Home Football Games Our first performance of the year was the first Niles High School football game. We weren't really that good back then, but it was still really great showing everyone our show. At each game, we got better and better, until we could finally march the whole show. The weather in September to October was really crazy- there was one night that was abosolutely FREEZING, making us grateful for the gross (but warm!) wool unifroms. For our last game, it was in the 80s, and a girl actually passed out. Drumline has some signiture pieces they play in the stands, including "Hey Baby" and, of course, the sacred "John's Mom". It's so much fun hanging out on the track.
	Apple Festival Parade The apple festival parade was probably one of the best times this year for our marching band. Because drumline is so special, we all went to breakfast early that morining and hung out until we had to meet in the band room. When we got to the school, we got to hang out for a few hours and eat pizza. It was SO much fun. The day of the parade was hot, and it was even worse for us because of the wool uniforms. After loading the buses, we stayed at our assigned lot for an hour. As soon as the parade started, my drum felt EXTREMELY heavy. You're not allowed to take of the drum or stop, and the parade is pretty long. To stay hydrated, people came around giving us ice every few minutes. We played "Best of Times/Too Much Time on my Hands", our fight song, and "Hey Baby" over and over again. And, of course, we did TONS of cadances. I was fine at the end of the parade, but, unfortunatly, two members of the drumline had heat exgaustion and had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. It was a long day, but it was definatly a memory.
District Marching Festival The whole point of pracicing for hours each month is to reach one goal- do well at District Marching Festival. It's a lot of pressure because this is the moment we've been preparing for, and we actually get judged. Festival gets pretty serious; we know we have to do well. The night of festival was October 10. Throughout the day, the weather was cold but decent. However, that all changed when we met in the band room and prepared to leave. It started out drizzling, but when we arived at Lakeshore High School, the rain poured. We were one of the only schools who didn't have ponchos or drum protectors, so we had to march in the wool uniforms. It was so cold, I thought my mallets would fly out of my hands. The wind was blowing the basses as we marched, at it was so forceful that I almost fell over. It was really hard, because our band director expected perfection- no false starts or stops, marching in time the whole way, absolutely no mistakes. Despite the weather, we did Ok. We got a 2, the second best score. This might sound absolutely horrible, but it is actually really fun. On the bus ride home drumline sat in the back, talking, laughing, and warming each other. It's an experience I'll definatly never forget.	To view pics of our band at District Marching Festival, go to batemanfoto.com
	NHS Band Talent Show At the end of band camp every year, we have a "celebration" and each section comes up with a diddy to perform at our annual talent show. Each section has to make up their skit, practice it, and then perform it in front of an audience. Every year, drumline has the absolute worst diddy. We play a really cool drum solo, but it isn't very creative. This year, we decided to break the tradition and make up a comedic song, sing and dance to it, and, of course, play the drums. Each member of drumline contributed to the idea, and after we came up with everything it turned out pretty good. The song went: "Girl, oh girl/ Meet me in the club/ Girl, oh girl/ We can dance all night/ Girl, oh girl/ You can take me home/ Girl, oh girl/ We can read all night." Not the most original lyrics, but it turned out being pretty funny because we had a "boy band" with four guys and me, who they dressed up as a guy. Then, I had a dancing solo. There was also a really cool drum part in the background. The girl drummers stood on the opposite side, and we pointed to them at the end. It was really funny, but we didn't win. The best performance was done by the drum majors, and thankfully they put their song on youtube.com. They did a version of "Come Sail Away" from South Park. To see how great it was, click here.