University football, basketball and volleyball games gain much of their spirit from band music, and the Green Garter Band plays a central role in generating lively and recognizable tunes at athletic events. The band, comprised of 12 advanced student musicians, will celebrate its 20th anniversary Tuesday with a special performance at Beall Hall.
The Green Garter Band is the core group of the Oregon Marching Band and the Oregon Basketball Band. In addition, the group performs at women’s home basketball and volley ball games, plus a number of community and University events. Since its 1983 debut, the band has grown from its casual set-up into a formal group of musicians who serve as role models for fellow Oregon Marching Band members.
Green Garter Band baritone saxophone player Laura Arthur, who has studied the history of the band, said the group began when eight members of the Oregon Marching Band named the Emerald Dixieland Jazz Ensemble (EDGE for short) entertained the rest of the marching band as they waited for games to begin. When the octet was asked to perform at a private event, they added three more players and became the Green Garter Band.
Several rumors exist as to where the band’s name originated. Arthur said it was possibly named after a 1930s band with the same name, or after a 1970s University basketball band named the Green Garden Band.
Green Garter Band alto saxophone player and bandleader Brian Silva, who has spent four years in the group, said the original members actually wore green garters on their arms.
After two to three years of private gigs, the University athletic department asked the band to perform at women’s volleyball and basketball games, and awarded the musicians with scholarships that covered half their tuition (they presently receive a full scholarship). Trumpet player Dave Chartrey was the official student founder of the band, and Steve Paul, the associate director of bands at the time, helped steer the group in the right direction.
“(Paul) was trying to change the marching band into something high quality, and he used the Green Garter Band because they were the core players,” Arthur said.
Over time, the student band began arranging its own music and performing contemporary tunes, from the theme to Duck Tales to Outkast to Lenny Kravitz. Silva said the band plays mostly cover tunes and about five or six student-authored songs. The horn-filled group covers 1980s music, funk-era sounds, rock, soul, hip hop and rap.
“The Green Garter Band songbook is pretty thick,” said Oregon Marching Band drummer Eric Baca, who is doing public relations work for the Green Garter Band’s anniversary show.
Baca said the Green Garter Band performs for the marching band at the beginning of band camp every September, displaying a level of quality for new band members to strive toward.
“They have a positive stigma,” he said. “They’re associated with
greatness, because the best of the best is in the Green Garter Band.”
The band’s members follow a set instrumentation that includes players of baritone, alto and tenor saxophones, electric bass, mellophone, drums, lead and bass trombone, and trumpet. Silva said the band gives him the chance to have unique musical experiences.
“There aren’t many opportunities to play the kind of music we play,” Silva said. “We’re the only group (at the University) that does that. Mostly, it’s about having fun playing.”
Tuesday’s show, which they are calling their “20th anniversary extravaganza,” will include visits from Green Garter Band alumni and postings of historical information on the group in Beall Hall. The performance starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are available at the door for $5 general admission and $3 for students and seniors.