Memorable Highschool Band Moments

[passion4tuba]

To all you geezers, i mean aged veterans of tubenet, what are yall's most memorable (for whatever reason) moments in highschool band?

[Tubaryan12]

(for whatever reason)

Can't post that here .

[trseaman]

To all you geezers

Watch it you little whipper snapper.....

Can't post that here .

Hehe!


Well... There was that time at the end of a song where the whole band lowered their horns and a sousaphone bell fell off! Oops!

And then of course the turning around at the wrong time and forced to march backwards opposite everyone else....

Oh... Then you can't forget the most favorite one of all which would be falling off the back of the riser in the auditorium because the chair slipped off the edge... Ouch!

Of course none of this ever happened to me!

Tim

[Rick Denney]

To all you geezers, i mean aged veterans of tubenet, what are yall's most memorable (for whatever reason) moments in highschool band?

Hmmm. This may be a lesson in life.

I have many memories from high-school band, but very few that I would consider highlights in my life. The chief experiences, including such things as playing Carmina Burana at contest (we did poorly, but that didn't matter to me), playing in the pit orchestra for student musicals, and my disastrous desire to become a drum major, have been overshadowed by far more exciting experiences of tuba playing from later life.

When we are in high school, we think we are exploring the dynamic range of life, and that the peaks will become key life experiences. Maybe a very few will. But when we are older, we realize that the only reason those experiences loomed large at the time was because we didn't have anything to compare them to.

Even college, which for me was vastly more significant than high school, provided few memories that have not been overshadowed by more profound experiences since then.

As it happens, this is a timely subject for me. My wife and I visited my parents over Christmas, and we spent some time driving down memory lane, mostly so that my wife could fill in some of the blanks from my own past (she and I met after I moved to Virginia, when I was well into my 40's). We drove by my old high school in Houston--not really a flicker of nostalgia. It's just a building. We also took a day and drove up to College Station, and that was far more meaningful, despite how much the campus had changed since I lived there. But even so, the single day of nostalgia was enough to cover the field pretty thoroughly, and it was time to move on.

So, I would say that remembering the highlights of high school (especially just...band) seems important in high school, but live your life so that those memories get overshadowed by more profound memories from adulthood. I pity those who allow high school to define them to the point where they spend the rest of their lives looking back to it.

Rick "never satisfied with past experiences" Denney

[TubaRay]

When we are in high school, we think we are exploring the dynamic range of life, and that the peaks will become key life experiences. Maybe a very few will. But when we are older, we realize that the only reason those experiences loomed large at the time was because we didn't have anything to compare them to.

Even college, which for me was vastly more significant than high school, provided few memories that have not been overshadowed by more profound experiences since then.

I would say this has been true for me, as well.

So, I would say that remembering the highlights of high school (especially just...band) seems important in high school, but live your life so that those memories get overshadowed by more profound memories from adulthood. I pity those who allow high school to define them to the point where they spend the rest of their lives looking back to it.

I completely agree.

[oldbandnerd]

Anything other then the marching !! That's me dead center with the Conn laying on the seat in front me .Circa 1979 or there abouts .

[Mitch]

Wow...couple responses here rank high for missing the point; the poster asked for "memorable moments," and did not ask, "Are you still living in the past?"

I, too, have a memory of someone falling off the back of the riser; the funny part was that it was a performance at the Pentagon (one of those high school tour things), and seeing the reaction of a lot of people to a loud bang was interesting.

Another memorable moment was the filming of "Ferris Beuler's Day Off" (and when we first heard the title, we thought it was the goofiest thing we'd ever heard). Yeah, the marching band in the parade scene was my high school marching band. I have a lot of memories from rehearsals for that, as well as the days of filming.

But, yes, there are many more memories that rank higher, from performances through undergrad and grad school, and at places like Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and all pale in comparison to the birth of my daughter six weeks ago (for those needing that life-is-not-high-school addendum).

If you want memorable moments, make them.

[tubatooter1940]

I'll never forget the dark and stormy night they bussed us up to Milry, Alabama for a football game. The town was so small that both city limit signs were on the same stick. It was pouring down and had been raining hard for a week. Our big city football team was blowing poor Milry away.
Just before halftime, our band director stood up in front of our bus and announced that the surprisingly large crowd in the bleachers knew the game would be a stomp but probably showed up to see a big city band. He said he would understand if we would rather stay in the bus.
They all came to see US? The ham rose to the surface. A threat of death or destruction could not have prevented us from performing for these fine folks. We piled off that bus and marched and played our butts off in pouring rain and ankle deep mud.
Baby we were MOTIVATED!

[windshieldbug]

None of us who were laughing and joking even knew the SCORE, much less that our team had (once again) lost."

