DATE: Sunday, October 26, 1997              TAG: 9710240158

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: COVER STORY 

SOURCE: BY F.G. EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:  122 lines

SOUND FINANCES TRUCKERS RAISE MONEY BEFORE THEY CAN RAISE INSTRUMENTS

Each Churchland High School marching band uniform costs about $300. Multiply that amount by 72 members and you arrive at $20,000-plus. So, before the studentmusicians can raise their instruments in song, they must raise a little cash.

``The school system provides the bigger instruments, rehearsal space, the teachers,'' said Jay Larkin, band director at Churchland.

The rest has to come from other sources. A tuba goes for anywhere from $2,000 to $7,000; a baritone sax, between $3,000 and $5,000. The school picks up the bill for those instruments.

But a trumpet player has to lay down about $500 for his instrument. Each band member also pays a $140-a-year fee. And the band budget has undergone cuts during Larkin's five-year tenure, he said.

Like it is with virtually everything else, money is a big part of marching musicianship.

That helps to explain why Jay Larkin scurried about the school grounds on the hot final day of summer with a walkie-talkie in his hand and an intense expression on his face.

Larkin is the band director at Churchland, the host school of the 13th Annual Trucker Classic band competition on Sept. 20. As the host, Churchland didn't compete, but did put on an exhibition at the end of the day's performances.

Larkin graduated from Eastern Nazarene College in Boston with a bachelor's degree in music education and performance. He later earned a master's in music at Penn State University. A trombonist and jazz lover, Larkin still performs when time and teaching duties permit.

The football field was ablaze with 90-degree heat and bright school colors, as Larkin leaned against a fence to watch a performance. Behind him, a long line of thirsty and hungry spectators queued up to buy sandwiches and cold drinks at the concession stand.

The ring of the cash register was music to the band director's ears, too. The concession proceeds bring in money for the band, help to pay for those smart orange and black Trucker uniforms. Band parents also tend the concession stand during home football games. Those revenues go in the band booster coffers, too.

Over at the entrance to the stadium, Ned Channel, band parent, father of drum major Ned, welcomed attendees and collected $5 for each adult admission; $3 for senior citizens and students under 18. His wife, Gayle, said the Trucker Classic volunteer bake sale added more money to the musical pot.

``We have car washes and pizza-kit sales, things the students do to raise money,'' she said.

A big slice of that bread will be used to buy gas. The Churchland band will be on the road every weekend through November, said Gayle Channel.

Meanwhile, over in the band room, the Marching Truckers' drum line prepared for an exhibition that would end the day's musical festivities.

They were a relaxed group, possibly due to the absence of competitive jitters.

Naw. This is a band that garnered 33 awards last year. Performances don't rattle them. They look just plain happy-go-luck.

Tony Cespedes, a.k.a. ``Mr. C,'' wrapped white contact paper with black dots around the non-playing surface of a percussion instrument. A part-time staff member, Cespedes has been the battery percussion instructor for two years. He works with the 14-member drum line. Mr. C secured the roll of contact paper, smiled and inspected his handiwork.

``The black dots are supposed to be cows,'' he said. ``Holy cows, a Trucker trademark.''

Mr. C hopes to become Dr. C eventually. He wants to earn his doctorate in English and teach at a college. He attends Old Dominion University.

Most of the percussionists play another instrument in the school's concert band. In fact, another part-time teacher, Debbie Beck, a sideline percussion instructor, called the group ``pseudo-percussionists.'' Beck played clarinet in college at Bowling Green State in Ohio.

One of the pseudo-percussionists listened to Beck's tongue-in-cheek categorization and nodded. Michael ``Max'' Hester took up the violin at 10. When it's time to march, Max puts away his violin and bow and plays, well, everything, said Beck.

``Max can play anything in the pit,'' said Beck.

Carrie Todd knows about the pit. She spent a year in it. No, she wasn't depressed. The pit is marching band jargon for the sideline area where the rhythm instruments are placed during pre-game and halftime shows. The marimba, xylophone, cymbals, bells, all the musical paraphernalia too cumbersome to carry around the field.

Show bands, like those at sister city schools Wilson and Norcom, do not use a pit section. Churchland employs a corps, or military, style, as do the 17 participating bands in the Trucker Classic.

Todd, a 16-year-old senior, has spent the last three years out of the pit and in harness. She now totes the tenor quads, a five-piece drum set attached to a hard-plastic harness. The set weighs about 35 or 40 pounds. Todd admitted to weighing ``about 120.''

Todd plays the clarinet. She was asked to compare the difference in technique between the drum set and her clarinet: Was it like the difference between playing basketball and playing tennis?

``More like the difference in playing tennis and carrying bricks,'' offered another part-time percussionist. ``But fun.''

Their holy cows in place, the drum line headed for the football field, dressed in their casual attire, jeans, jean shorts and T-shirts. They walked out to midfield, and a pressbox boom-box came alive with a raspy version of the country-and-western duo, Brooks and Dunn, singing ``Boot Scootin' Boogie.'' The drum line broke into a line-dancing routine.

This was definitely not what band director Larkin had in mind when he talked about the ``traditional'' and ``classical'' music that he teaches.

The choice of a marching style is part tradition, part aesthetic choice. There are two main styles, the high-stepping, show-band style favored by Wilson and Norcom, and the corps style at Churchland and variations thereon.

Corps-style bands march in a heel-and-toe fashion. The difference has nothing to do with musicianship, except what types of tunes are played. Larkin's band plays primarily ``nationalistic music, Russian or Spanish, for example,'' he said.

``We emphasize the artistic aspect, possibly, and the complexity of the routines, whereas the show-band style might emphasize entertainment, or dance routines,'' said Larkin. ``And the show bands usually play popular music.''

Larkin watched his drum line leave the field. The public-address system crackled with a message of congratulations for one of the participating bands. The Air Gram was paid for by the well-wisher. Many such messages were delivered throughout the day. More money for the music.

You have to pay the piper, the old saying goes, as well as the tuba player, the trumpeter and those who drive the bus. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos including color cover by HUY NGUYEN

Churchland High School marching band members, above, prepare to

strut their stuff at a recent exhibition. Below, Justin Ennis gets

some help with his headgear before a performance.

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