Pep band is one of my favorite things in this school. This year, I have not been able to attend a lot of the performances. I feel really bad about not being able to go to most of them, but I really wish I could have. Personally, I don't think I deserve a good grade for pep band because I didn't contribute very much. Although, I have never skipped any mandatory or volunteer ones because I just 'didn't feel like going'. If I had to grade myself, I would probably give myself a C. A C because I attended a few but not all and pep band is mainly graded on attendance. I do think however, that at the pep bands I went to, I played well and stuck to what we were supposed to be doing. Pep band is super important to Newark. It gives the game a certain enthusiasm that we wouldn't have without the band. Even if not all the band members enjoy it, the basketball players and the crowd love it. It is great practice for the band to play under harsh conditions as well. Pep Band has become a tradition for the games. My three favorite songs are Seven Nation Army, Lady Gaga, and Crazy Train. Seven Nation Army has a very recognizable and iconic bass line that everyone can enjoys, plus the words to the song are pretty well suiting for a team that wants to win. Lady Gaga sounds really cool to me, is more of a popular song and I think a crowd favorite even though it might not be a crowd favorite for the clarinets. Crazy Train is just straight up awesome. That honestly has a lot to do with Michael, so hopefully after he leaves, someone will be able to carry on with electric guitar for him. I have definitely improved in Wipeout at measure 5. I am able to play all the 16th notes we have pretty well and really fast. This was a song I had never really cared for in years prior, but it grew on me this year. We should definitely get You Give Love a Bad Name by Bon Jovi.