Tomato or tomato?

Jul. 20—GREENSBURG — The Decatur County/Greensburg Marching Band finished its last 12-hour day of band camp Thursday with a "stumble-through" for fans and friends. Their 2024 show is "Tomato or Tomato" and they've been working feverishly to prepare.

Now that the Decatur County 4-H Fair is over, 26 band kids from Greensburg, North Decatur and South Decatur prepare for Indiana State Fair Band Day Aug. 2.

On that hot and humid Friday just a few weeks away, they will show off their music and fast footwork for a chance to be counted as one of the best in the state.

Their show theme for this year "Tomato or tomato?" is, according to co-director of the DCGMB Elijah DeWeerdt about tomatoes, but it's also an eclectic musing about life.

The first movement (there are three) is a spicy arrangement for marching band called "Chips and Salsa."

The second selection, "Sea of Red" is an arrangement of the closing track for Judas Priests' 2018 release "Firepower."

This should delight the heavy metal rockers in the audience.

The final tune is a "mashup" of the Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong classic "Let's call the whole thing off" with the Veggie Tales theme mixed in.

"This is one of the more interesting shows I've worked on, and it's coming together in an interesting sort of way," DeWeerdt said.

If you attend Indiana State Band Day Aug. 2, you'll notice the DCGMB is an "economy" sized marching band this year. Many marching bands can boast much larger memberships, but the 26 students in the DCGMB this year have a HUGE presence, and a great sound.

"I don't have any problems at all with a small band," DeWeerdt said. "It's about the quality of students you have, not the number of them."

"These are good kids, they're working hard and I know they're going to feel successful at the end of this season," he added.

The DCGMB is having their yearly fundraiser "Community Day" at 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, on the GCHS football field. The public is invited for two hours of food truck fun, pie throwing and a variety of other amusements including two performances of "Tomato or Tomato?".

The DCGMB is supported by a group of involved band parent led by President Nicole Niese, VP Jeff Koontz, Secretary Jennifer Chastian, Treasurer Tammy Williams and Kayla Cowen and Sariina Kalli at large.

The DCGMB schedule for the balance of the season is July 26 competition at Anderson, July 27 at GCHS for Community Day 6-8 p.m., Aug. 2 at Indiana State Fair Band Day at 2 p.m.

Aug. 23, the DCGMB will perform at half-time during the South Decatur/North Decatur football game at South Decatur.

On Sept. 6, the band will perform at the Greensburg Community High School football halftime show.

On Sept. 7, they will perform at Indiana University's Band Day and then wrap up the season in the Greensburg Fall Festival parade.

The DCGMB is led by band directors Sierra Kalli at North Decatur, Lisa Carey at GCHS and Elijah DeWeerdt at South Decatur.

Contact Bill Rethlake at 812-651-0876 or email [email protected]