MARINE FORCES RESERVE, New Orleans -- As a Marine, Gunnery Sgt. Duane King, currently the drum major for the Marine Forces Reserve Band, grew up in New Orleans. It’s the city where he spent two-thirds of his almost 15 year career and experienced some of the biggest highs and lows of his life; from the joy of exploring the New Orleans’s jazz culture to witnessing first hand the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. Now, he is scheduled to depart the city in June and take up a job in Washington D.C, serving as the assistant drum major for the prestigious ‘President’s Own’ band. But wherever he goes, two things will always drive him: his love of the Marine Corps, and maybe, even more importantly, his love of music.
Music On The Mind
King’s musical career first began in Jacksonville, Fla., when picked up his first trumpet at the age of 11, following in the steps of his parents who were both musicians. After graduating high school, King wanted to continue playing music but had no desire to be a music teacher, which led him into looking at career with the military. With his musical background, joining a military band was an easy job choice. Which branch of service he wanted required more thought, but was an almost as easy decision.
“I had all four recruiters from each service all lined up and I talked to them one after the other,” said King. “The dedication I put into learning the trumpet and the courage to play in front thousands of people … the Marine Corps offered me those same qualities in becoming a Marine. I didn’t get that from the other services.”
Upon enlisting and finishing basic training, King was sent to the Navy’s School of Music in Norfolk, Va. where he completed his initial military band training. King then received orders for the Marine Forces Reserve Band in New Orleans and reported in Oct. 1995. Like most young Marines with music on their mind, King found himself looking forward to the jazzy, carnival-like culture of The Big Easy, a culture which King found himself experiencing his first night at his new command.
When King first arrived it was Friday night and he didn’t have to check in until Monday.
Grabbing his trumpet and asking the first person he saw where the French Quarter was; King went there wide-eyed and unaware of what was going on; but’ he let his musical instincts take over.
“I saw some other musicians playing so I decided to put my case down and started playing from my book. I think I made like 40 dollars in tips that night.”
The Blues
King left New Orleans in Oct. 2000 and headed to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms. King spent 13 months there and then returned to the School of Music for the school’s six month Ceremonial Conductor/Drum Major course.
After completing the course he received orders to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in June 2002. He stayed there until May 2005, before returning to MarForRes where he then assumed the billet of platoon sergeant for the band.
While serving as platoon sergeant, King experienced one of the greatest challenges in his professional and personal life when tragedy struck in late Aug. 2005. MarForRes personnel were ordered to evacuate days prior to the Hurricane Katrina’s landfall, scattering Marines across Louisiana and other states such as Texas and Florida. King found himself in the position of trying to be a leader and worrying about the well being of his 40 Marines, as well as trying to take care of his own family and personal and financial losses.
“Hurricane Katrina … living through that changed me as a person, definitely,” said King, who lost many of his own possessions when his home flooded. “You realize how un-important material things are and how important your friends, family … your Marine Corps family, how close they are to you.”
Speaking Through Music
After the storm subsided, King and other Marines from the band returned to New Orleans to find their city a wreck. With buildings flooded, homes destroyed and many people still living in shelters, the band Marines resorted to the only measure they knew to lift not only their own spirits, but the spirits of those around them: music.
“One of the things we had to fall back on was music … anytime you put a horn in your face those bad times fall away, you can express your emotions through music and after Katrina we had a lot to say.”
The band began to visit evacuees in the various shelters set up across Texas, including Forth Worth and Dallas putting on free shows for those who had lost almost everything they had.
“The people there knew we were from New Orleans, that we had lost everything too. Afterwards, people (evacuees) would come up to us with tears in their eyes, thanking us, which was gratifying. I would rather have someone like that thank me then 10,000 people in an auditorium,” said King.
Scarlet and Gold
Almost every Marine band member dreams about joining the President’s own, going over to what King calls the ‘scarlet and gold side’. This can cause some jealousy amongst Marines, which King himself was not immune to. Early on in his career he had a negative impression of the President’s Own, an emotion not uncommon amongst junior band Marines.
“During my first ten years of the Marine Corps I knew they were phenomenal musicians, but I thought they were stuck up, as they don’t go to boot camp.”
King’s opinion changed once he began interacting with the scarlet and gold Marines during their many visits to conduct classes for the MarForRes band Marines.
“I started meeting some of them,” said King. “I learned that the vast majority of them are very nice people and amazing musicians. They know everything we know except when it comes to combat.”
This interaction later led to a serious opportunity for King during spring 2009 when he received an e-mail asking for senior Marine band members to audition for the spot of President’s Own drum major, which would soon become vacant. With a ‘cautious level of optimism’ King submitted an audition video showcasing his skills and that summer he received an invite to a live audition.
The audition took place Sept. 3-4 and placed King and several other Marines against each other in displays of drum majoring and conducting skills. King even found himself pitted against his long-time friend Staff Sgt. Aaron Goldin. Goldin and King had been stationed together in both Parris Island and later New Orleans, with Goldin serving as King’s assistant drum major.
After his own audition King thought he had a good shot at the job.
“I had just decided to go for it,” he said. “I thought to myself, the worst that can happen is they won’t take me.”
Goldin was more vocal about King’s performance.
“I was watching his drum major performance and I was like ‘wow’,” said Goldin. “Nobody wanted it more than him; he was really sharp and smooth.”
At the end of the auditions, the judges gathered and spent the next several hours evaluating the performances. After a few hours, they told King he had the job.
It was a milestone in King’s life which would only later be surpassed by what would become his greatest musical performance to date.
Performance Of A Lifetime
For King and the rest of the MarForRes band, life was on the upswing. The city was recovering from Katrina, he had been selected for the President’s Own and the band began to find a solid groove. The good times reached a peak when King, who was now serving as drum major, along with the rest of the band found themselves on hand for one of the greatest celebrations in New Orleans history; the first ever super bowl victory for the New Orleans’ Saints.
During the wild party atmosphere of the city following the victory, the band conducted one of their most historic performances ever at the post super bowl party which had an audience of over 800,000 people. King considers the performance to be the greatest moment of his musical career.
“It was one of the most enjoyable performance’s I have done, anywhere,” said King. I don’t know if I can think of another performance that matches the energy the crowd and the band had. I don’t know if there is anything that could ever compare to that moment.”
Leaving The Big Easy
Now, as King prepares to head to Washington D.C. and become one of those ‘scarlet and gold guys,’ he has a variety of experiences and memories to reflect upon leaving New Orleans.
“I’m really looking forward to it (the new job),” said King. “I’m really going to miss New Orleans, the people, the culture, the band … everything here. But I’m looking forward to a new challenge up there and doing it as well as I can. It’s slightly intimidating but we wouldn’t grow as people if we always went to the same job and never saw what more we could do.”
Cpl. James Barry, a saxophone player with the band, said King leaving the unit will mean the loss of a great leader.
“He (King) is someone you can go to and talk about your career, your life or music,” Barry said. “He helped me out a lot early on in my career and is a constant example of a good leader. Everyone here is upset that he is leaving but I know he will get the most out of it.”
Goldin said King’s departure means more than just the loss of a fellow colleague, it also means the loss of a friend.
“He is exactly what they want,” Goldin said, in reference to the President’s Own decision to bring King on board. “He has taught me how to march, how to be a drum major and he is a great trumpet player. He is my best friend here and it sucks that he is leaving. I am happy for him but I hate to see him go.”