Rockin’ with the Doc

By Connect Mason Sports Director Damien Sordelett
Photos by Broadside Photography Editor Courtney Erland

Ever since “Livin’ on a Prayer” became an anthem for George Mason University during their run to the Final Four in 2006, the pep band has been a huge reason for the student section to get pumped up for a basketball game.

• VIDEO: Doc Nix Speaks

The student-run band, called the Green Machine, was already a hit with the student/alumni audiences and became a national hit with the increased exposure from CBS’ coverage of the NCAA Tournament and winning the 2006 Final Four Battle of the Bands competition.

What the pep band needed was an identity, a leader who would make the band stand out more, energize the crowd and be the face of the group.

Enter Doc Nix

Dr. Michael Nickens was brought on in the summer of 2006 as the new director of the pep band. It was after the success of the basketball team that the university saw it fit to add some personality to the band.

“I was on the Internet looking for jobs and there was this pep band director at George Mason University,” Nickens, a graduate of West Potomac High School said. “So, of course, I wanted to jump on that, so I got my letter in, my resume in. Before I knew it, I had an interview and I was in.”

Outside of bringing a bachelors degree of music from Manhattan School of Music, a masters of music from Yale and a musical arts doctrine from the University of Michigan, Nickens brought some creative ideas with him. It was not just enough to be seen at men’s basketball games, but a goal to be the support and enthusiasm for all Mason sports.

“Actually, we want to try to get the band at anything and everything, but until we have the right kind of numbers, it’s just not going to work out because people can only do so much with their time in trying to study and everything else,” Nickens said.

The numbers Nickens looks for is still higher than what was around when he started. As a student run group, members had to audition for the position. With Nickens aboard, if you can play an instrument, you have a shot.

“I’m trying to build this into a real deal band program and we need numbers,” Nickens said. “That’s part of it, we need numbers and if we’re going to be able to do that, we got to get the marching band going.”

The marching band and drumline are in the works for Nickens. The drumline has made several appearances at basketball games. It's a change of style for Patriots fans, but it gives the band the ability to play at football games and other sporting events around campus.

What also helps is the personality and aura that surrounds Nickens, known (and loved) by fans as "Doc Nix." The persona, a pimp who brings the beat to the Patriot Center, is the energy that the student section loves. Not many maestros show their school colors with as much passion as the Doc.

“It’s a big arena, so you need to be big. You need to make sure you fill the space up and try to get people pumped, try to get people inspired and try to unify people,” Nickens explained. “So, it kind of all comes from that. I feel that a director should look his best for the game, show school spirit.”

Sidekick to the Nix

While Nickens looks his best for the games, he uses his sidekick, Jeremy Freer, to help out with new songs and beats that make the band sound even better. Those ideas translate into how each part of the band helps the entire ensemble rock.

“I got to give a lot of credit to Jeremy Freer, who is my teaching assistant. He has just a really great mind for it and most of the additions that have been made this year were his idea and also he did the writing for,” Nickens said. “You just listen to a song and you think about the instruments in the band and how well that is going to translate. We have a certain kind of aesthetic that we go for – it’s always loud, it’s always rocking, showing off the instruments at their best.”

From fans to players, it doesn't get better than to hear the Patriot Center loud and rocking for a home game. For the few hundred that make it out to a women’s game, the pep band makes a huge difference compared to years past.

“One thing we really love about the womens' games is that it's just a little bit easier to connect with the players. We know that the men are into what we are doing, we get great comments from them all the time. It’s a different kind of focus when they are on the court,” Nickens said. “When the women are on the court, they are always giving us waves, always giving us looks, always yelling at us, always talking to us and it feels good in a whole different way. So, we end up loving that because we can tell they appreciate it so much.”

Nickens and the band know that the players appreciate their music, but they know that the fans truly appreciate the energy and enthusiasm that the Green Machine fills the Patriot Center and other road contests with while the Patriots are in action. For the fans, a solution may be in store for when summer comes and Mason sports are not in session - a CD filled with Green Machine jams.

CDs for the Patriot Soul

“We’re trying to create a fan experience for an audio standpoint. We can to gear it toward the fans who love the experience of the game,” Nickens said. “Basically, what you hear at the game is what you are going to hear on the CD. If we pull it off right, you’ll be in your car on the way to the stadium and pop in your CD, all of a sudden you start hearing all the sounds and everything to get you ready.”

That readiness probably could not come soon enough for fans, including Doc Nix himself. The CD compilation would do wonders for additional exposure for the band and would be a bridge for fans everywhere to get their fix of the Green Machine.

“We know people are going to be ready for that experience, itching for basketball to start,” Nickens said. “So, we want to maybe give them a little bit of teaser before it happens, kind of get them even more juiced up for it.”