And the band plays on

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

Scott Moyer’s first experience with the Greater Kensington String Band was as a kid in the 1970s. He didn’t play music at the time, but with his dad Ed and uncle Ron both members of the Mummers club, the young Moyer was keeping up a family tradition.
Some three decades later, Scott Moyer is still in the band. Better yet, he is now its longest-serving captain ever, having led Greater Kensington up Broad Street for the last 17 New Year’s Day parades.
As such, the Moyer legacy holds a special place in Mummery, but by no measure can it be considered unique. In fact, even in his own band, family dynasties are about as common as sequins and face paint.
At one time, according to Scott, Greater Kensington had 17 father-son combinations as members. Paying homage to the hundreds of families that have passed through its clubhouse over the years is a leading priority for the band in 2007 as it celebrates its 60th anniversary.
Despite its name, for the last 41 years the club has been based not in Kensington but in Tacony. Today it is the oldest Northeast-based string band, and the only one that’s a member of the Philadelphia String Band Association.
But geography is not what members consider the most-identifying characteristic of "GKSB."
"We’re very family-oriented," Scott Moyer said last week as members met for their usual Tuesday-night rehearsal in advance of a busy spring and summer performance schedule.
"We don’t have women in the band," Moyer added, "but all of the mothers and sisters help out, with makeup or food or whatever."
"The thing about our band is it’s always been a family band," agreed Ed Weisser, who joined in October 1954 and is one of the longest-standing members. "We’re a family. If somebody needs help, we’ll help them out."
Likewise, they consider their clubhouse, on the southeast corner of Cottman Avenue and Edmund Street, a home away from home. It didn’t become that way for close to 20 years after the band’s founding.
Though remembered firsthand by few of today’s active members, the history of the band has been passed down from veterans like Weisser and Charlie Murray to the younger set through countless anecdotes told over a mug of beer at the clubhouse bar, a hot dog at a summer cookout or a cup of hot coffee at a chilly December drill rehearsal.
Howard Peoples was the driving force behind the formation of the band, Weisser said. In the 1920s, Kensington had an earlier string band but it folded. By the mid-1940s, a group of musicians and aspiring Mummers from the old neighborhood decided to fill the void. They organized in 1946, and, with Peoples as captain, first marched in the 1948 New Year’s parade.
Originally based at Front Street and Lehigh Avenue, the band moved to a space above the Cumberland Sho-bar at Kensington Avenue and "A" Street.
"That’s when we started to grow," Weisser said.
Some early members were from the immediate neighborhood, but others came from afar. For would-be Mummers from the Northeast, Bucks County and parts of New Jersey, Kensington was the closest option, especially with most clubs based in South Philly.
Ed and Ron Moyer started out with a Penndel, Bucks County, band and moved to the Aqua String Band of Bridesburg before arriving at GKSB in the early 1950s. Ron Moyer, who would become captain, invited Weisser, of Langhorne, to join.
In 1960, they moved to a clubhouse at 2444 "D" St. Six years later they purchased a former German and Italian club in Tacony. The building is just over a century old.
"In the neighborhood down (in Kensington), the building was small and it was old," Weisser said. "It wasn’t really what we wanted, and the neighborhood was more conducive up here. The neighborhood (in Kensington) wasn’t supportive of the band anymore and most guys were from up in this area."
Though the number of string bands in the annual parade has been on a gradual decline, with the numbers of players in those bands following suit, Greater Kensington has been one of the enduring franchises. Today it lists more than 90 members. Most play instruments, while some help out as parade marshals and with organizational duties, according to the band’s president, Anthony DiLacqua.
DiLacqua is also a chief inspector in the Philadelphia Police Department, in command of the patrol bureau.
Though GKSB is not one of the elite bands in terms of winning the annual parade competition, it has sustained a high level of performance throughout most of its history.
The band has won twice — in 1979 with the theme Oz Odyssey and in 1988 with Go For Baroque — and has averaged a sixth-place performance since its inception.
When gauging success, however, members look at more than the number awarded them each year by the parade judges. They also value their contribution to the community, both on an individual level and on a large scale.
"One thing is we try to draw young kids and take them off the street," said Bob Dicks, a 32-year band member and former captain.
"One of my thrills is watching kids grow up here," DiLacqua added. "And we’ve had a lot of success stories from guys who’ve been in the band. They usually turn out to be good kids because they’re with adult mentors."
Unfortunately, it’s getting tougher to recruit new generations in today’s social climate, they say. Fewer schools offer music instruction, so fewer kids are playing instruments. Meanwhile, sports, video games and "hanging out" seem more popular these days.
"It’s tough to get new blood," said Harry Bradley, vice president of the band.
Greater Kensington has tried to address the problem by forming partnerships with other community organizations, such as Father Judge High School.
Each year, members of the Father Judge jazz band visit the GKSB clubhouse to deliver an advance performance of their annual concert. String band members offer the kids their critiques and advice. Later, the kids sit in with the string band. It’s a great way for the kids to earn valuable experience, and for the string band to find potential members. Last year alone, five Judge musicians joined the string band.
Meanwhile, the string band tries to make a big public splash locally as host and co-organizer of the annual Mayfair-Holmesburg Thanksgiving Parade. It has participated in the parade since 1967.
For the last few years, Greater Kensington has performed summer concerts in Disston Park. With little fanfare, members also frequently visit local senior-citizen homes and hospitals, merely to spread some joy. ••
For information about the Greater Kensington String Band and public performance schedules, visit www.gksb.com To hire the band or rent the clubhouse, call 215-624-5775 or 215-624-9404.
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com