Baldwinsville native Master Sgt. John Lamirande passed on some of his musical and military wisdom to student musicians performing at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio on Jan. 3.
The Messenger caught up with Lamirande before the big show to talk about growing up in B’ville and his career as an audio engineer with the Volunteers, an offshoot of the U.S. Army Field Band.
Lamirande, who plays the electric bass, guitar, piano and drums, joined the Army as a musician in 1986 after graduating from Baker High School. The following year, Lamirande graduated from the Little Creek Naval School of Music.
“It just seemed like a great deal to serve my country and do something I love, which is music,” Lamirande said.
The Volunteers’ mission is to tell the Army’s story through a mix of country, rock, pop and patriotic music. The band travels about 100 days out of the year and has performed in all 50 states, as well as Iraq, Kuwait, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Lamirande said one of the most rewarding aspects of his job is being able to “see how other people in the world compare to this country.”
He’s played in nursing homes and in front of arena crowds, but no matter the size or age of the audience, Lamirande said it’s important to him to “connect young people with veterans and share their message.”
The All-American Bowl brings together several elite groups from across the nation: the top high school football players, the best student musicians and the Army’s own musicians.
“We will be part of creating some of the best memories of their life,” Lamirande said. “It’s an intense week of preparation for five-and-a-half minutes on the field. They really don’t get to see the football game.”
Lamirande has fond memories of Baldwinsville and how it fostered his passion for music.
“It was all about music,” he recalled. “There were at least 10 of us who lived in one block who were musicians.”
At school, Lamirande participated in a number of musical groups, including Baker’s Marching Bees, jazz band and chorus. He still counts his former teachers — junior high band director Norm Wanzer, high school band director Mark Ponzo and choral director Carol Jacobe — as his inspirations.
“[Jacobe] was definitely a huge mentor for me in high school,” he said of Jacobe.
Now Lamirande is paying it forward. By mentoring the high schoolers who make up the marching band at the All-American Bowl, he’s able to show the kids another aspect of Army life: a career in music.
“The Army is a profession like any other profession,” he said. “The Army exists for a reason: to defend the nation and protect the American way of life.”
In addition to sharing his musical expertise, Lamirande said he hopes to help the student musicians “put a face on the Army and make it less abstract.”
Lamirande offered some advice he planned to share with the high schoolers, regardless of what path they choose.
“It doesn’t matter what you do,” he said, “but if you show up on time, prepared and willing to work, you will be successful, period.”
