How Tuba Skinny’s New Orleans Street Jazz Found Fans Worldwide

I was introduced to Tuba Skinny in 2010 through videos uploaded by YouTube pioneers Al and Judy Alexander. The Alexanders, whose YouTube channel is digitalalexa, frequently traveled to New Orleans from their home in New Jersey and filmed the band with high-quality equipment. Randy Cassaly, who lives in Louisiana, also posted some early videos. He publishes his videos as RaoulDuke504. There are now numerous video-makers capturing and uploading hundreds of performances, especially from festivals. As a result, performances by Tuba Skinny have been watched millions of times by people all round the world—most of whom have never seen the band in the flesh. Tuba Who? So who are Tuba Skinny? They are a group of young musicians who migrated to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and met while busking on the streets. New Orleans has been their base ever since. That is where they spend the temperate months. But during the heat of summer they tour in the northern states and abroad. They have played in Spain, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Mexico, and Australia. This year they toured extensively in Belgium, France and in Holland, where they participated for several weeks in a new venture, working in an entertainment complex that included a circus. How did the band get its name? There was a magnificent, bulky tuba player, Anthony Lacen, known as Tuba Fats, who used to perform in New Orleans.