West TN Marching Arts

It's the second set of interviews with students during the Hornet Invitational.  In this episode, we hear from students from Lakeland Prep and Union City High School.

The Hornet Invitational was this past weekend!  Throughout the day we brought students into the studio.  In this episode, we had some great interviews with band members from Jackson Christian School and Camden.

We go through the 22 bands performing at the Hornet Invitational, previewing what their shows are and all the things we are excited to see!  It's competition season!

A special quick episode of interviews from the Pete Evans Showcase.  We interview the Announcer - WBBJ Meteorologist Moe Shamell - and learn about his experiences in Marching Band.  And we also interview lots of students who brought the energy to this event - Josh Hansburg from Milan, Peabody students, SGC students, and Gibson County seniors, freshmen, and middle school students who march with the...

We had a great time seeing everyone's shows on a beautiful night at the Pete Evans Showcase in Milan.  Then we gather more intel on what shows other bands are doing in West Tennessee and we have a shout out to give!  Next week competitions begin and the real fun begins!!!

This week we preview the Pete Evans Showcase.  Who is Pete Evans?  What is a showcase?  What bands are going to be there? We also talk about how our show is progressing and whether or not we feel behind because of the heat. Competition season is almost here!

In this week's episode, we talk about our first home football game performance, stalk some more bands to find field shows, and give our first weekly shout outs.  Then we end with a cool interview with Grind City Percussion, the new Indoor Drumline that is looking for students all around West Tennessee to take their chops to the next level!

This week we talk about our first performance of the year, we talk about our SGC Band Field show titled "Unsteady", and then we interview Eli Lickey, who marched with Music City this summer!  We get some great insight into how to audition, what life is like during the corps marching season, and what it's like coming back to high school band after drum corps season is over.

Today we recap the DCI Finals and see if we agree with the results.  Then we scour the internet to find the names of field show of West Tennessee Bands.  We are excited to see everyone's show this year!

We are back with our Season 3 Premiere.  We talk about what we did this summer, then we look back at our memories from a HOT Band Camp!  Then we end with our thoughts on the DCI Nashville performances and preview the DCI Finals this weekend.   Welcome back to the West TN Marching Arts!

We reflect on a great year of band and our memories of last season.  We look forward to the excitement of this fall!  See you then!

What can you do in the summer to prepare for band camp?  We agree that it is important that you not wait until Band Camp starts to get used to physical activity and the hot weather, so we discuss some ways that have worked for us in the past to be ready to go on Day 1 of Band Camp. We also say goodbye to our senior Podcast member - Addi.  She share some memories and give some advice to anyone out...

Does it start in the summer? In June, May?  January?!?  Just like any sport, Marching Band has elements that are pretty much year round.  When do you consider the beginning of Marching Season?

Some bands march Parades in the Spring, some don't.  What are these parades and why do some bands choose to march in them?  Also, there has been a foul odor across the West Tennessee Rural Area the last week or so.  What in the world is this smell?! With special guest host - South Gibson Student Natalie Curtis!

How does Concert Band fit into Marching Band, or vice versa?  Does your school charge admission to their Band concerts?  Why or why not?  We talk about these things and more!  

It's been a few weeks since our last episode.  Spring Break happened, and then the crazy weather happened!  Our thoughts go out to all those in the West Tennessee area who were affected by the storms, especially in McNairy County and the Obion County flood area.   We also talk about the Winter Guard Championships that just happened.  And we start our online stalking of bands as Show Reveals start...

This week we try to wake up from losing an hour of sleep to daylight savings time.  Then we talk about Concert Performance Assessment, better known as Concert Festival.  We talk about some of the scores from Memphis and preview the bands and songs being played at the UT Martin Festival.  We also discuss the benefits of going to concert festival as it relates to the Marching Arts.  

We talk about how we use time in the Spring to get the fundamentals and lines set for Color Guard and Percussion.  What do they do at these camps and what is their purpose?  Do you do the same thing or something similar at your school?

There is only so much you can do in class.  Students need to practice at home.  But how often? For how long?  What exactly do you need to practice?  We discuss these things and wonder at our recent crazy weather in West Tennessee.

We are joined in studio by some students who made All West Honor Band.  They tell us what they are excited about and give us their favorite memories of previous years at All West We are also joined by Eli Lickey, who just signed with Music City Drum Corps.  He fills us in on his experience with the audition process and what it has been like so far in his first time as a Drum Corps member.  

We discuss Concert Band how it prepares us to excel in the Marching Season and how it makes us more well-rounded musicians by exposing us to varied literature, skill sets, and musical styles.  And at a time when many students might consider Concert Band boring, we talk about why for many others this deepens their love for music and performing.  

Getting 8th graders and other new members to sign up for band next year is an important part of a marching program.  How do we do it here at our school?  Is the same or different than other schools?  Is there a best way to do it?   We talk about this and more as we fend off the sicknesses closing down schools across West Tennessee!  Stay healthy (or get better soon)!

In this episode Wyatt tells us about his All West Audition experience, we discuss what we learned about DCI rules after watching a video about proposed rules changes for this coming year, and we talk about Honor Bands in general and what they are for.

We talk about what we did during our break and what we did during our snow day!!  Then we discuss what we are doing in band this semester, from concerts to Winter Guard to All West Auditions this weekend.  Welcome back!

We talk about our Christmas Parade experience, our upcoming Christmas (or Winter) Concert, then we grill two of our Color Guard members with our pressing questions about Winter Guard.  We are probably asking the same questions as many of you out there - What is Winter Guard, is it just like Marching Band, when is the Winter Guard season?  Then we end our year with our Band Christmas lists - if the...