‘Fire Up Flames:’ Pep band boosts more than school spirit

Nicholas Carlsonputs his hands together to form a W. It's a signature move that musicians in the UIC Pep Band know well, and they know what's coming.

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As the band's director, Carlson decides which songs crowds at Flames men's and women's basketball games will hear next. The W is the signal for the band to play "War," a brass-heavy tune that also gives the musicians a chance to sing a few bars: "We don't want to fight, but if we do, we've got a war to bring to you!"

"I love the songs when we have chants or we get to sing," said Ange Figueroa, a second-year trumpet player and music business major in the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts. "Those are the songs where we get the crowd the most high, get everyone pumped up. No matter how loud we are, Carlson will always say, 'I can't hear you!' So, we get louder."

When he was hired as assistant director of bands in 2010, Carlson was tasked with growing a pep band that was low on members. There were seven musicians. His goal was to reach 25.

In that first year, Carlson's band grew to 45 students, and it's continued to grow. Just 15 years later, through outreach, resourcefulness and student engagement, the roster has grown to nearly 90.

"It started off with the energy that we are bringing to games," Carlson said. "Then some campus partners or administrators would start to notice and be like, 'Wow, the band sounded really good. We should have them at this or that.' I think making the pep band a part of the students' experience and making it special has really helped the campus connection to the group but also helps us reach new members."

Sousaphone player Camryn Thomas-McCormick practices with the UIC Pep Band at the School of Theatre and Music (Photo: Martin Hernandez/UIC) Fourth-year student Elise Frank, center, played the clarinet in high school and switched to alto saxophone to join the UIC Pep Band. (Photo: Martin Hernandez/UIC)

Navy Pier origin story

The partnership between music and athletics at UIC dates to the school's Navy Pier days. The campus culture in the 1950s and '60s, when the university was housed on the pier, included pep clubs, a choir and dance bands that played school-related functions. The catch was, in the '50s, these musical endeavors were headed by instructors from the math, science or engineering departments, not the music department.

The school also once had a football program that was eliminated after the 1973 season. It was then the marching band became a smaller pep band.

When Carlson arrived at UIC in 2010, he started recruiting at the fall involvement fair. As he talked to non-music degree students about their concerns with joining a regular, on-campus band, his biggest takeaway was how few students knew a pep band existed.

He also heard potential band members' concerns about how to work rehearsals into a schedule that included a commute up to an hour away.

"We make sure anyone in the pep band has free parking on game days, and we are trying to eliminate those barriers they're worried about," Carlson said. "Little things like that went a long way to letting students know that if they're invested in this, we value their participation and in return, they value the experience."

Building infrastructure

Besides parking and available time, another issue arose in building the band. Most students who live on campus hadn't moved in with a sousaphone, and those who live off campus wondered how to transport and store the instruments they already owned.

Carlson began making phone calls, scouring the basement of the theatre building and regularly visiting music resale stores around Chicago. He has accepted used instruments from universities around the state and even found stickers on some that date to the Navy Pier campus.

"We are resourceful in the ways we've managed to maintain instruments," Carlson said as he repaired an alto saxophone.

Because the pep band is exclusively brass and percussion instruments (no flutes or clarinets), he has also taught many students a new instrument.

Fourth-year alto saxophonist Elise Frank, who is studying urban planning in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, played the clarinet in middle and high schools. Camryn Thomas-McCormick, a music major, was also a clarinetist in middle school and made the switch to the sousaphone at UIC.

"I called before I came here to ask about pep band," said Frank, who played the clarinet for three years in UIC's wind ensemble. "I asked Carlson, 'What do you do with clarinets?' and he said, 'You learn the saxophone.'"

UIC professor Nicholas Carlson led the growth of the school's pep band. (Photo: Martin Hernandez/UIC) The UIC Pep Band includes brass, drums and an electric bass. (Photo: Martin Hernandez/UIC)

Creating campus life

Though a pep band is usually associated with athletic events, the UIC band can be found all across campus. When Andrea Williams was announced as the director of athletics, the band was there. It plays at convocation in August, at the Chicago Marathon in October, at SparkFest in September and even at the international student dinner.

During the 2010-11 school year, when the band was smaller than it is now, it played at the United Center when the Flames men's basketball team beat then-No. 12-ranked University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for the program's first win over the Illini in 10 years.

The band's reach stretches far beyond the basketball court for which they were organized.

"Pep band is such a great opportunity for so many students to be able to be engaged at such a big school," Frank said. "The best part is we can always be there and support students at UIC, and they can support us."

Belonging through music

Because students from all majors find a home in the band, it has become a place of growth for so many musicians.

Frank became a section leader a year after she learned the saxophone. She says the opportunity expanded her college education.

"It has been a great experience learning how to balance numerous things," Frank said. "I'm coordinating classes and exams with all of the after-school things the band has with a section of 30 saxophones. I'm the person they come to when they don't have access to an instrument, or they're missing a reed or forgot their music. I've learned about organization, time management and communication."

Thomas-McCormick, who grew up in Georgia, said she had a negative experience in band in middle school, so she turned to choir. She said she couldn't imagine donning a band uniform again, until she saw the camaraderie while attending performances to see her friend, Figueroa.

"They let me tag along to a game, and then I saw them all again at the UIC Tailgate and I thought, 'I want to be a part of this pep-band world,'" Thomas-McCormick said.

As a first-year student and criminology, law and justice major in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Nallely Torres said the pep band helped her find friends and a sense of belonging on campus.

"You can find your group of people that aren't all in your major," she said. "The sense of community is very strong."

It isn't hard to encounter fans of the pep band around campus. Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda and Provost Karen Colley cheer, "Go band!" as the musicians wrap up each performance.

"It really means a lot for leadership to show appreciation and enthusiasm for the group," Carlson said.

Fourth-year student Elise Frank has been a part of the pep band since her first year at UIC. (Photo: Martin Hernandez/UIC) The UIC Pep Band practices at the School of Theatre and Music. (Photo: Martin Hernandez/UIC)

Discovering a place to grow

Carlson said he is impressed with the band's growth and strength in the 15 years since he took over the program.

"I've really come to think of UIC as such a unique, special place, and the students are so unique and special," Carlson said. "I want them to have this opportunity to play together."

The band travels as much as it can with both basketball teams. It has appeared at games throughout Illinois and Indiana, and made the trek to Arch Madness and Hoops in the Heartland - the Missouri Valley Conference's men's and women's basketball tournaments - to energize the crowd supporting the Flames.

"It's fun to go on the road and be a part of something so exciting and show that school spirit," Figueroa said. "This is huge for me, because I'd never had that sense of school pride before. Now, I want to do everything and be involved and find my community."

When Frank graduates in December, she knows her pep-band career will come to an end. She said she's happy knowing, as she passes the leadership torch, that others will follow.

"Even in some high schools, band is a very consuming thing," Carlson said. "It doesn't have to be here. My hope is really to just show students that they can be a lawyer, they can be an engineer, and for the rest of their life, they could still play one day a week in a community band."