They traveled to be a part of history — and to make a little history of their own as their 100-year old university got ready for a moment on the national stage.
But Sunday in the Washington, D.C.-area, as Georgia State University’s marching band members stepped through their final practice before Monday’s inaugural parade, Georgia was very much on their mind.
Georgia, as in Atlanta. Atlanta, as in Falcons.
Several band members had donned Falcons gear before that last practice, and talk on the bus ride to the Fairfax, Va., school where they’d rehearse was all about their favorite feathered football team.
“I think the Falcons will definitely rise up and win,” said Myron Young, a 20-year old tuba player from Savannah. “We’ll rise up at home and win the NFC championship and go to the Super Bowl.”
Young proudly sported his bright red Falcons hoodie as he lugged his giant instrument around the practice field.
As luck would have it, however, Young and other band members would not be able to see all of the game. After a morning of practice and an afternoon of D.C. sight-seeing, band members were to board a bus back to their Fairfax hotel a couple hours after kickoff. If traffic permitted, they’d be able to see much of the second half.
No matter. Young and his band mates were still stoked about the Falcons’ prospects and about the prospect of performing in the inaugural parade.
“It’s been surreal,” Young said. “Even thought I won’t be able to watch all of (the game), I’m doing my part in representing Atlanta in getting ready to perform in front of the president of the United States.”
GSU’s band is expected to begin performing around 3:30 p.m. on Monday, about an hour into the parade.
The band’s performance will cap a momentous weekend for it and for the university, which is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding.
The band has been around for only the last three years. That, however, didn’t stop it from seeking and being awarded one of five dozen spots offered to bands hoping to perform at the inauguration. More than 2,800 bands submitted applications.
GSU’s band will perform the James Brown tune “Living in America,” with a dash of “Yankee Doodle Dandy” tossed in for good measure. During the Georgia State Society’s Inauguration Gala on Sunday night, it planned to play “Georgia On My Mind.”
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Band director Chester Phillips said his troops are ready for their big moment. He was patient but detailed in having them go through their steps over and over during practices.
Phillips said he’s not worried his band won’t be ready to rock come Monday afternoon. He does, however, have one worry — and it’s not one he can do anything about: making sure his band starts its performance close to its scheduled time and not later, when cooling temperatures will affect the sound quality of its instruments.
“If we step off in the dark, it will get cold,” Phillips said. “If we step off on time, we’ll be in great shape.”
Band members said they’ll be ready to deal with whatever Monday throws at them in terms of schedule changes or cold weather. Simply being in Washington, representing their school and their state, has made the experience a thrilling one, they said.
Abigail Popwell, a 21-year old senior, said her parents, Ainsley and Ann-Marie Popwell, will be watching on television.
Popwell won’t be hard to spot; she’ll be at the front of the band, one of two band members carrying the university’s banner.
She used to play the drums, just like her dad, who still gets together from time to time with friends to jam at jazz clubs. But Abigail Popwell said she gave up the drums in taking a paid position helping the band load equipment and handling other logistical tasks. The money is a big help in helping her pay for her education.
Popwell said she’s happy to have her band mates get an opportunity to perform as she once did. And she said she’s happy, too, that she still gets to be around the band and be a part of Monday’s parade.
Looking at the broad diversity of her band mates Sunday morning, she thought back to museum tours she took the day before, when she saw evidence of the often violent convulsions the country underwent to get where it is today.
“For us to be able to come together and have equality now is pretty neat,” she said. “For us to be in the presence of the president is very humbling. I hope the president likes us!”
http://youtu.be/0fpMsOfqieA
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