Memorials

Saxlady's world renowned Green Street Marching Brass Band has played some of the most notable memorials and funerals San Francisco has ever seen! Learn about the band's history and venue from Scott Ostler's San Francisco Chronicle column, A Final, Magical Mystical Tour.

Voted "Best Marching Band 2001" in the San Francisco Guardian's Best of the Bay, Category: City Life "If you've seen one funeral procession, you've seen 'em all, we say, but not when said procession is headed by the Green Street Mortuary Band. We've followed for blocks just to listen to the Green Streeters' expertly played dirges. These guys are serious musicians – the band is a union job, and their roster includes alumni from bands headed by Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, and Huey Lewis. Although their repertoire is heavy on hymns, like "Holy Holy Holy" and "Amazing Grace," they have been known to make forays into Haydn, Chinese music, and just about anything else the customer might want. Your best chance to catch them is on just about any weekend day in Chinatown – they do about 350 funeral processions a year, fielding bands as large as 40 pieces (they're also available for less doleful gigs). We know who's going to play at our funeral." -- San Francisco Bay Guardian.

The Green Street Marching Band led the Stanford Founder's Day Processional March in 2002, 2003, and 2004 at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. The event commemorates the founding of the University and the legacy of the Stanford Family.

	Read Leah Garchick's September 2003 SF Chronicle column celebrating Lost and Found Sound's launch party for their audio chronicle featuring the Green Street Mortuary Band. Hosted by Duc Nguyen of KQED's "Pacific Times, the party featured a Green Street Bass Drum cake.
	Read Garrison Keillor's January 2003 interview with San Francisco's first Poet Laureate, Lawrence Ferlinghetti. One of Ferlinghetti's well known poems, The Green Street Mortuary Marching Band, celebrates the flavor and pathos of a San Francisco Chinese Funeral.
	Read Scott Ostler's "A Final, Magical Mystical Tour" and walk the streets of San Francisco with the Green Street Mortuary Band. From the San Francisco Chronicle, March 2000.
	Read PJ Cockery's April 2003 column describing the largest funeral procession in San Francisco with 3 massed Green Street Marching Bands to honor the departure of Sun Chin Fook.