ELHS Band of Gold to ride the beach music wave for new halftime show

The East Laurens High School Band of Gold is going surfing this season.

The Band of Gold will be hanging 10 with songs like “I Get Around” and “Fun, Fun, Fun” by the Beach Boys, “Wipe Out” by The Surfaris and “Summer Nights” from the movie “Grease.” 

ELHS band director Jaimee Blanchett listened to a lot of music before deciding that this year’s halftime show would be called “Surf’s Up!” 

“We are still building our ranks of students and I have a lot of younger kids, so I wanted something that is peppy, fun and energetic,” she said. “When I came across the Beach Boy themed music I thought this would be fun, especially since we aren’t too far from the beach in Savannah.” 

The Band of Gold has approximately 75 members this year. During band camp in late July, they received some prop screens the band will be using in their halftime show.

“It is almost like marching band meets one-act,” Blanchett said. “The screens on the field is kind of like a set.”

Blanchett came up with the idea and reached out to a company who provides the pictures and screens for marching bands. They sent her thousand of pictures to look through, and Blanchett picked what she liked.

“The screens will help bring another layer of portraying our show,” Blanchett said. “It will bring (the audience) to the beach. They will see the surfers surfing and they will see the ocean. About halfway through the show our scene will change to Daytona Beach.”

Jemaryon Chapman will be leading the band on the field as drum major. He is excited about his first chance at directing the Band of Gold.

“This is something different in that I’m used to playing the tuba,” Chapman said. “I like it so far. Last year we moved a lot more than we have ever had. The band is getting bigger so we’re expanding more. There is a lot of new things that we have, including a new way of marching.”  

The halftime show will be different because of the props, he said.

“We’ve never had props,” Chapman said. “There are not a lot of bands in Laurens County or the surrounding counties who have props, so it’s good to be the example and lead the way.”

Junior Maggie Foskey will be starting her first year as band captain. 

“I’m excited about the backdrops and the fact that we’re going to have more visuals,” said Foskey, who plays clarinet. “We’re also growing and that makes it exciting for what we have in store for our future.”  

Chapman likes the music because it is filled with songs that audiences will recognize.

“We are used to playing Earth, Wind & Fire or songs that are very sentimental,” he said. “These songs will be lively and it’s going to get the crowd excited. And also, I’ll have a little up my sleeve for this show. People will have to come to the games and see.”

Foskey likes the beach theme for their show. She is looking forward to helping the new band members as an upperclassman.

“It is a lot different,” Foskey said. “I am used to being told what to do by the older students. Now I’m one of the ones in charge so it’s a lot different. I know how (the lower class men) feel.” 

The color guard will be interspersed throughout the band instead of being positioned on the outside.

“We’re looking forward to seeing that group grow,” Blanchett said.

Junior Alunna Horne will be starting her first year with the band in the flag corps.

“I went to every game except for the away games,” Horne said. “I found myself vibing to the music and the band instead of watching the football game. I decided to join the band.” 

Horne enjoyed her first band camp.

“It’s been great,” she said. “I love it actually. I just go home and I’m tired.” 

New to the Band of Gold this year is assistant band director Lee Chestnut. 

“I’m excited to have him,” Blanchett said. “He is doing a fabulous job, and he’s in charge of our marching and visuals. Everything the band will be doing visually, he’s like my special teams coordinator. He will be doing the marching and our horn pop visuals.”  

Chestnut comes to the Band of Gold from Wilkinson County Middle School, where he was before making the move to East Laurens Middle School this year.

“I like how it seems like a family here,” Chestnut said. “I like how people try to help each other out.” 

Chestnut opened and removed the props from the boxes when they arrived during band camp. He has always been around props when he worked with a previous band in Newnan.

“I think this is going to bring in a lot more enthusiasm for the kids,” Chestnut said. “It’s going to help the show work on the field and the crowd will understand the show easier. I think the show is really fun. It is going to get the kids more involved and it’s a really fun idea.” 

So far it has been easy making the transition from Wilkinson County to ELHS.

“A lot of the kids came up to me and introduced themselves,” Chestnut said. “I wasn’t really used to that. I had never seen so many kids be excited about somebody new coming in and that has been really nice.” 

The Band of Gold will travel across the river to play when the Falcons scrimmage against West Laurens High School on Aug. 8. East Laurens begins the season at Johnson County on Aug. 15 before its first home game, when the Falcons host Dublin. Blanchett said the goal is to slowly build up the halftime show to where they are adding a little bit of the show every game.

“Our goal is that by the beginning of September, we’ll have our full show on the field,” Blanchett said. “We have to make sure the fundamentals are strong and we march eighth grade through 12th grade. Having them feeling confident is important to me. … Hope everyone loves our show this year. The kids have been working so hard.”