Here is an important post which we should read again, now that we are about to be on TV with the Newsday Broadcast. Today Christie Wang, one of our colorguard captains, got major “air time” on National TV! This is amazing and we are all proud of her. In order to get air time the planets have to line up just right. With Christie, it was a home run. Hopefully today, we will get an interview or something extra on the Newsday show on TV. It will be shown all year long so let’s cross our fingers.
Here is the post I made in October. It is important that we all read through this before the upcoming weeks.
I need to preface this blog post with my personal story about learning about press coverage. Some of you know this story, some do not. If you’ve already heard it, please humor me. It describes me coming up the learning curve with all this press stuff almost 14 years ago when the yankees were IN the World Series.
October 26, 2006, I’ll never forget it. All 280 band members in the Mineola Band that day will never forget it. All of a sudden, the scores we were receiving all season, in the 90s, the highest scores on Long Island meant absolutely nothing. We were about to experience something that would change our lives forever. So there we were, at the pinnacle of fame, the band I had come to in 1990 was now going to the World Series, Game 6, the first time the Yankees were in the World Series in 18 years. Little did we know they would win that day and we would be there. It was incredible, breathtaking, uplifting and impossible to describe. We were playing at the game, we got 300 seats in the left field bleachers, and playing for 20 minutes before the game started. The news crews swarmed Mineola High School, like bees, they were everywhere! News 5 showed up at noon, ABC news at about 12:30, NBC and CBS, as well as News 12, all here within minutes with cameras all over the bandroom for 8th period band. Then, the New York Times reporter went to one kid, the one kid in the entire program that I would NEVER want interviewed. Like a magnet, this reporter gravitated to him, I have no idea how or why. He started asking him questions about the band, what it meant to him. The room was insane, wires, cameras, lights everywhere. There was absolutely nothing I could do, it was at the point of no return. He was talking, laughing, and smiling. I was having a heart attack, ignoring all the other things and trying to read his lips from across the room. It was at this time that I realized something a great band director had told me when I was in my early 20s, teaching at Hampton Bays Jr/Sr High School. You can never control the press, you can never get upset about the press, and you have to welcome the press, they are PR for your kids, your program, and bring excitement and enthusiasm to the entire community! You need to prepare your kids for the unpredictability and randomness of press coverage. They need to understand that this is part of being famous. They need to embrace the PR and not be upset if they don’t get the “air time.”
So now it is time for our band “press talk.” Every “dynasty in the making” band needs it, like so many other talks we have throughout our lives as we grow. Talks that prepare us for life. We are now hitting the “big time” and with the Orange Bowl approaching, I need to have this discussion with you.
With the press you never know how much air time you will get IF ANY. It is very fickle. You should NEVER expect it or you will surely be let down. 30 seconds is major, huge, and bands will go years without even that much. Some kids will be shown a lot, some will not be shown at all, it is just a simple reality. My friend’s band was at the Rose Bowl Parade about 15 years ago. Their band was going to be on all three networks. President Bush decided to talk at that time and completely covered up that band performing on ALL THREE NETWORKS. I couldn’t believe it, just really bad luck. And other weird things happened in our show on MSG, for instance, they showed some people over and over and missed other solos or decided to simply not show them. I don’t know if they will use that footage or different footage on the 3 hour show they will air on Thanksgiving weekend. Almost every band gets one tune featured, and some kids interviews will get on the air, but most won’t. They interviewed about 100 student band members and 36 band directors. Few will get on. Our show might get some more coverage because it is artistic, fun, and enjoyable, or they may show us for 1 minute, like they did many bands last year on the Marching Band TV show.
Please do not be upset if you didn’t get in the video, that is the way this works. If you did get some “air time” be thankful, you were lucky. As a whole, us being on TV helps us all no matter what. Be happy for the people who did get on and please stop texting Michelle about the drum major mishap. Obviously something went wrong. All three drum majors got a major shot on the video and that in itself is amazing.
With the Orange Bowl coming up as well as our fast growing fame, you need to totally be ready for anything with press coverage. Be prepared, don’t expect anything, and you may be pleasantly surprised. The Orange Bowl is covered Nationally, and with the Goo Goo Dolls doing the halftime show with us, it may be covered, it may not.
And as far as the MSG website video, you all look amazing, we sound and look great! I am so proud of all of you but most importantly, you should be totally proud of yourselves! We are truly one of the great bands!
