Welcome to the home page of the Get A Life
Marching Band, based in Portland,
Oregon.
GAL made it to the Presidential Inaugural
Parade!!!
GAL in front of
the White House
(click to enlarge)
We did it!!! The Get a Life Marching Band marched in the Presidential
Inauguration Parade in Washington, DC on January 20,
2009. Read
the press release to learn more of the story explaining how
we were invited. Band members normally plan for and defray their
own travel costs, but since this was an unexpected trip we can use
YOUR help. It took more than $90,000 to get the band to the parade,
so we're grateful for any assistance you can provide -- use the
button at right to donate, or check out our DONATIONS
page with LOVELY THANK YOU GIFTS first.
Looking
for Inauguration Memorabilia instead? Visit the Get
a Life Marching Band Inaugural Parade Store, which carries
a full selection of merchandise with the specially-designed logo
(right) we wore as we rocked out the President and First Lady in
Washington, DC on January 20, 2009. (You can see it at right, and
on the drums, tubas, and jackets in the photo above.) Own a keepsake
of this historic moment and help support Oregon's Official Inauguration
Parade entry!
Then sit back and enjoy the material we pulled together -- take
a look at our application,
including video
and audio
samples of the band and some great
photos. Check out the Media Coverage below
for video of our performance in the parade, plus many stories with
photos and quotes from band members. Then bask in the warm glow
knowing YOU were also a part of inaugural history.
(Note: The Get a Life Marching
Band's application for 501(c)(3)
tax-exempt status has been filed; donations
are tax-deductible.)
Wowza, we're grinning ear to ear with
the coverage our Inauguration story continues to get. First things
first: Here are links to coverage from the parade:
GAL at the Reviewing
Stand (click to enlarge)
They like us! They really
like us! (click to enlarge)
CSPAN
Parade Coverage (video) (Note that after we leave the screen you
can still hear "Louie Louie" in the background)
KGW
Coverage of Northwest Bands (video) (GAL starts about 1:40 into the video; Evergreen
High School from Vancouver, WA opens the clip)
The
Australian (Sydney, Australia)
(Only parade unit mentioned by name!)
Slide show of parade photos
GAL meets
Oregon Senator Ron Wyden
KPTV
(local FOX affiliate), KATU (ABC affiliate), KOIN (CBS affiliate)
and KGW (NBC affiliate) have all run full news stories on the band.
The KGW story
(video, 2:21) has been picked up by stations nationwide (we have
confirmed reports from Eugene, OR; Medford, OR (KTVL); Seattle,
WA (KING); Tri-Cities, WA (KNDU); Pomona, CA; Paducah, KY; Philadelphia,
PA; and Washington, DC, with a modified
version featuring a Cincinnati member on WLW. It's even gone
international; we have reports back from the island of Crete and
Poland! Radio stations featuring stories or interviews with band
members include KXL, KINK, KOPB, KPAM,
KEX,
KPOJ
(starts 26:40 into the segment), KLTH, KYCH (Charlie 97.1 FM), and
KWJJ.
Click here for the (much longer) list
of press and other articles published about the band's 2009
Presidential Inaugural Parade trip.
A Special Shout Out To ...
Regence Blue Cross / Blue
Shield for joining our roster of Official Inaugural Parade
Sponsors with a $2500 donation.
United Airlines for joining our roster
of Official Inaugural Parade Sponsors by waiving their oversize
baggage fees for our five sousaphones and drum and flag equipment,
giving TLC to our other instruments, and providing special assistance
as we travel to DC.
BJ & Reggie Sullivan for joining our roster of
Official Inaugural Parade Sponsors with a major donation
Major donors Dave and Karen
Johnson
West Hills Baptist Church
for graciously donating many days and evenings of rehearsal
space on short notice!
Major donor Gary Graunke
Oregon Screen Impressions for outstanding,
expedited service and a terrific price break on our uniform
jacket embroidery
$1000 donation from the Unknown
Musician
AA Sports for donating
hand warmers for the band to use in Washington.
Anonymous $500 donor
Vancouver Lazerquick and the W L May
Company for helping with flyers and parking for our Burgerville
Night.
Burgerville for hosting
GAL Partnership Fundraisers and sharing restaurant revenue with
the band
McCormick & Schmick Restaurants for
a very warm reception and major savings on food and drink at
their Philadelphia restaurant.
... and of course ...
A HUGE THANK YOU to the MANY DONORS large and small who
are helping to finance the trip. Your generosity means that this
is YOUR Inauguration Parade performance too!
Founded in 1994 by Bob
Pulido and John Lind, Get A Life is an all-adult
band whose members have three things in common:
We were all in high school
or college marching bands.
We still haven't gotten
over it.
We'd rather miss a note
than a meal!
The band performs regularly in parades and other
events throughout the region; see the Performances
page for a full schedule. We've also traveled widely; see our Awards
page for a list of major parades that have received that special GAL
touch.
