10,000 fans show for 1st Rocket City Battle of Bands at AAMU

Photo: Miles College Purple Marching Machine Band

Johnson High wins Battle of the Bands

In 1st Rocket City event, school beats Butler and Lee; AAMU, Alabama State, BCU, Miles College and Texas Southern University compete.

By PATRICIA C. McCARTER, Huntsville Times

Johnson High School - already known as one of the best marching bands in North Alabama - got some extra bragging rights Sunday evening when it won the first Rocket City Battle of the Bands, edging out its local rivals Butler and Lee.

The high school bands got to perform before an audience of nearly 10,000 people at Louis Crews Stadium at Alabama A&M, as well as before five university bands. The event was part of A&M's annual homecoming festivities.

"It's been an amazing day," said Johnson High senior Kiara Horton, captain of the dance team. "That's a big crowd. But when I dance, I don't see anyone. It's like a blur. I'm in my own zone."

Event organizer Derick Moore, who runs AFG Enterprises in Atlanta, said he and partner Yasin Shahid wanted to put on the show at A&M because of their history with Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Moore said he attended A&M and graduated from Alabama State University, and he played percussion in both marching bands; Shahid is an A&M alum who played saxophone in the band.

Photo: Bethune Cookman University Marching Wildcat Band

Other colleges represented at Sunday's Battle of the Bands besides their alma maters were Bethune Cookman College, Texas Southern University and Miles College. "It was an excellent, excellent event," Moore said when the battle was over. "We utilize the premier college bands, the feature bands for the HBCU schools. There were no losers."

Officially, there were no winners of the colleges, either. Moore explained that it was an exhibition - not a contest - for the four-year schools.

A&M will end the weekend with money in its pocket. Moore said, the event will yield up to $15,000 for the local college's band instrument fund.

"We plan to do it again next year, but even bigger," Moore said. "We spoke to athletic director Betty Austin, and she said she'd like to have us back."

Johnson High's dance captain hopes to be back, too.

"I'll definitely come back to see my alma mater compete," Horton said. "And maybe I'll be on the field dancing for one of the colleges."

Marching to the beat

Photo: Giving back--SCSU 101 and FVSU Marching Bands perform at Festival to help raise money for high school marching band program.

Festival raises money for marching band

By Timothy Cox, The Augusta Chronicle

Spencer Gartrell said he wasn't alarmed Sunday afternoon as he watched more than a thousand people pour into Butler High School Stadium to see bands perform - void of football teams.

"What many people don't realize is that when it comes to black college football games, people generally come to watch the bands compete, not the football teams," said Mr. Gartrell, a co-organizer of the first CSRA Battle of the Bands festival.

"Historically, it's been that way," added Angelo Hatcher, Mr. Gartrell's business partner.

"It even happens at a Josey-Laney high school game. It's all about the bands," he said.

Sunday's festival's proceeds help fund the CSRA All-Star Marching Band, founded three years ago by Mr. Hatcher.

Ticket proceeds help cover costs of uniforms, transportation, instruments and other costs associated with successfully funding a marching band made up of area middle and high school musicians, Mr. Hatcher said.

In addition to the all-star band, Sunday's festival lineup featured bands from South Carolina State University, Fort Valley State University, Beach High School of Savannah and local units from Glenn Hills High School, South Augusta Marching Unit and the Garden City Panthers.
Eddie Ellis, South Carolina State's band director, and Spike Nealy, his assistant, appeared in the movie Drumline, which filmed in Atlanta at Morris Brown College.

"The movie finally gave credibility to the black college marching style," Mr. Ellis said, adding that he has since witnessed major colleges adopting a similar format, focused on drums and choreography.

Photo: An enthusiastic crowd gathered to watch the action. Bands from around the area participated in the festival.

Mr. Nealy, a former James Brown percussionist, said the movie has generated a renewed interest in drums for young musicians.

Sherry Puryear, Glenn Hills' band director, applauded Mr. Hatcher's efforts.

"His work assists all the band directors county-wide, because he keeps our kids active throughout the summer," she said.

Many area school bands and students don't perform during the summer, she said.

As founder of Step-A-Rama, a local college step show, Mr. Gartrell said he also supports Mr. Hatcher financially.

"It's because of his dedication to young people, this is why he deserves the financial help," said Mr. Gartrell.

