Marching to the beat of many drummers
It’s marching band season, which means I have no life of my own
this month.
And as much as I complain about it, I secretly kind of like it
that way.
Marching to the beat of many drummers
It’s marching band season, which means I have no life of my own this month.
And as much as I complain about it, I secretly kind of like it that way.
I had no idea, until my oldest got into high school a few years ago, what a big deal marching band is in some circles. But it really is. I was reminded of this last weekend when I went to see my younger son march in the Santa Cruz Band Review.
Marching band seems like such a quaint idea. It’s something out of an earlier, less complicated era, straight out of “The Music Man.”
There are not as many marching bands as there used to be. School budget cuts have decimated music programs throughout California. My son’s band at North Monterey County High School has been one of the lucky ones, mostly because the band director is a whiz at writing grants. However, the NMCHS band started this school year with no budget at all – parents, fundraisers and grants are expected to pay for everything.
San Benito High School also participated in the competition. And congratulations to them for placing third in their division.
Last Saturday’s band review is a testament to the staying power of marching bands. The event this year included 55 high school bands, ranging from very small to very large. The NMCHS band is one of the medium-sized ones, with about 120 members, when you take into account the band members and the color guard.
It’s quite a production, herding 120 teenagers to anything. Now multiply that by 50 times or so and you get an idea of the kind of effort that is expended on all this.
These kids, frankly, are amazing. They have to march and look good, play music and sound good, all at the same time. It takes a heck of a lot of practice and dedication.
Of course, as with any enterprise involving high school students, a marching band competition is fraught with complications. My own personal complication this year was that I couldn’t find my son’s band for a while.
The grand plan was that I would follow the bus in my car over to Santa Cruz, and then help the kids get ready. There are always a number of band parents who are there to do this.
That’s because long hair has to be tucked up under band hats. The kids have to wear black socks. Lint must be brushed off the uniform. There are a myriad of last-minute details to be attended to.
Someone always forgets braids, or suspenders, or a button comes off at the last minute. Gloves get lost along the way. That’s why you need band parents around.
However, I made the mistake of stopping for a cup of coffee. And losing the bus.
It wasn’t entirely my fault. I also blame CalTrans, which in their infinite wisdom, decided to do road work on Hwy. 1 near Aptos on a Saturday morning.
By the time I got to Santa Cruz High School, there was a welter of kids in uniforms, wearing plumed hats and jacket with brass buttons, carrying instruments hither and yon. Fifty-five bands is a lot of bands.
Finally, after a long delay, I found the North Monterey County band practicing their music on the baseball field. It was too late for me to do any grooming or uniform help – they had already done all that.
There is a lot of sitting around and waiting at these events, so that’s what I did, until it was time to go down to the parade route.
You can always tell who the band parents are at competitions. They’re the ones walking with the band and cheering at intervals. That’s what I was doing.
And the great thing is, I wasn’t too late for that.
