Pep Band

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... I have decided to tell you about something that goes on in my life.
... My irregular life as a musical geek.
... That I spend at Pep Band every few Friday nights.

Pep Band is something my school band does to help the cheerleaders cheer on the football team every time we have a home game. Usually, it consists of me getting together with my instrument section, buying absolute junk food, having a blast, then having a sugar hangover while cleaning the crud out of my horn the very next day.
   

Image courtesy of Park City High School

                 

1. fun |fən| noun

    Madly cramming Swedish Fish in your mouth while all of the other members of the section make       fun of the local high schools' football team

Hhmmmmmmmmmmm.........

Sounds like my Friday nights are better than yours.

One very special pep band was a night I will never forget. It was Homecoming, of course. Out of the four games we have had, that one is my outright favorite. To me, it was not just another game, but a night where it seemed as if everyone were floating on the clouds.

It all started on a Friday, which makes everything good automatically. After school, we had Marching Band practice (Marching Band IS A SPORT) to rehearse our part in our field performance. Unlike Pep Band, Marching Band is not required of band students, so only real band geeks were in Marching Band all summer. Out of the large assemblage of trombones the band program has, only seven were in Marching Band, consisting of me, my brother Nathan, Barski, Molly, Hunter, Jake, and Dominic. We all got really close over the summer, which made that night even better. After practice, the sweating cluster of instruments and players went into the instrument storage room to put horns away, although we all knew we'd be pulling them out again within three hours. 

Then after high-fives were given and the I-can't-wait-for-tonight's-performances were said, a group of us from Marching Band went to get food. I rode in Jake's car with Molly, Nathan, and Barski on the way to the restaurant. We had loads of fun, but mostly we made fun of the golden-oldies coming out of the car radio. Not only this, but because we were a car full of trombonists, we made jokes about the trumpets.

What is a gentleman?

Somebody who knows how to play the trumpet, but doesn't.

What do trumpet players use for birth control?

Their personalities. 

Why did the chicken cross the road?

To get away from the trumpet players.

How many trumpets does it take to change a lightbulb?

None. They can't reach that high.

How do you know when a trumpeter takes their kids to the playground?

They don't know how to swing.

Stop it, you're killing me! Alright, I'll stop, but I'm no murderer.

We are all also fans of cheesy jokes. Not many of us like corny ones, though. Although these are jokes about trumpets, there is one exception. The band directer, Mr. Taylor, is a trumpet player. He is an exception because he plays trumpet very well, plus he understands a ton of things about music. And he knows how to swing.  

When we got to the restaurant, we pulled a ton of tables together for other band geeks who were going to join us. Then we got in line for food, which I was thankful for, because after running around on a football field depriving my muscles of oxygen, I was hungry. When we sat down, there was an awkward silence other than the growls of stomaches and the clacking of teeth. As we devoured our food, others filled in the table around us, talking about the latest news and such.

As we sat at that table, it was a great environment to be put into. It felt like we were a large family that had one thing in common that made us the geeks and nerds at school, but here we were all just great friends with a love of music. Brett, one of the two Drum Majors, was with us, sharing stories of his experiences with music. Brett is an amazing bass player who also happens to sing jazz. He is one of the two best jazz singers I know today, and he is good, really good at it. 

- A Dirty Story - 

Once upon a time, I was leaving the restaurant with Jake and Quinn. We were his car again, laughing and poking fun at everything. Quinn, riding shotgun, was telling a story about something, and I made a comment that might have ticked him off, I'm not sure if he was being sarcastic or not.

Quinn - "F**k you!"

Me - "Now or later?"

Jake - "You can move to the back seat with her, and I'll keep my eyes on the road."

Awkward.

When we pulled into the school, we were late for Pep Band. I ran into instrument storage, hastily put together my trombone, and changed into my red t-shirt. I was really excited and jumpy, despite the Coca-Cola I had the previous hour. I ran into the main band room and grabbed a spot at the end of my section. We went through the pieces we played during the game and grabbed our things to leave. 

