Band to compete for state

Director Ross Grant, in his seventh year in Azle, thanked the 220-member band and parents, the hard-working Band Boosters along with principal Laura Bynum and school district administrators for their support during a rain-soaked, flu-plagued fall.

“It’s been a record-breaking challenge,” he said. “We still have some kids fighting the flu, in and out of school – we even have a director right now who’s out with the flu – but it’s not as bad as it was a couple of weeks ago.”

The young band has risen to the occasion, however.

“I think they’re pretty balanced right now,” Grant said. “They play pretty well, they march pretty well, the guard is doing well, the drums are doing well, the soloists are doing well. There’s about half a dozen elements like that.

“It’s a young group and we’re still working on all this, but there are no glaring deficiencies.”

The initial round of Regional contests eliminates roughly half of the state’s 247 4A bands. Of the ones remaining, one out of every four will qualify for state.

“We really need a great ‘home crowd’ in Odessa,” said trumpet section leader Ryan Potts. “Azle will be one of the schools to travel the farthest, and we need to show the judges how much support there is for our group.”

The judges at Regional had glowing praise for the MGP.

“Really nice full band sounds with good balance and intonation,” judge John Young said. “Great phrasing! Strong marching fundamentals; great drill and music – it works well!”

Judge Arnie Lawson added, “Very good woodwind exposure, and a really entertaining show that was well-performed. Great use of dynamics and various tempi and velocity.”

Judge Brian Merrill wrote, “Excellent sounds throughout the band – lots of great players! You have a very engaging show. Great marching basics! Beautiful posture; students march with confidence. Great show!”

Azle’s show, titled “If the Shoe Fits” is born out of the concept that shoes can not only be a thread for a musical presentation – they can be a metaphor for life.

Grant said some “iconic” shoe books were written in the 1940s by Noel Streetfield, one of which was referred to in the movie You’ve Got Mail as Meg Ryan is trying to save her mother’s children’s bookstore.

“A customer comes in and says ‘My mother read me this book’ called Ballet Shoes,” Grant said. “That’s a real book. It was a little ahead of its time – it was about empowering little girls to have a dream and pursue it, told kind of through a shoe metaphor – I’m going to have these dancing shoes, these running shoes, whatever.”