When you hear them coming down the street, there's no mistaking the East High School marching band.
"It can be very loud. We like to put the energy through the horns. So it's a nice full sound,” said the band’s assistant director, Antoine Monroe.
The troupe follows in the tradition of many bands at historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, combining flashy dance moves with contemporary pop hits.
"Really it's just all about fun,” Monroe said. “We're trying to reach a generation who's much different, you know? They don't know about Mozart and all of that stuff. We teach them, but that's not their interests, you know?"
But the band's equipment—and their signature orange and black duds—have seen better days. Monroe said many of the band's instruments are more than 20-30 years old.
“Natural wear and tear, a lot of spit keys missing and rust,” he said. “As far as the uniform, a lot of them are dry rotted. Pants split all the way. We have to sew constantly just to make it presentable.”
Replacing their worn-out instruments, many of them held together with electrical tape, is costly.
“A sousaphone can be $8,000 easily. I mean, I can get probably like a cheap trombone for like $900 or $1,200 dollars. So, it is quite expensive once you start adding it up,” Monroe said.
Local filmmaker Damon Mosley grew up on Columbus’ east side enamored by the band’s performances.
“At that age, of course, they were like celebrities, seeing all the costumes and the Tiger mascot and hearing the big sound. So that was kind of imprinted into me at an early age,” Mosley said.
Mosley said there were a series of recent incidents in which some new neighbors complained about the noise coming from the band's practices. He said it escalated to the point where some people were threatening to call the police.
“Anytime you involve the police and Black people … it hits differently when that is even lobbed as a threat because that has far reaching ramifications beyond noise. You just never know what can happen,” he said.
Mosley wanted to do something to mend fences and share the band's story with the surrounding neighborhood. So, in March, he launched a fundraiser to buy new instruments for the band. The effort is already more than halfway toward its $50,000 goal.
"And, to their credit, the new neighbors did come around,” Mosley said. “I feel this campaign to raise money for the new instruments is really a celebration of the kids’ resiliency and their refusal to back down."
The music continues to make a difference in generations of East High School students.
“It makes me very proud to know that I'm in the East High School, my marching Tigers band, because when I go places I'm being recognized. And it also pushes me for better opportunities outside of the band,” said senior dancer Krishauna Lindsey.
“It's also a good learning experience, because not a lot of people know how to read sheet music and know how to play instrument. That's something that you don't lose,” said senior tuba player Brandon Connor.
Their teacher, Mr. Monroe, said he expects both Lindsey and Connor will receive scholarships for college in the fall.
“Our goal is to have 100% of people graduating go to college, and we're providing you with the tools. We're teaching about hard work and discipline. Teaching you about music and theory and all the things that make you a great college student,” Monroe said.
