Video Produced by Sydnie Storer and Dominick DiFurio | Multimedia Reporters
It’s Saturday night in Tempe, and eager fans have finally found their seats inside Sun Devil Stadium. An energy of anticipation is pulsing throughout the stadium as the fans fervently wait for the Sun Devil football team to take the field.
Deep inside Tillman Tunnel, another kind of energy is felt. Nervousness and excitement surround the members of the Sun Devil Marching Band, adorned in maroon and gold uniforms, as they pack the tunnel, checking their instruments and going over their routines for the evening one last time.
Then, over the speakers they hear the announcer's voice presenting “The Pride of the Southwest” to the crowd. The tunnel door opens to thousands of screaming fans, the nervous energy disappears and the performance they have been practicing for all week begins.
Behind the half-time performance are weeks of preparation, dedication and hard work.
Head Drum Major Joshua Beedle said people don't understand the amount of time the band rehearses, and it takes a lot of effort to put the final product on the field.
“I believe most people’s perception of the marching band is we do the half-time show and are in the stands and that is all we do,” he said.
In reality, the band practices every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for two hours each day to prepare for what people see during the halftime show.
With only a few home games each year, the number of performances may seem small, but a lot of work is required to keep up the standard the Sun Devil Marching Band has come to expect.
“We do five shows a year for every football season, and we put a whole show on in two weeks from two-hour practices three days a week,” Beedle said. “So it’s a huge commitment, and we are very productive, and we get stuff done really quick and have to because we don’t have much time.”
Beedle, a communication junior, said he sees performing for “The Pride of the Southwest” as an honor, because it means much more than halftime shows and performances in front of crowds at University games.
“So many other bands, high schools, universities from around the country know us for what we do and what we’re about,” he said. “It’s an honor to be known for what we do and our hard work, and it feels really good knowing that people, not just ASU fans and people that attend ASU games, not only do they appreciate us but people from across the country see what we’re doing and appreciate us for what we do.”
Percussionists in the ASU marching band play a number as they practice before a football game in Tempe. The band consists of percussionists, horn players, dancers as well as a full drum line. (Photo by State Press Staff)The band's purpose at ASU serves more than pumping up the crowd and providing entertainment to the fans in Sun Devil Stadium on game day.
“The purpose of us is to do our best to rally the student section and the fans at games but to do that, since we’re so large we’re able to go around and meet the needs of many people in our organization, Sun Devil athletics as well as school organizations that want to come out and need us for support of their events,” Beedle said.
Drum Major's Life
Being one of the three drum majors for the Sun Devil Marching Band can be the most taxing position, as they're in charge of field activities and making sure everyone is on the same page.
“The most difficult part of being a drum major at ASU, with a band this size, would have to be the persistent communication and work ethic,” Beedle said. “To keep up the hard work at the beginning of the season when it’s still fresh and you want to do it but also keeping up the hard work and the passion near the end.”
The drum majors are the leader of the marching band and are like the band director's right hands, Beedle said.
“We assist him with everything he needs whether it's on the field or off the field,” he said. “Paper work, administration stuff, running rehearsals, conducting, people are used to seeing us conduct on the podiums or on the field, but we do a lot of behind the scenes work that no one sees.”
Drum Major Riley Molloy said sacrificing oneself for the team is an important part of being a drum major.
“It means commitment to a program that deserves my utmost respect, attention and dedication, and I do all I can to sacrifice myself to 'The Pride of the Southwest' and putting on a show for a crowd that deserves it and a team that deserves it,” he said.
Entering the Field
Coming out of the Tillman Tunnel this year has been a great experience, Molloy said. It adds an extra dimension to what it means coming through that door.
“The craziest part is when we step out of the tunnel and onto the field because it is like you’re stepping into a different reality," he said.
Drum Major Robert Mattix's first time running on the field didn’t come from the Tillman Tunnel, but he said he remembers it fondly.
“Coming out the first time was really terrifying and thought it would be so cool, but I didn't even listen to hear my name even though I thought about it all week,” he said.
His first time out of Tillman Tunnel later in his career was a different experience.
“The biggest thing I remember about running out of the Tillman Tunnel was all of the alumni being in the marching band and returning to the traditions of the past,” he said.
The College Experience
The preparation for game day and other performances stem from Sun Devil Marching Band Director James Hudson's unique style of motivation.
“He is an unbelievable band director,” Molloy said. “I think a lot of people don’t appreciate him as much, because he seems distant and seems removed, but the truth is he cares so much. (He) has such a specific mindset of how the band should work and how to stimulate the program. ... A lot of people just overlook it, and it’s a naïve viewpoint in my opinion.”
Molloy said preparation is everything, and it all begins with the director.
“The way he prepares for rehearsal is so specific and so well-tuned,” he said. “He can afford to not ride us for a huge chunk of rehearsal since we have prepared so much and he has prepared so much.”
Hudson said his imagination and musical talent drive each member of the Sun Devil Marching Band to strive for perfection week in and week out, and the band represents ASU as whole.
“The purpose of the marching band at ASU is multifaceted really,” he said. “I always tell the kids we are ASU and we’re a real cross section from the Poly campus all the way to the West campus, Downtown campus and of course Tempe campus.”
Hudson said he hopes the band represents the college experience when people hear the band play.
“We really represent ASU at all the sporting events we play, whether its football or basketball or volleyball,” he said.
Representing ASU is a difficult task, and Hudson's drive for perfection as the creator of the shows has extra meaning to him.
“When you write the music and write the formations, you know what it's supposed to sound like and supposed to look like, and if it's not perfect, it drives me crazy,” Hudson said. “It’s just so important to put on a good show.”
Representing the school in the best light is the most important aspect, he said.
“If we are really what we say we are, which is one of the top 5 college marching bands in the country ... then every time we go out we have to be great, and if it’s not perfect, for me it’s not great,” he said.
Although the band has previously won the coveted Sudler Trophy, presented to the best collegiate band in the nation, it still has a lot of work to do, Hudson said. Members strive at every practice and every performance to be better than they were the day before, he said.
“The staff and the students are really the ones that make it work, and I’m just a little speck in a great big organization,” he said. “The day you figure out how to be a band director ... well, you’ll never figure it out.”
Reach the reporter at jshanco2@asu.edu or on Twitter @Joey_Hancock
