How One Musician Followed His Passion to the U.S. Army

Beating His Own Drum

Army Spc. Chris King has always loved music. His family were regular church-goers, where Chris’ father played the drums. “When I was young,” Chris says. “I would get in trouble for getting out of the pew and going to sit behind him and try to mimic what he was doing.” 

Recognizing the toddler’s affinity for music, Chris’ father gave him his first drum set when the budding musician was only two-years-old. From that point on, Chris studied with his father and listened to everything from classic gospel to Michael Jackson. Chris started formal music lessons around age nine and his father pushed him to be multidimensional. “[My dad] said, you’ve got to be able to read [music] but you’ve also got to be able to sit down and play by ear and just jam,” Chris recalls. 

So, the young music-lover threw himself into formal study and jam sessions, marching band and jazz band. He added a little sport into the mix, but music ruled. His post-high school plan was to attend East Carolina University on a marching band scholarship and play for the school’s 200+ member Marching Pirates. During this time, though, Chris learned one of the most powerful lessons of his life: how to pivot.

Learning to Pivot

By chance, the Army recruiter assigned to Chris’ high school—a former Army bandsman himself—attended Chris’ senior concert. Afterwards, he approached the young drummer and suggested he consider auditioning for the Army band.

Chris grew up in a military family; his father is a Marine, so he was already familiar with some of the benefits of military life. Joining the Army wasn’t part of his original plan, but the idea intrigued him. He decided to visit the local recruiting office to learn more.

As it happened, there were openings in the Army band. Plus, when Chris took a look at the long-term career options—like being able to retire at 38—and discovered the diversity of music he would be exposed to as an Army bandsman, his decision was made.

First he had to tackle the rigorous audition process. It starts with a video audition where basic abilities are assessed. If the candidate makes it through that stage, the Army sends a band liaison for an in-person audition. “They give you about 9-12 pieces… and you have under 24 hours to learn that,” Chris recalls. “You also have to have four prepared pieces in four different genres.”

New Frontiers, New Challenges

Chris’ career in the Army brought him from his hometown of Newport, North Carolina to Colorado Springs, where he is a Specialist serving as a bandsman in the 4th Infantry Division Band. “We work with the city council. We work with the education center. We work with public events as well,” Chris says. “We are a face in the Army you don’t always get to see. And that has been great.”

The experience has been musically rigorous as well. For any given performance, Chris says he has to be ready to play a wide range of genres. “For drummers like myself, one week you’re playing pop. The next week you’re playing heavy rock, and the next week you’re playing jazz.” 

And of course, he is a soldier as well as a musician. “The Army has helped me grow my leadership capabilities and my confidence,” Chris says. “I’ve been put in a position to lead, even though I’m the lowest ranking member of my squad… I hold the highest male physical training score in the unit, so I help a lot of the junior soldiers with their training… It’s definitely helped me lean into the harder challenges not in the music realm. That’s important because the Army wants to see that you are physically fit, that you are proficient in your warrior tasks.”

A World of Possibilities

“Being an Army bandsman has allowed me to travel internationally,” the 22-year-old says of the opportunity to play on the beaches of Normandy, the site of the World War II D-Day landing. “I’d never been outside of the country… so getting to experience another culture and then getting to experience the gratitude the French have—specifically that small town of Sainte-Mère-Église–that we liberated… they treated us like we were celebrities,” Chris recounts. “It was a fun time but also it really helped me realize the long-lasting effects that those men and women had back on D-Day.”

Being stationed in Colorado Springs provided an unexpected boost to Chris’ opportunities in music outside of the Army. The drummer has found himself in the recording studio backing singer-songwriters in the city’s robust Contemporary Christian music scene. “To be able to turn on Apple Music and say that’s my work on a song is pretty amazing,” he enthuses. “I don’t think I would have gotten that opportunity if I hadn’t taken the step to come to Colorado.”

Chris has also played at ceremonies for Vietnam veterans, in an Army recruiting commercial with Paramount Studios, and for a range of military and government leaders. For the future, he has his sights set on growth possibilities as a bandsman, both in and outside of the Army. One goal is to serve in one of the Army’s specialty bands at the military academy at West Point or in Washington, DC, which includes the White House Band. “There are plenty of benefits on paper,” Chris says of being an Army bandsman. “But there’s also this challenge, musically… I’m so well-rounded in my craft because we have to play everything… My job won’t let me cut corners. We are expected to play to standard every time.” 

It’s that attention to detail that has set the standard for not just Chris’ approach to music, but life in general. While his current status as a military bandman differs greatly from the initial vision he had coming out of high school, Chris now couldn’t imagine a different way to live out his dreams.

Discover more stories about the men and women who make up today’s U.S. Army at the Blavity x U.S. Army Content Hub.