Cal Poly Concert Bands Perform "Godzilla Eats Las Vegas."

Hightlights:

 

Shaun Kahmann

Heavy foot falls can be heard while frantic screams reverberate around the room. Suddenly a horn wales out like a roar while weighty drum beats grow louder to signify the monster's arrival. Godzilla is coming to Cal Poly.

Cal Poly's concert bands are known for their sweeping orchestral pieces. But when the band performs “Godzilla Eats Las Vegas,” tradition is turned on it's head. Written like a musical play, the piece gives way to all the theatricality of screaming, stomping and even animal noises as the band depicts an incensed Godzilla descending upon Las Vegas entirely through song. The piece features an array of genre spanning music from middle eastern to classical as Godzillas journeys though different locals and eras of Vegas. Beginning on March 8, 2013 the band will take their act to Cal Poly's Performing Arts Center. But if you miss it, the band will periodically revisits the piece in future quarters.

----------Renascence Monster----------

“Godzilla Eats Vegas” was written in 1996 by composer Eric Whitacre while he was an undergrad at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Technically a single song, the piece jumps from one musical style to another as Gozilla traverses famous Vegas locales like the Taj Mahal and the Luxor. The more the music changes, the harder the band has to work to keep up with the transitions. Associate Director of Bands Christopher Woodruff said the style changes were one of the hardest aspects of the piece for band members to adapt to.

“It jumps styles from jazz, to rock and mombo. The band has to be very flexible to make the changes happen,” Woodruff said. “It's not like in a studio where you can just splice the music together. The students have to make that switch musically and mentally and that's very tough to do.”

 

	Associate Director of Bands Christopher Woodruff helps the band manage difficult transitions in the performance.

 

----------From music to theater----------

In addition to being musically diverse, the piece also requires band members to act out certain aspects of the performance. As the piece opens members of the band must stomp their feet and scream to signify Godzilla’s arrival. At other points, certain parts of the band, like the horn section, must play their instruments in a way that sounds like Godzilla’s roar. Not all the band members are excited about having to be actors in addition to being musicians. But Bryan Rodriguez, a mechanical engineering major who plays the trumpet, said that he loves the how acting adds variety to the performance.

“Some of the musicians don't like having to act into their but I'm like 'Come on!' It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to play a piece as weird and cool as this,” Rodriguez said.

 

	Percussion plays a major role in bringing the Godzilla to life.

 

----------A Weird piece----------

Straddling the lines between a recital and a play, “Godzilla” actually contains a script that is included in the program for the audience to read while the piece is being performed. The audience is meant to imagine all of the events of the performance including one section where Godzilla is assailed up on a mob of Vegas Elvis impersonators. The imagination of the audience is aided by careful use of certain instrumens to communicate each scene. Base drum player Richard Cruz-Silva, an environmental engineering major, said that he is tasked with one of the larger roles in the play.

“As percussionist I have a lot of parts that only I play. It's kind of nerve racking,” Cruz-Silva said. “For Godzilla, we do a lot of the sound effects.”

Other sounds include unfortunate animals that get stepped on the giant lizard. One member of the band is tasked with accurately mimicking the sound of a crushed animal.

“We auditioned for that. We had to. We haven't picked anyone yet but they're practicing they're dog sounds now,” Woodruff said with a laugh.

Because there are no actual visuals in “Godzilla Eats Las Vegas,” the audience has to use their imagination to envision the events of the performance. Here are some tips:

----------Viewing Godzilla: For Best Results----------

*Read the script before the performance starts to set the mood.

*Periodically read ahead into the script and close your eyes to better imagine the scene.

*Turn off your phone and avoid conversation during the performance to mitigate distractions.

*While not recommended or endorsed by the band, psychoactive drugs would likely make the experience come to life on an unprecedented level.

For the band however, live performances often carry a measure of fear in the form of stage fright.

----------Staying Composed----------

It's not unusual for people who are tasked with performing in front of live audiences to get nervous. But now that the band is tasked with incorporating aspects of theatre it creates a hightened sense of fear for some band members. Hillary Tung, a city and regional planning major who plays the clarinet, said she often suffers from stage fright during a performance.

“I get really nervous and start freaking out,” Tung said. “I have a tendency to freak out in the middle of the piece and stop playing sometimes. I'm just hoping that I don't mess up.”

	The horn section is one of the most crucial to the performance in terms of sound effects, and as such, they're expected perform at peak level.

The band has been practicing the piece throughout the 2013 winter quarter. The concert bands meet twice a week and have racked up 16-plus hours of practice in anticipation for the performance. Though a little nervous, most of the band members said they felt ready to deliver a great performance.

“People underestimate the music program at Cal Poly. I hope people will support us by seeing our performances,” Tung said. “ [With Godzilla] I hope the audience will have fun and maybe be a little weirded out. I know I am.”