Now forming on the north end of Kyle Field
By Ana Sevilla
As the A&M football team prepares to enter Kyle Field at 11:30 p.m. each Midnight Yell before home games, crowds wait on Joe Routt Blvd with anticipation. Finally, the whistle is blown, the torches are lit, the drummers begin to play and the march to the stands ensues as crowds watch, some taking videos with their phones and others simply enjoying yet another Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band step off for Midnight Yell.
The nationally famous Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band, or FTAB, also known as the Noble Men of Kyle, has been a defining aspect of Texas A&M tradition and a living testament to the military history A&M boasts. Formed in 1894 with only 13 original members, the band was started by Joseph Holick, College Station’s famous bootmaker for the Corps of Cadets.
Holick worked and lived on campus making boots for cadets per the request of then-university president Lawrence Sullivan Ross. When Holick was offered an additional $65 to play Reveille and Taps by the Commandant, Holick denied and instead decided to organize the military band.
Since then, the band has continuously earned notoriety for its precision military marching and for being the largest military band in the world with more than 400 band members.
Timothy Rhea, the FTAB director, said the band’s drills have changed over the years but still pay homage to its rich history.
“There are certain traditional aspects to [marching] like always starting in the north endzone, always making some kind of [block] T or T-A-M at the end of the drill — those are still in place,” Rhea said. “Everything is still 6:5 [six steps for every five yards] marching with 30-inch steps, our repertoire includes pieces that are strictly march style in nature, and I think our drills have continued to evolve. We try to make our performance level better every year.”
Because the band has a strong reputation to uphold, the first rehearsal of the day begins bright and early at 7 a.m. about a week before the fall semester starts. Incoming freshmen must know how to march before being admitted into the FTAB, and during rehearsal they’re trained in the official military marching style, according to interdisciplinary junior and upcoming section leader Aubrianna Jeffers.
“A lot of the fish come to us having marched a
Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band a living testament to military tradition
different style, have to learn the military marching style, which is a little bit different,” Jeffers said. “We teach them marching fundamentals and spend time going over the songs we play all the time: ‘War Hymn’ and ‘Noble Men’. Because we play them so often, we need to have them really be perfect.”
Band music, such as “Ballad of the Green Berets,” “The 12th Man,” “The Aggie War Hymn,” “Patton” and “Strategic Air Command,” are hallmark songs for the band to play and some of these tunes were originally composed by former band directors.
However, Rhea said music selection can change from time to time, particularly if the drill calls for more transitions, and depending on who composes the drill, as there are three overseeing directors, including Lt. Col. Jay Brewer and Russell Tipton.
“All of my drills are done to the music,” Rhea said. “I pick out what I want to play first and then make it match the music. I think all three of us [band directors] have a very different style. It’s not the same every week, there’s some difference in the way we do things.”
As the year goes on, the drills become more intricate, and more difficult to learn, but Rhea said with the additional leadership of student drum majors, managing the large band becomes an easier task to handle.
“I particularly do a lot more individual assignments [in my drills] where the cadets are actually responsible, almost a follow-the-leader kind of drill,” Rhea said. “That’s the thing that makes the job worthwhile — the students. They’re very very enthusiastic about what they do, and they’re passionate about excellence. The thing that has always made it work, and the directors and students share the same expectation for performance.”
J.C. Park, Class of 2017 and Combined Band public relations officer, said the band has helped him to create lasting connections during his development with the FTAB.
“I’ve changed quite a bit,” Park said. “Being in the Aggie Band is made of two components: being in the band itself, and then being in a military unit, which is our Corps ties. In both situations, I’ve seen a lot of personal and professional development and growth in myself. You’re almost sharing every moment, besides class time, with your fellow bandsmen, and it’s a really unique and memorable experience.”