This is where the fun starts. It was Homecoming and the stands had the biggest audience than any other game, which made the circumstances better to play under because we wanted to sound good. As usual, the game started off with the school song and the first play in the game.  Since I don't understand football too well, I mostly chatted with my friends. Every once in a while, the band would play a tune directed by either Mr. Taylor or one of the Drum Majors. If you haven't been to one before, football games are really loud. In order to know what song we play, we have hand signals for the songs, similar to what the refs have on the fields. I have no clue how the band remembers what to play, because we have over 25 different signals, like two fingers for Number Two and an invisible sandwich for Eat 'Em Up.

We pretty much played and talked for the first quarter, but second quarter on was the best part of the night. At the beginning of the second quarter, Marching Band was excused from the stands to go to the band room and get ready for our field performance. We had to change into our spiffy uniforms in a blink of an eye, which was not easy due to the fact that our uniforms have multiple layers and parts. The entire band has the same pair of shoes called Speedsters. Then the overalls, similar to slacks but more durable. On top goes the splendid red jacket with glitter, but that's not it. We have matching white gloves we have to slip under the sleeves of our jacket without wrinkling either of them. Almost last, comes the glitter-covered gauntlets that velcro over the sleeves of our jackets. The most amazing part is the hat. It is a tall cylindrical  red hat with a black shiny bill. It has a small stripe of glitter and white on it, with a white plume on top. Putting on the hat basically defines the essence of life for the entire time we have the honor of wearing them.

After magically putting the fabric onto our bodies, we went outside, made an arch, and played through the performance with piano dynamics. Then we waited for half-time, our hearts beating in time to the drum line in the stands. Soon enough it came, and we marched onto the field. Have you ever felt like your liver turned into a snake that was crawling around your other internal organs just trying to screw things up for its own enjoyment? Yeah, that was basically me. We waited for the entrance beat from the drum line on the sidelines, in separate lines for where we stand. 

As the beat came, we marched onto the field with as much pride as our shaking snake-infested bodies let us have. We turned around, and the entire crowd was watching, although only momentarily. We burned through the first song, I Can't Turn You Loose. As usual, I was gasping for air as my burning muscles threatened to drop me on the ground. Then the drum beats for Starships had started. We somehow pulled this song off without to much of a problem. We made our formations, Darth Vader and a starship, and we were onto the last note. We turned around, headed off the field, and practically floated back to the band room. The performance was over.
 

  Image thanks to the Park Record

We took off of our uniforms, and waited for others to change out. The heavy breathing, the fast pulses, it was perfect. Everyone congratulated the seniors; they wouldn't march with us again. We then walked back to the stands, and continued to play through the game happily.

Game over. everyone put their stuff away and waited in the band room. Mr. Taylor ended the night with a "Good job, band," and also told us how people could hear us from three miles away. They would call to tell him the band sounded great from that distance.

Yeah, my Friday night literally sounded better than yours. 

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin are two words that is in everyones' vocabulary. They have written the classics, changed their sound, and then written the classics again. Led Zeppelin has mastered the key to interesting music, while producing sounds of who they want to be as a band. Was it their catchy guitar riffs, Robert Plant's smooth and irresistible voice, or the idiosyncrasy of their name that caught everyone's attention? All in all, they are a great band, and they deserved the fame they have been rewarded with during their time of producing music.

 Image Courtesy of Dawn.com

Let's start with the basics.  The band formed together in 1968, consisting of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist John Jones, and the drummer John Bunham. Led Zeppelin got their name after changing it from The New Yardbirds, with the inspiration from Keith Moon. Keith Moon, the drummer for The Who, said that the band would go down like a "lead zeppelin". A zeppelin is a large airship, similar to a blimp. Before officially changing the name, the band agreed to misspell "lead" for "led" so people wouldn't get confused and think of it as "lead" as in "lead singer".

