Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Go-Devil Band Loaded With Youth

Gurdon's Go-Devil Marching Band is 45 members strong this year, and is filled with youth.

Bruce Burson, first year director at GHS, said his crew is "surviving," and trying to catch up from the summer. Though the band began practicing for the year on Aug. 1, the extreme temperatures kept the members from getting much accomplished.

However, the recent spate of cooler temperatures has helped, Burson said, though his squad missed one day of practice because of the much needed rain. The band also marched in the recent parade for the Clark County Fair in Arkadelphia.

Burson said the theme for this years band is "Togetherness" with a 60's and 70's motif, as can be witnessed by the tie-dyed T-shirts the band wears to the football games. The halftime performances include Fats Domino's "Land of 1,000 Dances," and the Kingsmen's "Louie, Louie."

But the problem is youth. Burson said half of the 45 member band is eight graders, while there are only three seniors on board: Shanna Wells, Tasha Thrasher and Brian Bruce. Academically, Burson said the eighth grade is strong, which helps the band. In fact, he praised his younger members, saying they have shown a great deal of leadership and poise, despite their lack of experience. Several members of the eighth grade band are Odyssey of the Mind team members as well.

However, it has been the seniors and juniors who are leading the way when it comes to marching and keeping in step.

"Everything's coming along," Burson said. "We're getting to the point where we can catch up and work on our contest shows. I hope to start on it this week. Then, we'll be on schedule."

The contest shows will be themes based on dreams, Burson said. His crew will be performing excerpts from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," and the theme from "Brahms Lullaby." The first contest the band will participate in will be in Ashdown Oct. 17. Regional competition is scheduled for Oct. 24.

"We've worked so hard and it's been so frustrating," Burson said, "because of the short schedule. There's been little practice time. We began working Aug. 1, but the heat was a problem and we had to take a lot of breaks."

In addition, this is the first year there's only one band director for all of Gurdon's school bands, which makes Burson's job even more difficult. "We're concentrating on entertaining during the fourth quarter as well as at halftime," he said of his plans for football games."

Drum Major Joey Stonum does the conducting during the halftime show, as well as during the fourth quarter festivities. He also conducts the junior bands during pep rallies at Gurdon Middle School.

Burson said the band's flag line is extremely inexperienced, with only two returning from last year. This, he said, has caused some problems with the routine because he doesn't have the time to take from the band to work with the flag line. Because of this, Burson said the flag line will be kept to eight members. This also helps balance the flag line with the band.

There were no interested parties to try out for majorette this year, which means there are no twirlers during the halftime intermission. Burson said if anyone tries out next year, the majorettes will be limited to four. This, too, will be done for balance.

In discussing his slot as band director, Burson said, "Band is a tough class. Thestudents coming in have nothing to draw upon from their past. It's expensive and all new to them."

He said this will be the last year members of the eighth grade band are utilized to fill in with the high school band. Next year, they will return to the junior high band with the seventh graders.

While this is Burson's first year as director of the Gurdon band, it's not his first job as band director. The graduate of Arkadelphia High and Henderson State University (where he majored in music and trombone) literally began the band program at Mountain Pine, near Hot Springs. This was his first job out of college.

From there, Burson directed the Malvern Junior High band and the Rivercrest High School Band before returning to his home county. In fact, he left Rivercrest without a job to return close to home.

In his spare time, Burson enjoys running, playing tennis and various athletics. He also likes to read about native American culture and sports, along with, of course, all kinds of music. Burson particularly enjoys listening to jazz and blues.

He said the best part of being a band teacher is bringing music to the students. "The hardest part," Burson added, "is keeping the band balanced with a feeder program and instrumentation, along with time management. Teaching music. Giving the gift of music to those who want it is the most fun."