By Ande Jacobson
It’s October. I’ve been so preoccupied by the biggest general election of my life, I completely forgot about another huge event that hits its 50th anniversary this year on 26 October 2024 – The 50th Annual Foothill Band Review in Pleasanton, CA. I was there for the first one back in October 1975 when our band, The Capuchino High School Marching Band, won sweepstakes in the parade competition. The six foot sweepstakes trophy from that competition graced the band room for decades after that. Our band director, Ralph Bredenberg – fondly known as “Mr. B,” retired after that school year, but what a final year it was.
1975 was the first year of that particular competition, and it was unique compared to many others that were held when I was in high school. There were lots of parade or street marching competitions where the bands were judged on their musicianship while marching, as well as their form and marching discipline. The bands stood for standing inspections where every scuff, hair out of place, or uniform imperfection was noted. When marching, their ranks, files, diagonals, step size, and phasing were scrutinized by the judges, and only the best of the best got to claim that prized sweepstakes award for each competition. The drum majors also competed in these reviews in two categories, mace and baton. Our band always marched a drum major carrying a mace (the really big stick, as it were).
What made the Foothill Band Review different was that it wasn’t just about the parade competition with the band as a whole. All those elements were there, but in addition, the auxiliary units also competed against one another in separate competitions. The percussion section competed with all of the others, and our band debuted a new drum cadence for the occasion though I preferred the old one. The flag teams competed. So did the majorettes. And beyond the street competition, there was also a field show competition, something more akin to drum corps that wasn’t normally a part of the band competitions in which we participated back then. Those field show competitions are much more prevalent now.
A little secret was that the step size was different for street marching vs. field shows. For street marching, we had to take 27” steps (one reason my stride is a little longer than it should be for my height). For field marching, our step size was shorter, 8-to-5, or eight steps per five yards equating to a 22.5” stride. That fit my frame better, but we did far more street marching than field marching, so it didn’t stick. Our music building’s hallway had the strides marked along the floor for us to practice to get them down. I also taped a series of 27” steps in our longest hallway at home when I joined the band to get in even more practice because it was initially much longer than I was used to.
1975 marked the first year of a tradition that has continued on the fourth Saturday of October for 50 years so far. There was no 46th annual band review in 2020 due to the pandemic, but they resumed with 47 in 2021. And now in 2024, they hit 50!
Looking back, it’s hard to believe that I was there along with my band mates, band boosters, etc. 50 years ago, but it was one of the most memorable band competitions of my high school tenure. It was a very long day. Our band had to be dressed and ready for the parade competition just after dawn that morning which meant an even earlier bus ride to get to Pleasanton by the appointed hour. Most of us ate breakfast at home well before the sun rose not realizing that we wouldn’t get to eat again until just about dark.
After the street competition, we got back into our street clothes and attended the awards ceremony winning the coveted sweepstakes trophy along with some other awards, but we weren’t done yet. We still had to perform our field show and then wait for a second awards ceremony after that. After our parade awards ceremony, a select few of our band boosters went to a local McDonald’s and bought about two hundred quarter pounders with cheese and fries for the band, auxiliary units, and support team to eat before our field show. We were so hungry that we all scarfed down the burgers in record time. Marching really builds up an appetite.
It had been warm during the day. The same could not be said that night at the stadium for the field competition. After we performed, we changed back into our street clothes again which included our band windbreakers and band berets, but most of us hadn’t brought enough warm clothing layers, so we shivered in the stands as we watched the other bands perform and awaited the final awards of the night.
When we finally boarded the busses after the second awards ceremony, many of us slept on the ride home. We were warmed by the heaters on the busses, and we were thrilled by how well we had done in what would become a mainstay review of our competition season each year after that.
The Foothill Band Review is a spectacular competition that has grown since its humble beginnings in 1975. It’s also a major fundraiser for the Foothill Band. In addition to their street and field show competitions, they have also added a concert competition that runs in parallel to the street marching allowing bands that don’t march to also compete in this festive event.
Music is an important piece of education that is too often forgotten, but Foothill understands its importance in learning. Music students learn skills that translate to other fields quite naturally and enhance their learning in multiple ways. Music helps unlock areas of the brain that help students think and thrive. Even if they don’t pursue music professionally, they are greatly enriched for having studied it along the way, and many continue to pursue music as an avocation no matter where their professional lives takes them.
A Good Reed Review 