Company Q
Bob Endersen - plectrum banjo * Donn Kraemer - guitar, proctor * Bill Donaldson - hammered dulcimer, guitar, bass, proctor * Mike Billings (not shown) - mandolin, mando-banjo Company Q is a troupe of professional entertainers specializing in historically accurate music and dance. Based in Denver CO, the band has been playing together for over ten years for dances, re-enactments, and historical programs throughout the plains states, from Illinois to Colorado. The music is played on acoustic instruments of the type that were commonly heard on the frontier in 1865, including hammered dulcimer, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, guitar, and string bass. In larger halls it may be necessary to use electronic amplification of the instruments, but we avoid the anachronism, if possible, to retain the flavor and charm of the period. Company Q provides a "proctor," or dancemaster, to teach and direct dancing. Dances usually include instruction of the steps and a walk-through without music prior to each dance. The name "Company Q" comes from the nineteenth century and has been attributed to the Confederate cavalry general, JEB Stuart. Originally the name was used to refer to sick call. "Corporal Jones got a tummy ache and he's off to Company Q today." Later it was used to refer to other unpleasant situations like the stockade. "Corporal Jones got drunk and smacked the First Sergeant last night, and he's off to Company Q for a month." Outcasts, misfits, malingerers, and other unsavory types -- like musicians. That's Company Q.
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