On Sept.5, Plant High School and Berkeley’s football teams went head-to-head at Dads stadium. During half time, Plant High School’s Marching Band put on a spectacular performance, while being accompanied by Plants very own Color Guard.
Consisting of 80 members, the plant marching band played a total of 2 songs throughout the performance, consisting of “Living on a Prayer,” and “Believe,” in their performance titled, “Believe.” These songs were respectively written by Bon Jovi, and Cher.
In an interview, Ian Stiger, social media Manger of the Plant Marching Band gave a deeper look into the perpetration behind the show.
Q- On average, how long does it take for marching band to learn a song?
A- “Well, we are actively learning new songs. When we are learning one piece in general, it has multiple songs within it. Each song, that is the piece in it, takes us like maybe a day or two to get the basics and fundamentals down. Even know where still memorizing and perfecting it for when we are out on the field.”
Q-Do you practice with color guard? Is it easier or harder to practice this way, and how does it affect the overall performance?
A- “Yes, we would practice with color guard. They generally add a level of difficulty to the band. I would not say they affect the band at all really, the only time we interact is if we are running lines, and even then, if they are just running their lines, it is just using perfecting, makes sure that we are straight. If we do not it will affect them more than us.”
Q- What was the hardest song to learn for last Saturdays show, and what made it so difficult?
A-” The hardest part about our performance was the pressure that comes with finally being Infront of a crowd again. A lot of the first-year student have never been in front of a crowd like that, so it caused a lot of minor mistakes.”
But the Marching band team were not the only people in the spotlight last Saturday, Plants Color Guard team gave it their all at the half time performance, backing up the Marching Band during the show.
Color Guard is a non-musical group that uses a combination of flags, batons, and other equipment to provide a colorful visual to complement the marching band, usually during football games.
If you would like to learn more about the Plant High school Marching band, or our amazing color Guard team, be sure to check them out at H.B. Plant High School Band – The Best High School Band! (hbplantband.com) , and Plant High School Color Guard – H.B. Plant High School Band (hbplantband.com).