By Emily Etheredge
On a hot and hazy weekday afternoon, more than 100 students from Jemison High School gather under a shady tree to plot their strategy for a productive practice.
Although the work is hard and demanding at times, the students are unified in knowing what is expected of them.
“We want people to see us and understand that it takes a group effort for us to be a success,” senior and Jemison High School Drum Major Ansley Bittle said. “There is a lot of blood, sweat and tears that goes into our practices each day, but we work hard because we want to sound good.”
The Jemison High School Blue Regiment Band practices Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday starting at 1:30 p.m. and ending at 4:30 p.m. with Monday and Friday spent in preparation for the coming week and Friday night performances at football games.
Under the direction of Jemison High School Band Director George Martin, the students know that a smooth Friday night performance under the football stadium lights requires lots of practice.
“These kids want to work hard,” Martin said.
The marching band performs at all varsity football games, pep rallies, the Jemison Christmas parade and other special events.
In addition to the performances, the band competes in marching contests throughout the Southeast.
This year, the band will compete in the Heart of Dixie Marching contest in Prattville on Oct. 12 and in Gordo on Nov. 2. The band is also responsible for the National Anthem before each football game.
Bittle has been involved in the band for six years and decided to try out for drum major in the marching band her senior year.
As drum major, Bittle’s role is the leader of the band during practices and performances while also serving as a leader and encourager for her band mates each day.
“It isn’t an easy job, but I love it,” Bittle said. “Besides the cheerleaders, we are another supporter of the football team. We bring a level of spirit to the games and we help the crowd have an enjoyable time at the games, and I enjoy getting to be a part of that.”
Senior David Malpica, who is band captain and trumpet player, said the most enjoyable part of being involved in the band for him is competing with his band mates.
Malpica said most people see the weekly performance but don’t necessarily understand the depth that goes into the daily practices.
“It is hard work and that is something I’m not sure I knew when I signed up,” Malpica said. “We pour a lot of hours into our work, but that work is very rewarding.”
In addition to the daily practices at school, Malpica practices his trumpet at home each night when he gets home to ensure the daily school practices are an easy run.
“It helps to practice at home because then you focus more on just playing what you have practiced,” Malpica said.
Other outlets of the band include majorettes, color guard and dance line who march alongside the band.
Sponsors order uniforms, costumes and props during the spring and summer months and staff at the school develops color coordination for each selection to be performed.
Band shirts are also ordered at the end of the school year so they are ready for when the students perform at the Peach Parade in June.
The dance line, sponsored by Tiffany Gillespie, consists of 15 girls who try out and perform with the marching band.
Senior Kayla Endress said preparations leading up to Friday night football games are typically chaotic for members of the dance line.
“We have to make sure we have our shoes, our tights, our earrings, etc. in addition to also making sure that our routines are the best they can be,” Endress said. “We know once the music starts playing that it is our job to go out there, do our best and smile.”
Endress, along with Junior Brittany Powell and junior Samantha Pinon, said the main goal as upperclassman on the dance line is to make sure they are role models for the freshman and sophomore classes.
The girls agree that the practice times are hard; but the girls will often stay throughout the week after the band goes home.
“We spend a lot of time preparing for the football games because we care,” Pinon said. “This is what we love.”
Powell said another major responsibility for members on the dance line are to keep attitudes from becoming negative.
“When you are on a team, you have to try your best to not let your team get discouraged,” Powell said. “We spend a lot of time trying to weed out the negativity because if one person is down about something, everyone on that football field will be down.”
Junior Sarai Alvarado and sophomore Tiffany Smith both joined the color guard and enjoy Friday nights spent with the band.
The 12 color guard girls are responsible for twirling 6-feet blue flags throughout the four songs the band performs during the halftime show at each game as well as marching alongside the band.
“Being on the color guard has allowed me to meet a lot of new people,” Smith said. “It is also a lot of work but work that I enjoy.”
Senior Jessica Parker said one of the major misconceptions members of the color guard often face is the fact everything looks “easy.”
“It is not easy,” Parker said. “You have to keep time with the band and also make sure that you are precise.”
The six majorettes maintain a count pattern of 8 counts as opposed to the color guard who has 16 counts.
Senior Ashland Blankenship said twirling batons requires a large amount of endurance and practice.
“I often spend a lot of my free time twirling my baton in my backyard after practice,” Blankenship. “You want to be as ready as you can be for Friday nights and practice really helps.”
Blankenship said even though most of the days leading up to the first part of football season require afternoons outside in the heat, the majorettes know one of their jobs is to entertain the crowd.
“Our job is to go out and have fun and get the crowd going,” Blankenship said. “We might sweat and it might be hot, but we are to go out there and help people have fun. In return, that is fun for us.”
This year, the band will perform four songs during each halftime show including “Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend,” “Blues in the Night,” “42nd Street” and “Luck Be a Lady.”
The band practices for two weeks leading up to the first day of school in August at “band camp” which involves daylong practices outside.
Martin works hard to encourage his students to maintain stamina and periodically reminds each student to take a break for water.
A nearby train is also a welcomed relief to the students due to an extra water break being allowed for the train to pass by.
Some of the students often quote phrases Martin frequently uses with his students including “it isn’t a good day until the train comes.”
With all of the different elements that go into making up the single entity known as the Jemison High School band, the Friday night performances can mean many different things.
For some of the students, it is all about “last moments” and the countdown to college life, for others it is the beginning of something new and challenging, but with a few simple counts from Martin of “1-2-1-2-3-4” everyone immediately knows one thing: it is their cue to shine.