Making music cheaper and more widely available at events was a big area of enterprise and innovation around the turn of the last century.
I think the "automated band" refers to musical automation like player pianos and fairground organs. Today, you might still find them in vintage carousels.
Another direction in making music cheaper was electric organs, such as the Hammond organ. In the first half of the 20th century, tens of thousands of American churches bought a Hammond organ as a cheaper alternative to bellows-driven organs.
Here's a entertaining and popular video of a guy playing the bells and whistles on a fairground organ.[1]
I think the "automated band" refers to musical automation like player pianos and fairground organs. Today, you might still find them in vintage carousels.
Another direction in making music cheaper was electric organs, such as the Hammond organ. In the first half of the 20th century, tens of thousands of American churches bought a Hammond organ as a cheaper alternative to bellows-driven organs.
Here's a entertaining and popular video of a guy playing the bells and whistles on a fairground organ.[1]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5nHjCWl_Xg&t=1m18s