The D.C.H.S. Band brought home some heavy metal with their 1980s themed “Blast from the Past (Back to the Future)” program this past weekend. The Fighting Tiger Marching Band placed first in its class for drum major [Serenity Burgess], first in its class for percussion, and first in its class for color guard Saturday (Oct. 22) at the Forrest Rocket Tournament of Bands in Chapel Hill. The band took second in its class and 13th out of 20 overall that including several much larger bands.

“They’ve been improving every week everything from the drum major, to the percussion to the band, and color guard,” Band Director Don Whitt said in an interview prior to the awards’ announcements. “Every time we turn around they’re asking, “How can we do better?” They had a really good attitude coming into this. That’s what I’m proud about. Number one, they’re excited about the state championships coming up in a couple of weeks. This competition is like the Golden Globes Awards before you go to the Oscars. Usually, if they do well here, they do well at the state championship. A lot of directors have been telling me about how well they thought the band has done [today], and I really value their opinions.  All in all we did really well.”

Assistant Band Director/Percussion Instructor Erica Birmingham said the percussion section performed “absolutely wonderful.”

“I know there were a couple of hiccups here and there whenever the entire electronic system completely went kaput, but the percussion handled themselves very well accordingly. In fact, they improvised on the spot. Nobody knew that anything was going on wrong. They picked it up and listened and made sure everything was on top. I’m super proud of them and all their hard work they have put into this. They deserve this win.”

“The color guard continues to grow and improve as our season progresses,” Color Guard Coach Shannon Johns said. “They not only won best in class, but ranked 5th out of 20 guards overall! Also, several of the students helped write this show, so they have much to be proud of. I cannot wait to see them show off at the state competition in November.”

The band plays again at the high school’s Open House Thursday followed by Friday night’s last home football game. On November 5th, the marching ensemble journeys to Smyrna for the 41st Annual Tennessee Division II State Marching Band Championship.