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A podcast focusing on the perspectives, lives, and stories of Kansans to provide greater insight into the state we all call home.
AAK_Ep27
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[00:00:00]
AI Searches
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Sydney Collins: Okay, so we've talked about this a couple of times, so, um, let's just get outta the way on your chat. GBT, what are some of the things that you have searched lately? Like what are the, like on the edge, like on your little, what are those even called?
Gus Applequist: I don't, I don't know, but yeah, I can, I can tell you, uh, tire pressure recommendation, uh, influential people in Salina.
Um. Um, let's see. I, there's a few that I'm gonna skip. Yeah. Um, c cleric spell preparation. That's 'cause I'm a, a, a dungeon master in a d and d game.
Sydney Collins: Cleric what?
Gus Applequist: Spell preparation. Like spell.
Sydney Collins: Spell. Oh, spell, yeah.
Gus Applequist: Yeah.
Sydney Collins: Like Abracadabra. Mm-hmm. Okay.
Gus Applequist: My favorite one probably on this is German currency after World War ii.
What do you [00:01:00] got?
Sydney Collins: Um, I've got, uh, not as interesting things lately. I've got, uh, clarify segment, meaning I have zero idea what that one's about. Um,
Gus Applequist: so do it. Photo
Sydney Collins: number, inquiry. I don't know what any of these are. Like, I don't remember. Butterfly Gardens and Mosquitoes.
Gus Applequist: Oh, A DHD. Coffee Impact.
Sydney Collins: Oh. Um, let's see.
Homemade pasta sauce recipe,
Gus Applequist: Newfoundland hat types,
Sydney Collins: Enid, Oklahoma. Name, origin,
Gus Applequist: lactose intolerance. Signs.
Sydney Collins: Oh my gosh. Cheetah Redding. Speed. It's
Gus Applequist: good.
Sydney Collins: Um,
Gus Applequist: there's literally one that's uh, um, asking for how I can consolidate this list of things 'cause it's overwhelming [00:02:00] to me.
Sydney Collins: And then a lot of 'em are like recipes. Like this one is homemade baked bean recipe. Hmm. Um, let's see, grilled chicken flatbread recipes. Um, 12
Gus Applequist: hour walk Summary.
Sydney Collins: Interesting.
Gus Applequist: I don't have any idea what that is.
Sydney Collins: Healthy meal ideas kids eat. Um, let's see. They used to be a lot more interesting until I figured out how it actually works. Um, rescuing hor with purpose. I have no idea what that one was about. It might be admit I was doing research. I'm just a little
Gus Applequist: bit more afraid of you now than I was three seconds ago.
Sydney Collins: But anyway, yeah, that's what, uh, my chat, GPT, what are those called? Boards? Yeah, panels. I can only searches I've been lately.
[00:03:00]
Meet the Hosts and Guest Introduction
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Sydney Collins: Welcome to Ask a Kansan, a podcast where we're amplifying, uncovering and connecting Kansas.
Gus Applequist: I'm Gus
Sydney Collins: and I am Sydney.
Gus Applequist: And today we have the pleasure of talking with Dr. Frank Tracz. Yes. From Kansas State University.
Sydney Collins: He is the, um, director of bands and usually we have a little tidbit where we're just gonna go straight into the interview today because he had a lot of amazing things to say.
Um, and then we'll kind of wrap up afterwards. So without any further ado, here is Dr. Frank Tracz.
Hello. Good morning. Hi. How's it going? It is going. Thanks for making the drive. Well, appreciate you having me here. I'm Sydney. Sydney. Nice to meet you Frank Tracz. And I'm Gus. Nice to meet you.
Gus Applequist: Nice to meet you. If you just wanna pull that microphone over by you there,
Sydney Collins: you've probably done this a couple times.[00:04:00]
Once
Dr. Frank Tracz: or twice. Yeah. Once or twice. Yeah.
Sydney Collins: Well, um, thank you so much for being here, um, and being appreciate you asking. Yeah. Um, so for our audience, can you introduce yourself for us?
Dr. Frank Tracz: My name is Frank Tracz. I'm director of bands at Kansas State University.
Sydney Collins: And you've been doing that for 33 years now?
Dr. Frank Tracz: 713,827 years.
Yeah. It's been a long time. Yeah, about a long time. Yeah, it's been a long time.
Sydney Collins: Um, so. I, I'm gonna try really hard not to completely geek out during this whole experience. Don't geek out.
Dr. Frank Tracz: It's just, it's band.
Sydney Collins: So I, it is just band, but I was a band kid. I literally grew up going to K-State games. Mm-hmm hmm.
And the only reason I went was because of the K-State marching band.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Well, good for you. That's a good reason. That's good reason. Yeah.
Sydney Collins: So, um. I, I have all the questions in the world, but hopefully, um, I, I, uh, we pick the best ones.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
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Sydney Collins: I pick the best ones, but, um, for folks who don't know where, where'd you grow up?
Dr. Frank Tracz: I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio.
Sydney Collins: Yep.
Dr. Frank Tracz: And I went to all the Ohio State [00:05:00] University. I taught public schools in Wisconsin for a couple years. I did my masters at the University of Wisconsin. I, I found, I met my wife at Wisconsin. We've been married 40, 44 years this November. Three kids congrats. Then I went back to.
Cleveland taught, uh, high school for four years, and I, uh, started asking questions about wonder what it's like to be a teacher of teachers. So
Sydney Collins: yeah.
Dr. Frank Tracz: And I went back to the Ohio State University and got my doctorate. My first college job was an assistant at Syracuse University in New York. I was there for four years, and then I got a call from a place called Morehead State in Morehead, Kentucky for a director of bands job, because as an assistant director, you make assistant director money.
Mm-hmm. As a director of bands, you make director of bands money. I had two little girls at the time and kids are expensive,
Sydney Collins: especially girls.
Dr. Frank Tracz: I'm telling you. We rack, we rack it up. Yeah, we do. You do.
Journey to Kansas State University
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Dr. Frank Tracz: And I didn't know that, but yeah, so we moved to Morehead, Kentucky and then one January, Friday night, I had a concert in Morehead.
[00:06:00] This is before the internet, the sports cell phones. I get a call from a place called Kansas State.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: They said they were interested in a, somebody coming out to build a band program. 'cause they had just hired a. A couple years before that, a football coach that was gonna turn things around and vie for National Championship soon and they wanted a band to go with that and five years later they did.
