M4 brings high energy music and spectacle to Mystic for PHS Music Program

Everyone knows what a marching band looks and sounds like; they wear uniforms, play band music and march in formation.

But when the March Fourth Marching Band takes the stage at the Mystic Theatre on Saturday, January 14 in a benefit concert for the PHS music program, be prepared to throw out all your preconceptions because they are a "marching band" like no other.

"This group of more than 20 performers puts on a show that's a one-of-a-kind group spectacle," said Cliff Eveland, Petaluma High School music director. "They are visually entertaining with plenty to see as well as hear."

The March Fourth Marching Band, or M4 as it's known to its fans, performs music from a variety of genres including American funk, rock and jazz mixed with Cirque du Soleil-type theatrics such as stilt acrobatics, unicycles, and fire arts to create a high-energy, family-friendly, get-out-of-your-seat-and-dance kind of show.

Now in its seventh year, the annual benefit concert at the Mystic is one of the fundraisers that the music program relies on to close its funding gap. "The district funds music programs at each high school at $10,000 but it takes about $35,000 to $40,000 a year to run our music program," said Eveland.

While the students were on winter break, Eveland took 15 instruments to the shop to be repaired at a cost of almost $2,000. Eveland said that if the budget allowed, he "could have easily gone back with another load that also needs repairing."

Sharing the bill with M4 is the award-winning Petaluma High School Jazz Ensemble who will open the show with an hour long set of funk, Latin jazz, behop and classic up-tempo big band swing. The fundraiser gives student musicians an opportunity to play in a professional venue while the audience enjoys the talents of the students who benefit from the fundraiser.

The concerts at the Mystic have raised anywhere between $500 and $5,000 for the

PHS music program. Because this is the first time that the Portland, Oregon-based M4 has performed in the area, Eveland is hoping that the band will attract a broad audience that goes beyond the PHS music community.

"The band has a lot of name recognition as one of the nation's best live touring acts and it's truly a rare opportunity to get to see them," Eveland said.

Eveland is also director of the Petaluma Music Festival, a fundraising event held in August at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds to raise money for music programs throughout Petaluma. It was as he was researching bands for the Festival that he first came upon M4. "This group really intrigued me; they are so unique and so different."

M4 began as a Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras party in Portland on March 4, 2003 and in the eight years since, they have performed from coast-to-coast, logging over 180 days and 50,000 miles on the road by the end of 2011. Wearing marching band inspired costumes, the band features a five piece percussion corps and seven-part brass section giving them musical and visual energy that inspires dancing.

"The music is dance-oriented but the great thing about the Mystic is that there's a huge floor for people who want to dance and plenty of seats in the balcony and sides for those who prefer to watch the band," said Eveland.

Doors open at 7 p.m. and the concert begins at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Mystic Theatre, 23 Petaluma Blvd. North. Tickets are $25 and benefit the PHS music program. Tickets can be purchased online at www.mystictheatre.com, www.ticketweb.com, or in person at McNear's Mystic Theatre or the Last Record Store.

(Contact Colleen Rustad at argus@arguscourier.com)

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