Local bands march off on the right foot

Both Fort Mill and Indian Land marching bands started the competition season strong, with first place wins for both bands. Nation Ford Marching Band did not compete this week, but will compete Saturday at Hickory Ridge High School’s Tournament of Bands.

Fort Mill Marching Band competed against 14 bands in the Cuthbertson Showcase of Bands in Union County, N.C. The band won awards for Best Music, Best Visual, Best General Effect, Best Percussion, and Best Color Guard.

Fort Mill finished first overall and won the Grand Championship.

A steady mist and occasional drizzle made the competition more challenging for the bands, said Director John Pruitt. The percussion had to be moved off the soggy field onto the nearby track, he said, and not all of the electronic equipment was able to be connected.

“It’s a little stressful dealing with Mother Nature,” Pruitt said.

Overall, he felt the band’s performance was “competent,” he said, but that’s typical of the first competition of the season.

“It’s by no means precise or clean yet, but that’s where we usually are at the beginning of the season,” Pruitt said.

This week will be focused on “cleaning and polishing” the performance, he added.

“That’s the continuing process,” Pruitt said. “We continue to refine and with refinement the clarity of the performance becomes more clear to the audience members.”

Indian Land’s Warrior Band competed in the Olde English Festival of Bands in Rock Hill. They won first place awards across the board, in Music, Percussion, Color Guard, and took home the Class 3A first place trophy.

Director Mathew Willis said that his band’s performance was “typical of a first competition performance,” but that the results speak for themselves.

“It was a good performance but nowhere near what we are capable of,” Willis said.

The goal for the upcoming week is simply to “tell the story better,” Wills said.

The Warrior Band’s marching show this year, “The Game,” parallels the idea of the dome from “The Hunger Games,” but includes original music and asks the question, “What if marching band was just a game?”

“We will be adding elements to the show that help tell the story. We are going to finish adding narration, clean up some visual elements, and work on technique.”

On Saturday, Fort Mill will compete in Powder Springs, Ga., for the first of three Bands of America Regional competitions. Indian Land’s Warrior Band will join Nation Ford at the Hickory Ridge Tournament of Bands.

This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 5:43 PM with the headline "Local bands march off on the right foot."