They were number one in the country as Bill Snyder's an unbelievable teacher and coach. But, um, so I didn't know anything about Kansas State. Never heard of it, didn't know where Kansas was. I'd called my wife and asked her if you heard of that Kansas State? She said, yes, and I said, I haven't. And I said, where's Kansas?
She says, below Nebraska. I said, where's Nebraska? She said, come home, I'll show you. And that's when you had to open up a map,
Sydney Collins: map an atlas, or a map. Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Frank Tracz: And it was right in the middle of the country. I said, well, we're gonna interview. So
Sydney Collins: yeah,
Dr. Frank Tracz: that's how it started.
Sydney Collins: Um, was the intention to stay here as long as No.
Gosh, no. Been here. It was,
Dr. Frank Tracz: uh, I'm from Ohio, one of six brothers and sisters. I'm the only [00:07:00] one that ever left Cleveland. Wow. My brother tells everybody that I escaped Cleveland, Ohio, which if you've been to Cleveland, there's some truth to that.
Sydney Collins: Yeah,
Dr. Frank Tracz: it's a great place. But, uh, I'm the only one that went to college and I've always wanted to be a band director.
I was one of those geeks in seventh grade that knew what I wanted to do. Uh, I played football in high school. I played baseball in high school. That's why I have two new knees and Tommy John surgery on knuckles and shoulders and everything else. But, uh, we came out here, thought we'd stay a year, two years.
And now it's been 33 years and we've lived here longer than we've lived any place. 30 years. All three girls went to K-State. Uh, they're out in the world on their own. And so this is a home.
Sydney Collins: Yeah. Hmm. What, what made you stay?
Dr. Frank Tracz: You know, it, it was one of those places that, it's very unusual and I, I was a very fortunate person.
You had a president named Jon Wefald. You had a vice president named Pat Bosco. You had a alumni president named Amy Renz, and you had a football [00:08:00] coach named Bill Snyder.
Sydney Collins: Hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: And I had chances to go other places, big schools, big established schools, big programs, uh, for more money. But there was that, that mystique about Kansas State, about what they were doing that was growing.
And getting stronger and better and, and the process of getting someplace to me is more fun than getting there.
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
Dr. Frank Tracz: So we stayed and we're glad we did. Mm-hmm. There's no question.
Sydney Collins: Is there something about the people in Kansas versus Ohio or Wisconsin or Kentucky? Yeah, they're all,
Dr. Frank Tracz: they're all good people, but you know, as, as people say, I drank the purple Kool-Aid.
Yeah, I did. And it's, it's just something about this, it's, uh, I, I'm a blue collar, dirty fingernail, scuffed up elbow person.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: And, and that's what I enjoy the most. And that's what's been surrounded here with, in, in Kansas. These are, these, these are great kids. Mm-hmm. They're great. They just get it done.
They get it done. With the [00:09:00] challenges and stuff, you have to push 'em sometimes. Mm-hmm. And we have to motivate a little harder than we ever have before. But, uh, these are good people and it's a great place to raise a family. No question. Yeah. Manhattan is just wonderful state of Kansas. It's a good choice.
I made the right decision
Building the Band Program
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Gus Applequist: as when you came, as Bill was building the football team, what was the state of the marching band when you arrived? And the band, you know, they're,
Dr. Frank Tracz: they're all good and it was small. Um, it wasn't what they wanted, obviously that's why I was there. Mm-hmm. Um, they saw my experiences in the Big 10 and, and in the Syracuse University, and I've got a reputation of being a builder going someplace.
Mm-hmm. You know, there are not a lot of people that are probably interested in the K-State job when I applied for it. Hmm. There's no budget. There was nothing there. The school was down in enrollment. It wasn't, um, a popular place to be. But, uh, it was one of those that when you talk to the people that were there.
My first interview was a two and a half hour interview with the President's Council. Wow. Wow. Who does that? Wow. And at that [00:10:00] point, I knew that there was something different here, and I knew, uh, in that room, you know, I didn't think the band was where it could be or where it should be. And I knew in that room, in that interview, probably a couple dozen people, um, president, council, uh, vice presidents, athletic directors, alumni, foundation, people.
There was a lot of power and a lot of money in that room.
Sydney Collins: Mm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: And if these people want a band program, want a marching band, then okay, I bet you the foundation's gonna be here to do this. Mm-hmm. And it was
[00:11:00]
Challenges and Achievements
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Sydney Collins: what was the biggest struggle of getting the band program kind of really up and running after you started?
Dr. Frank Tracz: We, the equipment was terrible. Yeah. No, facilities. We have a band hall now that, oh my gosh. If you haven't seen, it's. It's, it's, it's your first car, it's your first kiss. It's prom night. It's your first home run all wrapped into one. I mean, it's, it's there.
Sydney Collins: It would probably make a lot of band alumni very jealous.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Oh my. It's got bath,
it's got bathrooms for God's sakes. Yeah. And you're laughing like,
Sydney Collins: like
we thought that was a basic thing.
Dr. Frank Tracz: You had had, we had to go to a gas station during rehearsals across the street.
Sydney Collins: man, I bet that gas station sales probably went down a little bit
Dr. Frank Tracz: and it's no longer there, so we probably gas.
Oh, okay. Well that works. So yes, you're right. But it was just, it just, it's, it's, I told the kids it's not the goal in mind of the, to get where you want to be. It's, I've learned along the way to, to learn to, to enjoy and really value the process.
So I'm, I dunno if I'm goal oriented, but I'm afraid of achieving the goal.
'cause it's that question then
Sydney Collins: [00:12:00] what's next? What, what's next?
Dr. Frank Tracz: Yeah. So I, and so I, I'll, I've, I've had goals and every time I've got close to them with the band program, whatever, I just push 'em up and then never arrived. So,
Retirement Reflections
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Gus Applequist: I think the obvious question after that is, so you've announced your retirement and, and how, like as a, as a process person, how do you reconcile all of that at the end of the career?
Well,
Dr. Frank Tracz: we're already looking at what's gonna happen in the future. You know, I think. You know, we have a saying in the band is, leave it better than you found it. And I think I could safe and say, I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna leave it better than I found it. But it's the process of going through everything is the last time.
And that, that's emotional for me sometimes. I'm
Sydney Collins: sure.
