Nothing gives a high school a colorful splash of character like a school band. Band teacher Andrew Paul shares this sentiment and aims to enhance school spirit through his new R&B band.
“I wanted to start a jazz band, but we didn’t have enough instruments for that,” Paul said. “But we did have the instruments to go in a different direction. It’s not really an R&B band; I just call it that because I couldn’t think of anything better to call it. We’re playing a little bit of everything.”
The R&B band practices every Monday for an hour and plays a variety of music stretching across multiple genres. Freshman Nick Thorpe, a veteran bassist, will be performing with the R&B band.
“I wanted to meet other musicians and stuff like that,” Thorpe said. “Bands are fun. In middle school I played bass at the spring and winter concerts, but this is the first time I’ll be playing for this school.”
Thorpe is primarily a metal player, but values the experience and versatility he gains from performing other types of music.
“It’ll be a learning experience,” Thorpe said. “I want to be a studio musician, so I feel like I need to get experience with different genres.”
Two-year guitarist sophomore Jacqueline Crabtree decided to join the R&B band so that she could have a place to play guitar outside of her house.
“I’ve played with a band, and I go to open mike at Drum N’ Strum, but this is my first time playing guitar for the school,” Crabtree said. “I’m a strings player, so I have to get used to playing with the all the horns, but it’s really cool to play with other musicians. It’s not too difficult, because it’s very laid back.”
The band is currently working on “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne, “Louie, Louie” by Richard Berry, and “Chameleon” by Herbie Hancock. Students who are interested in joining should contact Mr. Paul in person or via e-mail.
“The music we’re rehearsing is flexible for pretty much any instrument that shows up to rehearsal,” Paul said. “Unless someone shows up with bagpipes, we’re pretty much covered with the music we have.”
The band is early in the rehearsal process, but Paul is already preparing performances.
“We’re planning to play at the faculty/student basketball game, we have an end of the year concert, and we’ve got something planned uptown for later in May,” Paul said. “We might play before or after school one day; you can never tell.”