He added that he hopes the festival will generate $30,000 to aid Mr. Hatcher's group.
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Reader Comments

dang, how i wish i could have come home that weekend!--i bet it was something else!
Posted by istp on Mon Oct 1, 2007 8:01 AM

I was there my wife, sons and daughter....it was their first time seeing and hearing a black college, university band that had over one hundred members. Our black children need to see the positive side of being black, and our HBCUs are our back bones in this country. Mr. Hatcher keep pushing..........Jellyroll, Laney and Josey get on board please...
Posted by belapris55 on Mon Oct 1, 2007 10:26 AM

Battle of the Bands: Tennessee State, Southern University, North Carolina A&T & North Carolina Central 9/22/07

Tennessee State University Aristocrat of Bands

Southern University Human Jukebox Marching Band


North Carolina A&T State University Blue & Gold Marching Machine


North Carolina Central University Marching Maroon and White Band

SCSU's Marching 101 to play NFL halftime

Photo: S.C. State band members Shion Randolph, center, and Darryl Broome, right, perform Sunday during the 2007 Palmetto Invitational Band Classic in Charleston.

VIDEO: http://www.thestate.com/colleges/story/174132-a173840-t19.html

The South Carolina State Marching 101 band played Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia a week ago. On Sunday, the band goes pro.

To the NFL that is.

The NFL Atlanta Falcons will host the Carolina Panthers for their 2007 home opener at the Georgia Dome. The Marching 101 will perform during halftime.

The game begins at 4:15 p.m. and will air on the FOX network.

The Marching 101 could return to perform in the Georgia Dome in January 2008 if selected to participate in the annual Honda Battle of the Bands Invitational Showcase. Vote for the SC State Marching 101's inclusion as one of the nation's Top 10 Historically Black College and University bands at www.hondabattleofthebands.com. Voting concludes on Friday, Nov. 2, at 12 a.m. EST.

S.C. STATE Marching 101 Band
Director: Eddie Ellis
Members: 320
Drum majors: Michael “The Rock” Williams, Quinton “The GQ Model” Turner, Shane “The Professor” Walcott, LaTrondrick “The Rookie” Hunter, Tariq “Pretty Boy” Miller, Jonathan “Oh My God” Whitfield, Fernandez “The Kid” Brown
Style: High step, also known as “chair step” or “ankle-knee”
Claim to fame: They memorize all their sheet music

S.C. State band director Eddie Ellis has directed high school and college bands since 1975.

He joined the Marching 101 three years ago after working as a band director at Morris Brown College. You might remember the Morris Brown band from the 2002 movie “Drumline,” a film Ellis believes brought attention to marching band culture.

“It’s an art form. That movie has had a tremendous impact on the entire band world — regardless of style.”

And style is what makes the Marching 101 unique, Ellis said. This season, the S.C. State band will play mostly hip-hop and rhythm and blues, “but we may go back and do some ’70’s stuff. We try to do something everyone would enjoy.”

“Up for the Dogs,” the S.C. State fight song, and selections from James Brown, Earth, Wind and Fire, and the hit “Bartender” by hip-hop and R&B artist T-Pain are on their list.

Shane “The Professor” Walcott, a senior criminal justice major at S.C. State, is one of seven drum majors. He says the Marching 101 will bring a distinctive, up tempo and aggressive style to every performance. "We’re gonna do what we do best. It’s going to be an exciting show.”

B-CU to see some familiar faces at NSU

By BRENT WORONOFF, Daytona Beach News Journal

The way Bobbie Williams remembers it, one day three Bethune-Cookman assistant football coaches were on campus, the next day they weren't.

It happened shortly after the 2004 season when B-CU defensive coordinator Pete Adrian was named head coach at Norfolk State and he took three other assistants -- Kirk Mastromatteo, Mark DeBastiani and Jeff Parker -- with him.

"One day they were here, the next day they were gone," said Williams, B-CU's All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference free safety. "They did what they had to do. We were fine without them."

When the Wildcats face the Spartans at Norfolk State today, Williams said it will be just another conference game. But the numbers say otherwise. Since Adrian has been at Norfolk, the two teams have played two dramatic nailbiters that were decided by a total of three points.

And Williams saved the victory for the 'Cats both times. In 2005, he pushed Brandon Books out of bounds as the Norfolk quarterback tried to run in a two-point conversion that would tie the score in the fourth overtime. Williams' stop gave B-CU a 63-61 marathon victory.

