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December 15, 2004
I'm With The Band
A big drum major salute to Christa for posting a link to mp3 recordings of the University of Arizona marching band performing a whole routine of Talking Heads songs! And extra flam paradiddles for the fact that she simultaneously ignited a welcome thread of band geek nostalgia. I too count myself among those whose high school social life and developing musical taste were immeasurably improved and expanded by the whole marching band experience. During my three-year stint, the Jordan High School Marching Band never performed anything nearly as cool as a Talking Heads routine. Actually, I can't even really remember what specific music we marched to other than Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition", which I remember really liking, partly because it had a lot of cool tuba parts in it.
[SIDE NOTE: Since I have just used the terms "tuba" and "Arizona" in the same paragraph, I should probably clarify a few things for future Googlers of "Tuba City, Arizona" while explaining a little personal etymology in the process. I have briefly visited Tuba City, AZ but this blog has nothing to do with that fine place. I just really like the name "Tuba City", partly 'cause I played tuba for 6+ years. As you might see from the domain name where this blog is currently parked, I also like the sound of the name "Tuba Frenzy". But that was the name of my long-defunct music zine, and I wanted a new name for this very different online creature. Hence, "Tuba City".]
Back to marching bands....the most memorable tuba part that I played during my sousaphone-wearing years was not anything from the likes of Mussorgsky but rather a simple and powerful 4-bar bassline that wasn't even part of our official on-field routine. In fact, we never would've even played it at all were it not for a bit of tuba rebellion led by two of my fellow squad members. William Clapp and Shawn Bradsher must've done their share of hanging out at Hillside High School football games, because they had witnessed the swingin' glory of Hillside's marching band in action...funkier, more flamboyant action, that is. I guess William and Shawn must've resented having to constantly play their sousaphones in the more rigid and "white" Jordan High School fashion, 'cause whenever there was some sort of downtime during marching band practice, they started playing what I would later come to understand was the bassline of "Paid in Full" by Eric B & Rakim. "Paid in Full" had apparently been a Hillside marching band staple, and William and Shawn took the time to work out the exact fingering for it so that they too could play it. Once the notes had been worked out, it was easy enough to learn and really addictive to play....and before long, all four of us tubas were playing that awesome bassline over and over again. Eventually, the much-repeated tuba riff had picked up the accompaniment of the drum section....and within a month or two "Paid In Full" was no longer just some unsanctioned playing that annoyed the band director during practices. It had been fully transformed into an impressive crowd-rallying jam that the whole band played at football games while sitting in the bleachers. I doubt that our version of "Paid In Full" could've held a candle to Hillside's, but by then they'd probably moved on to something more current anyway. Looking back, I am really glad that I had that song burned into my skull as a 15-year-old. And I remember being happy about the fact that the sousaphone section had become a center of marching band attention for cool reasons and not just because we carried big funny-looking instruments that were easy sources of comic relief. For some of that comic relief, however, check this yearbook photo....yes, that's me as a 10th grade tuba player.
Popular music crosses over into the world of marching bands all the time, but these days, it's the marching band that's crossing back into the world of hip-hop and R&B. In the last few months alone, the glorious sound of marching bands has been featured prominently in songs like Yung Wun's "Tear It Up", Yin Yang Twins' "Halftime", and of course the Destiny's Child hit single "Lose My Breath", which has got to be the hottest slab of marching-band-pop since....uh, Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk". In a Village Voice column last month, my man Dave Tompkins reviewed the Destiny's Child and Yin Yang Twins singles. Amidst all of his marching band and football references, Dave managed to throw in a brief rimshot about Destiny's Child getting booed during a halftime appearance at the 2001 NBA Finals. Which was definitely in the back of my mind when I saw Beyonce and crew perform "Lose My Breath" alongside a full marching band during the recent Cowboys/Bears game on Thanksgiving Day (see BBC photo above/left).
I'm not sure what's up with this recent trend of marching bands crossing over, but I definitely approve. And I'd have to guess that it's maybe some sort of after-effect of the success of the 2002 film Drumline, which was directed by Charles Stone III - the guy behind the famous Budweiser "Whassuup" ads and the son of none other than retiring UNC-CH professor Chuck Stone. I was in Circuit City a week or so ago and was thrilled to see that they had that middle-of-the-field drum-battle scene from Drumline on a repeated loop in the special acoustic chamber that contains one of those $3500 televisions attached to a ridiculous arrangement of surround-sound speakers. I usually scoff at the idea of materially-obsessed people trying to turn their houses into mini-THX-theaters, but I couldn't help but enter the chamber and appreciate the fact that this equipment allowed me to soak in the Drumline scene in its entirety. Every snare tap, every rim shot, every tom roll...
Posted by Tim at December 15, 2004 01:03 AM
Comments
"Paid in Full"? Lucky bastard. The hippest my brief stint in band got was a Christmas medley that included "Jingle Bell Rock".
Stuart (last chair trombone, East Mecklenburg Marching Eagles, 1987-1989)
Posted by: Stuart at December 15, 2004 06:20 PM
i don't know if you've noticed, but the unc band has been playing "lean back" at basketball games of late. unfortunately, they still play aha at every game, too. :-(
Posted by: todd at December 16, 2004 11:18 AM
oh my god.... "flam paradiddles" had totally disappeared from my vocabulary until i read your post.
heh. "flam paradiddles" sounds like something it's not.
Posted by: christa at December 16, 2004 03:17 PM
french horn players forever!! (1989-1991 1st Chair French Horn Southwest Guildford High)--i was SUCH the band nerd....AND LOVED IT
funny that i was picking out the sounds of the french horn in destiny's children 'lose my breath' just last week.
Posted by: cia at December 16, 2004 07:20 PM
Awesome yearbook picture.....
Posted by: robin at December 18, 2004 11:58 PM
TUBA'S ARE THE BEST! HA!
Posted by: Jenni at September 21, 2005 12:13 PM