Red Hot Horn Dawgs

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Rob Vandersteen

Red Hot Horn Dawgs

Classic rock/country. Free.

media release: A ten piece horn band with a rhythm section was formed in late 1999 by Bill Walker and his wife Tracy.  

Both these alumni of the University of Wisconsin Marching Band wanted to broaden their musical outlets beyond the Beer Barrel Polka and Dance Little Bird (the Chicken Dance.) Between their ties to UW Band alums and Tracy's access to Edgewood College jazz musicians they were able to form The Average Blues Band, which first performed at the Stadium Bar in February of 2000.

This unique group (composed of two trumpets, a fluegelhorn, two saxophones, trombone, tuba and full rhythm section,) adapted their name from the famous Average White Band. We even played the AWB's signature tune Pick Up The Pieces.

Not enough band-hiring people made the connection. We found it increasingly tough to get hired with "Average" in our band name, so we came up with five alternatives and a majority vote turned us into The Red Hot Horn Dawgs.  

While the Horn Dawgs were developing their "sound" and jelling as a group, the UW Band alums present interjected humor, stage play and showmanship into the act to offset some of the shaky playing of our early shows. As the playing improved, the fun and games simply stayed in the act and became one of our trademarks.