Seaweed Chronicles

Band Camp January 2010

OK, so this is totally out of order but I'm getting caught up.  These are pictures from the recent full-day band camp we held. We've got competitions coming up, people.  Including a huge one in Scotland!

Parade One and Two

 Well, now I know that marching carrying a drum, keeping in step, remembering your moves, keeping in line, wearing 25 pounds of clothing and keeping up with longer-legged people is HARD WORK. And in the heat/humidity we had on Sunday, well, that'd be the reason my face looks so red in these shots. 

 

This was in Hopewell Township. 

 

If I was a little more experienced, I would probably get in trouble for this shot above since I should be looking ahead rather than  "all over the place like a gottam tourist!"

 

I'm not quite visible here but it's a nice shot of most of the band just before we turned to face the reviewing stand.

 

Our spiffy new banner.  And banner carriers Gladys (Aberdonian), Lenny and Carol, both of whom used to be Jewish but converted to Catholicism and I don't think that happens too often. 

 

The young lad in the middle was also marching in his first parade as I was. 

And we did good.  The band took the trophy for Best Appearing Marching Unit. 

 

On Monday, following our final weekend event, we had a big old jam party at a member's house, and presented the trophy to Linda, our bass drum player, whose Mom Betty Jean died of cancer a few days before the weekend.  Linda marched with us all weekend, knowing her Mom was very proud of her daughter's band accomplishments. Here's to Betty Jean.

/Credit and thanks to Paul the Brit for the photos except for the last, shot with my crummy Blackberry phone./

Band Camp

Yesterday was my first Band Camp.  A full-day workshop, actually,  led by two of the best players from Oran Mor Pipe Band.  One of the hardest parts of agreeing to join the band and pick up the tenor drum was knowing that for many of the events and parades, it means putting down the camera.  I still managed a fair number of shots yesterday, although most are after the conclusion of the working session.  Here's a link to the Flickr set, best viewed in slideshow mode. 

Awesome fun, this is.  Towards the end of the set you'll see the small jam session that formed late into the evening.  I'm actually drumming on a metal folding chair, which sound kind of like a trash can lid but in a good, busker-ish kind of way.  Anyway, I think the fact that we were having a blast comes across loud and clear!