John is senior at Eureka High School in Eureka, CA. His jazz band was selected as the winner's of the Selmer-sponsored jazz clinic and concert with BBVD. This is his account of what happened on March 13th and 14th, 2000. As you can see, it was a *thoroughly* cool experience.
Hi, my name is John. I live in Northern California and this is my interesting story.
It all started somewhere around January. Our school received a notice about a Jazz competition being held by the Selmer Company. The object was to record a song by the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy horn section. The prize, a concert with the Big Bad Voodoo Daddies. We knew we had to try.
Our band is very busy in January. We hold a Dinner Dance every year to raise money for our band program. We finally got to practice for the concert in early February. We chose to learn Go Daddy-O. We practiced for about two weeks before we finally recorded. We recorded on the Friday before President’s Week, which was only a couple days before it was due. We weren’t very happy with the recording but there wasn’t much we could do at that point and time. All we could do now was wait.
When we got back to school after vacation,
there hadn’t been anything heard about the results.
We didn’t have that long to wait, though. I believe it was a Monday
or Tuesday morning when the call finally came in. A friend of mine
heard the message from Glen “The Kid” Marhevka.
She just about
peed her pants. She walked into the band room and just stood
there, waiting for Mr. Taylor, our teacher,
to get done conducting. When he finally saw her, he asked what she
wanted. She just told him to come and listen to the answering machine.
He did, and about hit the roof.
They tried to keep it a secret for a little while, but it didn’t work. Too many kids can’t keep their mouths shut. Mr. Taylor told our symphonic band and the class went crazy. We had done it. We never though we could win a national contest like this. We’ve been told we were good, but we never really believed it. We are starting to believe it now.
We made all kinds of arrangements. We booked our local concert hall. We got a lighting crew and a sound crew to come in and help make it a great concert. A lot of local businesses chipped in to help pay for the sound and light crews. The city helped pay for the concert hall. Our band was even recognized by California State Assemblywoman Virginia Strom-Martin. That was an honor in itself.
Now to the band. The boys showed up on the night of Monday, March 13. We had a nice practice. They sat in a played some of the songs we were going to perform the next day. Funny thing was, they weren’t what we expected them to be. We expected professional musicians to come in and tell us what we were doing wrong. They sat in and acted like us. They laughed and had fun. They even complimented us on our playing. That really made this experience a wonderful thing.
The next day, they gave a jazz clinic to the two jazz bands at our school and had a question and answer session. They joked around and provided us with lots of helpful information. After that, it was on to set up for the concert. That didn’t take too long because we had so many people helping. Later on, we had a soundcheck for the concert. After that the boys gave out signed posters and cds. Then, it was off to dinner.
Dinner was short since time was running short. Mexican food on the run. What a rush! Everyone got dressed and the concert began at about 7:30pm on Tuesday, March 14. It was a blast. Our jazz band started off by playing a set which got the crowd started. Then there was a short intermission. Then, the boys came out and busted into Boogie Bumper, accompanied by the EHS rhythm section. After they were done, our drummer started into Sing, Sing, Sing. The members of the band started filing out to their seats. The crowd was going wild.
Together, the two groups played one last set. Soloists were going crazy. All of the boys were taking great solos, unsurprisingly, but some of our musicians were catching the attention of the boys. We have an amazing saxophonist. He will probably be famous someday. On the concert went until 11:00p.m. Then it was a mad scramble to get the place cleaned up before 12:00. We did it, with time to spare.
All in all, it was the greatest experience I’ve ever had. Our band has been pretty lucky this year. We’ve gotten to play with trumpeter Ingred Jensen and now the Big Bad Voodoo Daddies. For spring break, we get to go to New York to compete in the Heritage Festival. This is my last year of high school. It has been, by far my best.
Thank you for reading about my experience. I hope you have enjoyed it!