| Recently, I saw that someone else that I knew had written something like this, so I wanted to do the same. Not too many people even know about my history with drum corps(I'm sure they equally don't care, but whatever), so I decided that I was going to just say it anyway, so please just bare with me.
It starts back in 1992. I'm three years old and watching the Rose Parade(I want to say) with my father. Me being raised in a musically-oriented family, I immediately find interest with the "marching band" I saw on the television screen. My father didn't know, but I said not too shortly after, "That looks cool. I want to do that." About a month later, my father comes up to me and says, "I have a surprise for you." It turns out that he'd done some research of that "marching band" we'd seen on the television screen a while back. About an hour or so later, I find myself in Anaheim, CA watching my very first drum corps show. "Remember that marching band we saw like a month ago? That's them."
It turns out that it was the 1992 Velvet Knights. The Magical Mystery Tour. My very first drum corps.
-fast forward to 2002-
I saw the broadcast of the 2002 DCI World Championships on PBS. The first show that I happened to see was the Cavaliers' production, "Frameworks". I remember being so amazed beyond belief about what I was seeing...but immediately thinking that I'd be never good enough to do something like that. My mother quickly dispelled me and said that I could do anything if I worked for it and if I really wanted it more than the person next to me did.
That December, we made a trip down to Riverside, CA to see Aunt Anez. While there, I saw my father looking up drum corps things on the internet. I just so happened to see something about auditions for a nearby (well...at least nearby for where we currently were) corps named Esperanza. I begged my father to let me do it and he, of course, told me to ask my mother...who inadvertently told me to ask my father. In any case, the auditions were only in a few days and all I had was a trumpet to practice on. (I'd played around on a mellophone months prior, so I figured I'd give that a shot)
I remember showing up to the auditions so freakishly nervous. Of course, it took me until then to realize that I had no experience in marching AND playing at the same time. So I began to push myself, doubtingly. But somehow, I made the cut. My aunt funded me to get out to the camps, I fund-raised more than half of my tuition, and my mother paid the rest. Throughout that entire time, I'm sure my mother was convincing herself to let me go a summer without her. Eventually, the summer came and I was on my way.
Riverside, CA once again became a memorable place for me...because it was there that I saw the 2003 Blue Devils hornline for the first time...I swear I almost went on myself! We followed that corps quite a bit throughout the summer and I had the same feeling every single time I saw them! But something was different, instead of getting the feeling that I wasn't good enough to do that, I had this overwhelming feeling that I wanted to be there no matter what...
Auditions for the 2004 seasons are up. I soon realized that I was probably the youngest person there at the camp. It was intimidating, but I tried not to be deterred. I was set as an alternate. On the third day of all-days, someone ended up getting injured and I got my spot.
That summer was one of the first times in my life that I could actually say that I was living a dream. The only thing about it was the fact that it wasn't anything like I thought it'd be. Not at all. I was treated like shit the entire time...not just for being a rookie, but for being as young as I was. It was one of the reasons why I almost didn't make it through the season (besides me getting over being a chronic asthmatic). It started to make me believe that all Div. I corps were going to be the same way, but at the same time, I reasoned out that it'd be better with age and experience, y'know?
The 2005 season rolls around and I tried marching with the Cadets instead. I crapped out in May because I couldn't handle it. Of course, if I hadn't, I would've had a ring...but all-in-all, I didn't care. I still don't. I made the conscience decision to leave. I didn't go to a single drum corps show that season...
Later on that year, two of my friends (Ryan Wright and Dave Cole) tried out for Spirit. The both ended up getting cut, but it still turned out to be a good trip from what I was told. The summer rolls around and I went to the Atlanta Regional with some people from my old high school band(it was the show that Ryan actually gave me the beanie that I wear to this day). I enjoyed just about every show that season, but it was the first time I'd really noticed Spirit...just the power that was behind that hornline and how much sound they were putting out...it inspired me. That was somewhere I'd want to be...
November of that year comes and one of the trumpet players in my band named Bryant asks me if I wanted to audition for Spirit with him and his cousin. Without hesitation, I said yes and we were off. I met so many people at that camp and it was good getting my feet wet again. Of course, I wasn't aware of how important some of those people at that camp were going to become to me...
Bryant oped not to do Spirit in the end because of his trip to Japan, so I had no ride back up there (well, I did, but it would've eaten away at the money was going to use to pay the tuition). Even with a justified reason, I was still so seriously upset about not being able to go back to Spirit...to the point where I just about cried in front of my mother. No more so than a day later, I got an email from one of the brass techs asking me if I still wanted to march. Still broken, of course I said yes...but instead of telling about a way to go back to Spirit, he told me about another corps in a circuit I'd never even heard of...DCA. He wanted me to march with a corps that he'd help started in Nashville named Music City Legend. After a seriously long amount of deliberation, I finally decided to make the 13-hour trek up to Nashville to check this out.
That was 2007. At the time, it was an awesome season...but when I look back at it, it was seriously lame! Haha. Even still, I'd never take it back. Well, when the time for the 2008 season came around, I was tempted to go back to Spirit. It was my fiancee that ultimately made me stay--she'd had no brass experience whatsoever, and even she was having fun with the music! 2008 ended up being SOOOO much better...at least until the end.
Now, it's 2009. I'm determined to finally march with Spirit this year. I have a lot of shit to do before I can, but for two years, I've literally let everything stop me from doing so. Not this time.
We'll see what happens. - Location:Dixon Hall
- Mood:awake
- Music:The Last Sunrise--Aiden
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shadowofsergei's journal
