From the Drum Majors
Ode for Band
from the 2008-2009 Co-Drum Major, Wayne Jopanda
For the god that gave me life,
For the savior who sacrificed his body for us all,
For a religion that delivers me moral values,
As well as hope and faith....
For the two people who brought me into this world,
The man who worked endless hours to feed me,
The woman who always loved and never ceased to love.
The uncles that patted my head as I sat on their lap,
The aunts that rubbed my back when I was pooped from play time,
The older cousins that I trusted my hand to at the park,
And to my little cousins who trusted me with their hand at the park...
To the Grandparents I never knew,
but heard so much about and how they brought up my parents to who they are,
To the Grandpa who survived torture for the sake of his children,
Teaching us all what strength truly is.
And to the Grandmother who became stronger once that man passed away.
For the man who taught me for 10 years,
The dancer/singer/musician/director/composer/father
Who started my path, my journey in the musical world.
When I was told my fingers were too small to reach the frets,
He encouraged me on.
From humble beginnings to amazing achievements,
From Hot Cross Buns in portable AA to Mahler's Second Symphony in Indianapolis.
Tireless hours of practicing turned into plaques on the wall.
A program from dirt built to a program of Gold...
Time killer for one,
an anti-drug for others,
Thank you to the Japanese trumpet player who bore the band on his back the first year,
To Fihaki and Houa who marched this program to victory.
To Mayo and Darsheeky who took me as their apprentice,
Preparing me for the now and for the future.
To the Flamadiddle man who stood besides me that life changing night.
To the chocolate carebear who will stand behind me this year,
To the little Asian girl that has been by my side since Geometry class with Huntoon,
To the bestfriend that called them "Locks" instead of "dreads",
And took care of me like a Mother would since day one...
To man who rolled his tongue and gave me his sincere word,
To the French horn-bass drum boy who will soon follow these footsteps,
Whether with the position or not,
To the boy with multiple names that holds all of our money.
To the "Haro" boy who ends his statements with question marks,
To the little non-human boy with glasses who wiped his feet on that darn towel,
To "Big bean" who was the first to talk to me and be my real friend,
To Sicky and the countless hours we spent babbling over nothing at all,
Always making sure I wasn't too stressed, trying to constantly calm my nerves,
Had me making lists to make me feel better.
To "Mot-Mot" and his little Ride solo,
Always saying "Man, I could have been better"
But lil Mot-Mot, just knowing the effort you put into it made me want to tear up.
Not knowing that you had a fantastic product at all those times.
To "Ate" who loves the color yellow and kept me optimistic every time I was down
To Adoo-foo who's surprised me with his hard work and dedication every time.
For the rowdy brass section,
And that "gorilla" of mine that I oh dearly love (no homo)
For the woodwinds who always had their stuff down,
For the percussion, so alive with energy,
For the strings who have a special part of my heart.
The Jazz band that allowed us to express ourselves a little bit looser,
The marching steps we hear a little past 7:15,
The sweat and energy felt by the approaching drumline,
The ultimate force we call Wind Ensemble.
With the use of Cassandra the Bass,
Liam the bow,
Kaitlyn the snare drum.
Goodbye yellow Serenity,
Hello Purple Remi...
For "Babycakes", "BlackDog", "My big SIS", "Virgin", "Rocky", "Megapanties", "IZZY", "nELLy", "Megapanties number two",
"Front Row Joe", "Bones", "AZUL",
"The Filipino boy who smiles after dropping his phone from the 18th floor"
Loyola and his big jawbreaker ball, keep on lickin' man...
For Lil Wayne's special performances during our Hawaii and Anaheim trip,
And for all of the rest of the Band Gang...
For "My Girls", who have undoubtedly been a joy to work with,
They hold so much potential that it scares me at times...
For the one who took my glasses,
For lil Banjo,
For my lil Sis, who now knows she’s not alone,
*knock knock*
"da twins", "That girl who’s last name is AU",
MiniTravis, MiniDarshan, Lil' Pedro, and the "trumpet prodigy",
For all the other incoming students I will be delighted to meet.
Samuel Hazo, Jack Stamp, and their crazy 90 mph ride down the back roads that inspired our knock out punch piece.
For Tim Smith who gave our director the education he now passes on towards us,
For Broadnax and the sweat that rolls down his face,
Like he was standing next to Mt. Vesuvius itself,
For the long haired percussion instructor who was one of a set of triplets,
The cool Sax guy who always looked like Ash Ketchum,
Who stood by us when Cato was on leave,
For the second Cato,
Who gave us the voice of reason and another outlook on everything,
Hayward High, Tennyson, and the others,
The schools we've surpassed throughout the years,
And the one school we dream of becoming...
The level of Logan and that one Canadian School we met with at Anaheim,
For the Blue Devils, the San Francisco Symphony, and The Young Blood Brass Band.
And whoever else strikes inspiration into our hearts,
As musicians, as students, and as Every Day People...
The cold snow of Boston,
The hot sun of Hawaii,
Through the fireworks of Anaheim,
And all the bus rides in between...
