The Man Behind the Music

From: RadioActive Youth Media
Length: 05:18

The All-City Marching Band is a music program in the greater Seattle area. Since 1961 they have performed at over 20 parades during the Seattle summer. Marcus Pimpleton directs All-City. He’s been with the band for 21 years. He started when he was only 13 years old. Throughout his life, band has always been there for him. RadioActive’s Farhan Vohra has the story of how the All-City Band changed Marcus’ life. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: The Man Behind the Music
From: RadioActive Youth Media

Marcus_pic_small

More from RadioActive Youth Media

Caption: Human trafficking vigil in Seattle, Credit: Katherine Sims

Episode 37: Human Trafficking In Our Backyard (23:37)
From: RadioActive Youth Media

This month, RadioActive hosts Sarah Rosenthal and Kamna Shastri bring you stories about the reality of human trafficking in the Seattle area.

Episode 36: RadioActive Is In A Relationship With Facebook (12:48)
From: RadioActive Youth Media

In RadioActive's first podcast of 2013, hosts Antonia Dorn and Ann Kane bring us a story from producer Molly Freed who talks about how she learned to have a healthy ...

SAT Stress (03:31)
From: RadioActive Youth Media

Every junior in high school has heard of the SAT and those three letters fill them with fear. In order to get into his dream school, Evan Adams has to figure out how to ...

Laura “Piece” Kelly (03:55)
From: RadioActive Youth Media

Laura “Piece” Kelly is a hip-hop artist and poet who has worked with household names such as Drake, T.I., and KRS-One and the Dalai Lama. Laura encourages individualism and ...

When My House Burned Down (03:46)
From: RadioActive Youth Media

For Dulce Saucedo, lighting a candle meant losing her home. She now has to deal with the guilt of being responsible and figure out how to move on.

Stereotyped for Being Samoan (02:20)
From: RadioActive Youth Media

Manu Tuito’Elau is Samoan and in high school he was stereotyped as only being good at football. Because of that, Manu decided to make a documentary about the stereotypes that ...

Kicked out at 17 (02:16)
From: RadioActive Youth Media

Marcus McGuire was kicked out of his house at 17. Now he crashes every night on his friend’s sofa. Although Marcus’s living arrangements are now stable, his relationship ...

Sixteen year old helps other sick kids to cope with her Leukemia (03:34)
From: RadioActive Youth Media

Maga Barzallo-Sockemitchem is sixteen years old. She helps kids suffering with cancer at children’s hospital. But the help goes out both ways. Maga has been suffering with ...

Caption: The dreams of our hosts, Nina (left) and Halle. Artwork by Nina and Caitlin., Credit: KUOW Photo/Caitlin Gaylord

Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This (11:45)
From: RadioActive Youth Media

A dream detective, a sleep specialist from the University of Washington Medical Center, and an enthusiastic lucid dreamer — could we have fit any more into this podcast?

Caption: Wally Pets in Wallingford, Credit: Margaret Steck

Memory Lane (14:22)
From: RadioActive Youth Media

Hosts Halle Bills and Nina Tran look back on their time at KUOW during the last show of the summer. You’ll hear a story from Caitlin Gaylord about Wally Pet Store owner Paul ...

Piece Description

Transcript

FARHAN:
IT’S A GORGEOUS SEATTLE SUMMER EVENING. THE SUN IS SETTING ACROSS PUGET SOUND. OVER 150 YOUNG MUSICIANS SIT IN MEMORIAL STADIUM. THEY’RE REHEARSING THE MARCH SONG “NATIONAL EMBLEM”. MARCUS PIMPLETON IS CONDUCTING THE BAND. HE HAS A PARTICULAR WAY THAT HE WANTS THE SONG TO SOUND.
CUT TO MARCUS REHARSING SONG
MARCUS EXPLAINS THAT HE WANTS THIS PART OF THE MARCH TO START LOUD, AND QUICKLY FADE AS THE REST OF THE NOTES ARE PLAYED. WHAT IN MUSIC IS CALLED A “DECRESCENDO”. TO GIVE AN EXAMPLE, HE EXPLAINS THAT HE WANTS IT TO SOUND LIKE WHEN YOU’RE ABOUT TO YELL AT YOUR PARENTS.

UP VOLUME IN MARCUS “YELLING”

YOU ALMOST YELL SOMETHING AND QUICKLY REALIZE THAT YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN’T BE SAYING SOMETHING LIKE TO YOUR PARENTS, SO YOU MUMBLE IT AWAY.

“I’M DISAPPOINTED THAT YOU GUYS CAN IDENTIFY WITH THAT WELL ENOUGH TO GET THAT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME…”

THE MUSICIANS GET IT RIGHT THE FIRS...
Read the full transcript