Last year, Williams intercepted Casey Hansen's pass with 1:45 left to clinch the Wildcats' 22-21 triumph. It was Williams' third pick of the day.

"It's just a coincidence that every time we've played them I've had one of my best games," Williams said.

Photo: BCU All-American Safety Bobbie Williams

B-CU quarterback Jimmie Russell has also had two straight outstanding games against the Spartans, but unlike Williams, he doesn't see Norfolk State as just "a regular opponent."

"This one has added incentive because of the circumstances involved," Russell said.

Two years ago, B-CU coach Alvin Wyatt refused to shake hands with Adrian after the game. The following offseason, the two head coaches, who had worked together for eight years, smoothed over their differences.

"These guys are my best friends," Wyatt said this week of his three former assistants. "We've been through a lot of wars together, and we understand each other."

That familiarity is one of the reasons the past two games have been so closely contested, the coaches say.

"Just as they know how we think, we know how they think," Adrian said.

"We kind of know what the other is going to do," Wyatt agreed.

In such a game, Wyatt said, the difference usually comes down to a turnover or a crucial special teams play.

But the focus is on offensive and defensive playmakers, such as Williams and Russell and Norfolk State quarterback Hansen and linebacker Maguell Davis. And while the coaching staffs know each other so well, when it comes to familiarity in personnel, the edge goes to the Spartans.

For example, when Adrian watches Russell on film, he sees the same quarterback he saw every day on the practice field three years ago.

"He's the kind of guy you might stop eight plays in a row, but on the ninth play he might be standing in the end zone," Adrian said. "The kid is a great competitor, and he's always been a great competitor."

Playing with a knee brace last week to protect a strained medial collateral ligament, Russell rushed for three touchdowns and accounted for 177 yards of total offense as the Wildcats trounced Savannah State 45-13.

Photo: BCU QB Jimmie Russell

This week the stakes are higher as the Wildcats try to halt a four-game MEAC losing streak that began last season, and the Spartans try to take a step forward after finishing 4-7 the past two years.

B-CU (2-1) at Norfolk State (1-1)

KICKOFF: 4 p.m.
RADIO: WELE (1380 AM)
va2WHERE: Dick Price Stadium, Norfolk, Va.
KICKOFF: 4 p.m.
RADIO: 1380-AM
RECORDS: Bethune-Cookman 2-1, 0-1 MEAC; Norfolk St. 1-1, 0-0
SERIES: B-CU leads 12-5

PLAYMAKERS: B-CU -- QB Jimmie Russell, Sr., has six of the Wildcats' seven rushing touchdowns and has accumulated 508 yards of total offense; WR Joe Singleton, Jr., has six catches for 126 yards (21 ypc); FS Bobbie Williams, Sr., leads the 'Cats with 25 tackles and has one interception. LB/DE Josh Balloon, Sr., has five tackles for losses. Norfolk State -- QB Casey Hansen, Sr., has passed for 353 yards with two interceptions and no TDs; RB Daryl Jones, Sr., has rushed for 163 yards and two TDs; LB Maguell Davis, Sr., has two tackles for losses and an interception.

ETC: This is Norfolk State's first game against a Division I-AA team. The Spartans beat Division II Virginia State 33-7 in Week 1 and were overwhelmed by nationally-ranked Division I-A Rutgers 59-0 last week. B-CU has won nine straight over Norfolk, but the past two by just a combined three points.

DID YOU KNOW: This is the second time this season that B-CU is playing a MEAC opponent that had played against a Division I-A squad the previous week.The 'Cats met South Carolina State the week after the Bulldogs played at Air Force and are now playing Norfolk the week after the Spartans played at Rutgers.

BCU Marching Wildcats

Scouting Report: SCSU Marching 101 Band

Based on the Marching 101 performance at the South Carolina vs South Carolina State University historic football game played before 73,095 fans, it appears that the 101 is the second best marching band in the MEAC. Sorry, Bethune Cookman, Norfolk State and North Carolina A&T--the Marching 101 has superior musicianship, showmanship and precision in marching--like its role model, the FAMU Marching 100.

This video was filmed by a unknown rookie videographer that was too excited.



Here is the SCSU Marching 101 practice video so you can break down their techniques as a teaching tool.