Dr. Frank Tracz: You know, even now when I walk into the Bill, the stadium and football games are thinking, okay, and a couple of these left.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Uh, and it, it's difficult 'cause it's your life. You know, I'm spending in the fall. Oh my God, on cheap weeks, 60, 70 hours on thick weeks, 90 hours, a hundred hours.
Mm-hmm. Man, [00:13:00] we're there. Uh, so it, it's become my life. It's become who I am and what I do, and I'm not a person that's gonna sit and go golfing.
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Or sit in a coffee shop. So I've already got things that are possibilities for me to work elsewhere. It won't be in, uh, you know, the band world in terms of teaching at a university or any place, but it'll be in the music business, in the band business. So, but yeah, I'm, I'm still, I, I just physically cannot do that many hours a week anymore.
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
Dr. Frank Tracz: It, it is, it's tough.
Sydney Collins: I, I can only imagine.
Dr. Frank Tracz: It is tough and when you get older, it, it gets tougher. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
I still love it. I have zero patience. I had little patience at the beginning. I have absolutely zero now. So it's just, you know, I could, I've been there, done that, and you could come in my office and give me an excuse and I could tell you I've heard that 17,000 times before and here's the answer. You know, so it's, uh, it's time.
Uh, as I tell people all the time, this is a young man's job and I'm terribly overqualified for this. Yeah. But it's, it's [00:14:00] been fantastic.
Sydney Collins: as, uh, I, I listened and watched a couple of interviews that you've done, and one of the things that people ask you a lot is, you know, what's your favorite memory of the band?
And you've said like, it's the band that it is today. A couple of times. Yeah.
Dr. Frank Tracz: And people ask me all the time and my favorite memory is the one I'm making at the moment. Yeah. And that's really true. There, there's been some great, I think the. If you look took looking at football victories, the greatest victory I've ever been involved with was beating Oklahoma in 2003 in the Big 12 championship, which we were 27 point underdogs and we beat 'em by 27 points.
Yep. I got goosebumps telling you 'cause that was the best thing in the history of the world. 'cause nobody gave us a chance and we were losers and we were farm kids from Kansas we're gonna whoop you. Right. It didn't work out that way now did it?
Sydney Collins: Yeah. Um, so, so looking forward after your retirement, do you think it's still gonna kind of be that same mentality of, like, you, you, your memory, your favorite memory is, you know, the band that is today, or, or what it is or, yeah, and
Dr. Frank Tracz: I, you know, I, I'm not sure if I'm gonna a, you know, the alumni association says you have a spot in the press box.
You [00:15:00] and your wife come up and watch every game. I don't know if I will for a couple reasons. Number one, uh, whoever comes in there to follow me needs a chance to establish that for themselves. Yeah. Not for me hanging around. I, I've been there longer than anybody at the university, it seems like, but they need a chance to do themselves.
This is a great gig. It's a great gig, but take some time, take a special person to do this, and they'll, they'll find him or her. And, um, I, I'm just gonna stay outta the way. If they want some help, I'll gladly give it to 'em. This is yours, man. You, you just run with this, so I'm, I'll do something else.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: I'm not sure I'll go to the football game for a while. We'll see. That will be hard.
Sydney Collins: Yeah,
Dr. Frank Tracz: because I, I know what it's like on a football game. I know that before kickoff, the directors are there for seven, eight hours before kickoff and I know what goes through. I know the long day and I know what it's like to have people not necessarily challenge you or question you, but say, you know.
What are you doing this for and why is this happening? Mm-hmm. I'm think, okay, you're arriving [00:16:00] in the parking lot an hour and a half before kickoff, and I've already put my eight hours in for the day.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: And we're just starting on our second eight hours. So I, I want this person, you do what you need to do.
I set you up, as my wife said, give them, give them the car keys and walk away.
Sydney Collins: the car keys actually is a great transition for my, my next question is if there's one. Kind of, if you were to hand the next director a playbook, what's like the first, you know, play that you would put in there to help help them lead?
Dr. Frank Tracz: The first play would be just, just do what your heart says and do the right thing. Yeah. Because it's not always, it's the right thing is not the easy thing to do. I've, I've, I've made some decisions that have been very, very unpopular. And been in situations that have been challenging and difficult. But I've always thought it was the right thing.
And the way I handled it was trying to do the right thing. And, you know, I'm not here to appease anyone other than the students and the education, the musical experience, those kids getting band So there are times I go to meetings and I fight. I, I fight for what is right for [00:17:00] these students. Mm-hmm. 'cause in any situation, uh, Kansas State, the athletics, the administration, they have been great to us, but they'll push.
And there's some things that, yeah, we would love to do that, but here's what it's gonna cost and here's what you have to do to help us. So, and they've come through. Yeah.
Gus Applequist: Could you tell us a little bit about the part of your job that doesn't involve the marching band? I mean, it says bands in your title. I assume that there's other
Dr. Frank Tracz: I do.
I do the top wind ensemble my, my job description is director of bands and I do the top wind ensemble and the marching band, which is. You won't find another person in the power conferences that does this. Wow. And it's not bragging, it's not ego, it's just the way this was set up and it started small and I don't think any of us thought it was gonna get to this point.
Mm-hmm. You know, my first band here was less than a hundred kids and. Um, there's 427 in the band this year with alternates. That's a lot. That is, uh, there's a, with alternates.
Sydney Collins: With alternates. Can you explain that to me?
Dr. Frank Tracz: It's just like anything else. It's, uh, we have [00:18:00] about 35 alternates, um, close to 40, that challenge every Tuesday.
Wow. Playing and marching to get on the field. It's, it's, um, you look for the weakest member and you challenge them. And what that does is it makes everybody better. So you're, you're not guaranteed anything. You're not gonna stay on the field 'cause you've been there for three years. You gotta play, you gotta march.
Sydney Collins: I love that.
Dr. Frank Tracz: It's good. It just, it keeps everybody honest. It keeps everybody going. We, we don't have the rehearsal attitude and discipline problems to the level that some people have.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Because you just won't be on the field. You just won't be on. As I told the kids, I said, I'm interested in helping you.
I'll talk to you and I'll guide you through and counsel you and help you get through this. But there's 427 folks. So if, if I do this to everybody, you got about 11 seconds in my office.
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
Dr. Frank Tracz: So we're gonna be quick about this. So the bottom line is you be responsible for you. You do what you have to do to stay on the field and we'll support you.
But if you're not gonna do that, I'm gonna put somebody else in there.
