Finals...

It's Tuesday now, and I've had sufficient time to bask in the afterglow of the 2007 DCA World Championships in Rochester, NY. It'll probably take a long time for me to be able to articulate all of the many emotions that come along with saying goodbye to a season and letting go...but here are some of my impressions of the weekend, as well as some other stuff...

First of all, this was a great weekend for the Bushwackers. From Friday until Sunday night we gave it everything we had. We made incredible improvements from even just last week! I don't know why it took this long for everything to click together (I have my theories, but no need to go into that here and now), but at least it DID click together. Some years it never does, but not 2007. We peaked and became a top to bottom DRUM CORPS...a body of individuals acting as one. It was exciting to watch this happen from my extraordinary vantage point as the drum major. I enjoyed every moment of this weekend.

Friday was a great day of rehearsal. It started a little slow, but as things got rolling along you could sense the energy and the commitment to do things right. Sets that I had never really seen before began to click...not readable...CLEAN! People began putting their understanding of marching concepts into action, and we were able to really lock down some previously unsettled and unsettling parts of the show.

Warm ups and sectionals went well, and ensemble rehearsal was amazing. We had a great run of the show, and everyone was excited going into Prelims and Finals day.

The hotel we stayed in (Quality Inn) was spectacular. It wasn't exactly conducive to loud parties and running around from room to room...but we don't exactly do that sort of stuff much anymore anyway, so it was perfect. The place was clean, they had a room cleared out so that individuals could go and practice if they wanted to. They saved all of their old towels and gave them to us to clean our horns with. They gave us the banquet room to collect uniforms and instruments in on Sunday. They were most accommodating and for that I give Quality Inn a big ol' drum major two thumbs up, with a snappy salute. Thanks!

I already wrote about Prelims. Again, I thought it was a clean, safe performance. At that point, we still had not figured out how to perform Lonely Town and Part 1 "Galop"...yes, with one "L".

Sunday was an interesting day. The corps showed up tense. It didn't take long for that to go away, though. We went right into full corps visual rehearsal (which happens less and less anymore...seems like drum lines have an aversion to learning and/or cleaning drill with horn lines and color guard. I'm not sure why, but I don't like it), and everything we had cleaned the previous 2 days was sticking wonderfully. The drill block flew by, and we went on lunch. After lunch was a great sectional block and then into ensemble.

In lieu of doing a full run through of the show, we had recently taken to working on the opener, then doing a production run of the opener. Break. Come back, work on part 2, do a production run of part 2. Etc, etc...and work our way through the show like that. It's a little less taxing, and it allows you as a performer to focus on what you need to be focusing on. We did that both Prelims day and Finals, and it worked out great. We had extra gas at the end of rehearsal, and we were focused and ready to go.

Warm up was okay...didn't seem like anything all that special to me, except that we had a pretty huge crowd watching the drums. Putting on the uniform for the last time was a little emotional. It's never easy to say goodbye to anything, much less a season full of memories and relationships. We marched to the gate where we met up with the brass and guard, and it was the first time all year that I actually could feel the anticipation and excitement of the drum corps. I miss that. I don't know where it's been lately, but I miss that feeling...the combined excitement of 100 people as you're about to enter the field of battle. You can sense that sort of thing. It's one of the things I love about drum corps, or loved about drum corps. I miss it, and I wish that it would have shown its face earlier in the year. We might have been in a different position.

Anyway, the opener was amazing. I could feel the energy from the corps, and it was the first time all year that they opened up and really performed it. After part 1, we've always been good at performing the last 2/3rds of the show, but part 1 has been where we get comfortable, calm the nerves, and then have fun and relax the rest of the show. Not tonight. When the drums and brass and pit and guard all coordinated to create that first big impact, it was drum corps euphoria for me. I was washed over by a wave of sound that nearly sent me flying off the back of the scaffolding. It was why I love being drum major. It reminded me, in that instant, of my first experience with the Bushwackers in 96.

While I had seen drum corps live before, I had never really been all that close to one. When I first came on as a rookie ADM in March of 1996, we had a stand still concert that night. I was in the audience taping it, and was absolutely blown away by the sheer power and volume that a quality drum corps can create. It's like nothing else, and that was my first experience with it.

This reminded me of that. I knew then that this would be the best show of the year. It was.

Top to bottom, it was the most solid, powerful, emotional production of 2007. It wasn't perfect...in fact, from an ensemble stand point we were probably a little more solid on Saturday night at prelims. The guard I know was upset because of one small section of the show. It didn't matter, though...the energy and performance made up for any inadequacies that we may have had. I was incredibly pleased with the show, and proud of how we ended the year.

We lined up for retreat, all knowing it was the last time some of us would ever wear the uniform. We knew that there was little chance that we'd leap anyone into the top 3, and that 4th was the most likely possibility for us. We didn't care so much about that, though...because we were satisfied with the job we had done. We collectively breathed a sigh of relief and release, and let it go. There was no disappointment when we were awarded 4th place with a score of 94.5 and change. We were a little disappointed when they mistakenly announced the wrong corps as the color guard champion...but they recanted and awarded it to us, which was exciting. The guard certainly deserved it. It's a testament to their staff and the creative minds they have. No one performed a more sophisticated, well designed, detail oriented program as the Bushwackers Color guard. Scott Marshman and his team are the best, and the Bushwackers are lucky to have them. They provided their members with a show that would give them the best chance to succeed, and the members simply performed the hell out of it. Bravo.

So, 4th place and high color guard. Not bad for a year in which many of us doubted whether we should field a corps at all! We haven't placed 4th since my first season in 96. We were disappointed then, just 3 years removed from an undefeated season and a 6th world championship in 8 years. This year there was some of that again. Falling out of the top 3 isn't exactly what many of us had in mind when we started the season, but there are so many moving parts to a drum and bugle corps that determine the success or lack thereof of the season, that it's silly to be disappointed in a placement like that. I think that, while there were many failures on every level of the organization this season, we rose to the challenge and went out there and did what Bushwackers do...FIGHT...and we ended the season with several amazing successes.

I feel satisfied.

Now it's time to focus on the future. I have band to think about, and the progress of my students. I'm getting married in a little over a year, and it's time to put more energy into that. I have a little nephew who needs as much love and attention as I can give him. There are also some other things going on in my life that I'm excited about and need to focus on. Satisfaction following a season is the best possible outcome. You can win finals and have had a bad performance and it will eat at you. Satisfaction allows you to move on, breathe some fresh air into your life, and concentrate on improving your life and have a good time doing it.

Traffic sucked on the way home. 81 is garbage.

So...that's the 2007 season. I hope you've enjoyed my blog. I've done my best to give you some truthful insight into our season from my perspective. It's been frustrating and rewarding, but many seasons for many drum corps are. This blog will stay alive, but will obviously shift focus as I get into the band season here with Archbishop Ryan and whatever else my future in the drum corps activity holds for me. Thank you, as always, for reading.

Signing off...

Chris Kilian
Drum Major
Bushwackers Drum & Bugle Corps