Alan Westwood - Bb Bass

About Alan: Alan's banding career has followed the traditional path of most Bass players. He began many years ago when his school bandmaster asked him to blow a note on the cornet, and having failed this task miserably he was given a Euphonium. There followed several years of toil which saw him rise through Midlands and South West bands to the top of the 1st Section and the 2nd Euph seat (this is the best seat in the band as the prima donna next to you does all the work and you just join in whenever you're allowed, whilst looking contemptuously at the Baritone section to quash any delusions of importance they may be forming). Having enjoyed this for a while his cover was blown and the Euphonium was removed and replaced with a Baritone. After more toil he found himself inexplicably on the 1st Baritone seat in the Championship Section, where he languished for 10 long years with not a single word of gratitude and not even a sniff of a prize. At which point his cover was blown again and the Baritone was replaced with a Cornet. This sees the darkest period in the history of British Banding, where considerable damage was done to the reputation of all back row players. After 2 years of torment, a musician finally analysed the tone quality of his cornet playing and replaced the cornet with an EEb Bass. This prompted several days of feasting and wild celebrations throughout the West Country. There then followed his 'Dep' period, where each year he played the Area contest and Remembrance Day and didn't touch the instrument between times. This worked well as it made no noticeable difference to the standard of his playing. This happy time was brought to an end when he was forced, under threat of marital strife, to attend regular rehearsals at Friary. At which point his cover was blown again and the EEb Bass was replaced with a BBb Bass, an instrument on which he now does little harm (and absolutely no good). He is currently woken by strange but frequent nightmares, where his cover has again been blown and he seems to be standing behind the band hitting things with sticks.