Tiger Band Blogs

I was calculating today during a long wait at registration that we have learned 7 sets since band camp. Just today we put on 5 sets. Personally, i think that is a ton. At the rate we’re going we are going to get the opener and ballad in drill before the second football game, at least. The drill is also extra sweet this year because it seems to be more involved with what the music sounds like, where sometimes in the drill last year it didn’t always make a ton of sense.

The only thing I’m worried about this year so far, is set #19. Set 19 is a set from…below. I have one of the hardest jobs making my set since I go almost to the center of the field from the very front by the pit. I have to do this in a seemingly long 14 counts. If I had been marching forward, it would be a different story since I could jazz run if need be. Marching backwards while trying to go a ton back is a bit intimidating. The good thing about this is a) We don’t have to play, b) It makes an awesome asterisk picture, and c) The crowd will go crazy here (hopefully).

I can tell that this year we are going to have very complex drill, so hopefully our show will dominate an be worth our efforts. Which I’m sure it will

I don’t think I went outdoors more than once all weekend- I’d just gotten my hands on Breaking dawn, and I wasn’t about to put it down.  Sunday night, I reluctantly gathered everything I’d need the next morning and set my hated alarm… and woke up at 7:15, forty-five minutes after it should’ve gone off.  What??  So I rushed to get ready, ran out the door, and skidded into practice just in time.  Without my water… but whatever, I could deal- I just mooched sips off Colton and Willow.  But then we needed our flip folders, so I ran back in to get mine, and came back without my lyre- doh!  So I ran with the unprepared people and hopped back into the block.  I won’t make the mistake of drinking too little water again- my head was spinning, and I was told to sit twice, to my great embarrassment.  I hate being the one who can’t handle the challenge.

So the morning wasn’t too hot (it was pretty warm), but that had apparently no effect on the afternoon rehearsal.  We definitely got a lot done, and I began to understand exactly how the drill fit with the music.  For me, though, the best part was when we got into stands tunes, “These Boots Are Made For Walking” in particular.  Baritones have the melody on that piece, and playing for the first time with the battery made it twice as much fun with the driving bass drum.  Monday morning was stereotypical in the worst way, but the afternoon left me happy to the point of bubbly.

This morning my alarm did go off, and I was out of the house early, and at the school with time to spare, a welcome and hopefully permanent change.  Clouds hovered above us, threatening rain, and apparently, Margie, the hobo of humidity, had been busy painting the air with butter and making it sticky and heavy. (One time at band camp my roommate and I returned to our rooms to find everything moist from the humidity.  She said it was like butter was covering everything, so we concluded that a hobo named Margie (margarine) slept under her bed and snuck out in our absence to coat everything in grossness.)

Other than the smothering air, what practice we managed to have today went well.  Interrupted partway through morning marching with the threat of lightning, we went to the cafeteria and did music rehearsal.  When we dismissed for lunch, it was raining, and the walk to Subway was best described as wet and insanely fun.  We marched in the afternoon today, and managed to put music to fifteen measures of the opener- woot!  We’ve got two more days of intense practice in the next week- our goal is to complete the opener by Thursday.  Though of focus took a hit upon the return from camp, our intesity as a group seems to be strengthening, and if we keep up the momentum, we’re looking at a great season!

Drill this morning was the most intense experience of my life.  Wow.  I don’t know how to describe that feeling you get when you finally hit your mark with the right foot, on the right spot, or when a chunk of sets finally fits together in your head, and you can actually remember twelve sets in a row.  If learning that much marching makes you feel that high and energetic, bring on some more sets!

After drill, we freshman lost our beanies at last- that’s one thing I won’t miss- and then we split to pack.  At best, that could be called a disordered frenzy, as we checked under every surface and ran back and forth with heavy luggage, finally making it to lunch fifteen minutes late, ahead of half the band- yes, we’re all that organized.  After one last lunch of, yes, pizza and powerade, Sarah “Puddin’” Johnson had to go help load the luggage truck.  She was so smart that yesterday afternoon, when she forgot her beanie, she yelled it to the world, and Daniel Carter overheard.  Daniel didn’t just get Sarah for help though- she brought the whole overcrowded table with her.  That truck was loaded in record time.

The bus ride was pretty much normal, if a little bittersweet- true, we were headed home, but look what we were leaving- and I ended up sleeping part of the way.  Before I drifted, though, that same Sarah (there’s around 8 in my grade) decided to give massages.  She’s brave that one- she even gave foot massages.  So finally, we were home at last- without the need to hurry anywhere or get anything done, without the sun beating down on us, and without huge distances between us and where ever we  might need or want to go…. and I want to go back.

What will it be like tomorrow morning when I wake up at ten… or twelve… or maybe four, rather than 5:30 am, and what will it be like to wake up to the just-before-noon-sun, rather than to darkness, The Magnificent Seven, and a blasting air horn?  But even though band camp is over, it was only the beginning.  The whole season is ahead of us, and I can hardly wait for Monday, to be back among my friends, my cult, and my new family.

Last day of band camp! This is pretty sweet, I’m watching the drill from the front sidelines while I’m blogging If you think about it, we never really get to watch the marching show live, so this is pretty amazing! We got to set ten yesterday morning, which apparently is very good for band camp. Speaking of band camp, did I mention it’s the last day?

So much happened yesterday. Parents night, rehearsals, drama, and even though I wasn’t part of it, senior night. Speaking of which, it’s great to see all of the seniors to be dead tired and have to run and manage not to trip over their own feet *cough*Allie*cough*. I think they’re all on something, which would explain why they came running to our apartments at 5:45 this morning playing their instruments, screaming, and banging on our doors.

