Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., the Ouachita Tiger Marching Band can be found rehearsing near the intramural fields. You can often find the band perfecting one set or ensuring that a few missed notes get fixed. Beat by beat, note by note, the band rehearses and fine tunes their show so that the next home game proves more entertaining than the last.
Ensuring all of that is a new face in OBU’s family of faculty: Nevada Mills.
Mills is the new Assistant Director of Bands and the director of the marching band. After a two year search, he was tapped to fill in the position and said yes. So far, Mills has adjusted nicely to life at Ouachita.
“It’s been great,” said Mills. “The students have been very helpful in helping me adjust to the different atmosphere that happens at the collegiate level.”
This is Mills’ first year of teaching at the collegiate level. He’s directed at public schools before, including Mena High School, Lakeside Junior High, and Watson Chapel Junior High. However, he is certainly no stranger to the college band life nor to Arkadelphia; he graduated from Henderson in 2006 with his Bachelor’s of Music Education. While he has needed to adjust to directing a college marching band, he has taken up the task head-on.
“I think one of the biggest challenges has been the difference in the amount of time given to rehearsals,” said Mills. “In the public world, for the most part you see students every day for a set period of time. Then of course in the collegiate world, we’ve got Tuesday-Thursday classes and Monday-Wednesday-Friday classes. It’s a whole different thing in that you’re only going to see your students two days a week for rehearsals. I have to learn to rely on the students more, making sure they’re pulling their weight in getting their job done because of that lack of face-to-face time.”
To help tackle this challenge, Mills has used a variety of digital tools to help band members stay updated on what’s coming up for rehearsals. Members can see the marching drill using apps on their smartphones or tablets, and Mills can send mass group texts using the Remind service.
Digital tools are only part of how Mills approaches rehearsals and, by extension, halftime performances at every home football game. This year’s marching theme mashes up the music of Bruno Mars with legends like James Brown and Stevie Wonder.
“You’ve got all these great artists that span the generations,” said Mills. “You play ‘Superstition’ in today’s world, most people know that iconic opening rhythm to it. To be able to take that and put that with someone who is so fresh on the scene, kind of rejuvenating that genre of music.”
Mills says he started to get hooked to Bruno Mars when he saw the singer perform on the Grammys in 2011 when he performed “Runaway Baby”.
“He was just pure energy,” said Mills. “Vocals are on point, it was really fun to watch.”
Mills knew then the music of Bruno Mars would be great for marching band. But how does he mix the music with the movements?
“In writing drill, it’s all about pictures,” said Mills. “What pictures can I make, and from said picture how do I transition to a new one? I knew that I wanted us to be very ‘open’ and not a lot of tight-knit sets. If we do go to a really tight drill formation, then we immediately spread back out so we have that depth left to right and front to back on the field.”
Mills says the music “talks” to him in a way, which then helps him chart out what he wants to see on the field. He includes certain visual elements like dancing or certain formations to help complement the music. For example, the opening song is a mashup of “Locked Out of Heaven” and “Funkytown”, which led Mills to write a “high-energy” set of movements for the marchers; however, there is a part of the song that includes an homage to MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This”, which gives some time for marchers to dance for a little bit on the field before moving again.
While Mills enjoys letting band members have fun on the field, he still emphasizes the need for the band to play and march their best.
“You’ve got to sound good,” said Mills. “The audience is going to want to hear good music, and they’re going to want it performed well.”
With that in mind, Mills knows he isn’t under the pressure that high school bands face during marching season. Since college bands don’t typically compete for awards or against other bands, Mills can focus on making the show more about entertaining the audience and making sure everyone can enjoy it, from the band members to the audience. Mills is willing to take a few risks to make the show stand out, saying “the ceiling is really endless with risks”.
“We don’t have to do what the people across the street do. We don’t have to do what any university in the nation does. I’ve got some experimental things I want to try.”
Mills says those experiments are part of a larger goal.
“I want it to get to the point where people don’t look at halftime as an opportunity to go get something to eat. I want them to look at halftime as an opportunity to enjoy entertainment.”
