Day 77

We had our last day of rehearsal today, which went by way too quickly. We started out with stretch, and our visual tech Adam Steltenpohl told us 2 or 3 stories from years past (he is a spirit alum), then "age out basics", where only the age outs are left in the basics block. Music was in the same parking lot, and we had to move around some puddles. We finished out with a final ensemble, EPL, then semifinals performance at Lucas Oil. What an amazing performance; we definitely peaked at the right time. I was in tears at the end and for a while after, but I wouldn't have it any other way. We shared a lot of emotional hugs, changed, then separated out. Jacob Parker (my seat partner) and I went to the mall, ate Taco Bell, got Chick-Fil-A milkshakes, then just chilled in the mall for a while. Later we went back to the stadium and watched Bluecoats, Cadets, then Crown. I was pretty exhausted after today, can't wait to be home in 2 days time.

Day 75

We had a wonderful day today! We went to Walmart for 30 minutes where I bought a new shirt, then saw some of our members perform in I&E (Individual and Ensemble showcase), and ate at Steak and Shake. Then we went to our rehearsal site (a soccer complex) to rehearse for a block before going to our banquet. We're starting to become much more consistent in rehearsals, and that is intensely satisfying to me. A steak, potato, salad, and strawberry shortcake dinner was prepared for us for the banquet, then we had awards and skits teasing the staff about all the silly stuff they've done all season. Most of the corps is getting sick (I am too), but I'm just glad it hasn't disrupted rehearsal and that I've had good health for the rest of the season. We have quarterfinals tomorrow night in Lucas Oil! Can't wait!

Day 69

I think we've gotten to the point in the season where we don't really have bad days, which is great. If we're unfocused for a bit, we're able to turn it around pretty quickly. We've learned a lot over the past week and gotten pretty clean, so I'm excited for the week to come. We worked on some new choreography in part 3 in visual, continued to clean in brass, and had a great ensemble under the lights.

Day 66

Finally back in NC! We had a rehearsal day in a town 30 miles north of Greensboro. We had back our visual caption head, Mike Zerbini, who has been gone most of the summer. That changed up the pace of our visual rehearsal a little bit. Later, we rehearsed in sectionals, then after a great barbecue dinner rehearsed in subsectionals with Jeremy. In ensemble we worked on consistently having the best rep possible. I got to see a friend that I met at Gold, Michael Durcan, who seemed to be doing well. 

Day 62

Today was probably the best of the summer so far. We woke up early to line a field, then went to brass to warm up and continue detailing parts of the show. Visual was rather chaotic due to a storm - we kept going inside and back outside. We finished up inside with a pretty inspirational speech by Greg (one of our visual techs who aged out at Phantom last year) about how little time we have left and making the choice to be excellent. For brass block, we started out inside working on our encore tunes for tomorrow night, so the tone of the rehearsal started out too relaxed, but we fixed that. Then we ended outside (no more rain!) for ensemble. What a rehearsal! I guess we had a lot of energy from being inside during the heat of the day, but our energy, focus, and retention during rehearsal was at a new level, and it felt great. I'll never forget what happened next - we had a full body warm down with one of the guard instructors. It consisted of stretching and tension-release exercises to some very relaxing music. I was in tears and the emotional connection I felt to the rest of the corps was indescribable.

Day 59

Today was a little bit of a low point for us. We tried to keep pushing during rehearsal, but the humidity of Louisiana kept getting to us. I had a good couple of hours in tracking block (moving and playing), and a fairly good ensemble, but our show did not turn out well in our opinion. It was average, but we are expecting to keep having great shows. I'm realizing that my problem is emotional consistency. What I mean by this is being able to give all of myself even when I don't feel inspired to do so. I hope I can get that worked out soon, because that seems to be the key of whether I have a good show or not.