Band Culture and Traditions
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Sydney Collins: you've built kind of a culture in this band. [00:19:00] Yeah. Um, how has that been cultivating? Through, you know, your 33 years, is it, was it natural or was it
Dr. Frank Tracz: A lot of it was natural. A lot of it you had to work at developing a culture.
It's like, uh, you know, I used to laugh when we'd go to meetings. Sometimes they wanna talk about building traditions. I said, well, you can't build traditions. Traditions happen.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Traditions happen for the right reason at the right time, and it's nothing that you can plan for. So building a culture is something that, you know, we set expectations for the band, we set expectations for the students, we set expectations for the staff.
Here's what we want to accomplish. That's the roots, that's the bottom foundation of the, of the culture, of anything. And then maintaining it is difficult. It is, it is. Um, and people tell you that it's more challenging to stay on top of things than it is to get to the top of things. 'cause the only way down, the only way to go is down and everybody knows it.
And I know the quality of the band and my, not fear, but my biggest [00:20:00] motivator is keep it that way and make it better.
And students will ask me, and people ask me, what when's your, what was your best band performance? I said, we haven't had it yet. We haven't had it yet. Hopefully it's gonna be on, uh, November 29th, my last one, or a bowl game.
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
Dr. Frank Tracz: That's the best performance. Uh, and if not, it'll be sometime later and somebody else will do it. I just, I don't, I don't ever want to get there. Hmm. Mm-hmm. I, I don't know what that would be like. And what do you do then? You know? So I, yeah, it just, the culture is something that's built every day by the students, by the leadership, by the staff, by the community.
Um, you know, when the band marches in the stadium, people are excited. When we go to events and they play, they're excited. And it's just, and I mean this with all the love and respect I can muster. This is just stupid college kid fun. This is what it's supposed to be. And when I go into football games on Saturday, I'll tell you, I'm 18 again.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Soon as it's over, I am not. That little guy pops up and says, you [00:21:00] are not 18. Mm-hmm. That's why I have a hot tub and a refrigerator stock with beverages when I get home. Yeah, yeah,
Sydney Collins: yeah.
Dr. Frank Tracz: You'll read about me someday. A band director drowns and hot tub drunk. It's after a quarter of a beer. That's new definition of a cheap drunk.
Yeah. Yeah, because that's about all it takes. Yeah. Because I can get into thing. I built it in the deck, but I can't get out of it.
Sydney Collins: Can't get out of it. Yeah.
Gus Applequist: you are without any doubt, one of the most, if not the most recognizable, fine arts leader in the state.
And, but you're, you [00:22:00] occupy a unique position in that you're more in the public eye than any of the others. Yeah. Um, and so you have, you have this job of of, of bringing band to people that aren't used to band. Mm-hmm. Um, but also of, of inserting kids that may not be used to football.
Yeah. Into football. So what, what are these two sides? What can they learn from each other?
Marching Band Dynamics
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Dr. Frank Tracz: Well, a lot of the kids are in band 'cause it's not for football, for a band. Yeah. 'cause they need it. And I, I make this statement again from, from an honest position, is some of those kids need what we do in band more than the band needs them.
Hmm. And that's a good thing. Mm-hmm. I don't teach band. I teach students and band is the vehicle. And this is something it marching band is a combination of my two favorite classes in school, gym, and band.
Sydney Collins: Hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: It's physical and you play a horn. I thought you can't beat this. And that's why in seventh grade I went to my band director, I said, what?
What do you gotta do to be a band director? And he [00:23:00] told me lessons and all that. And I went back a couple months later, I said, do you get paid for this? And he said, yeah. And I said, I'm in, I'm in in seventh grade. I'm in blue collar family steel workers, the whole bit I'm in. There's no question. So I, I think what they get out of that is a place to belong.
We have every size, shape, color, flavor, emotion in the band that you could possibly ask for. We are what America's supposed to look like. And the way it's treated and these kids, they get together. There is no conflict between them. It just doesn't matter. They're there for the right reasons. That is refreshing.
And these kids, I think, are the hope. I go in every day and I'm thinking, okay, I watch the news and I listen to the radio and I come back and, oh my God, this is a cluster, this is a mess. Then I go to band and they're excited and they're, they're running around. I walk in on Saturday mornings to the Bill.
We have an 11 o'clock game coming up. I hate 11 o'clock games. 'cause first of all, you don't sleep the
night before.
Sydney Collins: Yeah,
Dr. Frank Tracz: we have a rehearsal 3:30 5:30 and we do pub crawls for [00:24:00] two or three hours. Then we load the truck and by the time I go home, it's midnight, 1230, and then we're in the office at 3:30 picking up electrical equipment and take it in the car and take it to the stadium for a 6:00 AM rehearsal.
And I walk in there and it's, you know, 27 degrees. It's slightly snowing. It's cold. I'm in the car going, oh my God. I mean, this is, I'm, I don't know if I could do this anymore. We walk in the stadium and I open the doors and the tubas, all 40 of 'em surround the cars, my car and sing tuba song. It's a whole nother ball game.
It's just different. And I look out there, the percussion or preparing, the Classy Cats are doing their thing, which. They're the, oh my God, they're freaking tremendous, tremendous people. And what they do is incredible. And you look at each section, the trombones are playing the baritones in football, and I have to remind 'em, there's a reason that they're in the band and not on the team.
And this is it. Yeah. And everybody's playing soccer or a hack doing something. They're flirting, they're making out. We encourage all of this. It's six o'clock in the morning on a Saturday, and those kids haven't slept and nobody's late. They're there at [00:25:00] five o'clock. Nobody's late. Which is phenomenal. So we don't have that issue of chasing 'em up.
If somebody's late, it's because they're sick or injured or something, and they'll let us know.
Hope and Future of the Band
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Dr. Frank Tracz: But, and I look at those kids and what they're doing at six o'clock in the morning, they believe that university is theirs. They believe that band is theirs. They believe that team is theirs. They believe that stadium is theirs and they should 'cause it is regardless of what anybody else says, and it's the students, it's theirs.
And so I'm, it's, it's my opportunity to kind of drive that bus for a while.
Sydney Collins: Hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: It's where it needs to go. And so when I, when I watch them and what they're doing there is hope. And the reason, I think the reason why we're so successful, successful in fundraising is I think the people that have established themselves, established themselves and, and their wealth and their, their position in life by getting up at five o'clock in the morning and working and working long hours.
