Just forget the world with the Troy Colt Marching Band

Searching through "The Glass Castle" twice for traces of fire and hunger, we focused on motifs this week. “I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire. It was the sort of knowledge that kept you on your toes” (Walls 34). Through the novel, the motif fire is laced into aspects of her life. Sitting at my laptop, racking my brain for ideas of what to blog about, I have a video of the marching band halftime performance on replay in another tab which reminded me of something that happened earlier today. I was texting my friends about how much we love the show this year and how the peace, love and music symbols are incorporated into so many aspects of the show and that was when I realized the peace sign was the glaringly obvious motif of our show that no one had identified as a motif. Remembering this, I suddenly had an urge to begin blogging.

One of my favorite lyrics of the song “Chasing Cars” is, “Would you lie with me and just forget the world” (Snow Patrol). Whenever I’m with the band, I feel a sense of calmness and belonging which is common within my fellow band peers and is most likely why nearly every single person’s favorite week of the year is band camp. Band Camp is an inspiring, unforgettable, and humbling week away from reality and responsibilities. The Woodstock show represents the journey members have throughout the season. Life Magazine http://life.time.com/culture/woodstock-photos-from-the-legendary-1969-rock-festival/#1 describes Woodstock as, "For those who passed through it, Woodstock  was less a music festival than a total experience".  The final performance is not what makes marching band so fulfilling, it's the entire journey we experience together.

This year, the Troy Colt Marching Band show is called, “Peace, Love, and Music”.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2ouQFcSRe4 Yesterday was our real first performance and Mr. Mayernik describes it as “A Woodstock theme show featuring songs you’ll sure find hip, groovy, and far out” (Troy Colt Marching Band). At the drum major salute, Nick, Jason, and I address the audience with peace signs to kick off the show.

As the staged Woodstock “concert” begins, the dancers throw up peace signs perfectly in time with the peace-loving music. As the first tune, “Mr. Tambourine Man”, commences; multiple color guard members emerge holding protest signs demanding peace. At the peak of the song, the band faces the crowd in the formation of a peace sign and kneels to distinguish it (unfortunately in this video, you cannot tell that clearly because of the angle the video is shot at) while the color guard waves around flags with a peace sign etched onto it. Later on in the performance, at the end of “Light My Fire”, the color guard lies at the front of the field in the shape of a peace sign. During the closer, “Aquarius (Let the Sunshine in)”, the band gathers into small pods to signify the peaceful friendships members have with one another. At the last hit of the show; Courteney, Nathan, and I stand on the stage to represent peace, love and music. I throw up deuces; while Courteney holds my hand, she presents a love sign and Nathan punches his trumpet in the air. Taking his final salute, Jason once again salutes the audience with a peace sign, ending our show.

The physical embodiment of peace has been embedded within American culture for decades to the point where the audience can immediately associate and relate. It brings nostalgia of the late 1960’s. The theme of Woodstock is brought alive by the physical symbols of peace.

Wow, I cannot believe my first blog post was about band...I'm such a geek but hey, I do absolutely love it and I'm proud of what my band achieves.