S is for...

7th Rrrrregiment!!

Like that wasn't obvious!!  The 7th Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps is an Open Class drum corps based out of New London, CT.  They were founded in 2004 and continue to push their way to the top every season since.

Now, I'm not biased or anything like that, but I absolutely love drum corps as an activity.  It combines the best of... everything!  It has music and arts and dance and athleticism and pure entertainment!  Not to mention the family and friends and memories and jokes and everything else involved with living/ working with people for an absurdly long time.  I myself have been with the corps for the past four years, and this season, 2012, will be my fifth and final year with the corps as I am aging out.  As per DCI rules, anyone ages 12-21 can march, and I have finally reached the magical age of 21 and will thus be ending this chapter of my life at the end of the season.  Yes, this is upsetting, it's been the majority of my life for five years now, but it's also a little freeing.  I can now go on and explore other interests.  Of course I will miss it, but there's not much I can do, so I'll make the best of it.

For those of you who don't know, drum and bugle corps is a performing arts ensemble consisting of only bell-front brass, percussion, and colorguard.  They are independent organizations dedicated to developing strong leadership, character, and integrity in young adults.  During the summer they travel across the country, competing against each other and performing for thousands of fans.  I like to describe them as marching bands on steroids.  But whatever you do, don't call them a band.  They are corps, plain and simple. 

P is for...

PABLO!!

No, not that one...

And not that one either!  The Pablo I'm talking about is less of a person and more of an entity...

He was spawned in the summer of 2008.  He quickly sowed awe and fear and even hatred in those around him.  It didn't take long, however, for people to realize just how awesome he truly was.  Pablo completely transformed my first summer at drum corps.

Pablo was a piece of fabric.  An extremely LARGE piece of fabric, but fabric nonetheless.  He was the main feature to end the 7th Regiment's 2008 program 'Mexican Landscapes.'  In the show we had the desert, the green wood, and the river.  Pablo WAS the river.  After the three main movements were done, it was Pablo's turn to shine.  He sat waiting at one end zone and was carried by two colorguard members, weighted down by four more, to the other end zone.  He would first engulf the entire drum corps, and then they would run under him until it was their turn to drop out one by one, forming a river across the field.  The first time Pablo was used, in Rome, NY, the audience went crazy.  Which was extremely rewarding because we probably spent around 6 hours working on it that day alone.  By that point the six guard members (myself included) who had to run with him were hating the entire world.  Pablo would stick to people's sweat and it would transfer.  So then, when we were running him across the field and we'd get slapped with a sweat soaked piece of fabric in the face and it was not easy to dislodge.  Let's just say I wasn't a very happy camper.  On that note, are you ready to meet Pablo?

Undergetting (un)Square

Well folks, it's August.  August 16, to be exact.  It's been almost an entire month since my last blog.  The reason for this delay was, of course, my going on tour with the 7th Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps.  It was a pretty typical tour, about the same as the previous four years.  We were placed in some nice schools, and some not-so-nice schools.  We had good and bad fields, showers, and weather.  Although this year we did not have any sickness.  I don't mean injuries, I mean illness.  Every year I remember there has been some prevalent illness at some point on tour, but not so this year.  Way to go!

Anyways, there are so many subjects I could discuss on the matter of tour.  To keep us all sane I will only discuss the outcome, because, let's be honest, that's all some people can understand.  In the end we placed 7th in Open Class Championships for the year with a final score of 86.150.  You can watch our finals performance here- 7th Regiment Finals 2011  We had yet another awesome year of marching music and self-improvement.  I am extremely happy that I decided to push myself and march this summer, even though I missed the majority of the season by being across the world.  On another note, the 7th regiment also had eleven individuals/ ensembles compete in the 2011 I&E competition.  I performed once again with my darling friend Victoria Smolenski.  We placed second in our category with a score of 80.0.  Another great experience for the both of us.  You can watch the video here- Caitlin & Tori I&E 2011.  You should also check out the links to the other videos of 7th participants. 

If you have any other questions about our season or drum corps in general, feel free to send me a message!

 I got to see my lovely friend Kristen while in Dayton, OH

 Yay rehearsal in PA!

 Kevin Thompson performs his I&E for the corps

 Liz Walek perform her I&E on mellophone.

The brass quintet performs (they won their category).

I pose with one of my co-captains, Erica, while awaiting full corps retreat to receive our scores at finals.

 Captains Rachel and Erica show off our lovely instructor, Dana.

 Time for the underwear run- through!

 The 7th Regiment performs in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN.

 Miss Daisy receives her volunteer of the year award.