MARCHING BAND/COLOR GUARD Q&A: REDONDO UNION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
With the Student Section in off-season mode, we look to put our focus on the Marching Bands and Color Guards!
This website obviously put the focus on the Student Sections as it is the only reason we stay active, but many of these Student Sections have some solid bands that give them the energy or at the least share that insane energy. They play the right music to keep the hype up, the interact with the Student Section and the work they put week after week to prep for the game is impressive and that deserves some recognition.
We did do a Marching Band/Color Guard Q&A called “I’m with the Band Q&A” (not my greatest title, I know!) with some Bands in Southern California in 2019 when we only covered Student Sections in SoCal, but with a much much bigger followed, we figured we bring this idea back to life!
Plus it helps to get the assistance from South Carolina Bands (@southcarolina_bands on Instagram), Alabama Bands (@bama_bands on Instagram) and Bands of the US (@bands_of_the_us on Instagram) helping us out to find the best Bands that want you to get to know them!
Today we finally take a break from South Carolina, but I’m sure we’ll be back. Love the Bands and Color Guard from South Carolina.
We head to our headquarters in Southern California and go to Redondo Union! We are very very familiar with their Student Section, the Flock! They were the top Football Student Section in Los Angeles in 2022 & 2023! They are looking to get back on top in LA and maybe SoCal in 2025, but they’ll need all the help they can get and I know the Marching Band and Color Guard will be a big help as I have seen them in action on Friday Nights! They have shown a lot of love to me and I absolutely appreciate it! I’m so thrilled what happens behind the scene with the Seahawks Marching Band and Color Guard!
We spoke with Mackenzie Thomson, Lyric Nestel, Melody Olson, Kimberly Hirimoto, Sage Claxton, Marisa Garcia and Hannah Shaban on how the Redondo Union Marching Band and Color Guard prepare for Friday Nights and other events while also having some fun!
Photo Credit/Joshua Mow
MARCHING BAND/COLOR GUARD Q&A: REDONDO UNION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
What is the weekly routine to prepare for a football game and the halftime show? Are there adjustments made every week?
Mackenzie Thomson: For football games, we use the weeks leading up to them to memorize all of our music and work on the logistics of the game. We want to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possibly on our end, so if something doesn’t work out during a game we try to fix it as soon as possible so we are prepared for the next one.
Do you enjoy the game or follow it as it goes along or are you focused with your job?
Lyric Nestel: I really enjoy football games and following along because the band plays a big role in boosting school spirit and bringing energy to the crowd. When the team scores a touchdown or the flock gets really hyped up, it’s such an electric feeling because it feels like we’re helping amplify the excitement of that moment. But beyond just enjoying it, we also have to stay focused and follow the game closely to know when to play.
Photos Credit/Mark Thomson
Do you play any pop culture songs and if so, which is your favorite?
Marisa Garcia: I play tons of pop culture songs! My favorites are Seven Nation Army, Counting Stars, and Shut Up and Dance. If I had to choose one it would be ‘Shut Up and Dance’ because I have good memories playing it with my section and the really cool trumpet feature.
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What kind of appreciation do you get from people at the games?
Melody Olson: Well, I feel like we get cheers and stuff from the crowd while we do our half time show especially towards the end of the year once our show is fully fleshed out. I have gotten comments after the games from people saying “You guys sounded great,” or “You guys did amazing” so I would say we get that kind of appreciation during games.
Photo Credit/Ryan Ichiyama
Do you guys interact with the Student Section?
Hannah Shaban: Yeah it depends when but I do interact with them. Like if my friends come over to talk with me or if we’re playing a song and people are cheering us on or clapping/singing along or sm. Not to often because a lot of the time we’re playing something or talking within ourselves but we do interact with them.
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Do you perform at other Redondo Union sports functions like basketball and how has the reception been?
Thomson: We don’t perform for the other sports, but when any of our Redondo sports makes it any kind of state championship, we put on a parade where we march around the school playing our fight song to celebrate. It’s always been well received by the students, it’s not everyday you see a large marching band parading through the halls!
Photo Credit/Sage Claxton
What is the funniest or most embarrassing moment as a member of the band/color guard?
Kimberly Hirimoto: Once when I was a freshman, there were these upperclassmen who were freestyling and let me and my friends join in. My rapping skills are not good and it was pretty awkward trying to come up with something to say. To this day it is probably one of my most embarrassing moments in band, but it’s still a funny memory to look back on.
Be ready for August for our 2025 Fall Student Section preview for all 50 states as well as Canada and Washington DC. Let us know who should be ranked high in our preseason preview!
Any other band that you enjoy hearing from the other side of the stadium?
Sage Claxton: Honestly it seems sort of rare for bands to travel to other stadiums so whenever bands come play at our games it’s super awesome and I enjoy all of them. But, A band I really enjoy is the Palos Verdes Peninsula Band, I volunteer there and have a bunch of friends in their program, so I really enjoy seeing and hearing them each year.
Photo Credit/Shota Hanai
