We had learned and revised the show...many a time. Since it was an away season, we spent most of our time on buses going to various schools to perform the show. We were one of the only marching bands in our division to still travel to away games and we hadn't missed a single one...unless it was raining.
The bus rides were...interesting to say the least. The drumline loaded the equipment into the back of the school bus we took and claimed the back third of the bus. No one was allowed in that section except for the line...and a few VIPs (girlfriends, pretty girls, directors, etc.) The instant the bus started rolling, practice pads and sticks were out and the section leader was making us warm up. Towards the front, soul music mixed with Disney music as the brass and woodwind sections fought for control of the boom box privileges. It was hard to sing to the music that one learned to like since they were mingling together.
When we got to the school, everyone instantly stripped off clothes to get into uniforms. We all got awfully close, and I realized why boys fear to "fall out..."
Rides home were interesting too. The smell of body odor filled the air as uniforms were taken off and we realized that despite the cold weather, the body still had the capacity to sweat. It was especially disgusting in the back third of the bus...the drumline plays throughout the game and we tend to play loudly and intensely...
One time, the bus smelled particularly bad and a girl sprayed a huge amount of perfume to try to cover the smell. We were on the road heading home. Not a good time to learn that the bus driver was allergic to perfume. She started coughing and sneezing. We had to open all of the windows to air the bus out...and it was 30 degrees outside. We sat huddled in our seats, listening to a mixture of soul and Disney music as the brass and woodwinds battled it out.
2 comments:
I know how you feel. We show up at every game no matter what. I think in the past 19 years the band missed only 4 games or so. And that was only do to saturday games which interfered with competitions (stupid tewskbury and their no lights field). The longest football game bus ride for me was probably 45 minutes and we had to be in uniform, always. Though they're usually 15-20 minutes. Because the band is only 25 members large we had to cram in one bus (luckily we have an equipment truck). In general the trip was okay. It mostly consisted of the guys singing songs as per request with the trumpet section providing obnoixious bodily noises for the harmony. In general smells really only existed if the boys were prompted to provide some
hahaha, the girls were the very talented "singers" on our buses...the boys just rolled their eyes and tried to talk over the singing, or they put in their headphones and went to sleep
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