Marching Madness

   With the start of a new season comes a new marching band. The band has had several different types of shows in the past, but the new band director, Dr. Doss, decided to switch things up. This year’s show is called ‘Outside the Bachs’, taking on a never-been-done-by-Liberty-North classical theme. Students have been skeptical about this year’s show since rehearsal began over the summer, but, as competition season begins, it is taking a new turn.

  “This year’s show was a bit of a twist. I wasn’t really feeling it. I didn’t know what to expect since Dr. Doss had full control rather than Mr. Fuller being in charge. Dr. Doss designed the visuals for the show for us, so I knew it was going to be unique, but it’s still nerve-wracking to wait and find out how well it’s going to do at competitions, especially since all of our competitions this year are tougher than they’ve ever been,” senior Eduardo Gomez said.

  Freshmen, being new to the concept of marching band, had no preference since they had never been under Band Director Shane Fuller’s direction.

  “I love how things are operated during marching band. The directors give us some break time for us to go to the bathroom, drink water, and even to reset mentally and have social time. My favorite part of Marching Band is getting to know each other. It’s not like other sports or activities where you only meet each other at practices. In marching band, we hang out together, we eat lunch together, we celebrate things together, and we pray for each other. It’s more than just a class or activity. It’s a lifestyle,” freshman Nicholas Zylstra said.

  No matter the situation, competitions are always stress-inducing for the members of the Screaming Eagles Marching Band. Between the bus rides to competitions and the bus rides back, a lot happens and it is different every time, but everyone always ends the day with an overall good time.

  “We ended up getting rained out at our first competition at Lee’s Summit North. Performances were moved indoors, so, instead of marching our show at the stadium for a big crowd, we ended up standing and playing through the show and, instead of getting awards, we received a rating. Later, we found out we had gotten the top rating and were the top scoring band of the day. I felt very proud as Head Drum Major. I’ve had a good feeling about this year since the start and the fact that we were the best sounding band of the night just further proved how talented everyone in the band is,” senior Cooper Smith said.