Jerome High School

Join us for the revolutionary 2012

AMBUSH of TIGERS FIELD SHOW!

            The Ambush of Tigers is known for going “outside of the box” in creating its popular field shows, but this year’s “EMPIRE AND REBELLION” competition show is literally one-of-a-kind!

            The Ambush will split into two halves – the EMPIRE performs in white tops, guard and band, and ‘speaks’ in classic and classical music, marches in old-school ‘Casavant’ drill, and is represented by the Prince and Princess, the siblings who rule the Empire. The REBELLION, dressed in our regular black and orange uniforms, marches in newer, ‘corps-style’ movements and ‘speaks’ in rock and roll. They are led by the former rock star Kilroy, banned by the Empire for the crime of corrupting the youth with his music, and his sidekick Robin.

            Through the show, each side converses in song, using the audience’s familiarity with major themes to tell the story. Each of the four main characters has a recognizable theme – the Prince (Wagner’s “Ride Of The Valkyries”), the Princess (Rachmaninoff’s “Variations On A Theme Of Paganini”), Kilroy (Styx’s “Mr. Roboto”), and Robin (Katy Perry’s “California Gurlz”). Eventually the sides go to war – drum lines battle, Kilroy and the Prince fight using swords (to Camelot), light sabers (to Star Wars), and so forth – but love wins the day, and the two sides combine their classics and rock to join forces at the end.

            All in all, there are forty-one different songs in the show (with several repeating, like the themes), mostly in short but distinctive ‘snippets’ that tell the story. The show uses guitars, violins, a castle and air cannons and LOTS more, and a WIDE variety of props to help tell the story. After thirty years writing and watching shows, I can tell you that there’s NEVER been a field show that does what we’re going to do this fall – it’s like a 3D “Peter And The Wolf” story with wilder music and more comedy and action!

            We will start looking at music on Thursday mornings during zero hour beginning third trimester (March 1^st – earlier, if I finish it before then!) for those of you interested in playing winds, drums, or strings. We are in particular need of mallets and a bass guitar player, but all instruments are welcome! The premiere of the music will be at the Band Awards Concert on May 14^th, and then we’ll update the arrangement so you have to music to work on over the summer before we come back to rehearsals at the beginning of August.

            If you have an interest in being part of our outstanding flag team and color guard, we will start rehearsing that in the spring as well – we’ll meet on Wednesday afternoons starting on March 7^th at the high school from 3:30 until 4:30 p.m. – we’ll train you from scratch, and we’ll start teaching the elements of the show you’ll need to perform in the fall – not only flag work but all the other movement and equipment handling you’ll get to do.

            You’ll need to choose a side – EMPIRE or REBEL? Besides the descriptions listed earlier, there’s a list of the songs included in the show below. Beyond that, it’s probably more a matter of personal preference than anything. We’ll be balancing parts and numbers out, so the earlier your preference is made clear, the more likely you’ll get to choose your side!

          Here are the songs currently in the show (followed by the letter representing WHO plays it – E for Empire, R for Rebels, ER for both): “20^th Century Fox Fanfare” [ER], “Peter And The Wolf (Prokofivev)” [E], “Rhapsody On A Theme From Paganini (Rachmaninoff)” [E], “Star Wars Main Title” [E], “Imperial March (Star Wars)” [E], “Ride Of The Valkyries (Wagner)” [E], “We Will Rock You (Queen)” [R], “I Love Rock And Roll (Joan Jett)” [R], “Mr. Roboto (Styx)” [R], “California Gurlz (Katy Perry)” [R], “Revolution (Beatles)” [R], “Fifth Symphony (Beethoven)” [E], “Smoke On The Water (Deep Purple)” [R], “Hall Of The Mountain King (Grieg)” [E], “Crazy Train (Ozzy)” [R], “Ghost Riders In The Sky” [ER], “Smooth Criminal (Michael Jackson)” [R], “Help! (Beatles)” [E], “Can’t Touch This (MC Hammer)” [R], “Stop In The Name Of Love (Supremes)” [E], “Bad Boyz” [R], “Onward Christian Soldiers” [E], “Seven Nation Army (White Stripes)” [R], “Mars, The Bringer Of War (Holst)” [E], “Phantom Of The Opera” [E]. “After The Rain Has Fallen (Sting)” [ER], “Drumline Battle Sequence” [ER], “Quintet (West Side Story)” [ER], “Guenevere (Camelot)” [ER], “Star Wars Main Title” [ER], “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” [ER], “Gonna Fly Now (Rocky)” [ER], “Super Mario Brothers Theme” [ER], “I Have A Love (West Side Story)” [E], “Bridal March (Mendehlssohn)” [E], “California Girls (Beach Boys)” [E], “We Will Rock You” [ER}, “Spring (from The Four Seasons – Vivaldi)” [E], “Ode To Joy (Beethoven)” [ER], “Sweet Child Of Mine (Van Halen)” [R], “Wanna Rock And Roll All Night (KISS)” [ER], “Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye” [ER].

            Our 2012 schedule is already shaping up! We’re heading to Sun Valley for the annual Wagon Days parade – we’ll perform at home games and other local events starting in August – and we’re heading to (we hope) FIVE competitions this season, including our own second annual MAGIC VALLEY MUSIC & MOVEMENT SHOWCASE on September 29^th. We’re planning on taking a three day trip to the Boise valley for two contests there, going back to Pocatello and Burley, and taking one longer trip to either Utah or Northern California (depending on how the football schedule sets up).

          IF YOU’RE READY TO BE PART OF CREATING NOT JUST A SHOW BUT AN EVENT, come see Mr. Smith and we’ll get you started!