Written by Miles Watts, Editor in Chief
Poly’s marching band and color guard has been working hard on their show, “Raise the Black Flag”. See what October has looked like for them.
What you see live on the field either at a football halftime show or at a competition is far from the full marching band experience. Only the product is on display, but none of the process is seen by the audience. Countless hours are spent each week preparing and rehearsing their field show until their next performance is upon them, and the month of October is when the fruits of their labor come to fruition. They had four shows from the 18th to the 25th with no rehearsals in between along with performing after the homecoming game.
As aforementioned, the Poly band and guard debuted their show, “Raise the Black Flag” the day of the homecoming game, October 11. If the rain at their first field tournament at the end of September did not cancel the competition, this would have been their second time presenting their hard work to a proper audience. Even though their production was not ready to be at previous football games they still played some of their pep tunes during halftime after cheer’s dance. They had been readying their show since June, and those who stayed and watched in RCC’s bleachers were treated to the rawest form of their show.
Marching band is a constantly evolving sport, whether it is from the internal governance or the dynamic development of the show. Props are finished and added, new visuals implemented, more dots are learned; every new bit added on makes every performance a one-of-a-kind. This can be clearly seen at their first tournament where they (actually) played at Baldwin Park High School on October 18th. Lilly McDonald, a marimbist in the front ensemble, loves “playing alongside [her] friends in the pit” and they were finally able to in front of an audience. They had finished putting their percussion movement together by the tournament and presented their opener, “Raise the Black Flag”, their ballad, “Lux Aeterna’, and their percussion feature, “Santiana”.
However Baldwin Park was only the beginning, as next week contained three shows without any rehearsal time in between. Wednesday, October 22, was Band Extravaganza, which is an event hosted by RUSD where King, Ramona, Poly, North, and RCC all perform their field show. The bands from Gage, Central, Earheart, Chemawa, STEM, University Heights, Frank Agustus Miller, and Sierra Middle School also performed before the High Schools. They played the Star Spangled Banner and arrangements of “Shake it Off”, by Taylor Swift, “Just Dance”, by Lady Gaga, and “Shut Up and Dance”, by Walk the Moon. The endless cheering and support from the audience for each of the groups performing was unlike any other reception the bands had seen so far, and served as motivation for that night and for the rest of their season.
Then that Friday, October 24, was the pink-out football game and the last time Poly’s band would sit in the stands this year. Adorned with pink plumes, their support for breast cancer awareness shone boldly in the bleachers and on the field both before the game began and during the halftime show. Their uplifting pep tunes and joyful fight song after a touchdown was scored helped keep the audience members’ and the football players’ spirits high. Nothing new was added since the last show, but the enjoyment and support from the crowd was clear to see and hear as they displayed their hard work on RCC’s stadium.
Even though Friday was a long day that ended late, the hardy members were still not done with this week of band. Arriving at Poly at 9:00 am the next day, they were blessed with a few hours of rehearsal time to touch up any flaws that had been present in the past few shows. With such a limited amount of time available, they maximized this opportunity and had a very productive rehearsal before loading and leaving to Glen A. Wilson High School. There the procedure was not dissimilar to the schedule at Baldwin Park, only a week prior: arrive and unload, warm up and prepare for the show, push to the stadium, and finally perform. Even though this order rarely changes, it never becomes dull due to attending a different school at almost every tournament. Head drum major, Simon Thrush (11), expresses that he felt that the “performance was unbelievable, and [that he is] super proud of the whole group”. When it came time for awards, everyone waited in anticipation for what their placement would be. The excitement grew as the announcer called the placements for each high school in the 5A division, the division Poly competes in. Finally, the announcer said Poly’s placement: First! They also scored 3rd in percussion and 7th in auxiliary (color guard) in the open class division, which any school can win. Despite the victory, the excitement was held in and released in a single “proud!” as that is how celebration is shown rather than manic cheering and screaming. The bus ride back was a long one, but one full of satisfaction and joy as everyone felt their success only a few hours prior.
Now the band is working on piecing together their closer, “The Kraken”. It is slow, arduous work but well worth the effort. This season has been an excellent one so far, and it would not be at all possible without volunteers and the booster board. They are the backbone that make everything run smoothly from behind the scenes from hauling trailers to helping push props. There are only a few more competitions left, and everyone involved will be working tirelessly to ensure the success and enjoyment of the rest of the fall competitions. “It [has gone] by so fast but I’m just excited to see where I’ll be by the end of it…I want to have something to show for it at championships” Ahriel Alejo (10), one of the snare drummers remarks. Come see them perform their show for one of the last times on November 8th at King High School at 8:00 pm or on November 15th at Ramona High School at 6:45 pm! It is a kind of energy that can only be felt in person-an energy that is worth witnessing live.