Army band has members with varied backgrounds

Being a member of the Volunteers, the Army band that will perform in H a v r e o n Saturday, is not the luxur i o u s l i f e many people envision. T h e Vo l u n t e e r s will perform in Glasgow on Friday, pack up their own gear, drive their government-owned van 160 miles to Havre, unpack their gear and set up at Havre High School to perform again on Saturday. "That's what we do 140 days a year," said Sgt. 1st Class Peter Krasulski, the bass player for the eight-member band. But the band members say, for all the hard work, it is the most rewarding of careers. "We get to be the face of the U.S. Army," he said. "We do that by doing what we love — performing music." "It's not a glamorous way of life, but it's the Army way of life," he said. People who attend Saturday's concert, 7 p.m., at HHS will enjoy music ranging from patriotic tunes to '50s music and Charlie Daniels songs to today's rock, Krasulski said. "It's funny, because everybody says this, but we do have something for everybody," he said. The e ight membe r s o f the Volunteers have a variety of backgrounds. They sang in churches, school choirs and rock bands before joining the Army. Krasulski, a Washington, D.C.- native, enlisted when he was 27, much older than most recruits. He laughs when he looks back at his decision to join. "Staff sergeant. Scribner showed me a book with 300 different occupations in the Army," he said of his recruiter. "One of them was an electric bass guitar player." "I said 'you've got to be kidding,'" Krasulski recalled. "This must be a typo. I'll sign up for this and end up doing something I don't want." No, Scribner assured him. There really is such an Army position. Krasulski auditioned, and the Army liked what it saw and for 12 years he Has been an Army guitar player. "We are the Army's messenger to middle America," he said during a telephone interview from Minot, N.D., where the Volunteers performed Tuesday night. The band members enjoy talking to people in the communities they visit. Sgt. 1st Class April Boucher, the vocal ist and the only woman in the Volunteers, develops a special relationship with young women when the band visi ts high schools, Krasulski said, adding that students flock around her after concerts, asking for tips on singing. "Our message to young people is to work hard," he said. "We want to let students know their options. That doesn't mean they will follow the military route, but we want them to know they can make something of themselves."