The Road Trip of a Lifetime

I had the phenomenal opportunity to be a volunteer driver for The Academy Drum & Bugle Corps,for the entire length of their national tour.The corps provided the vehicle,food,housing and passes to every show they participated in.All I had to do was drive one of their four auxiliary vehicles.The trip was approximately 7000 miles,and included shows in:Odessa,San Antonio and Dallas,Texas,Oklahoma City,Little Rock,Arkansas,Gadsden,Alabama,Atlanta,Georgia,Sevierville,Tennessee,Charleston,West Virginia,Rome,New York,Allentown and Erie,Pennsylvania and Indianapolis,Indiana.We also went through nineteen different states. If you are not familiar with The Drum & Bugle Corps Activity,it is a summer youth activity for 16-21 year olds.World Class Corps have a maximum of 150 members consisting of horns,percussion and color guard.Drum Corps International is the governing body,and they stage something like 90 contests throughout the country,during the two and a half months of summer,culminating in a three day finals.The performance level of the top groups is astonishing! The amount of teamwork necessary to successfully put a corps on tour is mind boggling,but therein lies the beauty of the activity.The main thing that every participant takes from the corps experience is that there is no limit to what people can accomplish when they all pull together.What a great life lesson. The Academy did not exactly achieve its goal of finishing in the top twelve,but they performed at a level beyond what the staff and students thought they were capable of. The foundation is in place and the corps has established a distinctive brand,that is putting Arizona on The Drum & Bugle Corps Map. This is a Tucson marching music blog,so like it or not,the pinnacle of marching music in this community is The University of Arizona Marching Band,but if you want to march in a group committed to excellence,The Academy Drum & Bugle Corps from Tempe is the ticket.So if you want the experience of a lifetime next summer check into The Academy's website,and watch for audition information,it will open up an incredible world for you,and give you a chance to travel with 200 of the coolest people,and an opportunity to push yourself to a performance level you never imagined possible.

Life on tour with a drum corps

On July 20th I embarked on a major adventure driving for The Academy on their national tour.Tomorrow they play in prelims,in Indianapolis.The goal is to crack into the top twelve,and make finals.This month I have observed up close what it takes for a corps to strive toward this goal.It has only enhanced my appreciation for the awesome nature of this activity.The Drum & Bugle Corps activity is the most spectacular youth activity available.The quality of people involved and the life lessons are phenomenal.I fully encourage any parents with kids in high school band programs to check into the activity.A good place to start is dci.org