The South Kitsap High School Marching Band performed at Bandfest
2010 on Dec. 30 at Pasadena City College.
This video was made available to the Kitsap Sun by Farmer’s
Insurance, an official supporter of the Tournament of Roses. Notice
at the beginning, the announcer gives props to local Farmer’s agent
Brain Horch. Working with the Washington state office, Horch
orchestrated a dodgeball tournament called “Dodge for Roses” that
raised $3,900 for the band’s trip.
From the past two posts and a couple of phone calls I’ve had
with blogger/band groupie Kathryn Simpson, it’s apparent the band
is burning the candle at both ends. Glad to hear they’re hanging in
there and sounding brassy as ever.
Speaking of brass, anyone who’s ever played a brass instrument
knows that the process generates a considerable amount of spit.
Before the band left for L.A., I was chatting with drum major
Paulla Santos, and I asked her what brass players will do about
that during the parade. I know from watching my husband play French
horn that occasionally, when there’s a break in the music, he pulls
one of the little valve thingys off and dumps the built up saliva
out of the horn. But you can’t very well do that while marching
along. It just wouldn’t look dignified.
Paulla told me that marching band instruments have spit valves
for on-the-go dumping. The player just flips the valve and out it
goes. Which got me thinking, there are 23 bands in the parade, most
with 200+ members. Granted not all are brass players but, still
there’s got to be hundreds of little showers of spit raining down
on the streets of Pasadena every few minutes.
I asked my husband to estimate how much spit he thought would be
generated in over the four hours of the parade. He guessed 10
gallons. I wonder if the Tournament of Roses folks have that
statistic handy anywhere.
Oh, well, I’ve obviously had way too much time to think about
this parade.
Speaking of which, Paulla and I also discussed horse poop. The
band leaders got a Power Point from the Tournament of Roses folks
detailing protocol for all sorts of situations. The Rose Parade,
unlike other parades, doesn’t include stops (handy for scooping up
horse poop). Things just keep moving along without a lot of
opportunity to scoop, so if said poop falls in an inconvenient
place, bands just have to power on through it. I’m sure, if that
does happen, they’ll handle it with grace.
Chris Henry, reporter
P.S. Kitsap Sun photographer Meegan Reid and I are at the
airport ready to fly to L.A. and meet up with the band this
afternoon in Santa Monica.
I can’t believe that in only 12 hours the South Kitsap High
School Marching Band is going to be on a few buses heading
toward Sea-Tac, and then on down to California. This has been an
amazing ride South Kitsap! Now we get to actually live the dream
that we all have been dreaming for the past two years.
Congradulations to everyone who has stuck with us this whole
time.
SKHS Band accepting the
Tournament of Roses Flag on June 11, 2009.
Though they were notified a few months before that they were
invited, the official invitation to march in the Tournament of
Roses Parade is the Tournament of Roses flag. It
was officially presented to the SKHS Marching Band on June 11,
2009, at Joe Knowles Stadium, by Sally Bixby, from Tournament
of Roses Executive Committee (see picture at left).
That was six months ago. Now, in less than a week, the
SKHS Marching Band will represent South Kitsap in front of hundreds
of thousands in person and millions on national TV.
There is no group better prepared to represent their
community! Let’s hear it for the band!!
In addition to performing on January 1st in the Rose Bowl
Parade, the SKHS Marching Band will also be performing at
Disneyland (on Tuesday, December 29th), and
participating in BandFest at the Rose Bowl Stadium (on Wednesday,
December 30th) . They have a few additional fun,
exciting, and educational activities during the week
too. Not to mention daily practice sessions. They will
be quite busy all week long.
As ‘band groupies’ for the week, we hope you enjoy the
pictures, videos, and comments as the Tournament of Roses week
marches on for the SKHS Marching Band.
Special shout-out and thank you to Mr. Grams, the SKHS Band
Boosters, and most especially, every parent of the band
members. As they play their hearts out and march 5.5
miles on January 1st, they have you to thank for believing in them,
supporting them, and teaching them to give it their best step
forward each and every day!
One of the main reasons we, at the Kitsap Sun, took note early
on of South Kitsap High School Marching Band’s March to the Rose
Bowl Parade was that Local News Editor Kim Rubenstein is a Rose
Parade alum.
“Do they know what they’re in for?” she said (or words to that
effect).
Rubenstein marched in Pasadena in 1997 with the Madison High
School from Madison, SD. She was the one who tipped me off to the
fact that the parade, all 5 1/2 miles of it, is a physical and well
as musical feat.
