USAF Band audition?

[fholewonder]

Hey all-

I was thinking about auditioning for the USAF Band. Any thoughts on military bands? Thanks in advance for your input!

[Bubbabass]

Which USAF band?

I have done 20 years with an AF band. They have never missed a payday, you get 30 days paid vacation yearly, full med coverage for you and your dependents, plus a pension. If I retired tomorrow, I'd get approx. $21K (based on paygrade E7, 20 yrs, with dependents) before taxes annually, plus COLA increases. Oh yeah, a VA mortgage lets you buy a house w/no down payment for your first purchase.

The tradeoff? You have to learn to function within the military environment, which may be somewhat different from what you're used to. If you had your heart set on the Cleveland Orchestra, you would want to adjust your thinking--the rep. will tend to be concert band oriented, along with pop and patriotic music. Doubling is a plus.

Good Luck

[NJL]

as well, Pacman is in the AF band in san antonio...

[Heli Bass]

FHW;

Some of the finest musicians I have meet have been military band players. The Navy Bands "Country Current" (Bluegrass) The Army's various jazz bands etc, are very polished. You'll be your own Roadie, help set up stages, etc. BubbaBass' reply is usually the one I get when I ask why they stay in. A steady paycheck, benefits, AND retirement. A lot of them seem to have advance degrees in music studies, So when they retire at age 38-42 they can teach at the college level or do something else and play part time, or if they have been exceptionally frugal they can persue the craft of music fulltime.

The military environment is the downside (don't let that discourage you, I've been hanging in for 30+ years between active and the National Guard) They'll pay for college also if you need that help. I would encourage you to give it a try, If you don't like it, get out after your enlistment is up.

And the good thing is you can audition and be accepted before ever signing a paper to enlist. Give it a shot, you might be pleasantly suprised.

Good luck!

Let me know if I can help.

Blessings

Keith

[Pacman]

Which band is an important question. The band at Bolling (in DC)? Otherwise, do you double?

[rogerjeep]

I spent 12 years in the AF Band progrm as a bass player. It's a great gig. Do you have the audition material? Most of it can be found online. If not, pm one of us and we can point you to the right direction.

[Kam]

I've been considering this road...I saw an Air Force Big Band in high school and was definetely impressed!