Green Man Group returned home after being away at the WAC basketball tournament for a short performance March 27.
Drumline is an exciting event to watch because each percussionist plays in perfect synchronization with each other to fast paced rhythmic beats. There is one characteristic that makes this drumline so popular among the other universities: aviator shades and full-body, green-spandex suits.
“That’s their big secret of why they are so popular,” says Kenton Nielson, Green Man Group director. “People like them because they don’t have a face. Audiences get to project what they want to see. If they want to see someone happy, they get to see someone happy. If they want to see someone they admire, they can see that: cool or tough, whatever. The audience gets to see what they want to see.”
This silent group of 15 students does more than just play drums; they are performers. Before the event began, the members were climbing over chairs, giving high fives, attempting to exchange shoes with one of the audience members and pantomiming how excited they were to have everyone there.
Their energy carried over into the performance like having a humorous dance off while the group played various rhythms and creative drumline feats such as playing on chair stools. Each member has a different character style, and it’s easy to be in awe of their talent and charisma.
Although the Green Man Group is filled with ecstatic performances, they do more than just perform.
“The interactions with people and students is what it’s really about,” says Nielson.
In a heartwarming retelling of an event they had, the group visited a special needs class after performing at a local school. The students were excited as the group came in and let them play on their drums and laughed as they non-vocally interacted with the students. One student had a special connection with one of the green men.
“This boy had never looked anyone in the eye before, not even his parents. He would always go by himself and wouldn’t interact with anyone,” said Nielson. He happened to look over, and this boy was coloring with one of the green men and giving him a high five because of how excited he was. “These are just boys in spandex, but moments like that will make them into better people as they go on in their lives.”
