Band Members

Hometown -- Washington Current members --Vijay Shanker, drums; John Woolf, bass and vocals; Tom McCarthy, guitar and vocals; Jeff Wharen, vocals and guitar; Mike Beach, piano and keyboards; Founded in --2004 Style --indie rock Influenced by --Radiohead, Damien Rice, the Frames, Arcade Fire Notable --Since forming three years ago, band members have gelled into a cohesive songwriting and performing unit, Beach said. Narcotic, their first full-length album, came out in May and features introspective songs about relationships and struggles.

They weren't the cheers you'd expect to hear at M&T Bank Stadium on a November weekend. "Color guard rules!" pompom-waving fans screamed from the stands. "Fly like an eagle!" Marching band supporters tend to avoid trash talk or name-calling to focus on the positive, a reputation borne out this weekend at the U.S. Scholastic Band Association National Championship. After months of after-school and weekend practices, football halftime show performances and local competitions, more than 70 high school marching bands from across the nation closed out their season in a marathon of performances Friday and yesterday.

Kari Haugeto was a struggling lounge singer outside Cape Canaveral, Fla., competing against senior citizen crooners for nightclub jobs, when opportunity came knocking. It was Uncle Sam, and he was looking for a few good musicians.Haugeto joined the Navy, tried out for the U.S. Naval Academy Band, and got the job.Now, instead of working in smoky Cocoa Beach hotel lounges, she's a petty officer who gets paid to march onto the field for Navy football games. She sings Duke Ellington at academy dances.

The Westminster Municipal Band held a year-end party recently to celebrate its 1998 activities.The band participated in 40 events, including eight county firemen's parades, the St. Patrick's Day and Firehouse Magazine Expo parades in Baltimore, and several holiday parades in the area.Band members also played for the opening of the new Westminster firehouse, and at the Maryland and Delaware state firemen's parades.Years-of-service certificates were presented to members Walter Myers Jr., 60 years; Sterling Byers, 55 years; William Myers, Jean Haines, 50 years; Dave Brauning, Jonah Kibler, 40 years; Norman Myers, 25 years; Scott Flohr, Steve Hossler, Jim Wantz, 20 years; Robert Griesmyer, Blaine Flickinger, Gene White, 15 years; and Ted Dix, Joan Wantz, Jay Clingan, Lisa Warner, five years.

For 72 years, Melvin Otter, an old man with a limp, faithfully visited the graves of five members of The Evening Sun Newsboys' Band in Baltimore's Loudon Park Cemetery. The five died July 4, 1924, when the Three Rivers, an excursion boat bringing them home from a concert in Crisfield, caught fire off Cove Point Light, 60 miles down the Chesapeake Bay. Ten passengers and crew members were found dead on the vessel -- among them band members Vernon E. Jefferson, 15; Nelson A. Miles, 17; Walter Clark Millikin, 13; Thomas A. Pilker Jr., 13; and Lester Alfred Seligman, 15.Otter, a retired News American proof reader who died of a heart attack earlier this month at age 89, was believed to be the last surviving band member who was aboard the Three Rivers that tragic night.

SOUTH CARROLL High School's Marching Cavaliers are hoping for a repeat of last year's band season. After getting a Chapter 13 Championship and best-percussion award in the Atlantic Coast Championships, the Cavaliers have been on the field perfecting their marching routines and music since early summer.With the guidance of band Director Bradley Collins, the Cavaliers have been putting in numerous practice hours in preparation for seven competitions this season.The band opens its season Sept.

There are 55 trophies neatly aligned on six shelves in the gymnasium at Arthur Slade Regional Catholic School in Glen Burnie, testimony to the efforts and excellence of the school's band members.For all but three of the past 12 years, Arthur Slade's advanced band has been named the "outstanding Catholic elementary school band" in the country by the National Catholic Bandmasters Association. And the members are working hard to keep that record intact.Every Thursday, they rehearse in the school gym for 1 1/2 hours to perfect two pieces they will record in April to send to the bandmasters' association at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., for evaluation.

After 120 North County High School band members played their way to eight top awards at the All-American Music Festival in Orlando, Fla., they had to find room on the buses for the trophies they were bringing home.There were first place trophies and plaques for the drill team, concert band, jazz band, parade band, field show, concert percussion and flag squad. Senior Shannon Boyer won a top solo twirling trophy, the indoor pom-pom squad took second place and sophomore clarinetist Melissa Holy received a trophy and certificate for a videotaped performance.

When the Who's "Live at Leeds" was first released, some 25 years ago, it was greeted with equal measures of enthusiasm and disappointment. Although both fans and critics were eager to hail it as one of the greatest live rock performances on record, most added that, good as it was, listening to the album wasn't quite the same as being there.Why not? For one thing, the original album was a mere 45 minutes long, whereas the actual concert clocked in at two hours and 15 minutes. For another, though the actual show included a complete performance of "Tommy," the album touched on the rock opera only once, when "My Generation" detoured into some random quotes from the work.

