NICHOLLE SALVATIERRA | FEATURES EDITOR
The Riverside City College band has built a reputation of having loud and vibrant performances. The RCC marching band has been featured in many films including: Good Burger, Coach Carter, American Pie 2, and Austin Powers.
For the bands 30th anniversary they’re performing their show entitled, “Spies and Superheroes.”
Along with celebrating the bands 30 years of excellence, they are also acknowledging the 50th anniversary for James Bond and the 75th for Superman. The band will be performing musical selections from Spider-Man, Batman and feature Adele’s hit song from the film “Skyfall”.
“I think that when an audience leaves the stands they should be humming something,” said band director Gary Locke. “We want audiences to get sucked in. The show is an escape.”
During the fall semester the band performed is a guest performer for marching band competitions. On Saturday, Sept. 28 they performed at The Redlands High School Preview of Champions where they received a standing ovation. The band also hosts a competition for high school bands here on campus.
The Big Orange Classic will be hosted in Wheelock stadium on Nov. 9.
The Marching Tigers have been the center of attention in some of the most prestigious parades around the world including the Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Fiesta Bowl, the Pasadena Rose Parade and New Years Parades in both Paris and Rome.
This year they have been invited to be the grand finale in the London New Years Parade.
They will also be the only featured bands to march in the Three Kings Parade in Madrid.
The parade is watched by half a million people and televised world-wide to an audience of approximately 225 million people.
The band will be made up of RCC students and alumni, as well as students from high schools including Riverside Poly, Riverside King, John W. North, Redlands, Redlands East Valley and Citrus Valley.
“We’re all about providing opportunities for students,” said Locke.
Along with opportunities to travel internationally, the RCC Marching Tigers provides the option for its members to be cast members of television shows.
The nickname given to the group is Hollywood’s Band, because they have been featured in so many films, television shows and commercials.
Members of the band are often cast in episodes of the hit television show Glee.
They were part of the season premiere episode on Sept. 26, where the episode paid homage to The Beatles. Along with Glee, other members of the band were in the season premiere of the NBC comedy Parenthood, where members played soldiers in a military band.
“We are the visible classroom, we represent the college,” said Locke.
Next time you turn on your TV and see a marching band chances are it’s The RCC Marching Tigers, the official band for the city of Riverside.
