Smoke Signals

ECHS Marching Indians have been hard at work perfecting this year’s field show all summer. Since they have been working so hard, we thought they should be able to have a chance to give their opinions on their sport. Many members were asked multiple questions and told to share their honest feelings:

I feel that the school cares moderately about the band. As far as the staff goes, they love the band and always enjoy involving them in sendoffs or anything of the sort. However, I feel that the majority of the student body doesn’t care all that much. They don’t hate us, though, which is good. I think this year it will be different since our show is much more entertaining that it has been in the past few years. 

Do you think performing at football games helps boost morale or contributes anything else?

I think it does! It certainly boosts my morale and mood whenever I get out there and perform, and anyone I talk to has said that they feel pretty thrilled during the halftime show. I think we hype up the football players.

It definitely helps in boosting morale, and I feel like overall we have the ability to elevate everybody’s energy. Halftime is definitely a good change of pace from strictly football, y’know?

I do think that the band’s performance at football games does help to boost the morale of both the football players and the spectators. It’s also been told to us before by our band directors and the football coaches that the team plays better when the band is present.

There is a chant that we do at the end of every practice and before every game. You put your left hand on the shoulder of the person next to you, and Mr. Owens will shout “Dress and address” and the band follows with screaming “Whoosh.” The band directors will usually give a pep talk before we take the field as well.

Do you feel the band gets as much attention as it deserves?

Not really. The last time I remember the band being acknowledged was my sophomore year and they got our placement at the competition wrong.

In some cases, yes, but I think that’s because we’re already at an event with so many people. How many people do you think go to a football game to watch the band other than parents or people that have already been in the band prior? Not many, probably.

I don’t feel like we get much attention, especially in just regular band. The school often forgets we exist and we are never mentioned.

I feel the band does get a decent amount of attention. At our halftime performances and competitions we usually have a pretty large crowd watching and cheering for us. Most people are very supportive of us and the hard work we put into our performances and music.

How much interaction is there between you and the other sports?

We interact with the cheerleaders sometimes. They dance to our music and congratulate us when we walk off. 

There isn’t much interaction between other sports. With the football team, we have mutual respect for each other, but that’s about it.

We don’t typically get to interact with other sports. We obviously help cheer on football players during games, but we aren’t able to physically interact with them. From time to time the cheerleaders will congratulate us on our performance after half time, but aside from that, that’s really the only time we interact with them. We do get to interact with other bands, and we are very supportive of each other and get along very well.

Why did you join?

I’d wanted to join marching band since I was in 7th grade. Having been in band since 6th grade, I developed a love for music and wanted to perform on the field. I moved to East Coweta my freshman year, but didn’t march until my sophomore year. On the outside you get to really see the bonds that the performers have developed with each other. I wanted to be a part of that, and I wanted to try something new. It’s changed me as a person and I’ve never once regretted it. 

I joined band because music has been in my life since I was three. When I was five I started playing the piano and fell in love with it right away. When I was around seven, I did my first musical theater performance with professional actors and they gave me the piccolo, and ever since I wanted to pick up the flute which led to me in 6th grade joining band.

I’m a clarinet player who’s had about five years of experience in band. I had always had a passion for music that started pretty early on in elementary school. When I was in sixth grade I had a couple friends in band, and saw how much they enjoyed it. I went home and begged my mom to let me join band. My middle school band director was even the person that convinced me to join marching band a couple years later.

What is your favorite part of the band?

I love the music! I love how it all pieces together, the music, the dances, and the shapes. 

Hope Fugate: Junior

The people are great! Football games are so much fun, and the bus rides are nice too. But, really working for something for hours during the summer and after school, and then seeing the end result, has a super satisfying and rewarding feeling! 

Carlie Hall: Junior

My favorite part of the band is the culture we have built. It pushes us to strive for excellence and be our absolute best – a great challenge, if you will. The band grows to be more than just a team – we’re a big family. We spend all this time together working on the same show for months and months, and it truly is something beautiful to watch everyone grow from start to finish. At the end of it all, you realize that you’ll never perform with the same group of people with the same show. You meet so many people and you grow as a result of it. You become a mosaic of everyone that you’ve looked up to or everyone who has been there for you. It’s a wonderful experience, and I’m so thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to perform with such an amazing group. 

Hayden Cato: Senior 

My favorite part of band is going to competitions. It’s a great chance to be with friends and to just have fun. It’s fun to watch other bands perform their shows, and it gives us a chance to debut all of our hard work for other bands and the judges. Competitions are the chance for everything we’ve been working on to finally pay off. 

Kaleigh Adam: Junior

Overall, The Marching Indians have been performing wonderfully, and all of their hard work over the summer has paid off! Some feel that they have gotten the proper attention they deserve, while others feel as if they get none. No matter what your stance is, you should always make sure to support the ECHS Marching Indians because of all the hard work they put into their performances.