Band Practice At 7 A.M. Not Music To Their Ears

Paul and Barbara Evans have had enough of morning marching band practice just 50 feet from their home.

“It never should have gotten this far,” Evans said Tuesday of the lawsuit he filed last week against El Dorado High School, where his three children went to school.

It’s an awkward situation for the school, whose most celebrated graduate is Olympic gold medal swimmer Janet Evans, the couple’s daughter. None of the Evans’ children played in the band, but were all school swimmers and water polo players.

The lawsuit claims “incessant nonstop pounding for 30- to 45-minute intervals at a time” has made a peaceful life impossible and occasionally has forced the family to seek refuge in a hotel. They have lived in their house for 24 years.

Band practice recently was moved from 8:45 a.m. to 7 a.m. The family’s lawyer said meetings with school officials produced no resolution.

“The Evanses have lived behind the high school for many years and the band has practiced in the same place,” said district spokeswoman Karen Bass.

“The kids need to practice somewhere.”