Early Career: Territory Bands
Early in his career, Fischer had played trumpet and valve trombone several territory bands, all booked out of Omaha by the National Orchestra Service (NOS), including the Teddy Philips, Little John Beecher Orchestra, Joe Vera Latin Ensemble, Walter Martie, John Paul Jones, and Lee Williams, all of which became the outlet for his arranging and compositional skills throughout the late 40s and 50s. Fischer directed some shows and did most of the "special" arrangements, drove the sleeper buses, and the like. He was the road manager for John Beecher as well. After five years Fischer left the Beecher Band September 1959, when the NOS was going out of business.
Some say that he earned the name "Dirty Dirk" when he had the unpleasant job of hiring and firing musicians in one of the bands.
- Dirk Fischer, Arno Marsh, and Clare Fischer all played together in the Walter Martie Band around 1946-47.
Read more about this topic: Stewart "Dirk" Fischer
Famous quotes containing the words early, territory and/or bands:
“It is so very late that we
May call it early by and by. Good night.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“We found ourselves always torn between the mothers in our heads and the women we needed to become simply to stay alive.With one foot in the past and another in the future, we hobbled through first love, motherhood, marriage, divorce, careers, menopause, widowhood—never knowing what or who we were supposed to be, staking out new emotional territory at every turn—like pioneers.”
—Erica Jong (20th century)
“Nearly all the bands are mustered out of service; ours therefore is a novelty. We marched a few miles yesterday on a road where troops have not before marched. It was funny to see the children. I saw our boys running after the music in many a group of clean, bright-looking, excited little fellows.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)