Published: October 04, 2007 02:39 pm            

The Bookworm Sez: A high school marching band’s high and low notes

Originally published in the October 5, 2007, print edition.

Seen any parades lately?

In most of the country, it’s hard to miss ’em. Starting in early-early summer and running almost every weekend, you can catch floats with lazy-waving princesses; politicians shaking hands; and local service groups dressed in costumes they wouldn’t wear any other time.

And then there are the marching bands. From the earnestly out-of-step offerings of mini-schools to the mega-marchers from the biggest academies, those kids know that it wouldn’t be a parade without music.

In the new book “American Band” author Kristen Laine follows the beat of a Midwestern high school marching band through a notable year of dedication, exhaustion, frustration and accomplishment.

In many high schools around the continent, sports are king and athletes are venerated. But things are a little different in Elkhart, Ind.

In Elkhart, the “cool” kids are members of the Concord High School Marching Minutemen, an elite marching band that anyone can join. Laine spent a school year with those kids, the staff and the community that helped mold musical champions.

Laine followed band director Max Jones, a focused, driven man for whom sleep was a rare commodity and making good citizens of his students was the highest goal. Jones goaded, guided and guilted kids into learning an ever-changing, seemingly-impossible championship-title-worthy musical routine.

Winning was expected of kids like Grant Longenbaugh, a natural leader who struggled with his faith in God while he dealt with external demons in his life. People assumed the best from students like Amanda Bechtel, who lived for her music but knew there was life after high school without it. Everyone presupposed greatness from guys like Nick Stubbs, a young man with his sights on West Point. But frustration was a daily emotion for these overachieving, well-grounded kids and their bandmates who struggled with a performance that never seemed to come together.

The Minutemen won championships in the past, but only narrowly. Despite harsh schedules, lackadaisical attitudes, inexperienced newbies and tardy choreography, Jones thought this 2005 band could be his best group ever.

Could the kids prove him right?

I’m not telling. Read the book.

Like a literary maestro for a coming-of-age orchestra, Laine tells the story of one community that went the extra stanza for its kids, and the kids who make their town proud.

From the almost-obsessed director who cajoles, demands and pushes his students to excel, to talented type-A kids who wouldn’t dream of letting anyone down, to deadbeat band members who march to the music of a different drummer, Laine has a sharp eye for detail and lets you know the score. Her finale is perfect, with a crescendo that gives you goosebumps and ending notes that bring you up-to-date in the lives of the Minutemen, their families and their teachers.

If you’re a band parent; the member of a band, color guard, or show choir; or if you just want to read a great story on a unique-yet-universal subject, this book will strike a chord with you. “American Band” is music to your eyes.

        

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