Day 55

Today was a pretty crazy, but memorable day! We had a show in Denton, Texas that we did pretty well at, considering we had just relearned the entire closer the day before. As we pulled into this school last night, I noticed that the student parking spaces had art on them. Pretty cool, in my opinion. During the day, we continued to work quickly through the new closer. In music, we warmed up normally, then did some tracking (playing on the move, parade style) of part 4 in a parking lot. Considering the tempo (184 bpm), and how we used to sound, I thought we sounded pretty good, minus a few errors. I still remember my first marching band camp and how difficult that was at first, so it's very fulfilling to overcome that and be good at marching and playing. We've still got plenty of work to do, though. Then we left for the show (2 hours away); we encountered a wreck, so we got to the show a little late and had to do an accelerated warm up, but still had a good show. After the show, we encountered an issue with our bus (it was smoking). We were about to get on the road, but we noticed the inside of the bus was smoky too, so we turned off the air vents and went on to the next housing site without a hitch. On the bus ride, we played a round of bus wars, which is like capture the flag (back of the bus versus the front) and I decided not to participate - it got pretty crazy. All in all, I had a great first day in Texas. Looking forward to our performance in the Alamo Dome on Saturday!

Day 54

I had a rough day, both physically and mentally, but I have faith that it will pay off in a couple of days      We completely relearned the closer (about 30 sets of drill). It was frustrating mentally, as we are used to the drill being clean and we had to move really fast to get through everything. The 99 degree heat did not help, but they took care of us in terms of water breaks. By the end of ensemble tonight, we got all of the new closer on the field playing the music, so that felt good. I reached a new level of fatigue, but am glad we are still pushing hard.

Day 52

Today was a scorcher! We've gotten used to the colder days in the Midwest, so we'll have to get used to the heat again as we begin our tour of the south. Also we've gotten more into the groove of pushing hard during rehearsals (which we should have been doing long ago, but better late than never). Unfortunately, we felt extremely fatigued by the end of the day, so this might've affected our show. I still had a pretty clean run, but couldn't get the emotions going during the show (which usually helps me push that extra 10%) and have never been more exhausted in my life after the show. I got a lot of sleep, so I'll use that to help recover and make tomorrow stronger.

Day 51

Today was a great day, full of new memories! We started the morning off in brass with a standard warm up, then went into marching and playing. Our focus was on getting things right, not just simply better, and we ran when we got it wrong. So we ran to some basketball goals nearby a few times. Visual was pretty standard - we cleaned the beginning of part 4, but learned some new drill after lunch. We were supposed to have a full free day today, but we got a couple hours free in a strip mall in Denver. We went to a few places to do shopping (Walgreens, Ross) then walked around a little more and played some ping pong with JT, one of the baritone players. We had some close games.

Day 50

We had our first regional tonight at mile high stadium in Denver, CO (the Denver Broncos play there). We continued cleaning some new portions in visual. In brass we reviewed some changes we made last night, then had a great ensemble (we were pushing hard!). We had another amazing warm up that lead into a really superb performance for where we are. I had an amazing run and hope we can continue this momentum.

Day 49

Today was a pretty crazy day. Two of our brass staff that had been leading us ( Jeremy and Beth) were leaving tomorrow, so they kicked our butts today. We woke up at 7 again for field lining and lined 2 fields and taped a turf field (it doesn't have the right markings so we add our own with tape). For visual, we cleaned the end of the ballad and added some new choreo that we redefined later in the day. We get to interact with the color guard and their equipment, so that's cool. Unfortunately ensemble was cut short by lightning (we were having a great rehearsal too), and we spent the rest of the day inside working on musical changes. We have a big show tomorrow in Denver!

Day 48

We had a pretty normal rehearsal day today. Got up at 7 to line fields then had stretch and visual. Ensemble ran pretty well - we ran large segments to get better at mental stamina (this is pretty much a  daily project). After a very scenic two hour bus ride to Laramie, we performed a show at War Memorial Stadium at the University of Wyoming. It rained a bit during warm ups, but the show went well besides that. After the show, I went to Sonic with some other members, but we ended up going to Chili's. I got a delicious guacamole burger, then we had snack with the Troopers (this was their home show), then departed for Denver, CO.

Day 47

Today was a pretty good day, and we keep learning how to be flexible despite setbacks. Our equipment truck broke down and didn't arrive until dinner, so we had visual blocks in the morning and afternoon. The goal in the morning's basics block (where we refine our technique, work on elements of posture, etc.) was getting high toes no matter what tempo. Then in the afternoon, we worked inside on cleaning line rotations and choreography. We got equipment at around 5:30, then had ensemble. Another long drive ahead of us to Wyoming tonight!

