Welcome! "Dia Dhuit''

   We are the Broome County Celtic Kazoos. We are a group of over 130 kazoo players who gather each "holy" season to march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Binghamton, N.Y.


The Band has won may acheivements at parades throughout the years, including "First Place for Group Originality", "First Place for Best in Music", "First Place for Most Enthusiastic", "First Place for Best in Crowd Participation" and "First Place for Best in Crowd Enthusiasm" etc.  Make sure to check out our photo page to see photos of all out awards!!

In addition to the Binghamton parade each year, we have also marched in St. Patrick's Day Parades in Syracuse, NY, Utica, NY and Scranton, PA as well as the famous St. Patrick's Day Parade in Savannah, GA.  We also have marched in many other smaller parades in our area including the Deposit Lumberjack Parade in Deposit, NY.

All are welcome to join us. Check out the Practice Schedule page for more information. We hope to see you!

Here is a little clip of some of our kazooers!!  You can hear our drums and the crowd cheering us on!!! 

 

Even the Mayor of Binghamton loves us and often comes down to meet us and march up the road!  Here are some photo's of Mayor Matt Ryan!

 

 

 2012

 

(click on photo to enlarge)



Our Achievements

     1991-1992 - Proof of Concept

1993 - Will it work again!

1994 - Added a lone drummer

1995 - Designed and painted our own matching sweatshirts

1996 - Full Percussion section added, also multi county and state participation of members. Designed a Banner and had it professionally done.

1997 - Designed, painted and sewed our own matching hats

1998 - Added a Float (which won first place for "Most Original"). Added a LOGO, designed and drawn by Johnny Hart and Jack Caprio, nationally known cartoonist for the comic strip BC and Wizard of Id. This logo now is used on our sweatshirts, and banner.

1999 - First Place Plaque for Group Originality

2000 - First Place Plaque for Best in Music

2001 - We had 130+ folks marching with us. We celebrated our 10 Year Anniversary Marching, we like to refer to it as a "Decade of Decadence". We were invited and marched in the Deposit Lumberjack Parade (our first paying job!)

2002 - First Place Plaque for Most Enthusiastic! We also marched in Deposit Lumberjack Parade

2003 - First Place Plaque for Best in Music Enthusiasm, also the addition of our 6 foot kazoo built by BOCES. We also marched in Deposit Lumberjack Parade

2004 - First Place Plaque for Best in Crowd Participation!! We also marched in Deposit Lumberjack Parade

2005 - First Place Plaque for Best in Enthusiam!! (yes, they spelt it wrong) This year we were also invited to march in the Syracuse St. Patrick's Day Parade March 12, 2005, we had 60 + members join us in this parade.

2006 - First Place for Best in Crowd Enthusiasm!! We were also invited to march in both the Utica and Syracuse St. Patrick's Day Parades, along with the Broome Bicentennial Parade. We also added a new updated banner.

2007 - This year we were invited to march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Also The Mayor of Binghamton came down from the reviewing stand to meet us and marched up the street with us!! Gotta love Mayor Ryan!!

2008 - First Place Plaque for Music Spirit in the Binghamton Parade.

2008 - Second Place for Best Non-High School Band in the Syracuse Parade.

2009 - Added an additional snare drummer.

2010 - Winner of a music award, added an additional base drummer and was invited to march in the Savannah St. Patrick's Day Parade in 2011.

2011 - Won best in Music Award in Binghamton Parade, also participated in the second largest St. Patrick's Day Parade in the country, Savannah, Georgia.

2012 -  Won First Place in Music Originality, in Binghamton Parade

and Best Band Other, 3rd Place in the Syracuse St. Patrick's Parade

2013 -  Won First Place for Most Enthusiastic, in Binghamton Parade.  We were invited to and marched in the Dundee, N.Y. Scottish Parade and Festival and we did our first ever Wine Tour of Seneca Lake.  Added and additional snare drummer!
2014 - Won First Place for best in Music!  hmmm Music?  in the Binghamton Parade.  Also return to Syracuse to march in their parade.  Invited to march in Delhi's St. Patricks Parade along with a few others.  New Bass Drum heads.
2015 - Marched in Binghamton's Parade, Syracuse Parade, and Kirkwood Town Parade.  Designed new Kazoo Pins!

 

About Us

What is a Kazoo?

The kazoo is based on the African mirliton, and was a popular African-American folk instrument during the 1800's. The manufactured kazoo was invented by Alabama Vest, made to his specifications by Thaddeus Von Clegg in Georgia in the mid 1840's. A traveling salesman by the name of Emil Sorg brought the idea of manufacturing them in Western New York in about 1912. He teamed up with Michael McIntyre and Harry Richardson and began producing them in 1914, and received a patent in 1923. A kazoo is a toy wind instrument, usually made of plastic, metal or wood. It is generally shaped like a tube with a hole in the top, the hole is covered with a thin membrane.

