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Chris Perry
Magic City Classic 1986 |
I moved to
Montgomery, in 1976 by way of Air Force, my father was a
Master Sergeant assigned to the ROTC detachment at ASU. Even
though I was only in the 4th grade becoming a Marching Hornet
was my destiny. ASU and the band have always been apart of my
life. As a child, I remember seeing the band practicing in Hornets
Stadium, the old Dust Bowl, and marching in the Homecoming and
Christmas parades. I would see Prof Lyle every
Sunday at church and he look at me and say "Chris when are you
coming to play for me."
My quest to
become Marching Hornets started in the 7th grade were I began learning
to play clarinet. By my 11th grade at Sidney Lanier
High School I was playing Clarinet and Alto Sax. My love for
the band was apparent. In the 12th grade I was Clarinet
section leader in
the Marching Band and participated in Concert, Symphonic, Jazz, and Pep Band
under the direction of Mr. Farrell Duncombe also know as Mr. D,
a FAMU Marching 100 Alum.
During my
senior year in high school I had the
opportunity to audition for various scholarships from Troy State, FAMU, Southern
U, and ASU just to name a few. Mr. D. had
connections. Mr. D. asked me, "where do you want to play", I
replied, "ASU". The scholarship wasn't much compared to the
others, but that's where my heart was. From my
graduating class four of us went Bama State, myself, Joseph
Thomas (Baritone), Darrel Boswell (Bass Horn) and Carl Barlow
(Tenor Drum). I also had two crab brothers from St. Jude
High, Mark Patterson (Alto Sax) and Mike Tollivor (Tenor Drum)
giving us a total of 6 from the Montgomery area. Five of the
six would
pledge Kappa Kappa Psi. I marched 3 years as a Mighty Marching Hornet
before joining the Navy. |