Day 46

We had a pretty good day today, despite having a 5 hour combined block with visual, music, and ensemble with a snack break. Visual was rough, since it was on a soaking wet field. We are really starting to figure things out in music, we just need to step up our game in visual. Ensemble was great, and a lot of the musical changes stuck, but I keep having problems with visual changes. Our show was pretty so-so, and I think our expectations of ourselves have changed. We now have a 7 hour bus ride ahead of us.

Day 45

It poured rain pretty much the entire day today. In the morning, we kept going outside while it was dry, then have to go in because of heavy rain or lightning. We got soaked a couple times, but did learn  some new choreography. We spent a little time outside during music block working on part 1, then stayed inside the rest of the day due to weather. There were a couple of times today where I really felt sick of this activity and wanted to go home, but I felt better by the end of the day.

Day 44

We stayed the night at Milwaukee Police Academy, which had nice facilities (a strange sink, though, that you step on to activate), and amazing showers, but no fields. Thus we packed up our things and rode the buses to a nearby high school to use the fields. To get a head start on lining the fields, field lining crew rode in the Penske truck. We had a pretty good day. Tracking happened during music block, which is simply marching in a straight line and playing show music - designed to get us sounding better playing music on the move. Then I had a very productive and motivated ensemble block. We rounded out the day with EPL, a laundry trip, then a drive to Clinton, Iowa.

Day 43

Today we drove down to Glen Ellyn from our housing site in Milwaukee and had a parade at noon. Then we had a free day in Chicago until 10 PM. Beforehand, we had decided to go see Jurassic World at a theater, but couldn't find the theater so just ended up wandering around instead to see some landmarks like the Bean, Navy Pier, and Millenium Park. Half of our group wanted to ride a water taxi to Navy Pier, but the wait was 30 minutes, so I decided to go take a walk to the bean with Schuyler (someone in my group). It was really dirty from everyone touching it, but a really cool sight, especially on the ceiling inside. Then we reformed the group at a restaurant halfway in between called Pinstripes. I shared a barbecue chicken pizza and a sundae with one of the drum
majors (Jack). We got our checks then realized we needed to book it to the train station. Our GPS initially said we would arrive at 8:39 for a 8:40 train ride, but we were able to shave it down to 8:32 by walking fast and running. Even though we didn't get to see a movie, I had a great day and we got to see most of the sights of Chicago.

Day 42

We had a really great day of rehearsals today! Visual was very detailed and focused, and I improved things I had not been able to focus on before. Then we had lunch, which was hot dogs and fries (not so healthy, but I eat what they give me), and headed off to ensemble. Our compression shirts arrived today (they're baby blue); this is a huge deal because they were promised compression shirts last year and they never got them. We went off to the show and had a really loud and passionate warm-up and show. The grass was mowed, but a little wet, so we had two people fall (Schuyler and Zach McCain), but I had a great run; when movement 4 hit and I am usually very fatigued, I made the choice to not be tired anymore. We were told the show was hit or miss, though, so that was frustrating, but we just need to keep pushing and having the best rehearsals possible. 

Day 39

Today was a pretty rough day to start, but by the end, things were clicking. We woke up and lined two fields, then headed off to visual, where we cleaned more of part 2. The schedule was pretty similar to that of spring training, but we have not been used to the heat recently, as the Midwest has been pretty cool. We made it through the heat of the day in music pretty well, though. We warmed up for an hour, went to subsectionals with the low brass, then did sectionals with the full brass on the field working on moving and playing. Then we had a great ensemble rehearsal and a run through with an audience of about 30-40, and played Georgia after that. A few of the instructors have talked about pushing 100% now so you don't have any "What if" moments later - I really want to do a better job of doing this consistently.

