Joe Pine remembers that first Bellefontaine High School (BHS) band dance when he was a freshman in 1991. A handful of students gathered their favorite CDs and cassettes, decorated the space with Christmas lights, and danced the night away. Perhaps that’s what inspired him to start a DJ business right after graduating.
“I didn’t have much equipment or music yet,” he admitted, but that didn’t stop Joe Antram, BHS marching band director at the time, from asking Pine to DJ a dance professionally. That night in 1995 was such a hit it led to a three-decade relationship between Pine and the school’s annual band camp.
This year marked their 30th collaboration and the anniversary celebration dance took place at the high school commons on Thursday, July 17. The night included disco lights and a limbo contest and more old songs than new ones.
American Entertainment disc jockey Pine presented BHS marching band director Kenneth Hoffman and 60-plus band members in attendance with a Client Dedication Award to show his appreciation for being able to DJ the event for three decades.
For many of those years, Pine traveled to Bluffton and then to Wright State University to DJ the event before band camp moved to BHS the past two years.
The former BHS band member said he has fond memories of trips to Philadelphia and New York with the band in 2006, when the band performed in Thanksgiving Day parades. He said a large ballroom was reserved for Chieftain band members for the dance that year and security had to be called to keep bands from other schools out of the venue.
Pine’s partnership with BHS has meant he’s worked with every band director since 1995, leading up to the present one, Hoffman. This is Hoffman’s second year in the role, and he said he’s happy to see the long-standing tradition continue.
The dance is hosted on the last full day of BHS band camp. They spent the week practicing and working on their first football half-time show for the fall. Coming at the end of such a full week, Hoffman called the dance “a chance to let loose.”
Near the end of the night, incoming freshmen sat on the floor while their older classmates stood before them for their initiation into marching band.
“Band is more than just music,” Haidyn Bruce, senior drum major, told the new members. “It’s a memory.”
They then led the initiates in a series of vows, including promises to be kind and work hard while still remembering to have fun. In conclusion, the older students congratulated their new bandmates by saying, “You’re all now a part of the ‘pride of the tribe.’”
Afterward, it was back to DJ Joe and dancing to songs that came out when these students were still infants … if not before. In fact, they went as far back as the Village People’s “YMCA” from 1978.
Over the years, working with the high school has been a boon to Pine’s career. Because of this dance, he’s been asked to do proms, homecomings, BHS musical cast parties, birthdays and graduations. And as the students he DJ’d for became adults, they came back to him for events like weddings and company Christmas parties.
“I’m truly thankful for everything this band and their dances has done for me and my business,” he stated. “Even if all they wanted to do was have fun.”
You can find out more about DJ Joe Pine by checking out his Facebook page.
This year’s Chieftain marching band has 76 marching members for BHS, up about 10 members from last year, Hoffman said.
Examiner Publisher/General Manager T.J. Hubbard contributed to this story.