Mm-hmm. And giving a damn as we tell the kids, [00:26:00] um.
Band Kids at Football Games
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Dr. Frank Tracz: And they see that in the band kids.
Sydney Collins: Hmm?
Dr. Frank Tracz: They see that. They see them in the stands. You've been to a football game. These kids never sit still. They don't? No. I heard just best way to describe it. I heard 427 cats in that seriously get one cat that do what you want's, 427.
If they wanted to, they could have me eliminated immediately. They could take over. But it's uh, so I look at that and I look at, and people give to this band, support this band. 'cause I think they see. These kids do. They care. Mm-hmm. And they work hard at it.
Writing Recommendations for Band Students
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Dr. Frank Tracz: And these, these are kids that, as I tell people, I write more recommendations now than at any time, especially now 'cause everybody, everybody thinks I'm retiring and I'm gonna die or something. That's not gonna happen. We don't knock on whatever. But, so I'm writing recommendations and to be honest with you, there's four over 400 of them. I don't know 'em all. I used to know the names. I have a hard time with my kids' names, my own children's names.
It just gets to be that age. Mm-hmm. But here's what I do know.
The Work Ethic of Band Kids
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Dr. Frank Tracz: Those kids get there early. They work [00:27:00] hard, they help us set up during the rehearsal and the game. They'll bust their butt and do the right thing, and after it's over, they help us clean up and volunteer for things. What employer doesn't want that kid?
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: There isn't a single employer that doesn't want those band kids. So, and I, I look at people that donate, that built the band building, they, and built up the endowments for the band. They see the hope in these kids and so do I. And it's, it, it keeps you going, keeps you going, and all the nonsense we deal with.
Gus Applequist: Middle of the summer, I, I saw, uh, yet another production of, um, the Music Man. Mm-hmm. And, uh, you know, at the core of that, that musical is a story about a con man.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Yeah.
Gus Applequist: Who, who kind of masquerades as a band leader. Yeah. Um.
But it's really weird 'cause at the end of it, he's somehow a hero.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Yeah.
Gus Applequist: Because he did that thing that you were talking about of giving kids a place. Yeah. Giving them an identity, kind of. Yeah. So I bet it's, it's magical to, to not only have the [00:28:00] music and for that to be at an extremely high level like it is, but to also.
Be achieving that higher order.
Dr. Frank Tracz: It is. And, and I don't know if I've ever been a con man. Some people turn that way.
Gus Applequist: That wasn't my, I gotta
Dr. Frank Tracz: tell you, there's sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do for the right reasons.
Sydney Collins: Hmm mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: And, and that's a difficult one. And with my personality and background and work ethic and where I'm from, I just, I grew up in Cleveland.
You survive back then. You're surviving every day. Um, I remember having a paper route in Cleveland, Ohio in the winter.
Sydney Collins: Oof.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Where they, the Cleveland plane dealer would dump the load of papers off, wrapped up. You gotta go out, this is January. It's a foot of snow on the ground, it's a blizzard, it's cold. You go out there and cut the rope and you, you take a rubber band and wrap the, and you walk through the neighborhood with a bag and throwing it where it's supposed to put it.
And having the old polish ladies yell at you 'cause you're 20 minutes late and you know, and all that for like $7 a week. [00:29:00] So I remember that thinking, okay, um, you gotta do what you gotta do to survive and get going. And, and my dad made me do it. Mm-hmm. And I'm glad he did. I hated it for him to do it. I hated him for it and I hated doing it.
But it was probably one of the best things I ever done. 'cause I've learned, Hmm. There's a lot of people working pretty hard and what I do, it beats the heck outta working for a living. There's no question.
Recruiting for the Band
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Sydney Collins: When you're recruiting for the band, um. Are, do you see kids that don't have that mentality that you have to teach that to?
Or is that just something you look for?
Dr. Frank Tracz: I look for the kid that's interested in us.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: And it's interesting 'cause we, every day we have, uh, kids come in with their parents and there's two types of kids that come in. Kids that really want to be in the K-State band and want to come here.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: And there's the type of kid that his parents is making him come in here to be in this band for the simple reason I think his parents know.
Maybe this guy or this program could, could help you.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: And so we get both of those kids and we'll take [00:30:00] 'em. And we're successful with a whole bunch of 'em, but some of 'em we're not. And I'll be the first one to tell you that we, we cut 'em loose.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: If you don't wanna do what we have to do here, we're gonna work with you, try to make you a success.
But if you're not gonna contribute to the whole here, then you gotta go someplace and figure this out. This isn't the place for you. So, recruiting, I, I do two things most days. Recruit and fundraise.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Of which I've taken no classes in for, and any education. But, uh, you know, daddy didn't raise, no dummy mom passed away really early when I was young, but lots of brothers and sisters.
But, uh, we learned that, that you have to make it.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: You have to figure this out. Take care of yourself. So we do. So I, I, I look at that kid and I see a lot of the, I see a lot of me and some of those kids. You know, and, and there are kids, I'll tell 'em and I'll pull 'em in the office. They're struggling and say, look, you need me more than I need you right now.
And your goal here is to turn that around. You'll be better for it and you'll belong in this band, but if not, [00:31:00] we're gonna part ways as friends and you go do your thing. We're gonna continue to do our thing at the level that we want to do our thing. So it's recruiting is, is nonstop.
The recruiting never, ever ends.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Somebody asked me one time, when do you start recruiting for next fall? In fall of 90 or of 2025? Yeah. You know? And I said, uh, quickly. I said, I started recruiting for the fall of 2025 in February of 1993 when I signed the contract to come here.
You just never stop. You just can't. You're, we have camps with fifth graders. We're trying to get them to drink the purple Kool-Aid.
Sydney Collins: Yep.
The Magic of K-State Band
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Dr. Frank Tracz: You know? you know, But it is true. It is true. There's something about that place that is different.
I can't tell you what it is. I can describe it. I can show you it. Mm-hmm. But I can't. Can't put a word on it.
Sydney Collins: I went to South High here, um, in Salina. Mm-hmm. And I
Dr. Frank Tracz: Was Randy Philmore your band director?
Sydney Collins: I got him for one year. Okay. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I got I good guy. I got him for [00:32:00] one year and I'm so thankful that I did. Yeah.
