In the days leading up to each appearance, Marching 110 Director Richard Suk keeps a notebook full of details relating to his band’s performance.
This year, Suk might go through a few more pads of paper, as the 110 is bigger and traveling farther than ever.
Suk cut 54 students who tried out for the 110 this season, yet still has the largest — and arguably most talented — band in school history. When the 110 takes the field in Penn State’s Beaver Stadium on Saturday, it will do so with 240 members, though not all will participate in marching formations. Its size has increased from 2011, when the 110’s 224 members made up the largest collection to date.
Although the band, which will perform at two NFL games this year and overseas for the first time next year, prides itself on its consistent improvement, its popularity skyrocketed last season.
Search engines even recognize the 110’s popularity. Type “marching” into a search tab, and “110” is the top result. Halftime videos speckle the first page.
It seems that the 110 has shuffled its way into the popular domain.
“I don’t know a single person that tried out that didn’t know the 110 before,” said Dylan Chase, a freshman studying music education and 110 trombone player. “But those who were hesitant to join were probably pushed by the extra exposure.”
The extra exposure, of course, is a product of the 110’s rendition of LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem,” first performed on-field Oct. 1 against Kent State.
To date, the most-watched YouTube video of the performance has been viewed more than eight million times.
Although there’s no tangible way to tie the uptick in tryout attendees to Web fandom, field commander Rocco Contini, a fifth-year senior studying music education who helped choreograph the “Party Rock Anthem” routine, said the extra exposure generated by Ohio’s spectacularly impressive football season and appearances in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament likely caught the eye of incoming freshmen.
“A lot of kids do idolize the 110,” he said.
The numbers back him up. Less than 100 freshmen tried out for the band in 2011, but 123 gave it a shot this season. Contini said that in his experience, about 80 newcomers typically attend the tryout.
While Suk may need a bigger briefcase to tote his performance notes, Contini — the man responsible for physically directing the band from field level — will carry a lighter load. He just might need to pocket a couple extra throat lozenges.
“I just have to speak really loudly so everyone can hear me,” he said, joking about the band’s size.
One would think it troublesome to take the 110 on the road. But Suk, who’s in his 16th season with Ohio, has the process down to a science and leans heavily on his student leadership corps — which is substantive enough to almost fill one of the five rental buses the 110 takes to performances.
Band members of at least junior standing streamline the process by taking care of uniforms, sending confirmation emails and everything in between.
When the band rolls into State College, Pa. for the Bobcats’ Saturday game against Penn State, it will check into two different hotels, only furthering the administrative challenges that come with the band’s size.
But once the beds are made, the buses are boarded and the uniforms are donned for the first official performance of the young season, the Marching 110 will begin what has the potential to be the best season it’s ever seen, Suk said.
“The band you’ll see on the field is the same size we saw last year, but there’s more people challenging for those spots,” he said. “It becomes more competitive, which makes the band that’s on the field more exciting. The students on the field really are the best of the best.”
jr992810@ohiou.edu
