Randall Standridge Attack of the Rubber Chickens - Standridge - Concert Band - Gr. 2

Composer: Randall Standridge
Format: Score and Parts
Instrumentation: Concert Band
Grade: 2

Program Notes

Last year, I wrote a piece called The Great Rubber Chicken Galop. It featured vaudeville flair, ragtime energy, and of course a small army of squeaking rubber chickens. It was ridiculous. It was joyful. And to my absolute delight, people loved it. There was just one problem. It was a bit too much for younger bands.

So, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work on a new piece featuring our fowl friends. I knew from the beginning that I did not want to just write another galop or march at an easier level. That felt a little too easy... and honestly, a little lazy. If I were going to revisit this idea, it needed to be something new. Something that stood on its own and took the concept in a completely different direction.

Then it came to me. Space Invasion.

This time, we leave the vaudeville stage behind and head straight into B-movie science fiction territory. Imagine an army of rubber chickens descending from the cosmos, armed with squeaks, honks, and questionable intentions. You will hear musical nods to classic sci-fi sound worlds, complete with eerie effects, dramatic gestures, and even an optional synthesized theremin, because nothing says alien invasion quite like a good old-fashioned "woooooOOOooo."

Now, I want to be real for a moment. I sometimes worry that writing pieces like this will cause people to take me less seriously as a composer. I have written works that deal with deeply emotional and artistic subjects, and there are times I wonder if something like this might overshadow that part of my voice. In fact, I almost did not release the original rubber chicken piece for that very reason. But here is what I have come to realize. My body of work speaks for itself, and humor, joy, absurdity, laughter is just as valid a human emotion as anything else we express through music.

So keep your eyes on the skies. And if you hear a distant squeak, it may already be too late.

Peace, Love, and Music (and extraterrestrial poultry) - Randy Standy

No rubber chickens were harmed in this invasion. Probably.