ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — Football fans going to Robertsdale High football games should reach back —about 30 years back — to enjoy the award-winning band’s half-time show.

They are about to make you forget about John Philip Sousa.

“We are going to have a rock based half-time show,” said Band Director Neil Sasser, adding that the half-time show will feature tunes covered by or made famous by the group “Guns N’ Roses.” Expect to hear “Band on the Run,” a tune “GN’R” “covered,” “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” a tune written for Erin Everly and “November Rain.”

So what happened to those traditional Sousa marches?

“People would throw things from the stands if we did that,” chuckled Sasser.

No, Sasser does not have an appetite for destruction. Instead, in the five years he has been at RHS, Sasser has molded the 120-odd members of the Golden Bears Band into a group that has earned its share of honors and invitations. According to Sasser, the school’s top concert band earned a “superior” rating last year in state competition.

The band played in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans in 2007, winning the Field Show competition there. The band marched during the parade honoring the inauguration of Alabama Governor Bob R. Riley. This November, the band will take part in the 75th McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day parade in Chicago. According to a parade press release, the band will be seen by some 300,00 spectators on the street, ad the parade will be broadcast to some 72 million “cable households.” While the band’s repertoire for the parade hasn’t been decided yet, Sasser is listening intently to Christmas music in his off hours.

Of course, getting the entire band to Chicago for the parade is an expensive undertaking.

“It is going to cost about $460 per student,” said Sasser. “Most of the students are more than half way there.”

To help with expenses, the band is holding a “Playathon” Sept. 20. The band will also be selling fish dinners for $7 starting around 10:30 a.m. that day.

“We are going to perform out half-time show around 6 p.m.,” said Sasser.

Shows and parades aside, the discipline and exactitude of the band has molded its share of young performers.

Ashley Blount, the band’s Drum Major, knows how much work goes into a performance. Last year, she was part of “10 or 11 of us” trying out for the position of drum major, the student leader of the band. Aspirants were tested on marching fundamentals and musicianship.

“We practice every day,” said Blount, a senior. “On Tuesdays and Thursdays, practice is 3:30 to 5 p.m. On Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays, we practice fourth block.” Fourth block at RHS is approximately 1:30 to 3 p.m.

Blount added that Associate Drum Major Katie Knight usually directs the second number during the band’s half-time shows.

Keeping spirits high is a big job for a student leader, but Blount said that this is not too hard with the band.

“Everybody comes in and know our goals have to get accomplished,” said Blount, who plans to pursue a career in pharmacy.

Corey Fallo, a senior and drum captain, plays snare drum as well as guitar.

“Last year, I went to all-state, one of two students representing Robertsdale High,” said Fallo. He came in first in competition involving students from Baldwin and Mobile counties, and was placed in the seventh chair in drums (essentially seventh place) in the state’s top-level “Red” band.

Being drum captain for the past two years has been an education for Fallo, especially with drum players, a group known for, pardon the phrase, “following a different drummer.”

“You have to deal with different personalities,” said Fallo. “You just have to make sure they do the right thing. You and be uptight and mean or don’t yell and demand respect.”

When Fallo leaves Robertsdale High in May of next year, he plans to go to college.

“I will major in music,” said Fallo. “I know that I want to do something with music.”