2010 Carolina Crown

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Adventures off of the beaten path

Drum corps is a lot like summer camp

Allentown has been great this year. The weather has been breezy with no rain in sight. And of course it's been phenomenal to remain stationed in one place for four days.

I'm sitting on the equipment truck guarding the front ensemble and battery equipment from the vibraphone-stealing hoodlums that may or may not be roaming around Raub Middle School. Nick Starr has just delivered my lunch of beans, noodles, a peach and hot sauce on the side as per my request. I've eaten, and Nick is playing Dear Old Stockholm from The Real Book. I can't help but feel good. For four days the pit has warmed up right next to an elementary school marquis that says, "Have a safe and happy summer." It makes me smile every time I read it.

It's crazy. In a week I won't be at this summer camp anymore, waking up next to the same people listening to the low hush of sleeping bags shifting around.

Lisa Salinas, vibraphone goddess of the pit, woke up early yesterday morning before the rest of the corps just to watch TV at a nearby hospital. That's the funny thing about drum corps. There are all these little opportunities for adventures off of the beaten path...you just have to look!

The beginning of the end of tour

And a new ending?

Today was a successful rehearsal day for Crown. The corps spent the day at the show site from yesterday evening's event in Salem, Virginia and worked large chunks in an effort to cement the mood and style transitions in our show. In other words, we got our butts kicked in ensemble. Unfortunately the run through had to be cut short due to impending doom, aka lightning and heavy rain.

Last night happened to be the debut of our spectacular "new" ending. If you don't know what the secret ending is, you'll just have to find out at the next show! Let's just say it didn't take much effort for me to learn the cymbal work since it was all too familiar.

Since we've been working on this new ending and tour has been winding down, I've become much more introspective about aging out. Only nine days until everything is over and I will never be a part of an ensemble like this again. I'm really taking time to stop and smell the roses (or in this case, unitards and damp towels hanging from the bus ceiling).

We're looking ahead to a big show weekend. West Chester tomorrow, then Allentown Friday, then Clifton, New Jersey on Sunday. The members are hyping our stay at Raub Middle School in Allentown starting tonight. Looks like I may have to pay a visit to the Ham Fam!

Cherry limeade and three essentials that make the coprs successful

I'm sitting on the bus again. I think Grace Notes on the bus might become a regular thing.

We spent the day sweating in Mississippi. The friendliness of the locals certainly made the MIssissippi experience more pleasant ("Ya'll are awesome!), but it was still sweltering. Thankfully it was our second day at McComb High School so we could enjoy a full night's sleep on the gym floor.

Corps members also brought plenty of business to the local Sonic. It was a quick two minute walk from the housing site. The number of cherry limeades sold in the past two days must have been in the hundreds.

Aaron Spevak, timpanist extraordinaire(ish), is sitting in front of me on the bus and would like to share an epiphany with the rest of the world: Drum corps could not survive without three essentials: Number three: Febreze. Number two: The bungee. Number one: The wheel.

Febreze prevents members from passing out in enclosed spaces due to the plethora of bodily odors. The bungee holds soiled t-shirts, unitards, Gatorades, and dripping wet towels above our heads as we sleep on the bus. It's like a sicker version of Chinese water torture. The wheel simply moves all of the above any given direction or distance.

Keep these essentials in mind if you are a prospective member for the 2011 season. They certainly come in handy!

Out of the frying pan and into the oven

Texas behind us...Changes in Mississipi ahead

Time for another update. I know, I know, I've really been slacking. It's been bad. However, I may or may not have a good excuse--I've had health issues again. I missed a show and spent some time in the hospital due to some serious stomach problems. I've had to make some significant changes to my diet. I can't have any dairy or spicy foods, which happen to be two of my favorite food items. The good news? I'm all better now. And we had chicken patties for dinner. :)

Of course everyone always overhypes the Texas heat. The 2010 Texas tour was significantly less hot than 2009. In fact, we had some rainfall in Houston, Dallas and Denton.

One of the negatives of Texas was the site of the San Antonio regional. We should have competed in the Alamo Dome, but thanks to the Dallas Cowboys who I now have a personal beef with we were not able to perform there. Instead, the show was split up over two nights at Judson High School. The pit warmed up in almost complete darkness in the middle of a construction zone. Our gator actually ended up dying because we tried to use the headlights to light our warm-up area. Thanks go out to the Colts pit for letting us use their gator last minute to pull our pit trailer to the show.

After the show tonight in Denton, Texas there was a Monster Energy Drink truck rolling around giving out free Monsters. Unfortunately, half of the bus reaped its benefits. There are members literally bouncing off the walls. We're watching Billy Madison tonight and everyone is yelling for no reason. It's gonna be tough to fall asleep.

The only thing better than Kansas...ARRKansas

There's pirates everywhere

I don't know if you can tell from the title of this entry, but things are starting to get a little stir crazy around here in the southern part of the United States. We start our five day Texas tour tomorrow. The three Texans in the front ensemble are extremely excited...of course everyone else is reluctant to visit the great state of Texas because of the steaming hot reputation it has. Apparently there have been record low temps for this time of year, so at least we have that to look forward to.

Arkansas, on the other hand, has not been so good to us. The heat index at its worst was 103 degrees. I like to think of the sweaty heavy feeling of heat in Arkansas as a sauna that you're in only temporarily. If you pretend you're smelling the wet wood of a sauna and imagine you're about to leap into a cool swimming pool any minute it almost makes it tolerable.

Minneapolis was a huge disappointment for me. It was rained and "tornadoed" out. I was so excited about my home show. Once we got word it was cancelled I had to make about seven phone calls to people I had invited--some of whom I hadn't seen in years. Still, my loyal Minnesotan compatriots didn't hold the rain-out against me and stockpiled me with Gatorade for days.

The corps is really feeling down from the lack of shows in the past couple of weeks. Hopefully this weekend we can make up for that.

Last Updated on Sunday, 25 July 2010 10:30

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