Because I was a percussionist. Yeah. Um, so am I. Yeah. Oh, awesome. Drummers are gonna take over the world. Just my wife
Dr. Frank Tracz: may not be a good place, but it be a lot more fun. Yeah. So, yeah. So is,
Sydney Collins: uh, Gus's wife is a percussionist. Um, Gus took the orchestra route, so I'm an or but it's fine. That's, but I remember the anticipation of just being able to have the opportunity to march at K-State.
Memorable Band Experiences
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Sydney Collins: Oh yeah. On the field. Remember
Dr. Frank Tracz: Band Day? Mm-hmm. Yes. Thousands and thousands of kids. Yes. That's Band Day was, was born because they nobody could sell tickets.
Sydney Collins: Really?
Dr. Frank Tracz: Oh God. Yeah. It filled the stadium up with band kids. Now, I mean, we, we have an all star marching band mm-hmm. With 175 kids and that's it. And that's all the tickets we can get. They're, yeah. They're selling tickets, so, and I understand that.
Sydney Collins: Yeah. Yeah. But it, it is one of the, it's again, building that culture around the excitement of, of music and being together and Yeah.
Especially, um. I mean, drumline came out when I was in high school. Yeah. So it was like the movie [00:33:00] Drumline. Yeah. Plus we were on the drumline and then it was like we're at K State and we're like, we are the coolest people. Yeah. Anyone has ever met. Yeah. And it's that hype and it's that togetherness and it's that.
Just, yeah, I was in the pit orchestra or doing pit. Yeah. And we were doing stuff till 11 o'clock at night, but we still had marching, uh, practice or, uh, drum line practice at 6:00 AM so Yeah. In high school.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Yeah.
Sydney Collins: And we were on time.
Dr. Frank Tracz: You're, you're the most popular and my sure uniform, most popular kid in the school when you with the band.
Sydney Collins: Oh yeah.
Dr. Frank Tracz: And they know that. And they, these kids, uh, if you look at, I watched them before they get all hyped up to go in a stadium and it's just amazing. And somebody asks, what does that mean? I said, I have no idea. You know, it's probably a good thing. I don't have an idea what, what some of them are doing, but, uh, they just, they're hyped up.
They're pumped up. They get in there, their, their eyes are huge. Mm-hmm. Uh, and they're just excited to be there, which is, that's pretty cool. That's really cool. Mm-hmm.
Gus Applequist: I sometimes ask weird questions, but after 16 hour day or more, I don't know how. Yeah.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Sometimes it's [00:34:00] longer. Yeah. Yeah.
Gus Applequist: Um,
Dr. Frank Tracz: talk about Ireland.
I can tell how long those days were. Oh my God. Yeah.
Gus Applequist: When, when you lay down and go to sleep, do you dream about the band?
Dr. Frank Tracz: No. No, and that's, that's the problem. I don't dream about the band and this is one of the things I'm gonna work hard to eliminate and not do. I don't, I don't wanna get up at three 15 and sneak out of bed and, and go into my office and shut the door quietly and make notes about what I have to do the next
day, who I have to call
or what we're dealing with.
Sydney Collins: Hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: It just kind of, when you, when you're into something, when you own the company and it's your heart and soul. It's really hard to leave it. Hmm. Yeah. It's hard to leave the little things. Mm-hmm. Everybody says don't sweat the little things. And that's what band directors, we sweat the little things. We sweat, we sweat all the time.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Uh, so it's, it, I'm not gonna, I'm gonna try to eliminate that, not miss that, um, that, you know, that that's a biggie. Whether you're dealing with whomever you're dealing with at the time and fighting whatever battle. 'Cause we're always fighting some battles. We're always fighting funding battles, you know?
But I'm not gonna miss [00:35:00] that.
Fundraising and Support for the Band
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Sydney Collins: Speaking of fundraising, um, of course the things that hit the news in social media is like the, uh, Eric Stonestreet Yeah. Was a huge, um, great guy. Yeah. I'm a huge fan of him. Um, but can you tell me about that relationship and how he, um, was he in band? Is that He was not
Dr. Frank Tracz: everybody thinks he was, he's a drummer and I'm a drummer, so we got, he was, he was a waiter at Applebee's in 1993 when we moved there.
I used to go with my wife and my two little girls. They were four and two and he'd come over and be the waiter and do balloon balloon animals and and joke. That's awesome. With the kids. And he was a theater major. I'm thinking, well, don't quit the Applebee's job, but who's laughing now, huh? Yeah. Part owner, owner of the Royals for God's sakes.
Yeah. He bought us a truck.
Sydney Collins: Yeah,
Dr. Frank Tracz: he bought us uh, winter overcoats one time. 'cause we were freezing. He bought us a, it's a drum set. It's a rock and roll drum set. It's a DW drum set. Wow. And every rock and roll guy in the world has those. Mm-hmm. [00:36:00] And he bought that for the pep band, for the cat band. He, when he comes to football games, he used to come and play with the, the band and drums and, uh, so he's a great supporter of all things K-State and just a great guy for the band.
Yeah.
Sydney Collins: Are there any other people like that who just continue to show up for you guys that
Dr. Frank Tracz: Yeah, there's, you know, if you go in the stadium and you look at the veneer football complex mm-hmm. And the Carl and Mary Ice engineering building and the engineering, uh, or the jumbotrons or the screens, they don't call 'em jumbo trons.
I know what they call 'em. But you look at that and you look at the Goldsteins, the, uh, pipe and steel company.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Uh, these are people that have nothing to do with the band, but love the band. They're, and the Morgans the ones that built the band hall. I mean, um, it's phenomenal for people that see what we do and are moved by it, that, that donate.
And there's, there's thousands and thousands of people that give money to the band. You know, every band directors and community people for, you know, 10 bucks, a hundred bucks. But then there's a million dollar donors.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm. [00:37:00]
Dr. Frank Tracz: Which, um, again, it wasn't my job to build relationships with them, but I think what they saw us do, as I tell people all the time, we're like white on rice.
We are everywhere. Hmm. Every time there's an event, there's a pep band or mm-hmm. Bowl game. We're at the center of it. And, uh, so everybody notices, so it's kind of hard, so hard not to, to pay attention to us, and they do. So we're, you know, there's a lot of people out there that support us A ton. Yeah. Yeah.
Bill Snyder, I mean, was a donor to the band hall, and just the things and the notes. I've, I got a collection of cards with left-handed purple. Yep. Felt the pen comments from Bill Snyder and he came over and, um, just a great guy, great teacher, and Klieman's the same way.