For the better part of the school year, the band members of the South Carroll High School Marching Cavaliers spend their time practicing instruments and routines, performing in competitions and participating in fund-raising activities. But when the holiday season approaches, their thoughts turn to helping out the less fortunate in our community.For several years, the students have been adopting two families from the Carroll County area and providing them with traditional meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Plumed hats in hand, drum majors Melanie Ruston and Joshua Wilson stood at the entrance of Dulaney High School on Monday, awaiting their international guests. With them were band director Barry Chesky and the school's principal, Patrick S. McCusker - all anticipating the arrival of the former lord mayor of England's city of Westminster, as well as several other visitors from across the pond. The British came to Dulaney in Timonium to issue an official invitation to the Lion's Roar, the school marching band, to participate in the 2011 London New Year's Day Parade.

Baltimore's music scene has always had a soft spot for hard rock. But few Baltimore bands rock quite as hard as J-Roddy Walston and the Business. On stage, the captivatingly unkempt foursome churns out a mix of rollicking '50s boogie and fist-pumping '70s rock. Tonight, they'll perform at the Ottobar. Two and a half years ago, when J-Roddy Walston and the Business released the album "Hail Mega Boys," the guys in the group set some goals for themselves. They wanted to sell 2,000 copies of "Hail Mega Boys," and they wanted it to get fans and industry folks buzzing about the band.

For Taking Back Sunday, New Again is more than an album title. It's almost a mantra. In the past couple of years, the band has taken its first extended break (for about three months) and has brought in a new guitarist, Matt Fazzi of Facing New York. The result, says bass player Matt Rubano, is that TBS is playing with a level of energy and enthusiasm band members almost forgot they had. New Again, the group's first album in three years, marks the return of a revitalized, pumped-up Taking Back Sunday.

Hometown: Towson Members : Zach Cummins, rhythm guitar and lead vocals; Brian Sturgeon, drums; Matt Rampolla, keyboards and vocals; Tim Davis, bass; Michael Klicos, lead guitar Founded: 2007 Style : rock Influenced by: Thrice, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Saosin Notable: Because the band members come from varying musical backgrounds, it was tough for them to settle on a cohesive sound, Klicos said. They worked on their debut full-length album, Love & Malice, for about six months before releasing it last November.

Starring The Who. Directed by Jeff Stein. Sanctuary Records, $19.99 **** dvds This 1979 documentary, released less than a year after the death of drummer Keith Moon, showcases The Who at the peak of its powers. Video clips show band members in their earliest days, looking and sounding like the angry teenagers they were, while a later performance, filmed at London's Shepperton Studios in May 1978 (Moon would die less than four months later), showed they had lost none of their passion. More than just a documentary looking to ensure The Who's place in rock's pantheon, The Kids Are Alright is a great film in its own right, a combination of artistry, power and irreverence (bassist John Entwistle uses his gold records for skeet shooting practice)

Hometown: Baltimore Members: Justin Gilman, keyboards, guitars and vocals; Josh Gilman, drums and samples; Josh Beazell, guitar, vocals and keyboards; Jahan Hosseini, bass and vocals Founded: 2006 Style: experimental rock Influenced by : the Beatles, Radiohead, Tool, Mogwai, Bjork Notable: The band is wrapping up its first full-length album, which should come out in a month or two, Justin Gilman said. All of the band members are visual artists and put as much effort into their fliers, artwork and Web site as they do into their music.

With hits like "Alive" and "Jeremy," Pearl Jam quickly shot to the forefront of the alternative-rock music scene and became one of the most popular rock bands of the '90s. The band members have been selling out stadiums and arenas for almost two decades, all the while maintaining their organic Seattle roots. The band is on a 12-stop tour of the Eastern United States this summer, its first American tour since 2006. They play at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Verizon Center, 601 F St. N.W., Washington.

Hometown -- Baltimore and Annapolis Current members --Colin Stodd, percussion; Blake Mobley, keyboards; Tommy Bradel, drums; Johnny Fissinger, bass Founded in --2007 Style --instrumental electronica Influenced by --The New Deal, Daft Punk, Sound Tribe Sector 9 Notable --Damn Right came together last summer and played its first show as a band before it had any songs prepared. The band members just got on stage and improvised. Now, they have a few instrumental motifs figured out and are working on a mix tape culled from live performances.

Any day spent at Walt Disney World is bound to be a good day, but last Friday proved especially nice for one lucky musician in the Mount Hebron High School marching band. In Orlando, Fla., to perform in Disney's Magic Music Days festival, the 165-member band was marching along Main Street, U.S.A., when the drum major signaled them to halt. A stage had been wheeled into the middle of the road, blocking the band's path. As band members wondered what was going on, senior Tracie Ervin's name suddenly was announced as the 2-millionth student performer at Disney World since the festival began in 1985.

Hometown -- Baltimore Current members --Paula DeLuca, vocals; Sam Karavedas, bass; Michael Albi, guitar and vocals; Lou Hill, drums Founded in --2004 Style --alternative rock Influenced by --Tool, Soundgarden, Incubus, Dark Water Transit Notable --The group just finished mixing its first official release, an eight-song, as-of-yet untitled CD. It will be released this spring. The band members are veterans of the local music scene, and most come from various musical backgrounds such as grunge, blues and hardcore, Albi said.