Once you fall in love with music, you don’t ever look back — Mr. Clark Thompson, who teaches World History, knows this for a fact: he has been a musician for nearly all of his life! From touring with his school band as a kid to playing in his own rock bands, Mr. Thompson has done it all.

Growing up in Denton, TX, Mr. Thompson was able to be a part of a phenomenal music program.

“The University of North Texas is there, so we had a lot of really good guest conductors and competed all over the state: we always got sixth place though, so we never made the top five to recompete,” Mr. Thompson said. “Our band was really good; the things we were doing then were so cutting edge — but if you looked at it today, y’all would just laugh because band has gone so far beyond what is was — they’re practically dancing out there now! We were just starting to break away from the military formation style. By today’s standards we were primitive. But back then, it was really something.”

Though he started his career with the tuba at a young age, his journey ended when he was in college—or so he thought.

“I started playing in sixth grade and went all through high school,” Mr. Thompson said. “I played one year at TCU, and then I transferred down to UT; I didn’t want to be an orange cowboy, so I dropped out of band, and I kind of wish I hadn’t.”

Though he did not continue, Mr. Thompson still had fond memories of his tuba days.

“I stuck with the tuba through high school — it was extremely meaningful for me to be in the high school band,” Mr. Thompson said. “I should have given college band more of a chance, but it’s hard to instantly form bonds with people that you just meet suddenly; after a year or two I’m sure it would have worked out.”

During high school, Mr. Thompson picked up a new instrument and began playing in various bands, including When Clowns Go Bad, Sunrise Circus, Monkeypuzzle, The Dentones, and The Mickey White Band.

“Starting in ‘82, my sophomore year, I started playing bass guitar,” Mr. Thompson said. “I’ve been playing in rock bands ever since!”

However, he wasn’t done with the tuba just yet.

“Four years ago at the HONK! Festival I saw all these crazy street bands, brass bands. I said, ‘I want to do that!’, so I learned how to play tuba again,” Mr. Thompson said. “Now I play in two different outfits that are associated with HONK!. We play New Orleans and Eastern European-type stuff — I enjoy it quite a lot.”

Mr. Thompson’s rock band also encouraged him to pick up the tuba again. 

“The drummer in my rock group was watching these bands and he said, ‘Thompson, if you learned how to play tuba again I could hook up a snare drum’. I borrowed one from Westwood and learned how to play it over the summer, then joined the Dead Music Capital Band which is a lot of fun — it’s kind of an undead theme, off-color minor note, minor key-type songs, and that’s a lot of fun,” Mr. Thompson said. “About a year and a half ago I then joined the Minor Mishap Marching Band, which plays more world music, a lot of Eastern European stuff, Indian songs, Russian songs — it’s a real blast.”

Reconnecting with the tuba was an interesting experience for Mr. Thompson.

“After 25 years of playing my own rock bands, to play a tuba again and have it be so successful, so popular, is kind of funny. It’s like an old friend—like meeting an old friend again,” Mr. Thompson said.

Being in various marching bands has also allowed Mr. Thompson to participate in many events.

“Playing in big parades is really thrilling; Boston in particular, walking through Harvard Square, playing on a stage in Harvard Square for thousands of people,” Mr. Thompson said. “That feeling — you don’t feel scared, because you have such a connection with the people in the band; the strength in numbers is a real phenomenon.”

Mr. Thompson also had some sage advice to the music enthusiast:

“When you’re playing with any kind of a group, it’s important to try really hard to steer clear of group politics,” Mr. Thompson said. “The best course is not to get involved in that at all. Just get along and enjoy the music — life’s too short not to enjoy things like that. That and follow your passion!”