San Francisco Fire Festival. Photo by Insurgent Photo.
Trash Orchestra is a marching percussion band – a bone-shaking recycled orchestra. We make percussion on tuned cans, hubcaps and barrels, drums, pieces of sheet metal, and homemade oddities.
I co-founded Trash Orchestra in December, 2005 and organized and played until the band’s extended hiatus in 2009.
Trash Orchestra practice under the Water Street bridge. Photo by Insurgent Photo.
We appeared invited and uninvited at protests and celebrations, furors and fracases, anywhere there’s a need to make a ruckus, to shout out and help right injustice, suffering, and oppression, to make a big noise to celebrate our victories and our losses.
Trash Orchestra performed at a wide variety of events and protests, including defending the Santa Cruz Beach Flats Garden, San Francisco Fire Arts Festival, Santa Cruz Pride Parade, Honk Fest West in Seattle, in support of the San Francisco Mime Troup, marches against Chevron’s complicity in the Iraq War, defending the Santa Cruz Farmers’ Market drummers, and marches to protect the UCSC treesit.
Trash Orchestra postcardSan Francisco Fire Festival. Photo by Insurgent Photo.San Francisco Fire Festival. Photo by Insurgent Photo.San Francisco Fire Festival. Photo by Insurgent Photo.San Francisco Fire Festival. Photo by Insurgent Photo.San Francisco Fire Festival. Photo by Insurgent Photo.San Francisco Fire Festival. Photo by Insurgent Photo.San Francisco Fire Festival. Photo by Insurgent Photo.San Francisco Fire Festival. Photo by Insurgent Photo.San Francisco Fire Festival. Photo by Insurgent Photo.San Francisco Fire Festival. Photo by Insurgent Photo.San Francisco Fire Festival. Photo by Insurgent Photo.San Francisco Fire Festival. Photo by Insurgent Photo.San Francisco Fire Festival. Photo by Insurgent Photo.San Francisco Fire Festival. Photo by Insurgent Photo.Protest in support of the UC Santa Cruz tree sit, 2007Protest in support of the UC Santa Cruz tree sit, 2007Santa Cruz parade, 2007Santa Cruz parade, 2007Santa Cruz parade, 2007Santa Cruz parade, 2007Practice in Modesto train yardTrash Orchestra practice under the Water Street bridge. Photo by Insurgent Photo.Trash Orchestra practice under the Water Street bridge. Photo by Insurgent Photo.Trash Orchestra practice under the Water Street bridge. Photo by Insurgent Photo.Trash Orchestra practice under the Water Street bridge. Photo by Insurgent Photo.Trash Orchestra practice under the Water Street bridge. Photo by Insurgent Photo.Trash Orchestra practice under the Water Street bridge. Photo by Insurgent Photo.Trash Orchestra practice under the Water Street bridge. Photo by Insurgent Photo.Trash Orchestra practice under the Water Street bridge. Photo by Insurgent Photo.Protest at Santa Cruz city hall, 2006Protest against Santa Cruz police infiltrating community organizations.
