Photo By Christie Smith | The Sidewinders, a Music Performance Team (MPT) from the 34th Army Band, of Fairfield,...... read more read more
A few dozen Soldiers march in unison. Dress uniforms pressed and stiff, with brass buckles and black shoes shining as brightly as the horns they carry. The Iowa National Guard’s 34th Army Band, based in Fairfield, Iowa, plays a mix of traditional patriotic marching tunes. Bystanders rise, place their hands on their hearts and some paradegoers wave American flags.
It’s the Iowa State Fair, a near-religious experience for many in the Hawkeye State. Every year, the 34th Army Band plays in the Veterans Parade partway through the 10-day celebration of everything Iowa.
“One of the biggest surprises for people is that there is one,” said Staff Sgt. Eric Newman about the band. Newman, a trombone player, said civilians and fellow Soldiers alike are often unaware his unit exists at all.
You can imagine how that surprise is amplified when someone is first introduced to the band during one of several shows throughout the year when they perform as Music Performance Teams (or MPTs), specialized ensembles that focus on specific genres of music.
“You might think that we’re a rock band – like a typical garage or bar cover band,” Newman said of his MPT dubbed Scrap Metal. “We’re really more of a horn line that’s backed by a solid rhythm section.”
Scrap Metal, named for its inception as a home for horn players with no other place to go, is one of several unique MPTs in the 34th Army Band; there’s also the Sidewinders, a pop and classic rock ensemble that dabbles in country music, and 42 Romeo, a rock band.
When settling into a show for one of the aforementioned bands, audiences can expect to see renditions of Michael Jackson, Kesha and Nirvana numbers, complete with group choreography, vocals and the occasional moonwalk.
“It’s fantastic how much [MPTs] add to our mission capability and our readiness and what we’re able to do,” said 1st Sgt. Brian Pappaducas, the senior enlisted leader for the band and a saxophone player.
According to Newman, the Army started moving toward MPTs around seven years ago. The change started by splitting the large marching and concert bands into smaller performance teams who could branch into less traditional material.
“[Marching and concert band] are still good things and worthwhile endeavors,” Newman said, “but if we take the same number of annual training days that are available to our Soldiers and we’re able to split them up and do 3 or 4 performances instead of one concert band performance…then maybe that’s something worth investigating and putting some time into.”
Sgt. 1st Class Scott Schaub, a bass guitarist, tuba and trombone player for the Sidewinders, said the transition to MPTs was full of growing pains for both the band and for audience members who were expecting a classic, patriotic performance.
Though audiences may have been caught off guard in the early days, they’ve fully embraced the concept over the past several years.
“Very rarely do we have to go out and knock on the door and say, ‘hey, we’d like to come do something for you,’” Pappaducas said. “We tend to have more requests come in to the office than we can handle in a year.”
Throughout the year, the 34th Army band plays in parades and events across the state, from 4th of July celebrations to military ceremonies to an annual “winter tour” of local high schools. In the summer, these performances culminate with the Adjutant General’s Summer Concert Series at Camp Dodge, and then, of course, the Iowa State Fair.
“We are the public face that’s out there for Iowa,” Pappaducas said. “We are the musical ambassador for the Iowa Guard.”
One unique advantage is the 34th Army Band’s ability to send separate MPTs to performances in every corner of the state. They often come into contact with communities that don’t have local armories.
“We get to be the face of the Iowa National Guard for bunches of civilians that don’t normally get to see people in uniform,” Newman said.
The band is as diverse as the communities they play for, with most musicians “going pro in something other than Army music,” as Pappaducas describes it.
Pappaducas, a corporate tax director, Newman, a chemical engineer, and Schaub, a high school biology and chemistry teacher, embody what it means to be a National Guard Soldier – a service member and civilian with a wide range of expertise that benefits each of their roles.
“Really high-performing musicians just tend to have a degree,” Newman said. “I think that’s rather typical of Army bands in general.”
To be a military musician in any branch, you must first be a musician. Unlike most Military Occupational Specialties (MOS), you must have the skill before joining. To join the 34th Army Band, each of its 40 members had to first pass an audition.
Some of the band’s Soldiers have gone on to become music teachers and band conductors; many have branched into other fields and chosen to use music as their creative escape from their day jobs.
“We use serving our country and the 34th Army Band as an outlet for being able to be professional musicians,” Newman said. “It can help enhance your civilian career vocationally, or it can be something completely different that’s just kind of an added bonus for you.”
Though being a National Guard musician is part-time, Schaub said the band’s training schedule is uniquely relevant.
“We’re one of the few units that are constantly performing our job as we’re meant to perform,” Schaub said. Infantry units don’t get to fire live rounds and engage real enemies each month, and engineers don’t get to build bridges each month, but the 34th Army Band performs their MOS at every drill, Schaub said.
In addition to rehearsal times for the concert and marching band and the MPTs, the band also ensures time to stay current on their Warrior Skills and basic Army tasks.
During a “B flat drill weekend,” as Pappaducas describes it, when Soldiers are present for training and aren’t traveling to perform, they’re working on soldiering skills and performance reviews, as well as honing their craft on their instruments.
The band’s balance between Soldier and musician is evident to anyone who enters the Fairfield armory, where they’re greeted by cases of marksmanship trophies.
“Sometimes the only thing people know about the band is that we’ve been successful at the Governor’s 10 shooting match,” Newman said with a laugh.
Whether it’s striking the right note in a corner community somewhere in the state or hitting 50 meter targets on a range, the band is as important to the Iowa National Guard as the fair is to Iowa.
| Date Taken: | 08.18.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.18.2017 17:53 |
| Story ID: | 245332 |
| Location: | DES MOINES, IOWA, US |
| Web Views: | 206 |
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This work, 34th Army Band marches to beat of their own drum, by Christie Smith, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
