Easley Green Wave Marching Band Wins Division at Boiling Spring Festival of Bands

“WHO ARE WE?   EASLEY BAND!”

Ask the average Easley resident what they know about the Easley High School Marching Band, and you’ll likely get one of two responses – “They perform at half-time” and “They’re the ones who sell the fruit.” What most people don’t realize is that across the state, the Easley Green Wave Marching Band has a reputation for competitiveness, character and class.  In a world where we wonder and even worry about our future leaders, it turns out we have a gold mine in our own back yard.

Yes, they do play at half time, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Through countless hours of preparation, the music, the marching, the precision and the pageantry all come together meticulously as a well-oiled machine. These young men and women don’t have to tell you about commitment, dedication and perseverance – they live it. The camaraderie bonds that form help them support each other through to the culmination of their efforts - the competition show. Here they reap the rewards of their labor, and along the way have some fun playing at football games, pep rallies and parades.

This year, the Easley Green Wave Marching Band will perform their show entitled "Play!" at three “preliminary” competitions leading to the “upper-state”, where bands compete to advance to the state championships, something Easley has done four of the last five years.

What’s in a marching band competition? For those of us who have trouble just carrying a tune, imagine playing your instrument while marching forward, backward, sideways and at angles, using different size steps to make sure that at a given point in the music, you are at a specific place on the field. Then throw in a few vocals, a few dance moves, and do it all without running into anyone else!

For the color guard section, the task is just as enviable, as they carry out their routine while knowing which flag to furl or unfurl, throw and catch a spinning rifle or saber, and synchronize the movements with other color guard members while interlacing with the moving designs of the rest of the band.

If you’ve seen them perform at half time, you’ve noticed part of the band is stationary. This “pit” section is made up of instruments either too large or too cumbersome to move with the marching, and they supplement the moving percussion section. Don’t get the wrong idea here - while the band members in the pit are non-marching, they are NOT non-moving. They have to be at the right instrument at the right time and strike the right note with the right intensity, and have at their ready more sound effects than Tupperware has lids.

All of the above comes together for a performance that lasts about eight minutes. That’s right. One performance.  They only get one shot. To put this in perspective, consider a football team. They have four quarters and a “half time” period to re-strategize. They get three time-outs each half in case they want to halt the action to re-group. Consider baseball – seven innings (in high school), three outs each, with time-outs for strategy as needed. Basketball – four quarters, half time, time-outs… - well, you get the picture. Oh, and if someone’s not at their peak performance in any of those sports venues, there are substitutes to send into the field of play to take their place. Not so with the band competitions. There are no substitutes, no relief pitching, no back-up quarterback, no timeouts, no half time, no quarters, no innings – just one shot.

That’s why it’s important for every band member to do his or her ultimate best at every performance. That’s the Easley Band’s standard, nothing less.

So when you are riding around town in the evening and hear the sounds of the band practicing in the distance, maybe you’ll appreciate the dedication, the commitment, the perseverance of students who are proud to be a part of something bigger than themselves. This is our future. We are in good hands.

Preparation for marching season is extensive, including a spring mini-camp and a two week summer camp of what a football team would call "three-a-days".

During marching season, the band practices during band class plus three evening practices during the week, supports their football team on Fridays, and competes on Saturdays. What do they do in their spare time? You guessed it – they sell fruit!

The Easley Green Wave Marching Band brought home honors for Best Color Guard at the Pride of Pendleton Marching Classic. Last Saturday, they won First Place in their division at the Boiling Springs Festival of Bands. Next they will compete on October 13^th at the Chesnee Eagle Classic and then at SCBDA Upper State Championships at Boiling Springs on October 20^th.

Congratulations to the Easley Green Wave Marching Band!!!