Thoughts of a “Bando”

By Heng-yi Liu, Guest Writer

The night air is cool, crisp to the taste. The band stands in silent anticipation on the football field. Bright stadium lights illuminate the night, revealing the large crowd that sits silently in the stands, waiting. My eyes skirt around the field taking in the glorious sights.

The pit checks their equipment while the color guard arranges their silks and flags. I know the rest of the Royal Regiment is just as restless as I am. Months of practice and hard work, reps and run-throughs, all boil down to tonight. And in those few short minutes before the last show of the season, my mind wanders back, back to the beginning.

The first few hours of band camp were some of the most exciting moments of my life. Back then, the freshmen were all strangers, defined solely by the instruments held in our hands. He\’s a tuba, she\’s a baritone, and I\’m a clarinet. That was how we knew each other, the freshies.

I wasn\’t one of the lucky people with friends or family already in high school, so I didn\’t know any upperclassmen. A few familiar faces from middle school and that was it. Some of the sophomores and juniors I recognized vaguely from Mr. Peters\’ middle school band but no more. The rest were new to me, and my stomach was a continued mix of fear and excitement. There\’s probably a long word for that. I was scared of new people, but I also wanted to meet them, to get to know them, to be friends.

So we started. We learned basics, marching, the Hindu exercise, stretches, and breathing, all this new stuff on top of the music. It was so much to absorb, so much to learn. It seemed like I would never get it right. Day after day I didn\’t feel any better at this stuff. But we got there. A month in, and most of the freshmen were marching with ease, like they had been doing this for a year. Ok, maybe not that good, but it was respectable.

Already the walls between me and the others were breaking up. I knew several people who were already friends with half the upperclassmen, and here I was, asking some questions and adding small comments here and there. I reached out slowly, and was welcomed with laughter and shouting and excitement. Bandos are eager to make friends it seems, and after a week I was just another bando.

Then school came. Along with band I now had to attend class every day, do homework, and worry about grades. But that was ok. Band was like paradise now, a break every fourth period from the chaos of the day. Yeah, that makes sense. Taking a break from chaos with a different type of chaos: band-style.

Our first football game came, and confident and ready, we marched onto the field. And lived! We performed not the entire show but stopped at the end of the second movement. The crowd cheered, and we stood, frozen in time for a few moments as that feeling of praise washed over us.

More shows came and went, and we gradually got better. There were some great performances, like the Mission Viejo and Riverside competitions. By then I knew most of the seniors by name, and for some strange reason, they knew mine.

And I realized some other things. Band wasn\’t just music or marching. It was the presentation, the excitement you inspire in the crowd but also the people backstage and onstage, like the parent volunteers and student officers that kept the marching band\’s inner mechanics in top condition.

We appreciate what they did from  arranging the bus lists to managing various forms and papers. I also especially want to thank the equipment managers. After every eventWednesday night, game, and comp, it was these people who stayed, sometimes for two hours, to load all the stuff. I was there helping, and I know how hard it is to get about sixty instruments and the podiums into that truck

I\’ll miss the seniors. After the last show, you\’ll be gone. Many of you will visit, but you\’ll never march again. I just want to say that once a bando, always a bando. You\’ll always be part of our family.

The sound of the announcer drags me back to the field. “Fountain Valley High School, you may now take the field in championships competition.” I back out my memories and in the Now. The show is all that\’s on my mind.

The countdown starts. And the last show begins!