SARASOTA – The Riverview High Marching Kilties exude power. Compare the size of any of Riverview’s football teams to the 210-member band, and the difference speaks for itself.
That can be nerve-wracking for incoming freshmen.
“Starting as a freshman, I was obviously nervous, but really just going through all four years, I just have come to love and grow such a big family in this band,” said drum major Adam Putney.
It’s difficult to get any leadership position with so many students auditioning with you. And usually when I visit a band, the band captain is someone who was a star student from the beginning. But not so with band captain Alex Garcia.
“Freshman year was pretty tough,” Garcia says, “I didn’t really try that hard but something just clicked. I started becoming a leader. I started to try and look at my best always while I was marching. You know, always having that horn angle above parallel and stuff like that.”
From slacker to leader, Alex proved to himself he could contribute.
And he did so in a big year. The Riverview High School Marching Kilties are going to Hollywood. Twice. The band is going to Hollywood for a huge trip in late November, so they’re going Hollywood for their show.
Band director Andrew Dubbert picked an assortment of movie music, including Top Gun, The Last of the Mohicans, “This is Me” from The Greatest Showman, “Eye of the Tiger,” and the timely addition of the theme of The Avengers.
“We didn’t really expect it,” says Putney, “We got told we were doing the Avengers right after Endgame came out.”
Their endgame is now the annual FBA marching assessment. For 60 years the Kilties have existed, and for 60 years, they’ve earned the highest score of superior at the assessment.
So this year?
“We’re going to keep going until we get straight superiors at MPA. We’re gonna keep fighting,” says Putney.
“61 years?” I ask him?
“Yes, sir,” he replies.