In his office at Dounda, J.Corey Francis, the new director of the Panther Marching Band, sat at his desk watching YouTube videos with his two drum majors after rehearsal.

In the past two seasons, Francis’ predecessors led the PMB, both bringing in their own selection of music.

Francis has scripted a show featuring music from modern rock bands including Fall Out Boy, Foo Fighters and Shinedown.

Jen Antkowiak, a sophomore biology major, and one of PMB’s two drum majors, said Francis’ decision to write in songs from these musicians is a departure from last year’s selection of music.

“(These are) songs we know will get the crowd actually energized, rather than the traditional shorts that we would play; we just played the same short over and over again,” Antkowiak said. “We’re trying to get these peppy, awesome, poppy, current tunes that will get the crowd on their feet, get the crowd excited.”

Francis has incorporated music from modern artists at schools he previously worked at, including Indiana State and Georgia State.

“I try to find a good mix of things the students will know, things the audience will know,” he said.

While Francis said he picked songs the audience will recognize at first listen, he worried about the quality of the music.

“There’s a million versions of ‘Party Rock Anthem’ out there—that’s just a song from last year—but some of them just aren’t done right,” Francis said. “I try to think about what I want the students (the ensemble) to learn and what will make them better performers.”

Students on the field, Francis said, responded well to the music he introduced.

“They’re enjoying it. They’re buying into what we’ve done and becoming better players because of it,” Francis said.

For example, the color guard and the drum majors were dancing to “Single Ladies,” Antkowiak said with a laugh.

She added that, music wise, the band is ready for the show, but they still need to work on their drill, the band’s choreography.

“If this was another school where I’d been for several years, drill would be done, but you really can’t sit there and write stuff until you know exactly how many people you’re writing for,” Francis said.

When students fail to perform at the standards Francis has set for the group, he said he brings it to their attention without any reservations.

“If I know they’re not performing to the standards we have, I will sit there and say ‘No, you know that’s not good enough for what we want to do,’” Francis said.

He said he is not strict, but serious about the work he does, and then turned to his two drum majors and asked for their opinions.

Chrissy Harmon, a sophomore music major and the other of the two drum majors, agreed with Francis.

“At times, when (he) may have been a little more firm with the group, they responded well,” Harmon said.

Harmon, as well as Francis and Antkowiak, agreed that they all lean on each other creatively when trying to figure out what will work for the band.

When Francis conducts, Antkowiak said Harmon openly tells him whether or not something in his direction will work for a performance.

They also split leadership among each other.

Francis sometimes puts the two of them on the stand, and they direct the students in their own manner.

Antkowiak said they have a phrase of the day they use during rehearsals to note something needs to improve.

“The first day it was ‘banana sandwiches,’” she said. “The second day it was ‘you shall not pass.’”

Francis took in a deep breath and said “you kids.”

The drum majors agreed that as the season’s first performance draws near, nerves and feelings of anxiety have trickled down from the director to them.

Harmon said she struggled to deal with the pressures that come with being a drum major, a position she earned in her second year at Eastern.

“I’ve been having confidence issues this season, but everyone has been really great about kind of pushing me out of the nest a little bit,” Harmon said. “ I’m expecting to grow a lot more in the semester.”

Antkowiak added that it is not like a gentle ease out of the nest.

“You kind of get a nice little kick out of the nest, and you just spread your wings and go your way,” she said.

The Marching Band’s opening show will occur during the football game halftime show Thursday. The game begins at 6:30 p.m.

Jaime Lopez can be reached at 581-2812 or jlopez2@eiu.edu.