LGB&D standard (20.4KB)

New Hampshire, 1989 (42.8KB)

Collage (33.1KB)

35th Anniversary Logo of the LGB&D

The band was formed in 1971 by Dr. James Hammerle, then of N.C. State University. (Jim went on to form the Cary Town Band in 1987.)  The story goes that Jim was sitting in the bar of the NCSU Faculty Club one day and told his friend Henry Bowen that someday he'd like to run a German band. Soon after, Jim left for six months in India. When he returned, Henry handed him a list of interested musicians. Jim chuckled and was about to file the list away in a drawer somewhere when Henry said "and you'd better start scheduling practices, because you're booked to play at the Faculty Club in a month!"

The dance group was formed four years later, in 1975, to give the spouses of band members something to do. At that time, nearly all the men in the dance group were also in the band. Today, only a few people are active in both groups, and the dance group has become an integral part of our overall performance. The dance group has two main jobs: first, to perform dance shows while the band is on break, and second, to "work the crowd" and get the audience involved in the performance.

The LGB&D has done a lot in its 35-year history. A partial list would include six trips to Europe and performances in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington DC, and all over North Carolina; eight albums, including four on vinyl, one on cassette, and three on both cassette and CD; exchange visits by three bands from Germany; and more.

In 1996 we celebrated our 25th anniversary with a performance at the Oktoberfest in Munich. Highlights of our 30th anniversary year included producing our eighth recording, and a trip to Europe which included performances in Belgium and three locations in Germany. During our 35th year, we produced our nineth recording on a CD which includes several selections we learned of during our 2001 trip to Belgium and Germany.