Marching band has been very busy within the past month or so, with both in and out of state competitions.. Although they haven’t placed in the highest rankings, junior Justin Kang said that as long as they “keep [their] energy up and focus” they should be able to get back up in the top rankings. Band director Brandon Kiesgan attributes the change in scores because they’re “competing with more of [our] competitors.”

ASU BAND DAY

On Saturday Oct. 15 marching band went to ASU to compete with other Arizona bands, along with a few from California. Perry placed 9 out of 11. Kang said even though they “didn’t do as well as [he’d] hoped… Overall it was a good time.”  Senior Brandon Hermreck said “even though we don’t have the best scores… we’re doing pretty good for what we have. And for what we’ve put into it, I think we have a really good show.” Senior Katie Fernandez said “a lot of the alumni came to see [us] and say hi.” Band got to watch ASU perform and learn a few lessons from them. According to Fernandez, “ they have a lot more people so it’s harder for them to move around the field.”

CALIFORNIA TRIP

    Along with three other schools from Arizona, Perry went to California’s Long Beach Regional Band competition, competing against some of the state’s best marching bands. They placed 21 out of 23, but for Hermreck, the trip was “really fun… getting to see the bands [you] only see once a year… it’s always nostalgic.” The three day long trip, starting Oct. 28, was filled with Six Flags and learning from other bands. Kiesgan said it was “really inspiring and good for [us] to learn.. see what’s possible.” Since California bands have more funding and, according to Fernandez, “practice up to 22 hours a week”, the trip helps “so that when we’re performing, we’re rising to the occasion,” said Hermreck.

THE ‘BELL CURVE’

    As the season has gone on, some of the scores have not been as well as they were in the beginning. Fernandez blamed it on the bell curve. Where they “progress and get better and as the season comes to an end [we] start stagnating and drop off.” Hermreck explained it as “putting in a little bit of effort and still getting a lot out,” whereas at the end of the season “you can put a lot of effort in but still only get a little bit out.” Kiesgan called it more of a “learning curve,” where towards the end of the season they’re “competing with higher level bands in the state, like top 15.” Whatever the proper name, musicians and band director alike agree that they “just have to push a little bit harder to get a little bit more.”

STATE MARCHING FESTIVAL

Although the Puma Regiment did not qualify for state championship, they did place 13 out of 70 bands in the state marching festival. According to Kiesgan, “if you make it into the top ten then you get to go into the state championship.” Placing as high as they did, especially for D1 is noteworthy, regardless of not making the top ten. Over the past couple of years they’ve scored in the 15 or 14 spot, Kiesgan acknowledged that “it’s tough… we’re [going to be] fighting for that tenth spot.” The preparation for state paid off though, this was the best they scored in the past couple years. Fernandez said that Kiesgan is “really cracking down on attendance..making sure we’re not late.”

With the football team going to playoffs this year, the band continues to be occupied with games on Friday nights. The most notable of the games, was Basha, where the band was in California. With the most recent postseason games though, band has the ability to support the football team.  Band also has a winter concert coming up on Nov. 22.