Fans of the Band - Inside Westlake Marching Band

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Tania and Ayren were in Michigan at Michigan State University where they sat down with Dr. Kevin Sedatole, Director of Bands.  We had no idea how good of friends Dr. Sedatole is with Westlake's own Kerry Taylor. Like all of our band director guests, we have sternly warned them about hitting the desk as they talk, and like all of our previous guests, he still felt free to hit the desk many times.  This was so much fun for us.

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Another fun visit with Assistant Band Director, Austin Byers.  Always energetic and always entertaining.  Hear about his exciting promotion and his new attempt at work/life balance.  Take a chance to look for his TikTok videos too.

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Ever wonder how a middle school band gets going?  How do middle school band directors differ from high school directors?  Find out as Tania and Ayren branch out to talk with a middle school director about preparing kids for high school marching band.  Our guest may have the recognizable last name that is the same as Tania's because he is Tania's husband.  

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What does a Fine Arts Dean do you ask?  Find out here as we talk with Dianne Parks about her job at Westlake High School and being the Dean of Fine Arts.

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We start season 2 of Fans of the Band talking with Mr. Turpin about thge new show, new costumes and new props.  It all begins again every Fall.  

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Talking with Drum Majors Ved and Aubrey about their band experiences and what it means to be a Drum Major of a marching band.  Hear how they got started in band, how they chose their instruments, why they recommend band and how the drum major audtion process went for them.  This episode has a serious issue with sound as one of the microphone chords was not doing its job and we did not know it until listening back.  We apologize for the bad volume control.

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Looking back on the season with Mr. Turpin.  Where did Westlake marching band succeed?  Where did they fail?  Where are they headed?  What is everyone up to now that they are not marching anymore this year?  Get all of your questions answered here.  Check back for show links.

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Mr. Turpin got sick, so we just discussed the shows that we saw this season.  There were so many good shows and things that we loved.  Apparently, Ayren loved the Marcus show and we never learned how Round Rock used their big orange ball.  

The Marcus Band:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvHYaxVIrls

The Westlake Band:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQxZOzeDjoH/

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Learn all about Westlake Band's fundraising.  How much do they raise? How is that decided? Where does it go? How can you give?  How can you help with fundraising?  So many questions!!

A small warning about a hard story here.  The Guillots have suffered a huge loss and she talks very openly about it.  Ms. Guillot does give a warning right before she tells the story, so skip ahead if you need to.

Coming is a link to the Leukemia program that she mentions.

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A very serious and not serious conversation with music writer/arranger, Robert Selaiden.  Hear about the writing and arranging process for the Westlake Marching Band show.  Ayren and Tania make an announcement that is huge for them and Robert gets behind it completely.  Hear his ideas for cake music and what band meals were his favorites.

https://selaidenmusic.com/about/

LD Bell's 2007 show:  https://youtu.be/H4ofXehLk1w?si=I_5vMb_vf2Fv5nm8