F – Marching with a sousaphone slung over his shoulder Michael Mehr plays California, Here I Come! during a band rehearsal at Rikki Streicher Field on Sunday, May 22, 2022 in San Francisco.

In 1984, Mehr rented a sousaphone to compete in a radio competition but after three payments the company went bankrupt. “No one came looking for me,” Mehr joked.

He still plays the same brass instrument to this day, just now with a few more character scratches and bumps.