By Makanalani Yamanoha

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MHS Marching Band meets dubstep in this year’s show “Uprising.” Created and thought out by Music Director Dereck Ka’apana and his board of designers, this year’s show pits machines against the world.

“We have new music, new costumes and new students,” said Senior Amy Gaza, adding, “Our time and effort becomes worthwhile when listening to the end result with the friends we’ve made along the way,”

Inspired by society’s current dependence on technology, Ka’apana turns the conflict into one where humanity is at the mercy of its own technology. “There is an idea that sometime in the future, the machine will be the dominate force on the earth, so we are creating the machines as superior as us,” explained Ka’apana, “We are focusing on the determinations of humanity rebelling against machinery bonds, each music piece blends techno and suspense to a mood of sorrow and charisma.”

“Uprising” will feature four parts, which will include audio overlaps and a dubstep section which is featured in part two of the show.  “The story starts as a representation of a time when humans are slaves to the machines.  Then the tempo speeds as the humans rebel. Finally, after the fight, the humans win,” said Kaapana.

Yet, capturing the emotion and mood of “Uprising” will be a challenge for all, given the varying tempos and moods of each piece. “The tricky part of the whole mix is that most each piece will have its own tempo and rhythm.  I think that the best parts of the music is when transition of songs, where some have a more somber tone to them steadily increase into something dynamic and loud and vice versa,” said Senior Daniel Nakayama.

Despite the challenge Nakayama and fellow marchers are excited for the change in direction, when compared to previous shows. “We are trying for a new age kind of look, the kind that you can find in a science fiction movie.  It will match the overall theme, with humans versus machine,” said Nakayama, “March positions are supposed to symbolize a part of the story, that why we have to be in sync by the time we perform.”

However, to reach their goal to be one of the top high school marching bands in the state, comes hardwork and dedication. “We practice every summer but this year we’re doing this differently.  Because we are incorporating both traditional and (contemporary) means of music, we as a marching band must learn to become sync with both the music and the march itself,” said Gaza adding, “It will take time and effort, but this in the end, it will be fun and the pain and effort would be worth it.”

The MHS Marching Band plans to preview “Uprising” on Sept. 5 at this year’s upcoming Powderpuff game.