Minnesota Brass, Inc.

Back in January I joined a drum and bugle corps called Minnesota Brass, Inc.  They are a "senior" corps, meaning they're an all ages corps.  So younger kids in high school (no younger than 16, I think) all the way up to a few people in their 50's can be a part of this drum corps.  Junior corps (Cavaliers, Blue Stars, Scouts, etc) are 22 years of age during the season or younger.  And some (I think only two now) are male only...

When I joined MBI in January, I had absolutely no fucking clue what I was getting myself in to.  I could handle the 4 hour Wednesday night rehearsals every week.  But what I didn't realize was that was just the winter schedule.  Come April, we started to ramp things up.  We got our drill, we were already memorizing music that would later be changed drastically, and we were already outside.

The first weekend of out door drill running was disgusting.  It was a bitter 35 degrees outside, and big clumpy chunks of a sleet-snow mix was falling in sheets and buckets.  I was fortunate enough to still have my snowboarding coat in my car.  While my core was dry, my jeans were soaked.  I had no gloves either, so my hands were frozen to the bone.

Give it two weeks, and the next weekend of out door drill, the first actual camp, and it was a balmy 65 degrees, and super sunny.  I was burnt in a matter of minutes without suncreen (no clue it was going to be so nice outside) and ended up going to urgent care the next day.  I was ordered to stay inside and had to use burn cream to stop the pain.  I missed the second day of camp (which was Mother's Day and had been shortened anyway, so I didn't miss much).

Since May, we've had a smattering of all-day, 10 hour camp weekends (on both Saturday and Sunday) where we've managed to learn ALL of our drill for the season, with a shit ton of changes that have since followed and more are on the way.  And we've continued to rehearse on Wednesday nights for 4 hours (6 to 10 pm).

Ladies, do you want a definite exercise to tone up the upper arms?  Get a 10lbs dumbell (free weight) and put both hands on it, then hold it up 10 degrees above parallel to the ground, but pointing at your face.  Kind of like you're going to play a trumpet.  Try doing this for 5 minutes. I GUARANTEE YOU IT IS A LOT FUCKING HARDER THAN YOU MAY BE THINKING RIGHT NOW.  This actually simulates holding up a Baritone.  (I think a baritone is only 8lbs, but still, it's fucking heavy and the weight is NOT distributed evenly).

I have to do this for 10 minutes for our show.  There are a couple girls who play Euphonium, which is larger and weighs more, and they're way better at it than I am.  But I swear, my biceps, triceps, shoulders, pecs, lats, and whatever the hell you want to call the forearm muscle have all toned up by doing this multiple times a day.  Not just Wednesdays and on the weekends at camp.  At home, when I don't have time to practice and I can't get to my baritone, I've got two 5lbs free weights that I grab together and just try to hold them up at 10 degrees above parallel for 5 minutes.  I can ALMOST do it.

The leeway I have in the show is that there are a few spots where I can put my Baritone down to what's called carry (right in front of me but perpendicular to the ground) or suitcase (which is down by my hip in just my right hand).

So I've been working up the strength to not put my horn down during "run-throughs" the entire show the last month now and I had not successfully accomplished this yet.

Until tonight.

Earlier this evening, we did two runs of our whole show that included several on the spot changes.  Regardless of those changes (both in terms of drill and music) we were able to get through it all.  And in the first run of the show, I was able to keep my horn up the WHOLE time.

For me, that's huge.  I have had visual staff and my fellow Baritones bitch me out like righteous assholes (they've admitted to this) for my inability to keep my Baritone up the whole show.

I just hope they noticecd that I did it this time.

Unfortunately, the second run through was at about 9:50pm (which is what we usually do), in shakos and uniform jackets (which makes this way more difficult) and I had a couple spots where I was resting the back of the Baritone on my collar bone.  Oh well, I'll get there.  Eventually.  Before Finals in August/September.

And since the bugs were so nasty this evening, I had to put bug spray on.  I hate bug spray.  I jumped in to the shower immediately upon returning home to get that nasty shit off me.  That's why I'm still up at quarter after midnight.

The main point of this post is that, while my experience with MBI hasn't been exactly ideal, tonight was a HUGE turning point for me.  I feel more confident in my drill, my music, and my capabilities as a musician and an athlete than ever before.  I have come a long way and am very proud of exactly what it is I am doing.  Not only am I improving my health (this shit is good exercise, mang!) but I am definitely improving as a musician again.  I never realized just exactly how much I missed marching until this summer.  (Last Monday was killer though, two parades in 90 degree heat and full uniform.  Eff that noise, I think I lost 10lbs sweating.)

The greatest part about MBI is that it has given me the chance to be a part of something great, something bigger than just myself.  I am part of a group of people that are incredible musicians and athletes, and while I may not know all of them or talk to all of them, they're all awesome.

To all of my friends who are saying I'm crazy for doing this, for busting my ass, and for paying to be a part of this group instead of me getting paid to do it: eff you.  I'm lovin' this shit.

To all of my new friends in MBI:  I'm on a boat.  And it's heading for Valhalla.

Rock.

And for good measure, attached is a picture of my cat as he's sleeping on the couch next to me.  Completely unreleated, I know, but I couldn't resist.  Doesn't really matter any way, this entire post is completely unrelated to my blog to begin with.