Kim is in, like, her early 30s — i.e. young to an Old Phart like
me — and probably has changed little since she marched in the
parade as a high school student. We tried to get her dad to send us
a picture of her as an awkward teenager. He sent us a couple
pictures of her band. There — you can see her. She is the one in
the trumpet section wearing a white jacket, black pants and maroon
hat.
Madison High School
Band
Kim says:
“We left South Dakota and there was like 2 feet of snow. So the
weather in sunny California seemed awesome (we were even swimming
in the Pacific Ocean while the Californians were wearing
parkas)..but it probably won’t seem as warm to the South Kitsap
kids.”
“Eating was a HUGE production. We had to try to pack 200 band
kids in one restaurant. Not sure how South Kitsap is handling
it.”
My comment: The tour company is issuing vouchers or arranged for
a large seating at various restaurants. Rubenstein, your group were
the guinea pigs.
She continues:
“I know for a couple meals, they just passed out envelopes of cash
so we could eat where we wanted without burdening one of the eating
establishments.”
My comment: Or buy lottery tickets.
“On New Year’s Eve, we had a dance with all the kids and all of
the families who came along. Not sure if SK is doing anything like
that…”
My comment: They are, more on that later, but not on New Year’s.
They’ll be in bed by 9:30 p.m. the night before the parade.
Rubenstein says:
“I remember being exhausted at the end of the parade. I played the
trumpet (played first and as a result, had ALL the high notes) and
I could not hold my arms up by the time we got to the end (and I
considered myself in good shape!). — Me: She still is in good
shape. — Can’t remember what we had to eat at the end of the parade
route, but it was something loaded with carbs, and tasted soo good.
— Me: SK Band will get In-N-Out Burger — I also remember being
assailed by obnoxious football fans at various points of the parade
— Me: the heathens — They expected us to play every moment of the
five-mile route, and when we were stopping to take a rest and just
marching through, they would all yell “PLAY SOMETHING!!!” I wanted
to shoot them. — Me: Don’t blame you.
Good luck SK. Take it from a pro. If someone says, “Play
something!” Yell back, “Play it yourself, suckers!”
The five-and-a-half mile Rose Parade route begins at the corner
of Ellis Street and Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena. The Parade
travels north on Orange Grove at a leisurely 2.5-mile per hour pace
and then turns east onto Colorado Boulevard where the majority of
the Parade takes place. At the end of the route, the Parade turns
north onto Sierra Madre Boulevard and ends at Sierra Madre and
Villa Street.
Here’s some information on the
South Kitsap High School Band that Director Gary Grams
submitted to the Tournament of Roses Association. When national
television announcers see the band marching down the street at the
Rose Parade, they’ll reference this information.
Gary Grams
I should mention that Tournament of Roses President-elect Sally
Bixby, who visited the band in June, told me yesterday that she was
especially impressed with the band given its size. Most of the
bands in the Rose Parade are at least twice as large as the Wolves’
band. Most have a larger staff, too. Grams gets it done with the
help of assistant director Michael Paul Koontz, and drum majors
Paulla Santos, James Damian and Simone Schaffer, who provide
essential leadership as well as literally leading the band in
performances.
Here’s Grams on Band History:
There is not a recorded history for the Band Program at SKHS, I
only know what has been told to me about the band. Back in “the
day” the SKHS Marching Band used to be called the Marching Machine.
They won every competition they went to for many years.
Now for a more recent history of the band. South Kitsap High
School is the largest 10-12 HS in the state of Washington with a
total enrollment of 2500+ students. We currently have over 100
members in the band program that participate in Concert Band, Wind
Ensemble, Pep Band, Jazz Band, and of course Marching Band.
When I arrived at SKHS I was the third band director in four
years and started out with 48 students. We have grown significantly
over the past seven years and now have over 100 students in the
program. We strive for excellence in everything we do and take a
lot of pride in the product that we produce.
In my tenure at SKHS the band and I have had many wonderful and
unique performing opportunities, such as performing for the
homecomings of three U.S. Naval ships: the USS Camden, the USS Carl
Vinson and the USS John C. Stennis.
For the last two years the marching band competed in a Battle of
the Bands competition sponsored by the Seattle radio station KZOK
and The Rock Wood Fired Pizza. Although the band did not win last
year, we were included on a CD of the top ten bands of the
competition. This year we won third place. The competition has been
a great experience for the band.
We have also participated annually in the Armed Forces Day
Parade in Bremerton, Washington (largest Armed Forces Parade in the
Country) in the Apple Blossom Parade in Wenatchee, WA., the Macy’s
Holiday Parade in Seattle, WA. and the Victoria Day Parade in
Victoria B.C.