How did this all begin?

During the winter of 1991/92 two fellow employees, Spike Creamer and Loretta Sullivan were discussing the possibility of getting a group of people together and joining in the camaraderie of the Saint Patrick's Day celebrations, by marching in the parade. The question was "What can we all do?" Spike suggested, lets start a Kazoo band. Spike being quite a Kazoo aficionado in his own right knew he could train the rest of the group. If they could get a group of at least twenty people together they would march. So the phone calls began! What did you say? You want me to do what? What are you guy's nuts? Sure sign me up!!! And practice began!!
 

Practice makes perfect!

A common mistake in attempting to play a kazoo is to pick it up and blow through the kazoo. A trained kazooist always seems to get a kick out of the new recruit and his understandable confusion. Most people say to hum into the kazoo is correct, but others like the "do" method, saying "do" into the kazoo. Practice began once a week at local pubs, with bartenders passing out earplugs to the other patrons. But we knew we were wonderful!! We had practice once a week starting in January, our local parade is always the first Saturday in March. We all needed to learn the tunes/words to some Irish songs, so with tape player in hand Loretta and Spike began.
 

The First Parade Day

We had 26 people show up. Loretta gave each a green satin sash with BC Kazoo hand stenciled on the sash. We each received a green plastic hat, and a plastic kazoo. We were ready!! The anticipation mounted, and then step off time was upon us. We rounded the first corner not knowing what to expect of the crowd when they laid eyes upon us. We lifted our kazoos to our mouths and began to play. They loved us! People actually came up out of the crowd and asked if they could join us and march with us the following year. We were a hit, we did it!!!
 

Where We Are Now

Now our group numbers in the neighborhood of one hundred and thirty kazoo players, each one a kazooist in their own right. We also have a eight piece percussion section, consisting of bells, two base drums, two snare drums, tri-toms, cymbals, and even a bordhran!!! We have designed and made our own shirts, and hats and even entered floats in past parades and won for the most original! We have been approached by many other parade committees and asked to march in many other parades. The camaraderie of our group is infectious, each year more people request to join us and share in our celebration!!! So if you are in Binghamton near the time of the "Holy Season" St. Patrick's Day, say hello to us as we march by OR join us in the celebrations of the day!!

 

Practice Schedule

Practice will begin on Thursday January 21, 2016
Practice is held each Thursday from 7-8:30 pm until Parade Day.
Parade Day 2014 will be held on March 5, 2016
Syracuse Parade will be held on March 12, 2016

Practice Location
The Moose Club
224 Henry Street
Binghamton, NY
~across from the Mets Stadium - (click for directions)
Team dues are $10 per year.

Song List

Song List

Sing along if you can .... Kazoo if you can't

WE usually KAZOO - SING - KAZOO

1) H-A-R-R-I-G-A-N

H-A, double-R I, G-A-N spells HARRIGAN
Proud of all the Irish blood that's in me
Devil a man can say a word agin' me
H-A, double-R I, G-A-N you see...
It's a name that a shame never
has been connected with...
HARRIGAN, that's me !

2) WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN

3) MACNAMARA'S BAND

Oooooo, Me name is Macnamara,
I'm the leader of the band.
And though we're few in number,
We're the finest in the land.
We play at wakes and weddings,
And at every fancy ball.
But when we play a funeral,
We play the best of all.
Daaah dat da da dat da da's

4) YANKEE DOODLE DANDY

I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy,
A Yankee Doodle do or die.
A real live nephew of my uncle Sam's,
Born on the Fourth of July.
I've got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart,
She's my Yankee Doodle joy !
Yankee Doodle came to London
Just to ride the ponies...
I am a Yankee Doodle boy !

5) A NATION ONCE AGAIN
A Nation once again... ( ARM )
A Nation once again... ( ARM )
And Ireland, long a province, be
A Nation once again. ( ARM )


6) GOD BLESS AMERICA

God Bless America, land that I love...
Stand beside her, and guide her,
Through the night with the light from above.
From the mountain, to the prairie,
To the ocean white with foam...
God Bless America my home sweet home...
God Bless America my home sweet home.

 7) THE ONE ROAD

We're on the one road, Sharing the one load,
We're on the road to God knows where.
We're on the one road, It may be the wrong road,
But we're together now, who cares.
North men, South men, Comrades all,
Dublin, Belfast, Cork, or Donegal
We're on the one road, Swingin' along,
Singing a soldiers song

8)  Notre Dame Fight Song

Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame,
Wake up the echoes cheering her name,
Send a volley cheer on high,
Shake down the thunder from the sky.
What though the odds be great or small
Old Notre Dame will win over all,
While her loyal sons are marching
Onward to victory.

9) GRAND OLD FLAG
      
You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag,
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of, the land I love,
The home of the free and the brave,
Every heart beats true for the red white and blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.