Drum line marches to Gonzaga’s beat

Gonzaga has a drum line? These words are a typical response around campus when the drum line is mentioned.

David Fague, director of Jazz Studies and Pep Band takes responsibility for this lack of exposure.

"We had 18 people show up when the idea was first announced and we lost five due to disorganization," Fague said.

The idea for the drum line began in fall 2008 and the pep band received the instruments in January 2009. However, once basketball season started, the idea of having a drum line faded.

"Last year was also another dead year," Fague said. "But this year that is all going to change."

The music department has made it a requirement for freshmen involved in pep band to be in a music department ensemble. For those who do not want to commit to another ensemble, there is the choice to be in one of the two pep band classes. One is for the instrumentalists, the other for percussionists, which is essentially a drum line class. This way, the drum line will have weekly practice.

"The short-term goal is to have every drummer engaged in music that is rehearsed," Fague said.

This is what the class is supposed to achieve.

Fague said his long-term goals involve the drum line being paired up with the dance team, Bomb Squad and the cheerleading team during timeouts.

Junior Chris Andrews has been involved in the drum line since the beginning and expresses a similar hope.

"Maybe we'll be able to perform at halftime," Andrews said.

For now, the drum line is still completely integrated with the pep band. They are starting with having music that features the drum line on a more regular basis.

"Not many of the songs we played in the past had a full drum line feature," Andrews said.

The ultimate vision is for the drum line to have its own identity.

"Five years down the road, I would love it to be its own entity," Fague said.

Fague believes that with a well-organized program, the drum line will begin to attract the better players again, thus creating a more respectable program. They have nine people returning and have been advertising with morning mail, fliers and word of mouth to draw even more drummers.

Andrews said that they expect a significant increase in pep band participants this year, with hopefully more than 100 people. They are getting a new, larger section in the McCarthey Athletic Center as well. This is good news for interest in the drum line.

Although it's been a slow start for the drum line, neither Fague nor Andrews seems to be frustrated about it.

"New things take time to grow," Andrews said. "I'm just happy to be a part of it."

There is also no expectation that this will take off overnight.

"It's baby steps," Fague said. "Drummers want to do more than play in the stands. We may be able to do more by the spring, but it is very much up to the students."