Up From The Basement (Volume 2)

So off I went to the third rehearsal with my contra occupying two thirds of the available seating space in my truck. I was full of enthusiasm and eager to show off the skills I felt had achieved over the past month.

Spencer was overjoyed to see the horn leave the house and he gave it several barks to ensure, in his mind at least, that it never returned. Too bad for him, however!

Much to my delight upon my arrival I was introduced to Brian who showed up with his contra. Wow, now we are two. Then Rick Brown tells me he is off to pick up Paul Thompson and bring him back to rehearsal. Wow, now we are three.

Before rehearsal even gets going Barry Bell tells me he thinks there will be three more guys who will be showing up next rehearsal to also play contra. Now this is starting to get really exciting. I am going to be hanging out with five other really warped people who at some stage of their life thought it would be neat to play this big, heavy, loud, awkward, saliva-spewing, beast of an instrument. Makes you wonder what other weird choices they have made in their lives. Anyhow, I know I am going to like hanging out with these fellows.

The other thing that was neat is we have a new and talented horn instructor named Kevin. He was able to show other ways to hyperventilate without even blowing into my horn.

But you know the best part of the day was definitely the first time we played the first three bars of Old Devil Moon. Man did it sound good. Just like I imagined it would.

Now if we can just get the boys in the drum line some drums so I can experience the full sound of Devil Moon my biggest drum corps dream of all will be realized.

So the day was great and the future is looking even better for this thing we are trying to achieve. Seeing the look on everyone's face as we continue to improve is nice. Seeing the passion starting to fire up in Vern's eyes as he sits and watches waiting for that magical moment when he finally takes command of the ensemble and leads all of us through a most magical trip down memory lane is something I'm really looking forward to.