The tuba is a mocked and maligned instrument. Possibly only the bassoon gets more grief. The stereotypical tuba player shows up in time for Octoberfest clad in lederhosen (not necessarily the world’s largest lederhosen, though) and knee socks and wearing a jaunty hat with a feather stuck in the band. That oompa-oompa man is usually accompanied by an accordion player, which does nothing to add cool points to the musical combo, unless you’re speaking of Al Yankovic.

Bucking those stereotypes, apparently a recent music craze in the Southwest and especially California called banda is making the tuba a hot commodity. So hot that the enormous instruments are being stolen from high school bands at an incredible pace. South Gate High School had a pair of tubas valued at a combined $13,000 stolen recently. Eight tubas went missing from another school. Some high school bands have had to resort to borrowing instruments in order to perform. High school extra curricular activities haven’t been disrupted by something this strange since a wrestling team was beaten by a raccoon.

I’m sure the band members, band directors, school administrators and police would like to apply some payback a’la the tuba player who took down the bratty kid.

If you’re curious as to what banda sounds like or you just need a tuba fix, below is a video that utilizes the style of music coupled with images from the Backyardigans.

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