Brass bands were extremely popular in the 1800s. During the Civil War, every military unit had their own music squad. Since the war had ended, the music squads were broken up, all the soldiers returned home, and they formed new bands in their own towns. In fact, just about every town in the newly unified America had one. Every brass band included multiple drummers in order to play the multiple drum parts. They performed in many places. In some cases, the outdoor gigs needed to be moved indoors for various reasons. The bands would take all their equipment and set up inside. However, sometimes the rooms they performed in were limited by space, and some musicians needed to be cut. Because of the plethora of drummers, the percussionists would
