hats off, 2, on, set, down

i'm a band dork. i will admit that. i always have been and probably always will be. it started in 5th grade when i picked up my trumpet, then switching to percussion because the rent on my trumpet was too costly for my parents. sometime in middle school, my director asked me to switch to baritone horn because more low brass were needed for our band. as someone that could basically pick up an instrument and teach myself to play it, i agreed. i played baritone until i got to high school, where more tubas were needed. i stuck with the tuba through high school and into college where i played the sousaphone.

i loved marching band in high school. i started out as a pit percussionist in 8th grade, moving onto the field the next year playing my baritone and later tuba. after two attempts, i was finally made drum major (to be shared with my friend and fellow tuba player) my senior year. i loved it! i was in band geek heaven! my co-drum major and i even had a fantastic ripple salute, alone with the captains of the color guard.

into college, i was determined to be a member of the famed "marching hundred". i started out college attending band camp a week before the campus opened to the rest of the students. this band camp was like boot camp! we worked our butts off in the scorching heat all day, and finished up with music rehearsal in the evenings. it was a ton of fun and met some amazing friends that i still value dearly today.

so, as a result of my history in marching band, i still get a twinge of excitement each time i see, hear, or think about a marching band. i try to catch a drum corp show (even if on tv) each year, and attempt to make it back to my alma mater to see "the tradition of excellence" on the field.

in college, we used to make fun of other college's marching bands. we used to do our best to incorporate something silly that other big ten bands did, just to amuse ourselves and make them look stupid. we marched like hitler's men to mock purdue's twirlers and god damn big drum (ugh!). we used to talk like natives of minnesota when playing the gooooolden gooooophers. but most of all, we liked to make fun of THE ohio state university drum corp...er, i mean marching band. they dress like they're ready for war, and only march brass instruments. they've given themselves the nickname "the best damn band in the land" or as their fans like to refer to them as TBDBITL. *rolls eyes*

i came across of THE ohio state marching band doing the 'script ohio'. i'm not gonna lie; i think it's pretty amazing. i mean, any band where we spell things out, change formations, etc. while playing and marching around is amazing. but wow. these fans. i mean, i KNOW that osu fans are obnoxious and are seriously IN LOVE with their school, but really?

watch this clip. you'd think that jesus himself is standing on the field, dotting the i. wow.




i'll still stand by my "marching hundred". i mean, john philip sousa himself, called us "america's finest marching hundred".