Maverick Machine Legacies The feistiest band alive has a family atmosphere—literally. By Joe Tougas ’86
Current Maverick Machine Drum Major Cade Readmond learned only recently that his grandfather, pictured in upper right, shared the same role decades ago. At first blush, there might not seem much beyond blood that would connect recent University graduate Cullen Mitchell ’20, and his late grandmother Arlys Bonderman ’71. Bonderman, her grandson said, was a small-town teacher, reserved in manner and devoutly religious.
His life is considerably louder. Recently graduated after four years with the notoriously rambunctious Maverick Machine, he’s hoping to find a career in music where he’s discovering bands working for or with venues such as First Avenue, the premiere rock club in the Twin Cities. Yet it’s the Machine in which they both share a bond: Bonderman was a coronet player for the Mankato Teacher’s College band in 1947.
Nathaniel Fox and his father, Shane, performed together when band alumni joined current members at the 2018 sesquicentennial parade.
Same goes for Cade Readmond. And Nathan Fox. The three are current or recent members of the wildly colorful Machine with family members from black-and-white days who took the same path during their time at the University. And family is precisely what director Michael Thursby wants the Machine experience to have. “One of our most important values is family, which describes the culture that we have,” Thursby said, “where students form connections and bonds that are almost family like. To find the legacy members just adds another layer to that.” “We only realized she was part of this band back just a few months ago,” Mitchell said of his grandmother. “My mom had the photo of her holding the trumpet, but we thought it was a picture from her high school time. But she found the yearbook that matched that same outfit she was wearing. That’s when we realized it was from college.” Senior Cade Readmond, drum major for the Machine, learned that his maternal grandfather, Gerald Middlested,
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SPRING 2021
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