The Hook and Ladder Company attracted its usual crowd in September 2018 around the 105 Disneyland Fire Department building. Clad in firemen uniforms, that company’s staffers played piano, brass and drum instruments to entertain onlookers as part of Dixieland jazz. It added to the fanciful wonder at Main Street USA, the themed land in the principal entrance of the Disney property. Parkgoers did not realize that it was going to be the last appearance of the musicians.
Disney creatives once trended towards a sound similar to music from a marching band that comprised buglers and drum players. Thus, Disney creatives gave harsh treatment to the said company. The departure of the popular group that was founded by erstwhile Disneyland Band members, reminded us of an adage meaning something that appears bad perhaps is bad.
In the past, live music at Disneyland was going through a few changes. The so-called Disneyland Band debuted at the time of the diamond anniversary of the park in 2015. The band was popular among park goers, but not everything was harmonious. Soon after the layoffs at the said company, artists with full-time music bands in the themed New Orleans Square land got their shifts reduced. That all but ensured that their benefits and hours would go away by the end of the year.
VP of Local 7, American Federation of Musicians, Edmund Velasco stated that some of those musicians were scrambling, attempting to retain their benefits by bridging the gap between their vacation days and sick time.
It was a familiar situation for the musicians at Disney California Adventure. Velasco also stated that the operations team of DCA did not wish to have musicians on a full-time basis. As for Velasco, there was no one there who scheduled gigs five days per week in one band.
Before quitting the company back in April 2019, Velasco started to play tenor saxophone with the former Disneyland Band. Consequently, he realized that real-time music was a key part of Disneyland magic. It gave park visitors an output that a musical loop that blared from an electronic speaker could not offer.