Day 38

Today started out pretty rough. Since we were late to visual (I don't think it was our fault), we ran a lap, then marched 1/4 mile forwards, then 1/4 mile backwards. It got better after that - that's the thing that is great about this activity: if something really sucks, something better will follow soon. We cleaned some drill at the beginning of part 2, and it's remarkable to think how far we've come since we first learned that drill. In music, we worked on part 1, then auditioned for a euphonium solo (the solo in parts 1 and 3 are now euphonium solos). We finished off by working on a parade tune for Saturday - Hang on Sloopy. We ended with EPL and a bus ride to Kansas. Looking forward to the show tomorrow!

Day 37

Today was a pretty crazy day. Field lining crew woke up at 7:15 AM to line fields; we got to the stadium, and there was a small lake by the entrance, so it took us a while to find a suitable field. It was quite the adventure trying to navigate around the puddles, but we made some good memories from that. Then we went to brass and worked on the first big hit in part 1 and some technique exercises, ending with ensemble. Our show today had a lot more passion and energy than the previous. I have noticed a trend of shows with high energy, then low energy. I hope we can get some more consistency in the coming shows.

Day 35

This morning at around 5:30, we arrived in Michigan City, Indiana, so we got 3 hours of floor time. Luckily, today was a shorter day - we started with cleaning choreography, then we were in subsectionals for a while. Our ensemble block was cut short because of heavy rain, and we went to laundry and Walmart. During visual block, we got some bananas - the picture below is of us "stacking " them.

Day 34

Today brought a good number of changes, mostly to the musical shaping. We started out in visual where we worked on posture and presence, maintaining this in different situations. Then we had a corps meeting inside, where members of the design team went in depth about the emotional content of the show. We stayed inside for the first part of music, where we listened to a judge's critique tape, then discussed it. Visual block was next, learning some slightly different drill at the end, then putting all the changes together with ensemble. We left the housing site at 11 PM for Michigan City, Indiana. Overall, it was a hard, but rewarding day. Laundry and Walmart are tomorrow, then a show on Saturday night.

Day 33

Today I had the best day so far of my entire summer. We had a good visual block, followed by a music block where we discussed the emotional storyline of the show, and discussed this in a personal way with a new person we hadn't met. Following that, we had an amazingly focused ensemble rehearsal. The focus was on performing every rep and we took this to heart and did it. My performance tonight was great as well - a lot better than my previous show. We performed at the Reitz Bowl, which has no track, so we were really close to the crowd. After the show, Jacquie (our head Drum Major) challenged us to rehearse like every rep is our last, because one of her best friends might have to go home. This really got to me emotionally, and I hope this feeling of urgency sticks with us for a long time. I'm excited about the direction we are going this summer!

Day 32

Today was a rather abnormal day. We spent visual block working on a new characterization at the beginning of the show meant to display peace, calmness, and something like a park scene before we destroy it in part 2. Then in music, we talked about the storyboard of the show - what each movement is supposed to be emotionally, and how they relate to the other movements. Then we had EPL and performed our 3rd show. I had a less than stellar run, but we were told as a group that we had less energy and were a good bit cleaner, and jumped up 5 points from the last performance. I'm doing my best to be indifferent about the scores, and always keep pushing, but it's more difficult than I thought. Tonight I got to see Cadet's show for the first time, and I was very impressed with their precision and control.

Day 30

We've officially passed the month mark! Move-ins started on May 22 and it's now June 22. I think this is becoming a trend, but visual started out a little slow. Subsectionals was pretty frustrating, too; we worked on the baritone feature for about 30 minutes straight, doing our best but not getting much better. We did have a phenomenal ensemble rehearsal - high energy, lots of excellence, and getting things right on the first try. Can't wait for our show tomorrow!

Day 29

It was a pretty brisk day, which was a nice change in pace from what we are used to. We had our first true show in Plainwell, Michigan tonight! I had a good run, I think we weren't quite as loud, and we need to do a better job of conveying emotion, but we presented a good representation of where we're at. We scored a 58.1, beating the Colts by 0.3, finishing third of four. I think we're still working on getting a hang of tour, as EPL (Eat, Pack, Load) was really chaotic today. I'm sure we'll get the kinks worked out. 

