Hot Tamale Brass Band

THE HOT TAMALE BRASS BAND

The Hot Tamale Brass Band from Boston was formed in 1992 by Mickey Bones after living in New Orleans. Bones had played in a brass band while living down there, called the Gentilly Brass Band. That band played a lot of neighborhood block parties, Mardi Gras and Lundi Gras Balls, coronations for Krewe kings and Queens, parades including the Krewe of Muses and the Krewe of Bacchus parade , which is the second largest in the city. They also played some jazz funerals. The Hot Tamales started rehearsals in Mickey's old Central Square apartment in Cambridge Massachusetts. His girlfriend worked at Redbones BBQ and brought home lots of food. Every Sunday Mickey would take all the meat and make a huge soup, feed and supply the band with a case of beer to entice them into coming to rehearsals. After six months he got them their first gig working for the Sam Adams Brewery, who paid them in cash and as much beer as they could fit into six cars, which kept the rehearsals going for a few more months. The past fourteen years they have kept very busy playing the East Coast from Maine to Pennsylvania playing their supercharged brand of New Orleans jazz, dixieland and funky second line brass band music.