Rush has been Mickey Ratliff's favorite rock band since the eighth grade.
After years of trying to figure out just how to make it work, Ratliff, director of Warsaw Community High School's percussion ensemble, selected the music of Rush for this year's ensemble.
"I'm more excited about this year's show than I have been in awhile," Ratliff said during an interview Tuesday afternoon. "It's not to say I didn't like the previous music, but this year is pretty special because we're doing the music of Rush. Rush has been a band I've listened to, loved and seen in concert ever since I was in the eighth grade. They're musical idols of mine."
He said it took this long to do Rush because he had to figure out how to do Rush's music and do it well. He didn't want to do a show of music he's listened to most of his life and end up with an arrangement of the music that was not cool and good.
"Plus, when it comes to rock music and doing it on percussion, you have to do something different with it," he said. If not, "it could sound really cheesy and just not good."
In rock music, Ratliff said, everything is amplified and processed.
"You have to do something in the arrangement to make it sound good. You can't just take the notes and expect them to come across."
The ensemble's show theme is titled "Exit ... Stage Left". It's also the name of one of Rush's albums. The music the percussion ensemble performs is all from that album. Ratliff said he didn't intend to select music from just that album, but that's just the way it worked out.
Starting out the ensemble's performance is "The Spirit of Radio". The group then goes into "The Trees", with a medley of "YYZ and "La Villa Strangiato" for a closure.
"In addition to that," Ratliff said, "I'm trying to throw in quotes of Rush songs as I can work them in and make them fit. So far, I have a little of 'Tom Sawyer' and a few other things. It's there for the people who will notice it."
The high school students have jumped on the idea of playing Rush, and appear to Ratliff to be picking it up.
"It's been kind of typical," he said. "I wouldn't say we've learned it fast, and it's not been going slow."
The first week of rehearsal, it took the whole week to learn the first section of "The Spirit of Radio". After that, Ratliff said, the ensemble started picking up the music pretty quickly.
"When I announced to the kids what I was playing ... there was jumping up and down, and hugs and all kinds of craziness. They were real excited about it," Ratliff said.
"It's phenomenal," said senior and drummer Curtis George. "Where else are you going to get a chance to play that with an organized ensemble? It's pretty crazy."
George said he was "pretty pleased" with the song selection, too.
"There are so many good Rush songs to choose from. He chose some good stuff," George said.
"I wouldn't have picked a better thing to play. One of my favorite bands of all time," said senior Thomas Murphy, who plays the marimba.
Also a marimba player and senior, Nathan Sheetz said, "I really do enjoy the whole rock thing. The past three years we've been here, it's been kind of a jazz fusion show. It's different and Rush is cool."
The ensembles first competition is Feb. 12 at Decatur Central on the southwest side of Indianapolis. The ensemble then travels to Norwell High School in Ossian Feb. 19.
On March 5, Warsaw hosts its own contest and also will be competing.
"Come out to the contest on the fifth," Ratliff encouraged the community.
There will be 22 groups performing, it will be a great show and a hometown show.
"We would like to have a great crowd," Ratliff said.
"I'm excited," said George of the March 5 contest. "It's usually been pretty fun. Since it's at home, it seems more of a concert than a competition."
State preliminaries are March 12 at Avon High School, with state finals at Ben Davis High School March 19.
"I think we'll play well," said Ratliff. "I don't know how we'll do competition- wise."
He said that was because he wasn't sure how well the music of Rush will do in competition.
"But I think we'll play well and have fun. I think we'll do well," he said.
Murphy said the last two years, the ensemble has had only one senior each year so it's been mostly underclassmen. This year, he said, they've got a really strong senior class and it's a good group.Sheetz said George, Murphy and himself all have matured since they were freshmen. The juniors this year also have grown, so that will help the ensemble in competition.
"I want to have fun, but I want to do good. First or last place at finals, it will be a good year because I've made lots of friends from this ensemble," Sheetz said.