For the Persistent run throughs,
A Nitro packed Ride of a life time,
The Rumble on the High Plains,
The Fantasy on the folk song of life,
The Pageant of dreams coming true,
It is not I that it the Majestic Monarch of this footlifted family,
As we pray to Maria that our Pursuit will be granted,
That a Chemical Explosion of success rains upon us,
It seems like everything's like a Short Ride on a Fast Machine...
The Clockwork just keeps on moving...
Because I still can't ride a bike, or swim, or play flams on the snare,
These are the reasons why I strive for success.
As Lil' Wayne said in his thank you blog:
"I did nothing, this is all because of you"
This is all because of you...
I march on, I march on, I march on...
July 2008
A Senior's Reflections on his Final Band Review
from the 2007-2008 Drum Major, Darshan Bhakta
Dear Band Members, Parents, and Friends of the Band,
Congratulations on a successful day today. I would first like to thank ALL of the parents for coming to help and support us. It ALL wouldn't be possible without you guys making us lunches, helping us with all of the setup for percussion, making sure we looked good for inspections, being ready to help out anyone in need, and last but most important: showing us your love and supporting us by cheering us on. It also makes me smile that by coming to our events, the parents are very sociable with one another and have just as much fun as the kids have.
We really did well and all of our hard work has paid off. Wind Ensemble sounded incredible. Even though the conditions were sub par (the extreme heat.. gym..) we still played with a lot of control and we adjusted to our environment. Jazz Band sounded great. Even though we didn't place, we got a 90. The school that beat us has an amazing jazz program and they just came and took it. Don't let that let you down, we still got a great score. Drumline was pretty good. I honestly think we could have done better if we didn't rush. Marching band was also pretty good. There were some problems related to the music. Also, the marching step sizes werre not the same It's the first rank's responsibility to keep the distance from the drum majors equal at all times. The band came so close to the drum majors that it almost became a safety hazard as someone could have gotten hurt by the drum majors' equipment.
All in all, we placed well in every category. You guys should all be proud of what we made of today's competition. As I am a senior, this was my last band review. I just want to thank everyone for making it very memorable and i couldn't have asked for any more. After the competition I was kind of bummed out because I finally realized that this is my last band review ever. It hit me hard and it just made me sad.
Now that our marching season is officially over, we have Anaheim this week. We have 3 days to prepare all of our groups including the orchestra and the percussion ensemble. Let's go show the rest of the USA that we have what it takes. "Make it happen"
Sincerely,
Darshan Bhakta, Drum Major
May 2008 (Del Mar Band Review)
A Tribute from the 2007-2008 Co-Drum Major, Travis Roush
An object in motion tends to stay in motion in the same direction unless acted upon by an external force. In our time, this sentence is common knowledge to anyone with even an elementary education in physics. But to me, this sentence means so much more. Everyone in life has a time in their life when something happens, or someone enters their life and it changes to be something or someone else that they never imagined. In my case it was an event that woke my brain to recognize how much a certain person in my life had changed me. This occurred to me at the end of my sophomore year in high school while I was thinking on how much I differed from myself during my freshmen year and the first semester of my sophomore year. I thought about it, and credited the reformation to my involvement in the school band, and especially my band director, Mr. Kevin Cato.
At first thought, I couldn't conceive how much I had changed or why I changed. My friends had noticed it, my parents, my girlfriend, and anyone that knew prior to my first semester as a sophomore. I knew I matured, but it was more than that. My lifestyle, my way of thinking, my overall demeanor was affected. I was doing top-notch in school, and I was living great. I was always happy. Now all I had to do was figure out how, without my notification, my personality and behavior morphed into some near-grown adolescent being.
All of a sudden, it clicked. It was the band. I didn't even see it all those weekends and days off spent working, training and practicing. I spent many hours more than required in the band room. I went on cleaning and lending a hand to anyone in need for months. I behaved as if I were one of the elected band leaders. Not on purpose, but because Mr. Cato and my band mates encouragement and camaraderie. Cato let a group of us stay in the band room most days until six or seven p.m. We didn't have to, but we would hang out there, and jam on the drums or some saxophones. I guess it was just what I needed to get me on the right track.
His guidance has helped me become a better student, musician, and leader. It was when he told me that he would really like to see me run for Drum Major and win that I started to realize how much I had changed. Half a year before I was the band clown, and I never thought I would ever be taken so seriously. Being Drum Major is a huge responsibility and commitment. I was blown away by his confidence in me. No one had ever told me I could be something like that. Even when I doubted myself he told me that it was normal to have a hard time having a drum major's responsibility. And he was right. I've been Drum Major of the Mt. Eden High School Band Program for almost a full year now, and I don't regret it one bit. My band mates can come to me if they need assistance in anything. There is nothing else I could ask for.
The sophomore year in band was the external force that led me to my ultimate path of life. If it wasn't for that year, I don't know who I would be, or how I would act today. But I'm sure that I wouldn't be where I am now. For people that are afraid or change, you just haven't had your "push" yet. Be patient. It will come in time.
- Travis Roush, 2007