Sound vibration in underpass adds to bands’ experience as they march in Harvest of Harmony Parade

For bands in the Harvest of Harmony Parade, marching through the Eddy Street underpass is the instrumental equivalent of singing in the shower.

Or perhaps striding through the underpass is the musical equivalent of playing in a professional sound studio and having the engineer crank up the recording equipment's "reverb" dial to the absolute maximum.

Everything sounds bigger, better and definitely louder in the Eddy underpass, whether it is the band playing music or the drumline pounding out a marching cadence.

In an interview prior to Saturday's Harvest of Harmony, Central Catholic sophomore drummer Justin Geis said older band members had told him about the underpass before he marched through it for the first time last year.

"They said it was their favorite part of the parade," he said.

Central Catholic junior drummer Adam Brown agreed that portion of the route is the "best part of the parade."

Typically, no other Central Catholic musicians play while going through the underpass: It's only the drummers hammering out the band's marching rhythm as its members follow the pavement dipping below the railroad tracks. But Brown said that doesn't make a difference to the other musicians: "They all like it."

Besides the great sound effects, there are other reasons to enjoy the experience.

Brown said many people gather on overhead spans to watch the parade, with the fans yelling out, "Go, Crusaders" or "Go, Central Catholic."

Geis said there also is a sense of anticipation in the underpass, because when the band arrives at the Third Street intersection and begins marching east, it marks the parade's official beginning.

"That's when it gets serious," Geis said.

On Friday, senior trombonist Levi Benson of Grand Island Senior High said that when he marched through the Eddy Street underpass as a freshman, he thought at the time it was "the coolest thing I've ever done."

The experience has only gotten better each year, said Benson, who noted he would be making his last march through the tunnel this year.

Benson said he and other band members "take our time" marching through the underpass, just so they can relish the drumline's  reverberating sound..

He said the band's fans are usually standing overhead, yelling "Go, GISH," and "Go, G-I."

Like Geis, Benson said there is great anticipation as the band approaches Third Street and its big crowds.

Aurora High School freshman Andi Niles' face broke into a big smile when asked at the end of the parade about marching through the Eddy Street canyon. She got a kick out of traveling along the walled-in street "because I got to hear the echoes."

Niles said older Aurora band members had advised her beforehand about how fun it was to hear the sound bounce off solid concrete.

She said Aurora fans yelled encouragement and waved at musicians and flag corps members along the underpass route. But Niles, who plays cymbals, couldn't wave back -- she literally had both her hands full with her cymbals.

While many high school musicians think the underpass is the best part of the parade, lots of people choose it as the best vantage point for parade watching.

Two of them were Centura juniors Tara Spiehs and Emily Lemburg, who had picked out a spot on a pedestrian walkway.

Like Eddy Street, underpass walkways on both the east and west sides dip under the railroad tracks. The two students were standing on a lower section of the west walkway, leaning against the iron railing.

Spiehs said they were there "because our friends are in the band" and because the "drums are awesome" when the band goes through the underpass.

The girls said they like to yell encouragement to friends as the Centura band goes by. Lemburg was in the band for two years before deciding to become an onlooker this year.

She recalled how much fun it was marching through the cavernous area and giving a discreet wave to her friends shouting from the sidelines.

This year, it was a Centura trumpeter who kept her hands firmly grasping her brass band instrument while still managing a tactful finger wave to Spiehs and Lemburg. A Centura flag corps member couldn't wave. She could only smile and acknowledge the juniors with a sidelong gaze.

Paula Hunt of Elm Creek and her husband, Robert Hunt, were on the southernmost span over Eddy Street to watch her son, eighth-grader Josh Fitch, play his baritone sax with the Elm Creek band.

They were invited by a friend from Beaver Creek to meet at Third and Eddy. They quickly decided on an overhead viewing location and Hunt said she thought the spot "was so cool."

A few onlookers were practically right on Eddy Street. Lindsay Modlin of Grand Island was sitting on the street curb, with her back against the west wall, near the Third Street end of the underpass. Her 3-year-old daughter, Bridget, was standing beside her.

Modlin said that spot means she never has to worry about their views being blocked by people standing in front of them. It's also a great place for Bridget to get candy from parade entrants who are handing out treats.

Nancy and Bob Wood of Greeley stood on the northernmost overhead span. They were there to see the Elba band and also the St. Paul band, whose ranks include two of their grandchildren.

Nancy once paraded in Harvest of Harmony herself. She can remember wearing gloves with fingertips cut out so she could play her clarinet -- and marching on Eddy Street beneath the railroad and street bridges.