Day 28

Today didn't quite go as planned, but we made the most of it that we could. Something happened with the equipment truck (It's safe, just couldn't leave on time), so we had to do the day without horns, then we were informed later we wouldn't be performing at our first show. On the bright side, at the end of visual block, our visual instructor played an outro for us (Pokemon theme song). We had brass with just mouthpieces, then we packed everything back up and headed to our next housing site in Michigan. It's a nice facility, so I'm excited!

Day 27

We had pretty relaxed blocks today. In visual we did exercises like the zipper and the grilled cheese sandwich focusing on foot placement on count 8. We did part of brass block inside to get away from
The heat a little bit. After that, we cleaned the school, then were off! After 27 days of Spring Training, we're off to Louisville, KY for our first show. It's been a tough road, but I'm really excited about what we bring to the table in 2015! ‪#‎outoftheashes‬

Day 26

Today was pretty rough but in a normal sort of way. Visual is the hardest to get through, and afternoon ensemble in heat takes a lot out. We had some interesting meals as well, like barbecue in a hot dog bun for snack. Excited that we leave for tour tomorrow! Overall, I'm doing well and glad to almost be done with spring training.

Day 25

Yesterday was our last full day, today we went to Walmart and laundry, and tomorrow we leave for Tennessee to rehearse for a day before our show at Louisville. Morning visual and conditioning blocks continue to be difficult, but the pace of everything will change because tour starts tomorrow! I made it through the toughest part of the summer without injury. We pushed just as hard as yesterday, and I realized that the simple things like resetting portions of the show quickly gives you extra focus and drive; I bet I can apply this somewhere in my life when I get back.

Day 24

Today we achieved a new level of drive in rehearsal. Things started out slow in visual. A good bit of music was working on segments moving and playing, during which we had a pleasant surprise! A woman who lived in the area named Ms. Gray hears us practicing at her house, came to listen, and brought some Popsicles. It gave me a little extra push. Then at ensemble, we were doing fairly well; we started really hustling back to resets, and amazingly everything changed: our effort level, our ability to do reps right the first time, and we ended all that with a great run through. We were told to be physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted by the end, and I think I reached that - I was in tears by the end of the run through (I think they were mostly good tears). I hope we can keep this level of energy to rehearsals.

Day 23

Today we had our preview show! We played parts 2, 3, and 4 of the show and had a pretty good run. The prep before the show was rather stressful, as we'd never done that before and we only had an hour to get ready; despite that, I'm confident that the process will get easier as we go on. After the marching run of the show, each section played something else. We played chord progression #1, salvation is created, and Georgia on my Mind with some alumni, then had the rest of the night off.

Day 22

Today was a good, but hard day! We did visual in the morning, where we finished up learning part 1, then had breathing block (which consists of running and breathing in controlled counts), and subsectionals. The evening was rather chaotic, as we had to get uniform pieces and figure out that stuff on our own, so I was stressed going into ensemble, but we were fine after a couple of minutes. I had a great run through and look forward to tomorrow.

Day 21

Today was a rather strange day. We got to sleep in until 8:45, then had stretch and PT (Physical Training) as usual, then shortened music and visual blocks, leading up to a hot afternoon ensemble block. During music block, a middle-aged woman named Ms. Gray who lived in the area wanted to hear us play Georgia on My Mind for her. We really touched her heart - experiencing moments like this where you can personally connect with someone is why I play music and do drum
Corps.

We went through a lot of changes in the evening visual block with the drill designer to learn part 1 of the show (we've done parts 2, 3, and 4 already and are coming back to the beginning)   It was a slow process, with the designer hand setting most people, and became tedious after a while. Naturally, people started being silly, doing things like throwing pencils into the ground. Our head  Drum Major, Jacquie, was doing it right as the drill writer called her name and was looking at her; it was perfect timing and we all laughed. Times like those help keep us sane in this activity.

Day 20

 I had a pretty good day! For visual, we walked to the field in our "performance mode", practicing how we will walk to the field in shows. Then we learned some choreography for the beginning of part 3 (the ballad), where we form little "tornados" that are supposed to represent the embers from a fire. Pretty pleased with how this turned out. For music, we worked on playing on the move more. Ensemble was pretty normal, working on parts 2, 4, then we had music ensemble inside, working a new transition into part 2 where we are playing a chorale and the battery cross fades in at a different tempo. I'm very excited about this transition - I couldn't stop grinning towards the end of that ensemble.

