Rick Gerber
‘Director’s Porch Thoughts’
The internet and social media sites such as Facebook have made organising events, seminars and even reunions somewhat easier to promote, located and invite guests to. With Facebook it’s simple to create an event, post it to your news feed, invite friends to attend and spread the word far and wide.
In comparison, creating events such as a school or club reunion was a far more tedious and challenging task for organisers prior to the internet; particularly when trying to first locate former class mates or members to alert and invite.
Over a long lunch in the early 80s with his good friend, Johnny Desmond, who was the former star singer for Glenn Miller’s Army Air Force Band (fondly dubbed as the G.I Frank Sinatra), Rick Gerber suggested reuniting its original members to attend open air concert. Johnny handed over three possible contact numbers to Rick; and with up to 70 former members living in any of the 50 states across 9,826,675 km², Rick put his telephone, fax machine and posting envelope skills into full swing.
Over several months, Rick managed to track-down and invited many former band members. Word quickly spread and the USA Air Force Museum funded airflights for 41 members who were able to travel to enjoy a sentimental journey down memory together for a spectacular Orchestral performance of ‘Big Band’ hits they performed nationally 40 years earlier.
With thanks to the ease of the internet, whilst on a break during touring the USA, I connected with Rick on his Musical Director’s Porch in Branson, Missouri, explaining, “The Glenn Miller Orchestra’s 77th anniversary concert is heading to Victoria and promises to be a colourful and flamboyant evening filled with fun and nostalgia of the 30s and 40s; including our unique jazz sounds with the addition of recreating the golden era of swing plus music from the library of The Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band.”
The Glenn Miller Orchestra is still in high demand in many countries. You’ve performed in Melbourne’s Hamer Hall 3 or 4 times previously. Where else has the Orchestra performed around the world?
We’ve performed numerous times in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, New Zealand, Mexico, USA and of course all around Australia.
Do you have other countries in mind that you haven’t toured but would like to?
We’ve got things pending for South America and in Middle East including Dubai. If the phone rings and it sounds good, we’re ready to go.
You were born and raised in a small town which is now known as North Central Iowa that is roughly 100km north of the State Capital - Des Moines. What is your strongest family memory of big band music that contributed to your passion for music?
My mum was musical. She played a fine piano and she was self-taught. As a child in the late 40s and early 50s, I was surrounded by stacks of old 78 RPM records around the house. There was a collection of a little bit of everything and there was a lot of big band records. I listened to Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey Band and Glenn Miller.
In the 1920s, 30s and 40s, I can imagine that people ventured out to the movies or to see dance bands for social entertainment. Was this the case in small towns or just larger city venues in the USA?
In those days, bands focused on being dance bands. Every 30 miles in both big and small towns there was a dance hall or a place where people went for social entertainment. After WW2, it started dropping off. Our soldiers came home from the war and settled down and started having families. This started the baby boom.
When Jonny Desmond first handed you the phone numbers to start reuniting some of the original band members, did you think it was going to be a possibility?
There had always been talk about it about a reunion but nothing had ever eventuated as it was 40 years later. Through many phone calls I eventually contacted 41 surviving members. It began from there.
With the age of the members and with transportation logistics in mind, how did you manage to get the US Air Force Museum involved to fund everyone’s airflights?
The museum is located in the Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton in Ohio. Through word of mouth they heard about the reunion and offered to provide the setting, venue and flights for the reunion through their ‘slush fund’. The concert was held in August, 1986. We sadly lost Johnny Desmond to cancer in September, 1985.
It must have been an amazing reunion for everyone involved. Did many people attend the concert?
The concert was sponsored by the government so the media had picked up on it which created a lot of publicity. 18,000 people attended the Saturday night concert including the 41 original band members I had contacted. Sadly there are only five original members still alive.
You have had an amazing musical career yourself joining the Jack Gillespie band in 1981 before forming your own big band in Los Angeles in 1987. In 2001 you entered into a license agreement with Glenn Miller Productions, Inc. to form a special unit for the California market and have since toured the world. What do you hope audiences ultimately experience under your Musical Direction?
We want them to experience seeing and hearing the live band on stage playing the authentic original arrangements so, it’s like their favourite records have come to life on stage.
Who makes up the Glenn Miller Orchestra for this special 77 year anniversary tour?
The Orchestra consist of 26 musicians, singers and dancers on stage featuring The Moonlight Serenade Singers and The Broadway Swing Dancers all presenting great ‘Big Band’ hits with original Glenn Miller arrangements. We play the music of The Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and the romantic World War II melodies made famous by Vera Lynn.
Which musical arrangements and timeless icons of American culture can we expect to enjoy in Victorian venues?
There are many hits which have captivated millions of people including Chattanooga Choo-Choo, In the Mood, Tuxedo Junction, A String of Pearls, Moonlight Serenade, Little Brown Jug and Pennsylvania 6- 5000.
What legacy do you hope to pass onto future generations as the current Musical Director of the world famous Glenn Miller Orchestra?
When I retire or have to hang it up, there will always be somebody else with the same general theory and concept to ensure that the music is kept alive. We must keep playing and recreating the music but always according to the original arrangements and we play it the style that it was intended to be played.
What is your Porch Thought for the day?
Glenn Miller was quoted, “America means freedom and there's no expression of freedom quite so sincere as music…and a band ought to have a sound all of its own. It ought to have a personality.”