July 31, 2024 – Burlington, Vermont
I am sitting comfortably in the Volvo dealership in Burlington, Vermont. The storied Silver Bullet, my aging XC70, is in the shop for a last-minute repair before I embark on my auto tour of DCI competitions today. It will be ready for another drum corps sojourn with a new wheel bearing and new Goodyear Assurance Comfort tires. It should be a nice, quiet ride for the anticipated 4,000 miles ahead. The Silver Bullet has been a big part of the story. In 2018, my older XC70 passed away (failed transmission) while on tour in Pennsylvania. Lo and behold, I was 4 miles from Bobby Rahal Volvo, where the team worked to get me into the Silver Bullet. Certified preowned Volvo – $35,000. Getting to Innovation in Brass on time that year- priceless.
I will begin my 2024 DCI auto tour with a three-hour trip to the Boston Area tonight to meet up with my drum corps brothers and friends in preparation for the DCI East Coast Showcase in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on Thursday. The Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps (BAC), the host corps, will be joined by the Carolina Crown, The Cavaliers, the Santa Clara Vanguard, and the Troopers. Opening the show will be the Crusaders Senior Corps performing in exposition. This is a fine line-up that will be appreciated by the avid New England drum corps fans. Back in the day, the Boston area had dozens of drum corps. Today, the Boston Crusaders remain the only DCI corps, surviving 84 years. They are favored to win the East Coast Showcase and will be knocking on the door for a medal in Indianapolis.
This year, I plan to return to Michigan following the DCI World Championships to attend the annual Celebration for the North Country Trail Association in St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula. I will be larking about for a week, couch surfing at friends along the way. This will extend my time away from Vermont, so the storied, comfortable coach will be my trusted steed for the next 26 days this year. Getting to a dozen DCI shows requires lots of transportation. So far this season, I have flown to Grand Rapids, MI, Nashville, TN, and Charlotte, NC, for my DCI obsession. Renting vehicles, I attended six shows driving. I now leave the wings of man behind for the open road to complete the season. This is my 13th year following this crazy summertime obsession and returning to the habits of my road-warrior days as a printing salesman. My motto was: Caffeine, Cruise Control, and Rock n’ Roll.
It looks like my car is done. I’ll keep you posted as the opportunity presents itself along the long and winding road ahead.
August 1, 2024 – Lawrence, Massachusetts
Show day! After a fine evening of pre-show merriment with friends just north of here in the Granite State and a good night’s sleep, I have arrived early for the Boston area DCI show at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, MA. Above are blue skies, and it is a hot 96 degrees. Fortunately, a consistent breeze gives us some relief as we sit here, observing the afternoon sectional rehearsals and reminiscing under the shade trees in the park next to Veterans Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, MA, a neighboring city of Boston to the north. Earlier, the horns were in each sub-section. Snippets of the show music punctuated the cityscape sounds from the busy street. Tubas in one corner, baritones in another, trumpets in the middle. The mellophones were nowhere to be seen. Now, the entire drum battery is rehearsing on the basketball court near us, generating waves of scrumptious and satisfying precision from the dozens of sticks and mallets stroking the stretched skins. These are not your average skin strikers; this is the number one drumline in the universe. Later this evening, they will have several groupies watching their pre-show warm-up. Here, we had our own special show in the early afternoon, watching the master percussionist, Colin, work them through the show’s music that he crafted. It has been a real pleasure for me to observe how Colin and his team, each year, build great drumlines. Those of us in the fold-up chairs continued to reminisce about how we met and BAC’s percussion transformation since I ran away with the Boston Crusaders in 2017 and started this blog. That was a wicked time, for sure. The staff changes, including Colin, have endured since that year to bring BAC forward to world-class medalist status. BAC has taken top percussion in every contest this year.
It’s time to put this computer away for now. Since I am hitting the road for Allentown just after the show, I will try to catch up with you sometime tomorrow to report on the DCI East Coast Classic. Peace out for now.