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One time, at band camp, Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble showed up and led the marching band of gangsters, Greeks, hippies, members of the Addams Family and others in a performance of David Gillingham's "Galactic Empires."
Actually, Flintstone was Warsaw Community High School band director Mickey Ratliff.
And the hippies, Greeks and others were WCHS marching band and color guard students performing parts of this year's theme "Galactic Empires" for parents and friends at their preview show on the last day of band camp.
As part of the preview show, each section of the band had to dress up in a theme and walk out in a manner consistent with the theme.
According to Ratliff, the band this year started with a pre-camp the end of July and the first couple days of August with practice from 8 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday.
Actual camp then started Aug. 4, ending Wednesday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily Monday through Friday last week and Monday through Wednesday this week.
"The purpose is for us to learn our competition show for the fall, or as much as we can," Ratliff said.
The time is required, he said, for the freshman band members, who haven't played much, to learn the music and marching. Extra instructional staff are brought in to help teach students.
The theme for this year is "Galactic Empires." While it has a space theme to it, Ratliff said, their approach is more abstract.
Sorry, no little green men.
The music has a lot of quick, uptempo, aggressive sections to it as well as some slow sections. The middle piece of music is "Stained Glass," and Ratliff said it will provide a contrast to the "Galactic Empires" piece.
"It's progressing well," Ratliff said. "We have a really young band this year, especially compared to last year."
Last year, the band had a large senior class. This year, the freshman and sophomore classes are large and the junior and senior classes are small. But they're still doing really well despite their inexperience, he said.
Ratliff said the freshmen, being new to the marching band experience, haven't been to competition yet or performed a show, so they may not be aware of the payoff of all the practice. Once they are performing in their first show and they have that experience, Ratliff said, the payoff will be more obvious.
"It's been hard learning new stuff," said senior Chris Gallion, "but everyone's been getting it."
Freshman Rachael Wilson Tilton said band camp has been a new experience but it's fun to be a part of the band family. She said she's learned a lot, with marching in time probably being the most difficult part to learn.
Band camp isn't all work. The students Tuesday had a pizza party and performed skits to get to know each other better. Then there was the preview show with the costumes, which was a trend started last year. At the end of the preview show Wednesday, the band members pulled a family member or friend from the crowd to march with them - not so easy as they discovered.
Ratliff said, "It's a fun way to end the camp."
The first opportunity for the public to see part of the band's show is at halftime of the first home football game Aug. 22.
Gallion said, "I like the show. It's a lot of fun. The music is difficult, but if we pull it off, it'll be a really good show."
Wilson Tilton said, "It's invigorating, sort of."
"I'd like to encourage the public at large to come and support the band, not only at football games but also at competitions on Saturday. The kids work really hard to do a great job," Ratliff said.
Even though a part of the band and color guard is to perform at football games to support the team, Ratliff said, the meat of their purpose is their competitions, where they strive to excel.
Anyone interested in a schedule for the band's competitions, Ratliff said, can call 267-5174.
