kettle band n
1 also tin-kettle band: A group of people gathered to create a noisy racket, usu as a mock serenade for a recently married couple; an occasion on which such a serenade is given, shivaree n B1. [Found also in Brit sources, though not in OED3, which does, however, have the verb tin-kettle “to serenade roughly or opprobriously,” and the corresponding noun tin-kettling, with citations from Engl, NZ, and Austr] chiefly NEast, esp sePA old-fash Cf bull band n, Dutch band n, horning n 1, rattle band n, tin-panning n
1843 Brooklyn Eagle & Kings Co. Democrat (NY) 25 Nov [2]/4, The first thing that drew my attention was the music of a soul-renovating, heart-cheering, Tin Kettle Band, who, I suppose, were doing honor to a young married couple. . . I cannot close this article without commending to especial notice the performers on the flour barrel drum, the pot lids, and the frying pan. They deserve well of their country, and especially of the watch and police. 1878 Burlington Sun. Rev. (VT) 16 June 1/5, She decided to seek the protection of Mr. Barnes and . . she left her home and husband that night. . . On Monday night a crowd of young fellows forming a tin kettle band came out and serenaded the Barnes’ giving them a taste of pandeumoni [sic] as it is properly supposed to be. . . [T]he boys blew their horns and beat upon their kettles and raised ned generally. 1896 Allentown Daily Leader (PA) 15 Sept [2]/2, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Breinig, who were married on the Fourth, were quietly serenaded by a “kettle band” up to a late hour on Saturday evening. 1901 Trenton Times (NJ) 24 Oct 3/1, Serenaded Young Bridegroom. . . Adam W. Stoudt’s friends . . serenaded him Monday evening with a tin kettle band. Mr. Stoudt appeared and made a short speech after which he informed the serenaders that refreshments were waiting for them at Kurtz’s hotel. 1904 Eve. Gaz. (Burlington IA) 1 Dec 6/1, The jolly Tin Kettle band serenaded Mr. and Mrs. B. Niemann last night to remind them of their sixteenth wedding anniversary. 1906 Times (Clay Center KS) 12 July 6/2, L. Hausserman and bride returned from their trip to Oklahoma. They were surprised by an old fashioned serenade of a well tuned kettle band at a late hour Monday night. The boys are up to it every time. 1932 Central News (Perkasie PA) 27 Jan 5/2, Vincent and Louis Helverson and Herman and Norman Yeakel spent Monday evening in Quakertown at a kettle band for the newly married couple. 1942 Morning Call (Allentown PA) 11 Mar 35/4, Mr. and Mrs. Victor Buss . . entertained at a surprise kettle band and kitchen shower in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Weaver. 1950 Morning Call (Allentown PA) 25 July 10/1, Mr. and Mrs. Carl L. Edmonds have returned from Miami, Fla., where they spent their honeymoon. . . They were given an old-time kettle band serenade by neighbors shortly after they reached home. 1967 DARE (Qu. AA18, . . A noisy neighborhood celebration after a wedding, where the married couple is expected to give a treat) Inf PA42, Kettle band. 1985 Morning Call (Allentown PA) 13 Mar sec A 17/3, [Letter:] I am past 65 and I can recall those days very well. I never heard it called “bull band.” We called it “kettle band.” . . Today if we would “serenade” newlyweds with a “kettle band,” we’d all be arrested for disturbing the peace.
2 also kitchen kettle band, pot and kettle band: An informal musical band that plays on kazoos and various instruments improvised from household items. scattered
1937 Moline Daily Dispatch (IL) 25 Aug 14/4, A feature of the parade was the kitchen kettle band of the local girl scout troop. The drum major used a broom and her fur cap was decorated with a dish mop. A large can served as a drum and the banjo, saxophone, horns and other instruments were made of skillets, a funnel and curtain rod, sink plunger, corn popper and water sprayer. 1937 Eve. Telegram (Rocky Mount NC) 8 Oct 3/4, The music of five string bands of Nash county, kettle bands and other forms of music-making will be included in the program to be presented without charge to those who attend “The Night of Fun.” 1954 Morning Call (Allentown PA) 26 May 35/3, The annual banquet of the Nazareth Teachers Assn. will be held June 2. . . Snyder’s Kettle Band will provide entertainment with Pennsylvania Dutch songs. 1962 State Jrl. (Lansing MI) 6 July sec C 7/1, Kettle Band Contest Is Fair Event. . . A unique kitchen band contest, in which 75 percent of the 10 or more members must be 60 or older, will highlight the annual Oldtimers Day program at the Michigan State Fair. . . Novelty numbers and original costumes are encouraged. 1977 Jrl. Tribune (Biddeford ME) 16 June 16/3, Veterans of WWI hold annual convention. . . A pot and kettle band had an enthusiastic following. 1983 Billings Gaz. (MT) 5 May sec D 1/2, Kazoos dueled with kettles and washboards competed with bedpans at a “kettle band” jam session at the Billings Community Center. . . Instruments ranged from the fairly sophisticated to plain old kazoos. 2002 Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA) 29 July sec B 2/2, Past the yacht harbor, where clearly the race’s most inventive musical outfit to this point (the Pot ’n Kettle Band) is stationed with, you guessed it, pots and kettles in hand.