It Takes a Lot of Brass to Compete in Santa Ana’s Band Review : Music: ‘This is kind of like sports,’ says one entrant in event for school groups.

With trumpets blaring and bass drums booming, the best marching bands from throughout the state took to the streets here Saturday for the annual competition known as the California Band Review.

“This is kind of like sports,” said Jeremy McBee, drum captain for the Santa Ana Winds band and student at Valencia High School in Placentia. “The parents go crazy . . . and you are creating music, and that really hypes me.”

The Santa Ana Stadium parking lot Saturday afternoon was littered with colorful flags, plastic rifles and black instrument cases--some the size of a small cheerleader. Band members from 16 schools banged on drums, blasted trumpet solos and practiced march steps for the 20th annual review.

“The bands are very competitive,” said Robert Ward, founder of the review and director of the Santa Ana Winds. “And what makes this competition unique is that bands from all over the state come for this.”

The streets along the perimeter of the Civic Center were blocked Saturday morning for the street competition.

“We went first in the street competition,” said Carol Walker, a drummer in the Foothill High School Band from Santa Ana. “We felt like we had to set the example, so other bands really had to try hard to beat us. I thought we were awesome.”

The bands then regrouped for afternoon performances on the stadium field. Each band entering the field competition had 30 minutes to perform, while band members from other schools sat in the bleachers, scouting the competition.

“You can tell right away how good a band is,” McBee said. “You watch them march down the street, and you can tell if they’ve got it.”

He said he spends up to 70 hours a week practicing for performances.

At the end of the day, organizers announced the winner of the overall competition: Rubidoux High in Riverside, which claimed the prize for the second consecutive year. Other winners were Montebello High for best director, percussion and drill team and Foothill High, which claimed a drum major award. Rubidoux High also won awards for musicianship, field show and a different style of drum major.

Many band members said they consider the fall band season just as important to them as football is to football players. The intensity is not limited to the musicians; parents are also amateur judges of talent.

“To us, they always do good, but the competition is tough,” said Marcy Campos, mother of a trumpeter in Montebello’s Schurr High band. “We can tell when our band does well. It is important to parents as well.”

She said band parents at the school do more than provide encouragement and transportation for their children.

“With budget cuts at the schools, parents also have a new role as fund-raisers,” Campos said.

The Schurr band has been invited to march in the Rose Bowl Parade and has even traveled to Hawaii for performances.

“The kids are able to balance (band commitments and academics) well,” she said. “It is good, because we as parents always know where our kids are: either at school or at band.”