Sydney Collins: Hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: He, he just, he just comes over and says things.
The band writes notes and you know, we, when a team wins on the road and we meet 'em at the, you'd think there'd be a, at five in the morning that you'd think there'd be 20 kids that want to do, there were [00:38:00] 250 kids there. At 5:15 in the morning, 'cause we beat Colorado and it just, and it's like two o'clock in the afternoon and they're just screwing around.
Thank God to be young again. You know, and I'm sitting there going, okay, I'm done. Yeah, we gotta go home. Yeah.
Rivalries and Band Unity
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Sydney Collins: Talking about kind of ri like the Kansas rivalry. Yeah. A little bit. KU versus K-State, is there that same level in bands or is it kind of We're all band kids. We we're all band kids.
Dr. Frank Tracz: And the rivalry between the schools and the football games, like I told people, uh, we just went to Ireland and
Sydney Collins: we mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Did a halftime show with Iowa State, and we all agreed. First, second, and third and fourth quarter, we're gonna be at each other's faces. You know, we're gonna root for our schools, but at halftime we're band kids.
It's the same thing with ku. It's a rival. I'm from Ohio State. I know what rivalry is. Yeah. You know, I can't even say that school up north name. I'm not allowed to, but there's a rivalry there that's deep and pretty, pretty nasty at times.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: And so, you know, the Ku K-State rivalry is [00:39:00] deep and within the state and it's, um, sometimes it gets outta hand as they all do, but, uh, they're the band kids are the band kids, you know.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: They're the same kids. We recruited their kids. They recruited our kids. Yeah. We just wearing different color uniforms.
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
Gus Applequist: Well, I can't imagine how many, uh, hundreds of people, well, thousands honestly, of, of people who have been through your program and Yeah. You know, we've, we've been talking to people that you were coming on.
Yeah. And the, the stories and the, the things that, that you have done for them, uh, will echo for a long time.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Well, they remember stuff I, I can't remember this morning sometimes. Yeah, there's been a lot.
Gus Applequist: Yeah. Yeah.
Reflecting on a Career in Band
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Gus Applequist: So thank you for your impact on, for every of those individuals, but also for your career across K-State and what it's meant for the state.
Dr. Frank Tracz: It's, it's been a great run. It's, it's sad to see that it's over. Uh, the only reason, one of the main reasons I'm sad to see it's over is 'cause I'm, I'm getting older.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Frank Tracz: You know, and, and you could see that and, um. Um, I'm gonna be 70 [00:40:00] years old in January, and I'm still doing a job that 27 year olds are doing.
Mm-hmm. And I feel good about that, you know? Mm-hmm. You see, I'm, I, as I told the kids, I said, I can't chase you anymore. I can't run anymore. I said, but I just don't sleep, so I'll walk fast. Eventually, you're gonna have to stop and rest, and I just don't, and I'll catch up to you and I'll be there. Mm-hmm. So it's, it's been a great run and I, I, it's one of those things that, uh, people ask all the time, would you do this again?
And the answer is absolutely yes, I'd do it again. I'd make some of the mistake mistakes, I'd make some different mistakes, but I'd do it all again.
Gus Applequist: Well, I'm excited for you to get a chance to explore other areas of your life and your retirement and uh, and, and best of luck and thank you so much for taking time to be on.
Dr. Frank Tracz: Well, thanks for doing this. This is, thank you. This is quite the operation you got going here. Thanks. Maybe I'll pay attention to social media now, but my wife we'll just give a link. Don't website. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, thank you. Yeah.
[00:41:00]
Sydney Collins: Welcome back. Hope you enjoyed
Gus Applequist: that interview with Dr. Frank Tracz.
Sydney Collins: Yeah, so I, we have been anticipating this. Interview for a few weeks and it was really hard for me not to just fan girl because when, I mean like I grew up watching the K-State band. I mean, I literally grew up watching the K-State band. I am 33 years old.
Mm-hmm. He has been the band director there, or the director of bands for 33 years. Yeah. So, um, my parents worked at the radio station, so we got tickets to the K-State games all the time. Um, and so that was probably the biggest thing is like. Uh, literally he is the reason I am I joined band. Um, that and, uh, uh, Randy Fillmore as he mentioned.
Mm-hmm. Um, 'cause Fillmore was amazing. Um. But yeah, [00:42:00]
Gus Applequist: I, I like how, well, I guess he's, he's a very tough guy. You can just tell. Yes. Like, in order to make 420 some kids do what needs to be done. Mm-hmm. You can't put up with a lot of things. Um, and it's, it's, I don't know if, if, uh. Well, you were in the south part of the Salina district.
Yes, I was in the central part, but, um, in the central part we had a, a, a principal at, uh, the middle school named Reuben Montoy.
Sydney Collins: Oh, yeah.
Gus Applequist: And Reuben, uh, was, I was terrified of him, to be honest. I was so scared of him. Um, but I respected him a lot. Yeah. And, and I've heard a lot of the kids that were constantly getting disciplined, uh.
Since he's passed away, have recognized just what an impact he made in their lives. And I think that those people that, that call us to be our best and hold us to a really high standard like Dr. Frank Tracz clearly does with his band students. they make a huge impact on our lives.
Sydney Collins: There's a [00:43:00] lot of sometimes misconception when it comes to the arts and like all of us band and orchestra kids are just these la dee da out in the middle of nowhere, but. Frank's mentality is very normal, at least in my experience, through band. Like it was that way with Fillmore, it was that way with Rawlings.
'cause I had Jared Rawling. Jared I think was his first name. Yeah. Yeah. Jared Rawlings. And Rawlings made a huge impact on me in just two years of like, he knew like what we were capable, capable of, and pushed us there. and I still hold the, what he says today, what Rawlings drilled into us is once is luck twice as skill and three times you got it.
And so every time that we did things through band, okay, you got it down once, that was luck. Let's see if you can do it again. And so it's, it's, it's literally that way in a lot of bands. It's not this. Kind [00:44:00] of, at least in the marching world. Yeah, I guess symphonic is a little different. We are a little bit squirrely in symphonic, but.
Gus Applequist: It's clear that he lives and breathes.
Yes. Uh, K State marching band. And so I am, uh, I am, you know, it's a little sad to think of him not being there anymore, but at the same time, he deserves other things in his life and I'm happy for him that he's gonna get those things.