2009 Motto: COGITO,
ERGO FOODO (I THINK, THEREFORE I EAT)
(click to enlarge)
Walt Disney World Parade
Lake Buena Vista, FL
January 25, 2008
(click to enlarge)
In Honor of Our 15th Anniversary Season: GAL's First-Ever Event - Troutdale,
OR
(Yes, that's pretty much the whole band!)
July 1994
(click to enlarge)
On the Ellipse in front of The White
House
Presidential Inaugural Parade
Washington, DC
January 20, 2009
(click to enlarge)
With California's Legendary Willie
Brown
1st Place Adult Marching Band
Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade
San Francisco, CA
February 7, 2009
Next scheduled performance:
July 4,
2009
at the
Hillsboro Rotary Club 4th of July Parade
(Hillsboro, OR)
and
Hillsboro Burgerville
2401
NE Cornell Rd
(1-5 PM, Inaugural Parade storytelling following the morning parade)
See you along the parade route -- We'll be
the ones having more fun than anyone else in the parade!
New Members Welcome!
Instruments and Twirlers click above; Color Guard &Dance
Teamclick here.
Doesn't
this look like fun? Wanna be part of the NEXT event? Sure, you haven't
played in 15 years ... but hey, ALL of us were like that when WE
joined GAL. Apply for Membership
and hit the streets with us!
What
are we doing after the July 4 parade? Going to lunch at Burgerville!
Join us at the Hillsboro Burgerville
from 1-5 PM for music, stories, and photos from our Inaugural Parade
trip. A portion of all sales during these hours will be donated
to GAL to help defray our Inauguration expenses.
We
were thrilled, but THEY wrote the thank you note. Our thank you
note from The White House has been added to the Awards
and Honors page.
As scary as it sounds, you could wake up to GAL on
the morning news this week - KOIN-TV did a nice feature on the band
on its May 22 early newscast. Check it out below and meet our guest
percussionist!
Halftime
Magazine just featured GAL in its May/June 2009 issue, spotlighting
founders Bob Pulido and John Lind. "You can travel the country,
see the president, entertain and make a difference … all as
a member of a community marching band." Read
the full article to learn more about the "little band that
could".
Long Beach Loyalty Days has come and gone and we've come home with
the 1st Place Novelty Marching Unit plaque to add our Awards
and Honors page. Also check out the performance by our Three-bas
(one better than Tubas) on Beer
Barrel Polka.
The judging
results of the 2009 Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade
are in and GAL has been awarded 1st Place in the Adult Marching
Band category. (Yes, there was another entry - and shame
on you for asking! <grin>) Official award takes place on April
3, but we've already added it to our Awards
and Honors page. See photo below with the trophy!
Wanna see us on the streets of San Francisco? Check out these YouTube
clips of the band playing Last
Night and Brick
House.
Visit
the Get a Life Marching
Band Inaugural Parade Store to purchase Inauguration
Memorabilia with the specially-designed logo we wore
as we rocked out the President and First Lady in Washington, DC
on January 20, 2009.
BAND MEMBERS PLEASE NOTE: If
you haven't been getting email from me lately, it's because I no
longer have a valid email address for you! Click
here to email contact info to me.
GAL wins 1st place in the Novelty
Marching Unit division at Long Beach Loyalty Days. (Man, have they
got US figured out!!!)
Here's a 2008 challenge: Let's double the size of the band! It's
possible if we each bring in one new member. A
colorful GAL recruiting poster is available to use with friends,
bulletin boards, or wherever else you'd find it handy on our new
Recruiting Materials page (permanent
link at bottom of page). UPDATE:
File for printing business cards has been added.
ROAD TRIP PIX: First few pix
from the Florida trip are available
right here. More to come when I get time!
Nice article and photos about the band ran in the Tigard
Times July 19, 2007 newspaper issue on THPRD'sParty
in the Park.Click
here to check it out!
Want to hear what the band sounds like these days? We've
got some new recordings on the Sound &
Video page, so check it out. We think it's our best sound yet!
Wanna
learn more about our twirlers? Try this
story from The Oregonian.
Learn
more about your fellow band members; new Philosophy
of Food and Jokes pages have
been added. (Check back periodically for updates.)
New members
solicited!!! If you have
marching band experience, please join us. We guarantee it'll
be as much fun as you remember!
.jpg)
Looking
for Inauguration Memorabilia instead? Visit the 
We were all in high school
or college marching bands.
Doesn't
this look like fun? Wanna be part of the NEXT event? Sure, you haven't
played in 15 years ... but hey, ALL of us were like that when WE
joined GAL. 
What
are we doing after the July 4 parade? Going to lunch at Burgerville!
Halftime
Magazine just featured GAL in its May/June 2009 issue, spotlighting
founders Bob Pulido and John Lind. "You can travel the country,
see the president, entertain and make a difference … all as
a member of a community marching band." 
Wanna
learn more about our twirlers? Try 
Learn
more about your fellow band members; new 
