5 - Electric Lizard

    This piece is based on the cadence "Slice" from the University of Miami. I assume the "slice" is meant to be a slice of orange, a nod to the original home of the Miami Hurricanes football team, the Orange Bowl. This cadence dates from at least the mid-80s and I am unaware of the composer. It has been played by almost every high school in the Miami area.

     The original cadence had 3 distinct bass drum "break downs" or grooves, but I can only recall 2 of them. In my composition, the bass drum grooves are played by the electric guitar. When I played the cadence with the University of Miami Band of the Hour drumline many years ago, the bass drum breaks were used as a platform to have the upper battery players take solos. In my composition, the accordion and trumpets each take a solo, respectively. The count-off is also unique to the UM drumline and was used to begin various cadences.

     

       The name is an allusion to the numerous energetic lizards found all over South Florida.

     

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLMo9YswQns

https://fuzortion.bandcamp.com/album/cosmic-descent