Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gerald Daniels. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Gerald, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

A lot of us (Unfaded Brass Band) were Hurricane Katrina survivors and we relocated to the DFW area and planted roots here. Different brass bands would come to town from New Orleans and we would go see them. It felt good to see familiar faces and hear that sound again. I hadn’t played a horn or beat a drum for well over 10 years. I was in no shape to play. The idea to start the band came from one of my best friends and business partners, Jermaine Devezin. After realizing that there were a lot of people here from New Orleans who stayed after the hurricane. He came to me about the idea of starting a brass band here in DFW. At first, I was apprehensive because I knew I hadn’t played a horn or beaten a drum in such a long time. He called a meeting with Justina Sylvester, Louis Ford, and myself to explore the option of starting the band. I knew Louis aka Big Lou and Justina aka Jigga from the neighborhood back home. That made it easier, because it was familiar folks and not strangers. We laughed and reminisced about our high school band days. We talked about since there were so many people living here, why not start a band that’s based here and people wouldn’t have to rely on getting bands from back home to come here. We decided to move forward with it. Little did I know that once we started the band, we would grow so quickly. Once people started hearing about us and heard our unique New Orleans sound, the band’s popularity grew.

Gerald, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a humble man from New Orleans, Louisiana. I grew up in the Lower 9th Ward with a single mom and my little brother. My journey started when I first heard my mother play the bass guitar. I fell in love with music. I would walk around the house humming beats and songs in my head. I joined the band in middle school with no experience. I started out on bass drum since I loved beating on things. My mom would often fuss at me for hitting on her good furniture. My middle school wasn’t all that and we made the most of what we had. We had a drum section led by Wilbert Rawlins, Sr., and a few horns. You couldn’t tell us we weren’t rolling. We had pride in ourselves even though people would point fingers and laugh at us. We kept moving forward. Once I got to high school and was around more people who loved music as much as I did, it opened a whole new world. We challenged ourselves to be better. I became section leader in my sophomore year. My band director Mr. Allen asked me to switch to Sousaphone. I was apprehensive at first but decided to give it a shot. And once I did, it was a done deal. Even though I still loved playing drums, I found a new love for the tuba. I’m proud of the fact that after 10 years, Unfaded Brass Band is still going strong. We’ve performed on some of the biggest stages, gala events, the State Fair of Texas, grand openings, and birthday, and anniversary parties. Weddings to funerals. It has been a pleasure and an honor to add some New Orleans flavor to the many events we’ve participated in.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I met my business partner Jermaine Devezin back in high school in New Orleans. I played bass drum and he played the cymbals. Our drum section was a close-knit group. We were together so much we all became brothers and sisters. I met his family and became a member of the flock and we’ve been friends for over 30 years.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

After many many weekends playing on the streets in Deep Ellum(a local tourtist area in Dallas TX), And the many appearances we did around the city just to inform people that we were here. Word was getting around that there was a brass band in DFW that looked and sounded like they were from New Orleans. We started getting more gigs. Our reputation now is that we are professional, we sound great, we look awesome, and are great entertainers. That in itself has greatly assisted us in getting all of the blessings we’ve received.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.unfadedbrassband.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfadedbrassband/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnfadedBrassBand
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@unfadedbrassband7781

Image Credits

Photos were taken by Dwayne Taylor of DAT Photography.