There is something to be said for acts of kindness — random or not.

And one such act needs to be brought to the front. It involves Josh Kindberg, a Jamestown High School graduate, and JHS Red Raider Marching Band alum.

After Josh learned about an eighth-grader bass drummer who suffered a knee injury, Josh offered to get the bass drummer back to playing speed. For drummers, marching band is demanding. Even though there are supports for bass drums, snare drums, and quad drums, the drums still get heavy. If you have been lucky enough to see a marching band drum section perform, then you know it’s just not playing drums. There is a whole lot of marching and maneuvering going on. If the drum section made it look somewhat effortless, it’s because countless hours of practice had been put in. This can be said for the whole band and the flags, rifles, and dancers.

Not only do they practice many hours marching, members also put in just as much time learning music. And once the music is learned, parts may be enhanced.

Josh knew the bass drummer may fall behind with music, so Josh helped the bass drummer keep up with his music, and any changes to his music.

Josh’s youngest brother Spencer is also a bass drummer, and at home he had been helping Spencer work through his music memorizing it and playing through it.

“It worked out that I had been helping my youngest brother with his music, so I knew how to play most of the music, and I knew the show (drill),” Josh said.

Josh’s father, Gary, volunteers with the Red Raider Marching band, and he had asked if Josh could help the eighth grader with his music and marching.

“I had helped him with his music to get him back on track,” Josh said. “The student that I had helped was only in eighth grade, so it was his first year ever performing with the marching band. I worked with him through his knee issue, but sadly he couldn’t continue with the band because of the knee issue.”

Even though the eighth-grader had to drop out because of an injury, he learned a well-known secret among present and past JHS marching band members: camaraderie.

The reason the marching band is such a cohesive unit on and off the field may be because of one reason — kindness.

So when you see an act of kindness, acknowledge the people involved. If you can take part in a random act of kindness, then you know you did the right thing.

Accolades aside, the marching band starts preparing in June for the upcoming fall season. All summer long, members are learning the routine and music. It’s no easy task, but speaking from experience, it’s exciting and fun to be a part of.

The drum section or drumline as it’s commonly referred to is broken down into two parts: the pit and the field drums. The pit is located off the field in front of the Drum Major and can include orchestral percussion instruments such as vibes, bells, timpani, marimba, stationary cymbals, keyboards, and maybe a drum set. The field drums include snares, bass drums, and quad drums consisting of either 4-, 5- or 6-pieces.

“Our pit for the marching band is probably the biggest it’s been in a long time. It’s large. And our drumline section — some of the players there are just phenomenal players,” Josh said.

Sunday, The Red Raider Marching Band will be performing in Syracuse at the New York State Field Band Championships. Last year it received first place honors.