Being in front of a crowd is nerve-wracking for most people, but performing for more than 70,000 college football fans was no sweat for James Schaaf, a member of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

Schaaf (Pima/Mohave/Quechan/White Mountain Apache) plays the snare drum in the Arizona State University Sun Devil Marching Band Drumline, which traveled to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on January 2.

The Peach Bowl featured a matchup between ASU and the University of Texas Longhorns, which won the college football playoff quarterfinal 39-31 in a double overtime thriller.

A surreal experience, the pressure of the large scale performance didn’t faze Schaaf. “Maybe because I got so used to performing at many home games leading up to Atlanta, so it was just business as usual.”

Schaaf said the band, also known as “The Pride of the Southwest,” performed the ASU fight song, rearranged Carlos Santana pieces and other crowd pleasers. The ASU drumline uses Vic Firth, Remo and Mapex equipment. The Longhorn band, also known as “The Showband of the Southwest,” features around 400 members.

“It was crazy to see, because the ASU band is not as big,” Schaaf said, “so seeing that huge band perform right before us was really fun…”

Music runs deep in Schaaf’s family DNA: His dad, Michael Schaaf, is also a drummer, while his mom, Yvonne Emerson Schaaf, played the piccolo at ASU.

Generations of Emersons—Schaaf’s maternal line—performed in tribal marching bands, including the Salt River Indian Marching Band, the Quechan Indian Band and the Colorado River Indian Tribes marching band. His great-grandfather Fred played the trombone; his great-uncle Loren and grandfather Keith were both trumpeters; and one pair of great-aunts played clarinet (Charlene and Marsha), while another played flute (Janice and Jonelle).  

Intrigued as a kid by a YouTube video of a drum corps playing their complex and intricate warmup sequence, Schaaf knew that he wanted to do the same one day. These days, when he’s not on the field with the marching band, Schaaf stays busy writing music for his drum set and other projects. He hopes to land gigs and have fun playing live music well into the future.

“I’m forever thankful for how marching band and music has changed my life, who I’ve become, and the friends I have today,” said Schaaf.

He encouraged others to find fulfilment by trying new things and sticking to the hobbies, exercises or art that makes them happiest.

“… [G]etting to experience this joy is something that you won’t get out of anything else,” Schaaf said, “especially when you get to explore the community behind each activity.”