Marching Band Music

[pmossberg]

Hey gang!

Think positive thoughts for the New Providence NJ High School Marching Band on Sunday at 7:50 p.m. as they take the field in the USSBA New Jersey State Championships.

My daughter Lauren and her band mates are looking to repeat last year's state win!

Pray for a safe ride...two hours in school buses...and cheer for a good result.

We'll be gone most of the day (her loyal dad is on the pit crew) so I'll have no idea how RPM is doing at Martinsville. And we won't get home until around 12:45 Monday morning.

See ya'll then!

PS: Did you ever see how much stuff a marching band has? Ugh. When I volunteered for "pit crew" last year I thought I got to at least change tires or something. It's more like being a mule...load stuff on the truck, take stuff off the truck, move same stuff to field, move it off the field, then load the truck again, then unload it at school....whew). But it's all good. and the kids are worth it.

Feel free to wander around their band director's web site (in particular Blog "N" where you can read about the band's win last week in competition at the soon to be torn down Giants Stadium). Bruce thought he played the final shows there. Ha! We were there after him.

www.npsd.k12.nj.us/202120691331397/site/default.asp

[maj45]

Thank God we didn't have band competitions when I was in high school. I think I wouldn't have enjoyed it at all. Our attitude was let the football team compete, put on an entertaining show, play first, march second, have fun!

[pmossberg]

I'm a guitar player. There wasn't much room in my high school band for a marching guitarist.

I can't speak for other schools, but our band members love it and love their musical director. He's one of the best teachers I've ever run into, personally or through my daughter. A lot of our band members also play a fall sport (including my daughter). They really have to stretch to do both and stay on top of their studies. They must think it's all worth it!

[songsmith1950]

Good luck! I am sure they will do fine!

Here is for a repeat!!!!!!

[pmossberg]

Thanks for the support.

Our "kids" are now the USSBA New Jersey State Champions for the second year in a row and for the sixth time since 2002. (02, 03, 04, 06, 08, 09)

The band's nickname is "The Pride and Class of New Providence" and they showed both tonight.

On to the Northern Regionals!

[revilo]

Tell those kids we congratulate them. Now it's time to go kick some serious band bootie at regionals. Play on!

[songsmith1950]

Great going! Do you think your status as admin here might have caused a little bit of favoritism by the judges???
Tell your daughter congratulations, Paul. She will go far in life, and she has gone far already!

[pmossberg]

Thanks guys.

The fame fortune and benefits of being an admin here do spread far and wide.

But no Tom, they needed no favoritism lat night. They did it all on their own!

[revilo]

Paul, there is a story in our local paper today that my old high school just won a band competition this weekend. They competed in Atlantic Coast Championship Group II, whatever that is. This isn't the same thing your band is in, is it?

[chilipepper]

Paul: Big congrats to the kids! That's awesome! (Must have been the outstanding pit crew support!)

[pmossberg]

Chili - Agreed! We definitely credit the pit crew!

Revilo - No. This is as complicated as IRL vs CART!

There are a number of "sanctioning bodies" for high school marching bands. Our school competes in events run by the US Scholastic Band Association.

www.yea.org/site/PageServer?pagename=USSBA

The Atlantic Coast event is sponsored by "The Tournament of Bands"

www.njatob.org/

[revilo]

Thanks, Paul. I didn't know that. Of course, neither of my kids was in band, just chorus.

[pmossberg]

A year ago I wouldn't have known it either! Then my daughter joined the band!

[maj45]

Watch those band guys, they're all hands as I remember. Congratulations. We all live vicariously through our kids and man, the things we get into to support them.

Do band members still avoid getting on the same bus as the majorettes? I distinctly remember doing that--they never shut up! We tried to ride with the cheerleaders because... well two reasons, one is obvious, the other is they tried to save their voices on the way to the game and had none on the way home! ;D

[chilipepper]

As a former cheerleader, I completely agree with maj45 on the part about watching those band guys!
Oh, and as a former cheerleader, I can tell the band guys on here that we cheerleaders always tried to make sure it was only cheerleaders and the pep squad on OUR bus! It wasn't just our voices we were trying to save (if you catch the drift.....) Man! I can't believe I can still remember that after all these years!!!!!