Around noon every weekday, the Vandal Marching Band takes over the Kibbie Dome.
It”s quite the sight.
With their instruments in tow, members of the marching band migrate across campus and flood into the Kibbie Dome for MUSA119, 319 or 519 – also known as marching band class.
“If you”re willing to work hard, have a great attitude and give it everything you have for one hour a day, five days a week, we will find a spot for you,” Band Director Spencer Martin said.
Owned and funded by the Associated Students of University of Idaho, the Vandal Marching Band is a melting pot of students who come together to create the Sound of Idaho.
“It”s a family,” said Kiani Canales, a fifth-year senior biology major from Concord, California. “I love all the people here. We”re all a little crazy, but in all the good ways.”
The band can be seen everywhere – especially when certain Vandal athletic teams are playing.
Molly Spencer | Argonaut
Members of the University of Idaho Vandal Marching Band gather together for practice in the Kibbie Dome midday Wednesday.
At football games, the 215 members take up a section of seats. They”re loud, crazy and arguably Idaho”s biggest fans.
But most importantly, they dazzle fans with their halftime shows.
“At halftime, they actually stay and watch,” Martin said of fans. “I”ve worked at a lot of other universities – it”s halftime and people are out in the parking lot, it clears out. And that doesn”t happen here, it packs in and there”s just this energy I think the band and students feed off of.”
Throughout the years, the band has been known to use all sorts of different props, guitar solos and even a mobile drum kit with LED lights.
“I don”t wanna be like everyone,” Martin said. “You”re always trying to be the best at what you do, but then once you kinda become the only one at what you do, that”s when you start finding success.”
Martin said he is always reaching out to different departments to see about collaborating on ideas for the halftime show.
He said it”s a good way for not only the band to be showcased, but for the other students outside the band to be showcased, as well.
“We”ve got these collaborations with engineering and computer science,” Martin said. “No one in the country is doing that at the level we”re doing it where the students in the band and the students in those sciences are getting that real world experience.
“The goal is to be on the cutting edge “¦ we certainly are beginning to be the only ones that do the things we do and how we do it, and I”m proud of it.”
Caitlin Wikel, a sophomore music education and music composition major from Sandpoint, Idaho, said the band puts an emphasis on all the outlandish ideas.
She said thinking outside the box motivates the band to put in the hard work that goes into a creating a halftime show.
“A lot of the times we”re the only band doing what we do,” said Wikel, who is the flute co-section leader. “We”re the only band that would have a big tuba solo during Free Bird.”
All the creativity might spur from of the different majors the band members have. Martin said 70 percent of the band isn”t majoring in music.
Along with all of the different majors, Martin said a lot of students come in not having ever marched before.
Wikel said her high school didn”t even have a marching band.
“I never marched before coming to college,” Wikel said. “It was really tough my first year. There are a lot of techniques that go into marching that a lot of people don”t really think about. You have to make sure everything looks perfect, the way you march and the way you hold your instrument.”
With a mixture of all levels of experience, Martin said he relies on the students to help him out. He said some of the competitive bands across the country can have up to 15 to 20 staff members.
“We have a staff of three – so the students become the staff,” Martin said. “The band does a really good job of looking out for each other, it becomes a family that last long after college.”
Martin said he is proud of the product, but is becoming very proud of the process and the student involvement that comes with it.
“If for four minutes we can make this band feel like rock stars, and these guys can go “that was cool” – that”s worth it,” Martin said. “It”s about getting that emotional hit, not only with the audience but with the band and having that spiritual connection, and it sounds dumb, we”re talking about a halftime of marching band, but it does happen. It”s just addicting.”
Korbin McDonald can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @KorbinMcD_VN