By Andrea Uhde
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cpl. Ty Bowers of Bucyrus, Ohio, takes in the scene on Fountain Square on Wednesday with downtown buildings reflected in the bell of his tuba. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

The Ohio Army National Guard band doesn't always play military music - it performs jazz, country and rock music, and even has acquired somewhat of a groupie.

Silas Warman of downtown Cincinnati, dressed in a camouflage hat and coat, held a tape recorder up to the band as it played at Fountain Square on Wednesday afternoon.

"It's my gospel music," said Warman, 60, a Vietnam veteran. "They're serving their country just like we did on the battlefield."

The 122nd Army band will be in Cincinnati until Sunday as part of its yearly tour to promote the Ohio National Guard. The band will be playing mainly traditional military music, such as "Stars and Stripes Forever," but during the year, it branches out to different genres.

They may be in uniform, but members know how to have a good time, said Robin Kessler, the band's director.

The band wants to "get people to say, 'Hey, look, the Army isn't all about guns and blowing stuff up,' " said Sgt. Brian Archer, a percussionist.

Armed with shimmering flutes, trombones and the like, the band serenaded the lunch-time crowd on the square. Betty Wesley of Erlanger nodded her head to the music.

"I love music, and I think it's a great thing to have the National Guard put on a show," said Wesley, 63. "Everybody's together, like a family."

With members ranging from college students to paramedics and aged 18 to 53, the 60-member band is part of an effort to highlight the Ohio National Guard and aid recruitment. The band plays out of the Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus.

The band puts a face to the Army, Archer said. "We're all regular people. We have normal jobs, husbands, wives, kids, whatever."

About 875 of the nearly 15,000 members of the Ohio Army National Guard are overseas, mainly in Iraq and Kuwait, said Maj. Neal O'Brien of the Ohio National Guard. As of yet, no band members have been activated.

E-mail auhde@enquirer.com