Day 19

Today was a pretty normal day for us. We learned some new choreography to the baritone feature and the drill to the end of the show. We marched all the way through parts 2, 3, and 4, so we're very close to finishing the show. 4 days until the preview show! Just gotta keep pushing. Each day has been getting a little easier to get through, and for that I am thankful.

Day 18

We had to be flexible today, as we had a thunderstorm. Afternoon and evening blocks were inside, and for visual we learned 15 more sets. Then we went inside into the wrestling room and finished up sub sectionals, then returned to the commons area with the full hornline. Tonight was the first time we had all 76 members of the hornline here. The last time we played in the commons area at Luella (inside) was in April, and it was interesting to see how far we've come since then. It reassures me that all this is worth it. 

Day 17

We had another good day! During visual we learned more of part 4, then put it on the move with music during music block, putting everything together at ensemble. We ended full ensemble with our first full run through! Most of it was marching, but not all. This activity is really teaching me how persistence can turn failure into success. Fixing the mistakes I made in last night's run through helped me have a more successful one today.

Day 16

We've got a week left until the preview show! We had a good, focused set of rehearsals today. We reviewed part 4, choreography for part 2, and played the baritone feature individually; depending on how we each play this, he might not let us play that part during shows. Part 4 got on the field as an ensemble for the first time (drum break) and we did a full run of parts 1-3 and the beginning of 4, so we're getting pretty close to putting the whole show on the field. Each morning has been difficult, but getting better throughout the day.

Day 15

Today started out rough in the morning, but we made a lot of good progress. We had visual in the morning again, which energy was low for. We learned some new choreography for the halts in part 2, which will take some time to really get with precision. Then we went to brass and worked on tuning chords and drill. Ensemble was particularly productive and ended with a run of parts 1 standstill and 2,3 moving. Preview show is in a week!

Day 14

Today was a pretty rough day, but ended pretty gracefully. Field lining crew had to wake up at 5:30 AM to line fields, so I was pretty groggy throughout the day, but I got to watch the sun rise! We had sectionals for most of today, and we learned some choreography in visual that we reviewed later after ensemble. Ensemble went pretty well - we put everything in part 3 together, and continued to take the metronome out of part 2. This activity is really teaching me how to be flexible. Today we ran out of field lining paint, so we had to line the main parts and then just go with it.

Day 13

Today we had a morning block with music then visual (reviewing part 4 drill). We cleaned up the school, packed up the trucks and buses, and headed to a laundromat to do laundry. We walked to CVS, then cookout while our laundry was running. It was a nice break from doing the same thing every day. Then we went to Walmart - I got some new shirts and wrap for my horn. Here's to a great second leg of move-ins at Luella before we go on tour!

Day 12

Today was a good day! We did some breathing block in the morning and jogged to the lake (the view was beautiful!). Then we did more visual basics and learned the drill to part 4. We finished the day up with a sectional rewarm, then ensemble. A storm threatened all around the area, but never hit. We did a run of part 2 without metronome pretty successfully, so the night ended on a high note. This will be the last full day here; tomorrow we move to Luella High School and do laundry.

Day 11

Today was probably my hardest day yet. We did tracking of show segments in part 2 (tempos of 172 then 184), then played in our mixed arc before heading into sub sectionals. There, the low brass did some marching and playing. We also cleaned the timing in part 2 and took out the metronome in ensemble rehearsal, then did part 3 as well. I have got the bladder control thing down more - I just have to not drink right before bed. We also had chicken patties today! Those were delicious.

Day 10

After yesterday's recovery day, we all thought today would be really hard, but it wasn't so bad. We worked on moving and playing during slides in the morning, cleaned some drill in part 2, then a storm took over, thus we went inside to the Sandy Beaver Auditorium and worked on horn snaps for 30 minutes, went back there for music sectionals, then back outside for music ensemble. I think I hit my wall today - everything felt different emotionally and mentally, a sort of indifference, and I felt homesick, but I kept pushing and it'll be fine.