THEY SCORE POINTS IN FOOTBALL!?

[trseaman]

I pity those who allow high school to define them to the point where they spend the rest of their lives looking back to it.

I agree, but... It's not about living in the past but instead remembering great times in your life. We've all had different experiences in high school, some good and some bad. My high school memories are a point in my past that I look back upon and smile. The same for my time in the Army, when I bought my first car, my first home and the birth of our children, etc... They are not life consuming thoughts, just good memories. Your past experiences are the foundation of your life and without reflection on your life you cannot continue to grow...

Tim

[CJ Krause]

a very long time ago San Antonio had a semi pro football team called the Toros, i think, in the late 60's.

they came to Donna Tx and played a game and we had to do 3 different shows for that game. Pregame, full 15 min halftime show and then a small 5 minute show at the very end of the game. it was the longest 2 weeks of my high school band time but great fun.

our band trips every 2 years that lasted 6 days were awesome and always ended up at 6 Flags in Arlington or 10th grade ended up at an Astros baseball game where they set a record for most double plays in one game. it was a double header. the next day we went to Astroworld the next day.

my senior year we were 2nd in the state in Marching and Concert in 3A. Richard Gibby was a great band director.

[TubaRay]

Junior year- I was asked to get my drum major instructor a glass of water. While she wasn't looking I took a drink, swished it around, and spat it back into the cup. She drink the whole thing.

Wow! And, Wow! Now that must be SOME memory. Life just doesn't get any better than that. Does it?

[LoyalTubist]

There was once a situation where my band was in a parade which would be televised nationally. I think it was a Christmas parade in Downtown Los Angeles (maybe it was in Chinatown). Anyway, we were told to be there at a certain time. When we got there, they told us we were supposed to have been there two hours before (we later found out ALL the bands were told the same thing!) We had 15 minutes to be ready. The band director told us to change into our uniforms IMMEDIATELY. We changed from our street clothes into uniforms right on the buses (we were a large band). This was in the early 1970s, when girls didn't wear nearly as much in the way of undergarments--some of the guys didn't either, but they didn't interest me. You can see why I forgot about the parade! Changing back into street clothes was done in the same location, though much more leisurely. This left an impression that lasted many years.

[tubatooter1940]

I hit a huge clam at band practice. My band director asked, "You play all those tough runs, how can you miss that?"
I replied, "It was easy".
He just shook his head.

[tubaguy9]

I remember back in Jr. High...before one of the concerts, I forgot my music...

Everyone remembers graduation, right? One year during band rehearsal, (you play it so much, you could play it with your eyes closed) and I decided that at the end of the song I'd make a big loud orgasmic sound... THAT was funny...The band director said that he could actually see me doing that at graduation and having one of the administrators come talk to him about it...

Then there was a time we went to this District Music Contest...So, we originally were supposed to be there the whole day...but due to the school days, we had to go back early. So, for lunch, I went to a place called Ming's (Awesome, Cheap Chinese food...what more would a high schooler want?) and had lunch...from there, I went back to the school...but I decided to skip the last period of the day.
I didn't get in trouble for it, either!

[TubaRay]

I decided to skip the last period of the day.
I didn't get in trouble for it, either!

Until now, that is.

[tubaguy9]

I decided to skip the last period of the day.
I didn't get in trouble for it, either!

Until now, that is.

No, that's been almost a year ago, now!

[tubeast]

Joined Elkhart Central Blazer Brigade as a foreign exchange student in 1988. (Yes, that´s Elkhart, IN)
Precious memories: getting to know marching band in the first place. It was way after band camp, everybody seemed to know what they were doing. Somebody had to show me how to mark time, and I still had to learn what "Band- - - About Face!!" meant in German.
Going on a field trip to Midland, Michigan, including a tour of DOW Chemicals. Staying with really nice host parents.
Playing a band concert with Buddy De Franco being a guest artist.

Coming back three years later and spontaneously meeting quite a few of my band mates.

[tubeast]

Since somehow I can´t edit my post right now, here are some add-ons:
-That nice host family in Midland was the Taylor´s.
- during marching season, there was this song with x-rated text that used to be popular among bandpeople. To the staff´s dismay, it was sung on the bus, too. Its melody consisted of exactly three notes that fit the three pitches of our tritoms exactly. So one day our percussion section starts playing that song when we marched from the bus to a warm-up area, and our band director turns around and just knowingly GRINS...

[Naptown Tuba]

One vivid memory of H.S. Band...........Marching down the main street of a neighboring town during a parade, leading the band in my all-white drum major uniform - which, before the parade, my girl friend accidently spilled red-pop soda down my front