Sticks goes to championships
Originally uploaded by drumsnwhistles.
We dragged ourselves out of bed at 3:00 AM on Saturday morning to board the bus and head south for the 2005 Field Show Championships. The band performed at 9:30 AM.
At 7:30 AM, we discovered that one drum harness had not been loaded onto the equipment truck. Now, this is no small problem. First of all, it is a Yamaha harness, which only fits Yamaha drums. Or put another way, Yamaha drums, which is what our drumline plays, must be suspended from one's shoulders by a Yamaha harness.
To make matters worse, the harness left behind was Sticks'. His harness was specially fitted to compensate for his height challenges…to say that he was stressed would be an understatement. Fortunately, the host school (thank you, Bellflower HS) loaned him a drum, which he adapted to rapidly.
End result: Band Ranking: 8th
Percussion: 1st, with a ten-plus point margin! With or without his drum, Sticks and his buddies on the line (and the band!) kicked butt!
Congratulations, Rio Mesa drummers on your second Southern California title—you all rock!
And thank God this marching band season is over…I'm definitely ready for a break.