The Marching Mountaineers, also known as North Carolina's Band of Distinction, is the 285 member marching band of Appalachian State University. Founded in 1933, the band performs at all home Mountaineer football games and travels to select away games each year. The Marching Mountaineers were a participant in the 2006, and 2014 London New Year's Day Parade. The Band of Distinction also marched in the 2011 Cabalgata de Reyes in Madrid, Spain.
The Marching Mountaineers are represented in competitive indoor performing arts through the Appalachian Ascent Winterguard, which was founded in 2022.
History
The Term "North Carolina's Band of Distinction" was coined by Joe F. Phelps during his early years as the director of the Marching Mountaineers after receiving such positive press and reviews and growing the band from 80 to 220 in just a few years.
Traditions
Band Dismissal - At the end of every single rehearsal, game, etc. a sousaphone player plays an ascending lick and the band members respond with a loud "Oh!" A euphonium places a descending lick and the band yells "Woah!". (Defunct) The Big A - During the Pregame show, the band forms a block 'A' on the field during a swing section of the show. Post Game Concert - After every game that the band attends, they will play 4 songs from the stands: Celebration (if App won the game), You Can Call Me All, The House of the Rising Sun, and The Tennessee Waltz. Pre-Game Concert - Before every home game, the band will perform a concert outside of the School of Music on Walker lawn. This used to be the bands Warm-up, but has turned into a concert including the Pre-Game Show, selections from Halftime, and usually ends with the Tennessee Waltz. Sousa Prayer - After the Pre-Game concert, the Sousaphone players and alumni will gather near the entrance to the school of music, form a circle, and sway back and forth while an upperclassman or alumni hypes up the section.
Directors
Songs
The Band of Distinction performs a Pre-game show about 20 minutes before kickoff. The show begins with a Simple Gifts fanfare which then rolls into the song Carolina Pride. The band then performs the fight song, America the Beautiful, and the National Anthem while the Colors are Presented followed by the Appalachian State Alma Mater, Cherished Vision. The band then marches towards the fieldhouse playing "Go Appalachian" to prepare for the entrance of the football team. The band's post-game show after every football includes Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al," "The House of the Rising Sun" as made famous by The Animals and "The Tennessee Waltz." The Waltz, as it is known by members, was added as a standard of the band in the 1970s by Director Joe Phelps, when the fans began requesting the song be played after every game after it was played as part of a halftime show. The show used to include songs from their halftime repertoire along with several other tunes.
In the Stands
Music performed in the stands consists of: The fight song, Hi Hi Yikas, played when the football team scores or wins. Different lengths of the song are played when needed The Olympic Fanfare (Buglers Dream), is played before every Mountaineer kickoff Go Appalachian Short lines of music are played during 1st, 2nd, and 3rd downs. They consist of parts of Hi Hi Yikas and the Simple Gifts fanfare Mortal Kombat, Dies irae, and Mars are played during defensive downs Short and Alumni Cheers Low Brass Cheer which starts with the low brass and adds on trumpet and mello parts. The woodwinds usually chant "Oh-Yeah" or scream while dancing as they do not play Trombone Cheer Trumpet Charge, begins as a bugle call that adds other parts on top the second time played. Various other songs In 2021 songs such as Neck by Cameo and Confident by Demi Lavato were played in the stands
Instrumentation
The Marching Mountaineers are divided into the following sections: