At George Mason University, it turns out March Madness isn't just about the nationally ranked men's basketball team.
The Green Machine pep band has become quite a draw itself at home games at the Patriot Center. Now thanks to a YouTube video, the band is getting international exposure.
On Feb. 24, a band booster used his iPhone to make a video of the band rehearsing its medley of Rage Against the Machine songs. In less than a week on YouTube, the video got more than a half million views, and the numbers continue to climb. Almost 25 percent of those watching are from Europe.
“This is just another way for people to see what we already knew about the Green Machine, “ said booster chairman Tom Block. “It’s a very powerful band that is an event in itself.”
The Green Machine's high energy, no-holds-barred performance style has created a lot of fans. Unlike many college pep bands, they use amps, singers and even feature an electric viola.
“Every time someone asks me I just say the Green Machine is pure awesomeness," viola player Benjamin Pereyra. "Our energy level skyrockets every time we have a game.”
Some of the students decided to enroll at GMU because of the band.
“Actually, that was the reason I came to George Mason,” sophomore Noora Assad said. “They had this awesome pep band when I came for open house and I was just amazed.”
Just five years ago, the pep band numbered only about 25 students. Then the GMU men’s basketball team made its Cinderella-run to the Final Four. That summer, Michael Nickens or “Doc Nix” as he’s known, was hired as the band director. In two years, the Green Machine had exploded to more than 200 members.
Basketball coach Jim Larranaga is one of the band's biggest fans.
“These guys are amazing," he said. "I call them the best pep band in America. Doc Nix and the Green Machine are just awesome."
In fact, the band might be the basketball team’s secret weapon.
“They create the environment at the Patriot Center,” the coach said. “Two of the last three years we’ve gone undefeated at home.”
Simply put, the Green Machine rocks out. And they are hoping to provide the soundtrack as the GMU men's basketball team begins its 2011 NCAA run later this month.
