TKA 2008 Groove. This post will delve into the 2008 marching season at The King’s Academy (TKA). Click here for other posts regarding The King’s Academy Marching Band.
Where are we in the story?
The TKA marching band was coming off of a great season. Our fantastic staff had remained virtually intact. They were still young and hungry, but now they had something that makes a staff even more effective.
They had experienced success.
The band’s enrollment had dropped from 63 to 52, but we had great students to work with.
The show
In 2007 we had moved away from the Arranger’s Publishing music and experimented with a more difficult music book. The staff and students had proven that they could pull it off.
We found a show called, Groove. Our percussion section had won ‘best percussion’ at the state championships in ’07, so we had no doubts about their ability to lay down some great grooves.
This show sounded like a good idea.
Show elements
There was a tango in the center of the show. I wondered if I could write drill that could evoke the tango idea. I settled on two complimentary curves that would mesh and rotate around each other, like a dance.
We had a lot of talent on the field. One of our members, Brandon, had finished a year with DCI‘s Carolina Crown. And, we had a tremendously talented dancer, Callie, in the colorguard. They both knew how to perform.
It made sense to have two dancers doing a tango. And that is what Brandon and Callie did. They were sensational.
The show wasn’t as intense as the ’07 Amazonian Rainforest show, but it made sense and, it was musically clean.
States
State semi-finals were at Lakewood Ranch High school, south of St. Petersburg. The stadium was small and it was VERY windy that day. Not a great day to spin and toss flags. But at least it wasn’t raining.
Our performance was solid and typical for that band. They went on the field and got the job done. Very little drama. (Every director’s dream!)
Award’s Ceremony
I hated the FMBC awards ceremonies. You had to make the top 5 in order to go on to finals and there were 24 bands in our class. They started the awards ceremony by announcing the band in 24th place and slowly worked their way up.
Every announcement was the pronouncement of the end of a year for a band program. It was an excruciatingly painful and emotional experience.
I hated it.
In order to deal with all of the emotion, I would walk around. I stayed close enough to hear what was going on, but I didn’t want to talk to anyone.
Once the announcers got to around 6th or 7th place I’d get close to the band again.
One more thing. As the announcer worked their way up through the bands, they’d insert special awards for things like: best percussion, best colorguard, best visual, and….
Music
There are 3 major awards that a marching band can win. These awards are: best visual, best music and best general effect. You want these awards. They represent the largest numbers in your overall score.
Directors love the music award, which makes sense. We are music directors. Music is our stock and trade.
Back to the award’s ceremony.
I’m standing on the north end of the stadium on ground level next to the bleachers. I’m pacing around like a caged lion, my stomach is tied in knots and I’m listening to them announce each band’s placement. I NEED to make it into finals.
But, before we get to the top 5, we have special awards.
“Best music… The King’s Academy.”
I lost it. I don’t know what came out of my mouth, but people in the bleachers above me and to my right started looking down at me. “Who is that weird dude and why is making all that noise?”
I was crying and making a fool of myself, so I knew that I should move away from the bleachers. When I turned and walked toward the fence I locked eyes with our band booster president. He is the only one that saw the raw emotion that gave evidence of the depth of what that award meant to me on a personal level.
I cut behind the bleachers in order to reach the band leaders. That’s when I saw my band director buddy, Pete. He was pumped! “I knew it, I knew you were going to win music!” He seemed as excited as I was.
Finishing up
We went on to a 2nd place finish in the state. This was our 2nd time in 2nd place. The last 2nd place finish was in ’05 with Cirque du Magic. Another near miss of a state championship.
Our TKA Marching Lions had a great staff and great student performers. We had confidence and were in the “Groove”.
What would we do in 2009?