The Grambling band is so famous that the musicians and drum majors get asked for autographs. It has its own Internet chat room, gets fan mail and undergoes a rigorous preseason boot camp where musicians rise at 5 a.m. for aerobic routines with drill sergeants, then practice throughout the day until 9 p.m.

And it's coming to Seattle, along with the Grambling State football team that plays Washington State on Saturday at Qwest Field. But this band can go on its own, and will — with two more performances Friday, one at noon at Memorial Stadium for hurricane relief, the other in the evening at Bellevue High School (no tickets remain); with an encore Sunday at the Seahawks game.

Bands have been a big part of college sports for decades, but the "show bands" from historically black Southern colleges like Grambling have added new dimensions to entertainment and have a special caché. The genre got added exposure in the 2002 movie "Drumline," about a cocky freshman drummer at a fictitious college band in Atlanta. The Grambling band made a cameo appearance in the film, and inspired the para-military discipline of the fictitious band in the movie.

The Grambling band has a high-energy style that matches music with dance, lunging motions and high stepping. This band never stops moving. In the team's marching style, heels don't touch the ground and each step is 22 ½ inches.

"It's a lot of flash," explained band director Larry Pannell, who will bring 160 musicians to Seattle. At home in Grambling, which is in north central Louisiana, the band performs with about 200 members. Another 60 musicians are backups, ready to replace anyone who falters on or off the field.

"Grambling's band doesn't march — it boogies," wrote Pete Alfano of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "We'd rather watch the Grambling band perform for four quarters and the football team entertain at halftime.

"Remember when Cal-Berkeley ran through the Stanford band for a touchdown on that game-ending kickoff return in 1982? Cal would have never gotten past the Grambling woodwinds."

The Cougars aren't the first West Coast school to use the Grambling band to draw a crowd. In 2003, San Jose State invited Grambling and drew 31,681, which was more than double the Spartans' second-largest crowd of the season. More than 35,000 are expected at Saturday's game.

"Without the notoriety of the band, I wouldn't bring a Division I-AA team to Seattle," said WSU athletic director Jim Sterk. "I felt the band gave the game the fan appeal that would make it a true event."

Even though the Grambling band originated in 1926, the man who boosted it into national prominence was Conrad Hutchinson Jr., who served as its director for 40 years, starting in 1952. He was one of the first to preach that a band should continually move throughout a field performance. He also added new sounds, such as bringing a tympani, usually an orchestra instrument, onto the field. Hutchinson died in 1996, four years after he retired.

"As a kid watching my father with his band in his uniform, I'd say, 'That's what I want to be,' " his son, Conrad Hutchinson III, told the Los Angeles Times recently.

The son did just that. Now 64, Hutchinson has conducted the band at Inglewood High School in California for 25 years.

He played clarinet for his father while attending Grambling, and has often told the story of what happened when he was late to band practice in his freshman year, back in 1959. He wasn't allowed to march, had to run up and down the bleachers, then had to face his dad later in his office.

Local schedule


Friday

Performance at Memorial Stadium to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina, noon-1:30 p.m. (donations will be collected)

Performance at Bellevue High School, 7-8:30 p.m. (no tickets left)

Saturday

Halftime and special "fifth quarter" appearance at WSU-Grambling State football game, 4 p.m., Qwest Field (game tickets $17-$47).

Sunday

Pregame and halftime performance, Seattle Seahawks vs. Atlanta Falcons, Qwest Field, 1 p.m. kickoff (game tickets $28-$82).

Hutchinson recalled: "I'm walking in like, 'OK, Dad, I know I messed up.' He said, 'Don't call me Dad. Have a seat. Son, let me have your meal book.' "

The son lost his meal ticket, and wasn't allowed to eat at home that night, either.

Pannell and his three assistant directors all played in the band under Hutchinson.

"He was very military-oriented," said assistant director Charles Lacey. "Everything had its place and time."

Grambling's band is certainly better known than its current football team, which opened with a 44-0 win over Alabama A&M last Saturday. The football team doesn't exactly lack for heritage, though, because this is where Eddie Robinson won 408 games (No. 2 on the all-time list) from 1941-97.

Starting quarterback Bruce Eugene said the team doesn't harbor any jealousy toward the band.

"Everybody is for Grambling," said Eugene. "We don't like going anywhere without the band. We love the band because it keeps us motivated."

The band's reputation also draws students to the school.

"If it wasn't for the band, I wouldn't have come to Grambling," said trombone player Ramon Washington, of Shreveport, La.

The freshmen band members reported to Grambling on Aug. 1 for camp. Returning band members reported Aug. 12 to get ready for football season. But they play for more events than just the Grambling games — they were at Super Bowl I in 1967, in Liberia in 1972, accompanied by First Lady Pat Nixon, and at George Bush's inauguration in 2001.

And sometimes, fans come for the band and not for the football. A few years ago, Grambling was to play Florida A&M in Miami's Pro Player Stadium. But it had rained that night, the field was full of puddles, and stadium officials were concerned about playing conditions for the NFL game scheduled there the next day.

They canceled the halftime show, and were besieged by angry fans who wanted their money back.

In the Southwestern Athletic Conference, competition between bands can be as intense as between teams. In 1998, bands from Prairie View and Southern universities got in a brawl that sent four musicians to a hospital and did $32,000 in damage to instruments.

In the SWAC, visiting schools usually bring their bands and both play at halftime. After the game, the bands stay and play a version of musical tennis, each trying to outdo the other. Cougars coach Bill Doba is preoccupied with the Grambling football team instead of the band and won't see it perform because he will be in the locker room. But he is aware that this is a special group of musicians and had a request.

"Hey, tape it for me," he said.

Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com