The Marching Band also performs regularly in our community in
such events as grand openings and other special occasions.
Everything we do we strive for musical and marching excellence. Our
strengths lie in our powerful sound and musical accuracy as well as
marching excellence.”
SKHS Band’s Awards and Honors:
* KZOK and The Rock Wood Fired Pizza – Battle of the Bands
Competition, sponsored by KZOK Radio: 2008, Successfully recorded
“Magical Mystery Tour Medley” for a promotional CD from the contest
that included the top ten bands from the competition; 2009, won
popular vote in online competition to determine finalists, then
named to 3rd Place by panel of judges.
* Macy’s Holiday Parade—Seattle Washington (2005 to present): 2008,
Featured as opening musical act for parade; 2007, Award for Musical
Excellence; 2006, Best Marching Band.
* Yearly participation in the Armed Forces Day Parade in Bremerton,
Wa., (largest armed forces parade in the country), 2003 – present:
2009, 1st Place in our division; 2008, 1st Place in our division;
2007, 1st Place in our division; 2006, 2nd Place in our
division.
* Yearly Participation in the Husky Band Day, University of
Washington, Seattle, Washington, 2004 – present.
* Yearly participation in the Victoria Day Parade, Victoria, B.C.,
2003-present (except 2007 due to technical difficulties): 2009, 3rd
Place in our division; 2008, 3rd Place in our division.
* Played for the Homecoming of the USS John C. Stennis (aircraft
carrier) at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington,
2003-04 school year.
* Played for the Homecoming of the USS Carl Vinson (aircraft
carrier) at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington,
2003-04 school year.
* Played for the Homecoming of the USS Camden (support vessel) at
the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, 2002-03
school year.
Other Parade Awards: 1st Place, Apple Blossom Parade, Wenatchee,
Wa.; 3rd Place, Victoria Day Parade, Victoria B.C.
Before there was a Rose Bowl
Game, there was the Tournament of Roses
Parade, staged in 1890 by members of Pasadena’s Valley Hunt
Club. These former residents of the East and Midwest were eager to
showcase their new home’s milder weather.
“In New York, people are buried in snow,” member Charles F. Holder
is said to have announced at a club meeting. “Here our flowers are
blooming and our oranges are about to bear. Let’s hold a festival
to tell the world about our paradise.”
Set in the City of
Pasadena, the festival included marching bands, motorized
floats and flower bedecked horse-and-carriages. There were games on
the town lot which was renamed
Tournament Park in 1900. These included ostrich races, bronco
busting demonstrations and a race between a camel and an elephant.
The elephant won.
Rose Parade History - An Early
Float
Eastern newspapers began to cover the event, which grew until, in
1895, it became too much for the hunt club to handle. That year,
the Tournament of Roses
Association was formed and has managed the festival ever
since.
In 1902, a football game was added to the festivities. It was the
first post-season college football game ever held, Stanford University versus the
University of Michigan.
Stanford was thumped 49-0 and gave up in the third quarter.
For the next several years, the Tournament of Roses Association
dumped football in place of Roman-style chariot races. But in 1916,
the association reprised the football game, and it’s been a
tradition ever since.
Within a few years, attendance at the game outgrew the stands in
Tournament Park. The Tournament’s 1920 President William L.
Leishman, spearheaded the construction of a “modern” bowl-type
football stadium, similar to the Yale
Bowl, in Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco area. The new stadium hosted
its first New Year’s football game in 1923 and soon earned the
nickname “The Rose Bowl.”
Nicknamed “The Granddaddy of Them All,” the Rose Bowl Game has been
a sellout since 1947. That year’s contest was the first game played
under the Tournament’s exclusive agreement with the Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences.
These days the Tournament of Roses Parade has gone high tech, with
floats using computerized animation and made with exotic natural
materials from around the world, including — you guessed it —
thousands of roses.
The 2010 Rose Bowl Game
The 96th Rose Bowl Game, following the Rose Bowl Parade on Jan. 1,
pits the Ohio
State Buckeyes against the Oregon Ducks.
Coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. (PST) on ABC and ESPN radio.
The Rose Bowl will also be the site of the 2010 Citi BCS (Bowl
Championship Series) National Championship
Game on Jan. 7 featuring the Number 2 BCS ranked Texas Longhorns versus the No. 1
BCS ranked Alabama Crimson
Tide. The game will be broadcast on ABC.
Source: Tournament of Roses Association
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