Well, gotta go!

It is now the last day oh band camp!!! I have 9 blisters on my feet, my shoulders hurt from push-ups and extreme conducting, and I have an extremely visible sun glasses tan.  It’s then end of a long and hard, but good week.

We are at our last morning rehearsal right now and we have about an hour left.  We are running drill right now and we are moving quick.  Everyone is extremely tired from last night.  Of course, senior night was loud: Wes and his little brass group decided to play their horns last night and there were air horns and lots of screaming from the seniors.  I stayed up late myself with Ben and Geoff.  We played some pretty sweet Call of Duty 4 until the wee hours of the morning.

I am extremely tired right now.  I am sore and sunburned and mentaly, pretty scrambled.  I have to keep going though, and I am doing well.  Once I get in front of the band I find some energy to help the band move forward.

This has been an amazing week, for everybody. The freshman have done a great job of hangin’ in there with the group and we are all doing well of the field and at the music rehearsals.  It’s really cool how far the music and band have come since last Wednesday and even the beginning of this week.  I’m really excited about this season!

Well, I have to go back to help cleaning drill.

PEACE

Drill got progressively harder yesterday, and as we got into right foot stepoffs and a thousand different counts for each set, I found it harder and harder to remember exactly where I was going.  Parent night went smoothly, and our first performance gave me just the tiniest hint of the pride I would feel on the final note of our show.  The senior-freshan meeting jerked tears from everyone’s eyes as we contemplated what it was to march with the drippiing springs marching band.  I haven’t even begun to brush the surface of what this experience will be like, but I’m sure it will be better than anything I’ve ever experienced.  We  will be leaving in only a few hours, but this experience- my first band camp- will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Last day of band camp started off with a bang, literally.  All the seniors went around at 5:30 to wake the whole camp up.  Their senior stay up night was apparently very packed.  From vandelizing Mr. Lancaster’s car to a slip n slide to waking us up in the early hours of the morning, they have got to be exhausted.  It shows too, they are either falling asleep on the field or going crazy in their extreme grumpiness.  Hardcore.  The busride home is going to be very quiet…  All the seniors will be passed out, except maybe Kate Thrower.  We might be learning two sets today so I better get moving before im too terribly confused.  Bye!

So we did the fitness gram test yesterday since it rained in the morning and we didn’t want to take time during the season to do it. Guess what we all found out about Mr. Briskey? He has Hannah Montana on his Zune… enough said.

Like I said, the “hurricane” (aka 5 minutes of rain) came yesterday and we spent the first half of our morning rehearsal inside a gym. The rain went away in the afternoon so we were back at the pavilion and field then. The good thing about that was that we got to learn more drill during. Whoo! I think everyone can already tell that the show is much more challenging than the start of last year’s show. We’ve got crazy direction changes, turns, and right foot step-off’s and we’re only seven sets in! This is looking to be one heck of a marching show!

After the night rehearsal yesterday, we did the band camp traditional drill down in the pool. I’ve finally figured out how tough it is to march in water. Unfortunately we saw lightning and they kicked us out of the pool before we got to the whirlpool Oh well, there’s always next year!

This morning was like any other morning of band camp. I got up and dragged my roommates along with me in my “section-leader-knocking-on-your-door-to-wake-you-up” routine. It was fun. I like knocking on doors. Anyway, then we marched to breakfast and we’re currently at the morning rehearsal for the day.

Change of subject, tonight is parents night and, I’ve got to admit, I’m pretty excited to see my parents again even though we are going home tomorrow afternoon See you all there!

Now we now for a fact, not just a suspicious rumor, that Mr. Briskey owns at least 2 Hannah Montana songs.  Wednesday morning we took the Fitness Gram commonly referred to as the Fat Test.  While we were stretching it out before our pacer run, Mr. B decides we could get pumped up with his music.  That was interesting.  After we finished most of our Fitness gram we did marching basics with adjusted step.  Nothing out of the ordinary happened the rest of the day except for night rehearsal and the activity.  We learned all the way through set 6 or 7 last night, which is a huge accomplishment for Wednesday.  The march to breakfast had been canceled because of the rain, so the weather was super amazing.  It was cool and drizzled which was perfect.  Wednesday night we had our annual pool drill down.  it was pretty sweet except for the fact that it was lightning outside.  Once they got down to about 12 people we had to call the activity off.  It would be pretty bad if all the parents came on Thursday to find that 140 band kids had been electrocuted in the pool.

Today when I woke up my whole bottom half was still throbbing.  Breakfast march was not so fun.  The flutes were the third to last section to be allowed to breakfast so my arms were shaking by the time we got to get in line.  Michelle is coming to kick me off Mr. Briskey’s laptop, so Bye!

Unlike the first two days, yesterday sped by all too fast.  In the morning, I was ready at record speed, and out the door just after 6.  We walked to morning march in a steady drizzle that, by the time we reached the parking lot, had morphed into a full blown rain storm.  We sat under the trees, doing our best to keep a little dry, listening to the battery.  When the march was canceled, thanks to the wet roads, we all walked in the now slacking rain to the breakfast hall to wait for the doors to open.

Though the rain threatened us all day, it never spoiled our activities after breakfast, and the clouds provided a welcome shield from the heat.  We learned more drill yesterday, and I began to see how difficult marching could be, with evil little intricacies like turns in the middle of sets and some odd kind of traversing that I still haven’t figured out.  Marching, I think, is truly becoming part of me now, for as I lay in bed last night, trying to sleep, echoes of the day’s work rang through my head.  Calls of “Band horns up!”  and “: Chins up!” were my lullaby, and my life, and will be so for another four months.