsals.

As the BEEB reports via Facebook, “One beautiful day, sometime in the unknown, uncertain future, we will march on the streets of Easton again!”

Want to become a BEEBer?

Contact Jeremy Joseph at: bigeasyeastonbrass@gmail.com 
FB: www.facebook.com/BigEasyEastonBrass/
Website: www.eastonbrass.com

Update Sept 25 to correct the spelling of Steve Nalevanko’s name