FHS
	Dixieland Jazz Band

Robert Butler • (562) 493-2625
Email: robertibutler@earthlink.net

THE FHS
We are a high spirited and entertaining bunch that brings zany fun and excitement to any event
with “hot” dixieland jazz. For the smaller fires we offer the FHS “Lite” mobile version.
We play the music of Louis Armstrong, the Firehouse Five Plus Two, Preservation Hall and we play a lot of
songs that the general public recognizes, such as, Tiger Rag, Ain’t She Sweet, Muskrat Ramble, Bourbon Street Parade,
Girl Of My Dreams and a number of hymns, including that all time favorite, When The Saints Go Marching In.
The FHS only accepts bookings in the general public, such as, senior living facilities, private
parties, BBQ’s, concerts, banquets, picnics, Mardi Gras events and church related activities. So for your next event
why not have some fun and laughs with Dixieland jazz.

WHITE TROMBONE This photo shows my father posing with my Ward Kimball Style White Trombone, with flowers. Yes, Ward painted one of his trombones white with colorful flowers on it. Some thought that it changed the sound of the horn but Ward didn’t think so. The audiences get a kick out of it

RED “plastic” TROMBONE This photo shows my mother posing with my red P-BONE. It’s plastic and sounds very close to a metal trombone. It weighs next to nothing and I added red and yellow tape on the slide (which was black) and put yellow stickers on the inside of the bell. It’s a great “novelty” horn and the audiences think it’s great.

GETTING INTO THE FIREHOUSE FIVE PLUS TWO
I have been collecting everything Firehouse Five Plus Two (FH5+2) since the early 1980's. The FH5+2 were a
group of Disney Studio artist (animators, sound effects, writer, etc) and they played from 1949 to 1971. Ward
Kimball was the leader and trombonist of the world famous Firehouse Five Plus Two and he was a Disney
animation supervisor and one of his famous characters was Jiminy Cricket. If you’re curious please check out
my HISTORY OF THE FIREHOUSE FIVE PLUS TWO link.

The PROBERTHORN
The “PROBERTHORN” is a one of a kind air horn sound gizmo that was hand made for George Probert,
back in 1956, by one of his fans that use to go to the Beverly Cavern to hear the FH5+2 play.
For specific tunes, on specific breaks, Ward Kimball would sound the fire siren and George Probert would
push the “dynamite” handle down and the “PROBERTHORN” would roar. The black wooden base was
dirty and worn so I cleaned it up, painted it yellow and attached reduced, laminated, color zeroxes of four
of the FH5+2’s albums covers on it. The close up photo (rear side) reads PROBERTHORN. Also pictured
is George Probert posing with the PROBERTHORN. I used this for my 2011 Christmas postcard.
George is the last surviving alumni of the FH5+2 and still performs.

FIRE GADGETS & SOUND GIZMOS I bought the FIRE SIREN, BRASS BELL and SILVER FIREMAN’S HELMET at a fireman’s event in San Bernardino. Wayne Morris sanded and painted the siren bright red and I sent away for the custom made shield for the helmet. The antique fire hose and holder was a gift from Wayne Schmus. There’s the NO PARKING FIRE SIGN and I made the FIRE BUCKET. I bought the seperate FIRE HOSE and nozzle at the antiques store in Gorman, CA. The off white fireman’s helmet is explained in a seperate photo.

MODEL T AH-OO-GAH HORN This authentic Model T Ford horn came from a seller on ebay and I had it mounted on a stand. I’ve included a close up as well. Ah-oo-gah!

WILD BILL DAVIDSON’S HELMET This fireman’s helmet was made and presented to the legendary jazz cornettist, Wild Bill Davidson, by the City of Defiance, Ohio’s fire department, which was his home town. After Wild Bill passed away the family gave it to jazz writer, Floyd Levin. Years later Floyd Levin presented it to me and I will always cherish it. My father is posing with the helmet in this photo.

	EARTHQUAKE McGOONS This “canvas” sign was used everytime the FH5+2 performed at the, then famous, Earthquake McGoons. The same artwork is on the reverse side with different dates on it. The reverse side is in worst condition. A big thanks to Katie Cavera for bringing me this from the San Francisco Traditional Jazz Society. It’s about two feet by a little over five feet.
	BEVERLY CAVERN MARQUEE This sign was used everytime the FH5+2 performed at the, then famous, Beverly Cavern. John Smith, who subbed for George Probert in the FH5, took the sign when they were about to pull the plug on jazz there at the Beverly Cavern. It’s a good thing too or who knows what would have happened to it. After keeping it in his garage for about 40 years he gave it to me a numer of years ago. It’s in pretty rough shape (I can not take it anywhere yet) and needs to be mounted and put into a frame for preservation. It’s a little over two feet by about five feet.
	GROUNDS FOR MARRIAGE MOVIE PROP This roughly made metal sign was used in the 1951 MGM movie “Grounds For Marriage” starring Van Johnson. It was on the stage, behind the FH5+2, hanging on the back wall as they pleyed. I bought it from Pam Wyley who found it, if I remember correctly, in a pawn shop.

	CANAL STREET SIGN This sign, on a stand, which is almost six feet tall, was made for Probert by the same person who made the PROBERHORN. The gentleman would walk into the Beverly Cavern, walk the sign up to the stage and, apparently, George had to play the FH5+2’s version of “Canal Street Blues”. I had to fix the sign up a bit with some metal screws but I didn’t alter it in any way.
	JOHN LUCAS’ VALVE TROMBONE & DERBY MUTE John Lucas was the original trumpet player in the FH5+2 and he also played the valve trombone and vibraharp. At his memorial his family gave me his custom made valve trombone, his two vintage (rare & hard to find) metal derby mutes and some rare jazz photos. Here is my father posing with that valve trombone and is wearing one of the metal derbys.

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