Band tunes up for fall season

  Tuesday, August 12, 2014 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

The estimated 200 members of the Pride of the Plains Marching Band began preparing this week for a busy semester of pre-game and half-time shows, parades and pep rallies.

The week of band camp can be intense, according to Director of Athletics Bands Doug Whitten, and no group takes their work more seriously than the drumline.

Daniel Warlop, a former member of the Pride of the Plains drumline who earned a master’s degree in percussion performance from PSU, put the 30 members of the 2014 drumline through their paces Tuesday.

Warlop said the marching band has a culture of its own and the drumline has its own special sub-culture within that.

“Perhaps its because they spend so much time together practicing,” Warlop said.

Warlop said the drumline gets a lot of attention in part because it is so easily heard.

“If you (the drumline) are off, no one else is going to be on,” Warlop said.

One of the special characteristics of the Pride of the Plains Marching Band , Warlop said, is its balance between the discipline it takes to present a sharp, musically pleasing performance and having fun.

“I think people appreciate that,” Warlop said.

The Pride of the Plains Marching Band’s first public performances will be on Saturday, Sept. 6, when PSU hosts Northeastern State University in a 7 p.m. game in Carnie Smith Stadium.

Daniel Warlop taps out the time for the Pride of the Plains drumline, Tuesday.