Sydney Collins: I do. I would love to sit down with his wife. Sometimes Uhhuh because him saying you, you know, spending, you know, 60 to 80 hours Yeah.
A week, uh, with kids, meaning she was with kids on campus, she was doing a lot of work there. Yeah. So, um. Yeah. So I just want to like mm-hmm. Get her take on it of like, he's gonna be around a lot more. How do you feel about that? Yeah. Yeah.
Gus Applequist: I think that's a lot of things. Uh, um, uh, retiring couples face. Yes.
Yeah.
Personal Band Stories and Farewell
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Gus Applequist: So you wanted to talk a little bit about your experience in Yes.
Sydney Collins: My experience in band. I've talked about a little bit, but I did bring pictures. Um, so. I mentioned, I, so I guess for [00:45:00] people who don't know, um, I am from Salina. I did the whole Coronado, south, middle, south high. But my junior year I went to boarding school, um, in Missouri.
Um, so I went from a class of 300 kids at South High to a class of 41 kids. So the band experiences were vastly different. Mm-hmm. I fell in love with marching at South, mainly because of Rawlings. Um, he pushed us into creative things and I was able to go to Disney World, Disneyland, whichever one's in Florida World, world.
Um, I was able to go to Disney World and March at Disney World. I was able to, you know, go to competitions and do all these different things through band, um, that a lot of people just don't realize that kids are doing. Mm-hmm. Um. And then I went to, uh, which is so funny now 'cause I had Rawlings write me a letter of recommendation to get me into this boarding school, which I find so hilarious now.
And that was only because one, I [00:46:00] loved Rawlings, and two, it was the only class I was passing. So, um, but I had a band director, um, at my tiny school and we were very fortunate to even have a music program. Um, but Mr. Gasau had been there. Gosh, 40 plus years probably. Mm-hmm. Like he went to school there and then taught there basically the rest of his life.
But he was the band teacher. He was the choir director. He was, um, my government teacher. He was my history teacher. He was my homeroom teacher. Like it was,
Gus Applequist: that is a lot of subjects to straddle.
Sydney Collins: Oh, and here's the crazy part. Not one of those classes were back to back, so I couldn't just stay in the room. I, and
Gus Applequist: I'm guessing that was so that he didn't have to teach back to back classes all day,
Sydney Collins: probably.
Um, but it was just funny. Um, the different experiences were when I was with Rawlings, it was, and, [00:47:00] um, I need to give a shout out to, uh, Mrs. Yokum. Uh, Dara Yokum. She was a huge impact too. Um, mainly for, um, us girls, like in the music world. It wasn't just. We had a female that we could look up to. And she was the same way like she expected, um, she knew what we could do and pushed us to that.
And when I went to St. Paul, um, same thing. It was the same mentality of Mr. Gasau. I don't know if that was just 'cause he was from a different generation, 'cause he was probably in his 70, 60 seventies when he was teaching us. Um, so he was kind of that same mentality of like, you're gonna. I know what you can do.
You're gonna do it or you're gone. Um, but we didn't march. We had pep band. We did, we did all those things. Um, but just very, very different experience. I do have pictures. Um, I was gonna show 'em, but I think we'll just put 'em up on Yeah,
Gus Applequist: just, well, they can,
Sydney Collins: we'll, we'll put 'em up on, um, social media or something, but, um, 'cause [00:48:00] I was a, freshman year marching, I was like. Bass drum three, I think it was like the second largest one. Um, and I had a huge crush on crush on Paul Deese, who was bass drum number four. He had this really like, uh, uh, surfer boy, like blonde, like California haircut and
Gus Applequist: you're painting some interesting Yeah.
Images.
Sydney Collins: Um, anyway,
Gus Applequist: shout out to shout out to, to all the marching bands. To all the
Sydney Collins: marching bands.
Gus Applequist: Uh, yeah. I, I one, so yeah,
Sydney Collins: there, there's me. Oh yeah. This was sophomore year when I got to move up to the quads. Yep. Um, the only reason I got to is 'cause Chaz, Chaz Coverly, um, uh, graduated. So there was an open spot, so I tried out and I got it.
Woo. Yeah.
Gus Applequist: Yeah. Shout out to, to all the band geeks out there. Um, and the, the, the color guard and the twirlers. Oh yeah. And the, um, there's so many people that, that contribute to these, these things mm-hmm. [00:49:00] To these marching bands and their performances. Yeah. Um, also wanna connect if, if you're, uh, a listener that's just joining us for this episode.
Uh, we have another episode, uh, that. That may interest you. Carl Bowden is a alum of the K-State Marching Band, and we talked to him about leadership a few months ago. Mm-hmm. Um, we have a lot of different guests on that you might enjoy checking out from a variety of different backgrounds and, and things.
So, uh, please, uh, do a little swiping on our, uh, feed and, and find something else that interests you.
Sydney Collins: Um, another, um, we've had another K-State professor on Dr. Andrew Orr, and we talk about, um, history and, and
Gus Applequist: or war, which is not what you expect it to be. So, so check out. It's, it's a
Sydney Collins: very surprising episode.
Um, mm-hmm. And,
Gus Applequist: and if, uh, if you somehow found your way here and you're a KU fan, we have a, we have a fair number, Dr. Uh, Andrew Carlton.
Sydney Collins: Yeah. Um, that's not right. Or no, Carlton, that's not right. Dr. Carlton, uh, Shield Chief Grover. There we go. Um, he, um, is also part of the Pawnee Nation and so [00:50:00] he kind of helps us.
Kind of put pieces together between, um, Pawnee nation and archeology and what archeology means, um, and how we can kind of contribute to it. Um, yeah. As just normal people. So, yeah.
Gus Applequist: Well, if, if you liked this episode, please check out our social media feeds. We're all over all the different social medias, as well as, uh, the podcast is available as both audio and video forms.
So if you're listening and you'd like to see us, uh, check that out. Or if you're watching and you'd like to hear us on your way to work tomorrow. We're there as well.
Sydney Collins: We're on all the platforms, so like, subscribe, visit our website, um, ask a kansan.com. Um, check out our, um, curious Kansan, um, blog posts. Our photojournalist, um, Tanner Colvin does a lot of those stories.
Um, we can't necessarily always reach out to corner to corner, but we can definitely send him out, um, to. Find those stories. So, um, you can sign up for the newsletter as well, and you'll get those stories delivered [00:51:00] directly to your inbox.
Gus Applequist: Yeah. Well, thanks for watching.