Day 9

Today was a recovery day, so they took things a little easier on us. We got protein bars, and music block was inside due to weather. We cleaned the beginning of part two some visually, made some changes to the music. At the end of the day, we had a decompression/relaxation block for 30 minutes

Day 8

Today we had our first public performance at 7:30. The pit and battery each played some
Exercises, then we played some chord warm up, Georgia, then movements 2,3,and 4. We ended with a performance of part 2 on the move. We continue to be pushed by the staff until we get it perfect, and this is frustrating sometimes, but I'll hang in there. The problem
I wasn't expecting to have was bladder control; I have been drinking a lot of water, so I wake up every night having to go pee extremely bad. Hopefully I can get this under control.

Day 7

Wow, today was a pretty great day! Our baritone tech Jeremy arrived last night and really changed our approach on things. We had some great rehearsals today, doing many things right the first rep, not the second or third. We learned the drill for the ballad today and put part of it on the move with music. We have a standstill performance tomorrow, here's to hoping that goes well! All in all, I am realizing this activity is much more demanding mentally than I thought, but I'm doing pretty well.

Day 6

I sense a common theme among most days: rain and increasing challenge. Today, we did breathing block, which is essentially running in time in a block breathing in and out for specified counts (for out we use "shhhh" to get out air). We went over a few visual techniques and did a killer ab workout, then worked up to playing all of part 2 on the move in full ensemble, finishing out with a music ensemble (not on the move) of parts 4 and 5

Day 5

We were on our feet a lot today! In the morning we worked on reviewing the end of part two for ensemble in the evening marching and playing almost all of part 2. This was the first day the heat was really noticeable, and one person got heat exhaustion so we need to be careful to stay hydrated as much as possible. In the evening, we had a few hitches remembering everything, but we're able to finish strong. As a hornline, we're still working on playing louder, playing well on the move, and being precise with attacks and releases.

Day 4

Today reached a new level of difficulty for me, mental exhaustion, which was pretty hard to fight through. Today we had a thunderstorm during visual, so we had to cut it short and do some stuff inside. We had a pretty successful music ensemble block to finish out the day. I'll have to keep pushing even harder to keep up my mental energy consistently.

Day 3

We finished up the drill to part 2 today and got our first dose of rain in the evening during music. We went inside into the Sandy Beaver Building and played some
Part 4, then went back out for ensemble, putting together most of part 2 with the full corps moving and playing. Today was a little chaotic with all the moving around, but we made do, and I thought it was a good day for me.

Day 2

We had a pretty good day today and started to kick up the effort level to a high gear in rehearsal. We learned 20 more pages of the show, put it to music, then had our first full music ensemble in the storehouse, finishing up with a full run of part two, which went quite well.

Day 1

For all the expectation that the first couple days aren't bad, I'm feeling pretty beat, but I'm sure this will be a common theme. We put the first 20 pages of drill on the field playing and moving, and we will be warming up every morning marching and playing (fundamentals and technique stuff), and worked on Sleep (Eric Whitacre). We did get a good but better today, so that's a good motivator. Doing some stretching before bed. There won't be much time for this, but I'll do my best to post!

Day 0

I'm all moved into Riverside Military Academy! It's been an eventful day with a 9 hour car ride culminating in some ultimate frisbee and relaxation before the action really begins tomorrow. I learned today that I'm on the field lining crew, which unfortunately means I have to wake up an hour early to line the fields; but this means I will be waking up early enough to see the sunrise and take some amazing pictures. We have a corps meeting at 10:15, a light snack, then off to bed. Here's a picture of me before the season - we'll see how different I look at the end! Here's to a great season of drum corps!

T-Minus 4 Days

Hey everyone,

For those of you who don't know, I'm marching euphonium with Spirit of Atlanta in 2015. This blog is going to serve as a means of recording my memories, good and bad, and staying in touch with everyone back home through a few words every day and hopefully some pictures. This summer will certainly be life-changing, and I want to remember as much of it as possible.

I'm so excited that I move in in four days! Here's to a great summer!

Matt