Bon Voyage with the Band Day three

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Madeleine Richards
  • 146th Airlift Wing
CHANNEL ISLANDS AIR NATIONAL GUARD STATION, Calif. --  Today I learned that even though the schedule of the band says we only have one thing to shoot that day, it is not always the case. Goodbye sleep... it was nice knowing you. Another 7 a.m. report time to head back to Hill Air Force Base s our band can march out of a C-5 Galaxy. In case you were wondering, it is the Air Force's largest cargo plane! Okay fine, this was worth losing a little sleep. The heads of the band arranged with the pilots of the C-5 Galaxy from the 439th Airlift Wing, who were already there at Hill Air Force Base for the Air Show, for our members to have this special entrance and we were all so excited to see how it would go.

The vision was to have the nose of the plane open up while the ramp was dropping down and inside will stand the 562nd Air Force Band of the West Coast in formation, then while members begin to play the "Air Force Song" everyone will march out of the plane! Well... that almost happened. After a few practice runs of everyone marching out of the plane, the band lined up ready to go inside and they closed up the nose of the plane. As I got my camera ready to go, fellow P.A. professional Tech. Sgt. Ty Moore set up four video cameras that were on record ready to shoot! We took our positions and then we waited... and waited...and waited? Okay, I thought, I don't think this is supposed to take so long. Technical difficulties, the nose of the plane decided to lock shut and because of the time schedule that the pilots were on, we were out of luck. The band started to get off the plane in single file down the side stairs. Not exactly how they planned to exit. Luckily, Ty and I had been shooting the practice rounds and we ended up getting some pretty decent shots from it anyways! The band kept a positive attitude and ended up finding it pretty funny. What a way to start the morning!

This evening the band performed at the Bountiful City Park in Bountiful, Utah. The setting was a beautiful stage with wooden ceilings and the seating was provided by the audience members by bringing their own lawn chairs. The set up crew had headed out early to get everything ready for when the rest of the band was scheduled to arrive around 4pm. They had a 4:30pm sound check, which consisted of making sure all the microphones and cables are good to go. Once everything sounded good, the band had a dinner break at 5pm and the Brass Quintets started off the show at 6:30. I learned that this is pretty much the normal routine for the members before a show.

The music was amazing, as usual. One thing that I really enjoyed taking pictures of was intermission and the end of the performance. A few of the band members, including the Commander, stepped out into the crowd to talk to the audience members. They just loved it. People love asking questions about the band and it was hard for a band member to walk a few feet without someone coming up to shake their hand. I think that it's a great way to educate the public on what the band is all about and to make a lasting impression on individual people.

Well it's officially Midnight and the Tailgaters and I have an extra early call time tomorrow at 5 in the morning! It might have something to do with a TV show... so make sure to check for the next blog! Good night!

Bon Voyage with the Band Day three

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Madeleine Richards
  • 146th Airlift Wing
CHANNEL ISLANDS AIR NATIONAL GUARD STATION, Calif. --  Today I learned that even though the schedule of the band says we only have one thing to shoot that day, it is not always the case. Goodbye sleep... it was nice knowing you. Another 7 a.m. report time to head back to Hill Air Force Base s our band can march out of a C-5 Galaxy. In case you were wondering, it is the Air Force's largest cargo plane! Okay fine, this was worth losing a little sleep. The heads of the band arranged with the pilots of the C-5 Galaxy from the 439th Airlift Wing, who were already there at Hill Air Force Base for the Air Show, for our members to have this special entrance and we were all so excited to see how it would go.

The vision was to have the nose of the plane open up while the ramp was dropping down and inside will stand the 562nd Air Force Band of the West Coast in formation, then while members begin to play the "Air Force Song" everyone will march out of the plane! Well... that almost happened. After a few practice runs of everyone marching out of the plane, the band lined up ready to go inside and they closed up the nose of the plane. As I got my camera ready to go, fellow P.A. professional Tech. Sgt. Ty Moore set up four video cameras that were on record ready to shoot! We took our positions and then we waited... and waited...and waited? Okay, I thought, I don't think this is supposed to take so long. Technical difficulties, the nose of the plane decided to lock shut and because of the time schedule that the pilots were on, we were out of luck. The band started to get off the plane in single file down the side stairs. Not exactly how they planned to exit. Luckily, Ty and I had been shooting the practice rounds and we ended up getting some pretty decent shots from it anyways! The band kept a positive attitude and ended up finding it pretty funny. What a way to start the morning!

This evening the band performed at the Bountiful City Park in Bountiful, Utah. The setting was a beautiful stage with wooden ceilings and the seating was provided by the audience members by bringing their own lawn chairs. The set up crew had headed out early to get everything ready for when the rest of the band was scheduled to arrive around 4pm. They had a 4:30pm sound check, which consisted of making sure all the microphones and cables are good to go. Once everything sounded good, the band had a dinner break at 5pm and the Brass Quintets started off the show at 6:30. I learned that this is pretty much the normal routine for the members before a show.

The music was amazing, as usual. One thing that I really enjoyed taking pictures of was intermission and the end of the performance. A few of the band members, including the Commander, stepped out into the crowd to talk to the audience members. They just loved it. People love asking questions about the band and it was hard for a band member to walk a few feet without someone coming up to shake their hand. I think that it's a great way to educate the public on what the band is all about and to make a lasting impression on individual people.

Well it's officially Midnight and the Tailgaters and I have an extra early call time tomorrow at 5 in the morning! It might have something to do with a TV show... so make sure to check for the next blog! Good night!