The group was a big, famous, definitive heavy metal band. In their early albums, their guitar-heavy songs were derived from a blues influence, making them stand out against other rock bands with no influence but the other modern bands of that decade. Led Zeppelin also had other influences, such as folk music. You may know them for their all-time-classic hit Stairway To Heaven, where their roots and originality showed through the entire eight minute piece. 

Jimmy Page composed most of the music for their songs, and Robert Plant supplied the lyrics. In their later years, John Jones and his keyboard were the center of the songs, as the band continued to experiment with more modern music and their sound.  Led Zeppelin will always be known for their intriguing music, especially while being one of the bands to make it in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They have had as much influence on music in the 70's as The Beatles did in the 60's, being the second-bestselling band in the United States behind the Fab Four.

Now that we have finished with the basics, we can get into the fun part. That one song. 

This song is called Over the Hills and Far Away by (you guessed it) Led Zeppelin. This song is a masterpiece in itself, featuring an acoustic guitar but using both acoustic and electric at the same time. The guitar seems to be heard everywhere today, but this song was written in 1973, making guitar how it is now. And of course, the irresistible Robert Plant sings about a lady who has the kind of love he needs. The entire song is filled with sparkling heavenly greatness, similar to what it's like to eat a caramel-fudge brownie fresh out of the oven with almonds and whipped cream. That is what listening to this one song is like. Heaven. But, the last thing, the chord at the end. That power chord. The only reason the song can be replayed is the chord. It makes you pay attention to the song, and think about what has just been played. Just think, the chord will be left in your head for at least five days, making you want to listen to this song again and again.

Fun Fact: The four symbols in the picture above represent one thing for each member of the band, first one for Jimmy Page, then John Jones, after that is John Bonham, and lastly Robert Plant's symbol.

Dark Side of Laughter

Obviously,  everyone today has heard of Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga. Years back everyone had listened to The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. Today, not too many have heard of Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra, although other bands have stuck with us through the decades. For one, AC/DC has their album, Back In Black, and it made it back onto the list of Billboard Top 200 as of 2013, ranked at #73. Other bands like Van Halen and Journey, however, have not earned anything like that recently, but they have kept our attention for years after years. 

Among those bands is a band named Pink Floyd. They started producing music in 1965, and have continued to be well known group all the way up to today. They were, of course, one of the rebellious rock bands that parents of that decade would never let their children listen to. Today, the tides have turned, and some parents praise their kids for listening to the music they used to listen to without their parents knowing.  

Image courtesy of Amoeba Music

Based off of pop culture, and the t-shirts everyone wears, Dark Side of the Moon is Pink Floyd's 

most-known record. Assuming everyone knows Pink Floyd, this has probably been the record that is on every old rock fans' playlist. On the record, there are the hits Money, Us and Them, and Brain Damage. These songs are four of their most played songs at concerts and other gigs.

Although almost all of Pink Floyd's songs are good, there is something that is just a tad eerie and disturbing about them.

That would be the evil, ominous cackle hidden in a few songs. 

This "laugh", is not nice, it's terrifying, especially if you're listening when you're alone. The laughter in the background can be found in Not Now John, Money, Wish You Were Here, Brain Damage, and Welcome to the Machine.  A few of these songs are on the Wish You Were Here album, which revolves around Syd Barrett and his illnesses. 

In short, Syd had illnesses because of how chaotic his life was. He would always travel around,  get told what to do by his managers, and how to do it by the band. Eventually, he had used drugs, had preformed poorly in some concerts, and gotten himself removed from the band. However, Syd did write great songs as a member of the band. Most of the songs were written with odd lyrics, mostly compelling people with rumors that they were written insanity or suicide. Thus, resulting in the laughter.

The only thing really terrifying is what happens when listening to the songs with laughter. Songs like these have caused mental instability momentarily while the music is playing. During the songs, things have broken, caused by anger resulting from the music. Hockey sticks, wooden benches, pens and pencils, drumsticks, and bones have been broken, guaranteed.

One last thing. Yes, Welcome To The Machine is popular, but the music video has been played only at concerts.The entire video was hand drawn, filled with corpses and blood. Have you been brave enough to watch it?