The First Band

I was going to say "The Johan Sebastian Bach Unit" but then I remembered the no-classical rule. I'm having trouble thinking of a single 19th Century band.

What about military marching bands? They've had those at least back to the early 1700s, and probably earlier.

But can you name one?

My dad's a history scholar type, so yes. Here's one that I've seen:
Coldstream Guards
The Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards is the oldest Regiment by continuos existance in the British Army, and also the third representative by lineal descent of the first Regular Army, which, as the new model Army, was raised and organised by Oliver Cromwell.
In 1650 five companies each from Sir Arthur Hazelrigg's and Colonel Fenwick's Regiments were united under Colonel George Monck ....
And specifically their band.

The great question above begs a second question... what was the reason for the breakup of the first band? Artistic differences? Drug/alcohol problems? Geographical seperation? Meddlesome spouses? Perhaps the first band broke up because of the inevitable first music critic ;-).

Some good early candidates:
James Reece Europe's (all-black) danceband for Vernon and Irene Castle's dance spectaculars (shows: Castles in the Air and Castles in the Sea) recorded 'Castles in Europe' and 'Castle Walk' in 1913, featuring Buddy Gilmore on the first EVAH trap-drum (he imitates a machine-gun on the first and pistol shots on the second). By 1918, Europe's band was playing for (and made up of) black American soldiers in Paris, and renamed The Hellraisers (after the nickname of the 369th US Infantry Division). The Hellraisers split when Europe got into a (fatal, I think) knife-fight w.one of his musicians, and went to jail.

Other groups of similar vintage and type (inc.eg drummers on trap drums):

Fred Bryan's 50 Joy-Whooping Sultans of High-Speed Syncopation
J.Bryan Tim Brymm's 40 Black Devils Overseas (feat. a young Willie 'The Lion' Smith)
Will Marion Cook's Orchestra (feat. a young Sydney Bechet)
The Original Dixieland Jass Band

This last — who were all white — had a million-selling hit with 'Tiger Rag' and then went to court over division of royalties, Smiths-style, cuz they refused to divvie up to one of the members who'd been in when they "wrote" and recorded TR, but had subsequently kicked out. The judge said — in effect - "This is a hideous racket not music, I don;t care who gets the money, fuck off out of my court."

There are named vocal quartets recorded as early as the 1880s: and glee quartets go back decades further. The Jubilee Singers and (I think) the Fisk Singers were Gospel choirs which toured overseas to immese acclaim as early as the 1850s (John Ruskin adored gospel music, which is one reason why he = first rock critic). Plus there's a strong case actually for arguing that Sousa's Marchband is the "first" band in the modern sense (recorded "hits", drum-driven, syncopated, highly drilled and rhythmic, popular in the "pop" sense, well-loved live, comfortably part of America's sense of its cultural self, and somewhat ideologically antagonistic to the art-elitism of corrupt old Europe) (Europe the continent, not James Reese Europe).

(OK I did this from memory so there may be slips and lapses...)

The Johan Sebastian Bach Unit
I'm oh so tempted to say something along the lines of...

Have you SEEN the SIZE of Johan Sabastian Bach's UNIT! It might not be the size of symphony orchestra...but it still is BIG. And you should see how he conducts.

But I won't say that because that would be sick, sad, crass and wrong.

I suspect the first band was Og and the Troglodytes. They made real rock music...with real rocks. None of this sissy strings or brass or woodwinds stuff. Its aaaallllll percussion!