Sound of the Natural State

Sound of the Natural State

School	Arkansas State University
Location	Jonesboro, Arkansas
Conference	Sun Belt
Founded	1909
Director	Dr. Sarah Labovitz
Members	220
Fight song	"ASU Loyalty"
Uniform	Black and red coat with black pants, STATE sash, black shako with black plume

The Sound of the Natural State is the marching band of Arkansas State University.

Directed by Dr. Sarah Labovitz (Director of Athletic Bands) the 'Sound of the Natural State' is the marching band of Arkansas State University located in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

About

Described as "one of Arkansas State's greatest assents" by Arkansas State's former chancellor, Robert Potts, The SOUND is built on the long tradition of outstanding bands at Arkansas State. 'The Sound' is a premiere college marching band utilizing a corps style performance to produce a high energy precision show. Never to disappoint a crowd, the 'Sound of the Natural State' is well respected by colleges and high schools all across the country. Past Directors have included Mr. Donald Minx, Dr. Tom O'Connor, Ms. Pat Brumbaugh, Dr. Tom O'Neal, Mr. Ed Alexander, and Dr. Kenneth Carrol. The Director of Bands and Coordinator of Instrumental Activities, Arkansas State, is Dr. Timothy Oliver.

Throughout the past decade, under the talented leadership of those listed above, the band has enjoyed continued growth; both in numbers of artists participating and numbers of performances. Currently the SOUND performance schedule includes all home football games, several away games each season, as well as three exhibitions performances for area marching contests. The busy schedule fosters outstanding time management among the college students, representing every major in the STATE Course Catalog. The group rehearses Tuesday through Friday from 3:30 PM until 5:00 PM at the Marching Band Practice Facility on the Jonesboro campus. Enjoying outstanding support from the institution, a large number of SOUND musicians receive Band Performance Scholarships regardless of major.

Organization

Winds and percussion

Currently, the instrumentation of Sound of the Natural State includes:

Traditions

Order of the Pack

Formerly known as "The Order of the Tribe", The Order of the Pack is an important gathering of current students, alumni, athletes, faculty, and administration to carry forward the history of the institution and teach the crowd the music, cheers and chants used to cheer on the ASU football team at the first home game of the season. The Sound of the Natural State is one of the most noticeable groups participating in The Order of the Pack, performing for the crowd the ASU Fight Song "ASU Loyalty", the ASU Alma Mater "Hail to ASU", and various pep tunes of the season.

Pregame

The football pregame performance at Arkansas State University is led by the Sound of the Natural State. The band performs a traditional pregame show that includes "Patriots on Parade", "The Star Spangled Banner", "Hail to ASU", "ASU Loyalty".

References

Arkansas State University

Athletics	Baseball Men's basketball Football Red (mascot)

Buildings	Convocation Center Centennial Bank Stadium Pfeiffer House and Carriage House Tomlinson Stadium–Kell Field

Related	ASU Indian Family KASU Sound of the Natural State

Arkansas State Red Wolves football

Venues	Centennial Bank Stadium (1974–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Louisiana–Monroe: Trail of Tears Classic Memphis: Paint Bucket Bowl

Culture & lore	Howl "ASU Loyalty Song" Sound of the Natural State

People	Head coaches NFL draftees

Seasons	1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Marching bands of the Sun Belt Conference

Marching Mountaineers (Appalachian State) Sound of the Natural State (Arkansas State) Southern Pride Marching Band (Georgia Southern) Pride of Acadiana (Louisiana–Lafayette) Sound of Today (Louisiana–Monroe) South Alabama Jaguar Marching Band (South Alabama) Sound of the South (Troy)