Band of the Week – 2019 Week 49 – Hartsville HS Red Regime

For the return of Band of the Week, we take a look at the Hartsville HS Red Regime.

The Hartsville High School Red Regime had a successful 2019 season, finishing 8th at the SCBDA 3A Championships following a 2nd place finish at lower state. The Red Regime donned new uniforms this year, with a vibrant, floral look. We reached out to Hartsville keyboard player, Chase Amerson, for his thoughts on season:

The Red Regime had an eight place finish at state finals this year. how did you guys react to this placement?

Well, I personally thought that it wasn’t bad; it was [an] improvement, and that’s what I told everyone. Although some people expected higher than 8th, we still went out there and gave them a better show than last year.

Hartsville also got 2nd place at Upper State, even when it took place inside a gym. What did you guys do to prepare for this less-than-optimal performance?

Well, In the days before, we assessed the situation. We made a plan, and we executed it. We set up in the gym that morning to practice and we made it happen, we made all of the adjustments we needed to go have a successful night

The Red Regime typically has more traditional uniforms, colored red and black, but this year, you guys had these printed tank top like things. How did the band react to these changes, and were there any advantages, or disadvantages?

Well, I can say one thing. Rookies really over exaggerated it. They didn’t know how it felt to be dying in heat in those jackets, the “tank tops” were like a relief. Now, there were it’s disadvantages such as getting the life choked out of you so to speak, but there were advantages like not dying from sweat.

Your band in these past few years have had some large props on the field, this year being no exception. How was hard was the transportation and how effective do you think props were to this years show?

Indeed, we had quite a few props this past season. We took care of it, props got moved smoothly and, for the most part, got moved in place. I think that the props added more life to the show, it represented exactly what we where about, growing.

How has this season felt to you compared to your past seasons?

Well, I feel that this season has made a huge jump compared to last season. With the help from extra people and the staff being a little bit harder, it really pushed us to have a better season.

A complete list of the Red Regime’s placements at competitions this year:

Olde English Festival of Bands at Rock Hill HS, SC (Finals, 7th place, 79.00)
Palmetto “Espirit de Corps” Invitational at Irmo HS, SC (Div V, 1st place, 85.60)
Blythewood Tournament of Bands at Blythewood HS, SC (AAA, 2nd place. 83.00)
Lower State Preliminaries at Westwood HS, SC (AAA, 2nd place. 85.70)
Lower State Championships at Chapin HS, SC (AAA, 8th place, 79.950)

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