By Mike Hutchens
Communications Director
Jason Deem is truly putting his troops “through the paces.”
The Union City High School band director has overseen his 153-member group through two grueling weeks of camp that concluded Thursday, working extensively on both the musical and marching aspect of this year’s show.
Included in the daily routine has been a combined five hours of outside marching and three more hours of musical practice in a schedule that runs from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m.
“No matter how long it takes, we stay here until we get it done right,” Deem said during a brief break from the grind. “We don’t rush things, and we know where we need to be with what we’re doing at the end of every day.
“Really, it’s very similar to football camp or basketball camp. This is the time of the band year where we install our foundation and put in our basics. There are long days and we battle fatigue, the heat and elements, but right now I’m satisfied with where we are. And we do it all with a goal.”
That “goal” this year is the group’s best performance at the Band of America competition in Indianapolis, scheduled for Nov. 9. The event is expected to draw 100 bands from across the United States.
“That’s our state championship game. That’s the one we’re pointing to and it will define us,” claimed Deem, whose band will participate in six competitions in all, including its own invitational to start the year Sept. 22.
“All of them (competitions) are important, but the one in Indianapolis is the biggie. We have a really good invitational of our own. We have 17 bands coming from several different states and it has become one of the elite competitions around here. The one in Indy though, that’s the culmination of everything we do.”
Entitled “The Pale Horse,” the 2018 program is taken from the third horse of the Apocalypse and the Bible book of Revelation.
Deem explained the planning of this year’s show has been in the works since January.
“The process actually starts then with what and how we’re going to perform,” he said. “We’re constantly working on things and putting the program together into July and then we hit the ground running with camp.
“From January until July, I do a lot of reading and research on different programs and performances and I also talk to several other band directors to get their feedback and listen to their ideas.”
Deem is beginning his second year as the high school band director after a 12-year period in which he was an assistant to John Easley in the Union City School System. The coming year will mark his 20th in all in the profession.
“There are really no surprises now with the preparation process,” he said.
“And I still get excited to see the looks on the kids’ faces when we make progress and eventually get to where we need to be.”
The band will also compete in events at Clarksville, Franklin, Middle Tennessee State University and the University of Tennessee at Martin.
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