The Brass Factory

The lineage of the Brass Factory can be traced back to 1982.  In high school in the late 70’s,  Wallaceburg trumpet player Dave Babbitt had the good fortune to hear some of the then still touring Big Bands, the likes of Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, and Maynard Ferguson. This life-changing experience turned him on to the instrumentation and swing music of these authentic remnants of a bygone era. 

After graduating from university, Dave was determined to try and re-create the big band sound in his hometown, so in 1982 he called together some former fellow music classmates from his high school days as well as some then, senior high school music students. 

Having never played any “swing” music previously, they located a few big band charts and set out to rehearse anywhere they could find space.  They practiced in members basements, in the evenings at local schools, in churches, and local service club facilities in preparing for their public debut. 

In searching for a name for the band, they settled on the “Brass Factory”. The name was a perfect fit as the signature horn section of a big band are all made of brass, and it was a take-off of a very well-known local industry named Waltec Industries. Waltec Industries was known more colloquially as “the brass factory”, a manufacturer of brass plumbing supplies and fixtures, so a water faucet and the cog of industry were incorporated into the logo as well as a trumpet, and a trombone slide and bell. Recently, the logo was updated to also include saxophones, the other brass instruments in the horn section of a big band. 

The Brass Factory made its debut to a full house and wide acclaim in June of 1984 at the Jeanne Gordon Theatre. 

After great reviews and local support, the band only played one more concert before quickly dissolving as the high school students in the band graduated and departed for post-secondary education. 

A lack of local musicians to fill the ranks of the very specific instrumentation didn’t allow Dave to re-form the band until 1991 when he once again found the musicians he needed. At this point,  the band began rehearsals again that  began an 11 year run of concerts and big band dances, selling out almost every event they played, helping many local organizations in their fundraising efforts. 

Eventually, the band once again dissolved as members married and moved away.

Fast forward to 2019 when after retirement from teaching, Dave started the local Wallaceburg Concert Band. The WCB evolved into a  band of almost 60 members presenting a large pool of musicians from which to cull enough talent to once again fire-up the Brass Factory Big Band. 

Dave put the band back together in late 2019 and the BF was firing on all cylinders once again! The band presented their first concert in almost 20 years in December of 2019 and big plans were in the works when COVID struck the world. Music production by the Factory was short lived and it was shut-down once again. 

It’s now 2024 and the world is up and running again. And so is the Brass Factory! Hard at work in rehearsals, the BF is preparing to once again offer some great music, best presented in the exciting Big Band format. Prepare to swing!