A Serious Post

I know that the general tone of this blog is pretty lighthearted and about football and crazy moments in Redcoats, but tonight I just feel the need to get how I feel out there. So, I apologize in advance if you came here expecting a goofy story about a football game.

I was told tonight that I seemed bitter when I kept making sure that my Redcoat brethren were not drinking (particularly those who are <21). I don't bitter is the correct term. "Bothered" more appropriately describes how I felt/feel about the events occurring just a dozen or so yards from my relatively peaceful hotel room. It hurts me to see my friends getting drunk out of their minds. I've seen what alcohol can and will do to a person's life and I don't want that to happen to anyone else, especially these around me that I care about.

I wish I could understand. To them, drinking is just a part of their life, but I see it as a first step toward ending their life. I'm not even going to go into my religious arguments against drinking, but I am going to share some secular reasons why drinking (whether you are 21 or not) is dumb. First (and probably the most obvious) is that with every sip of alcohol you take, part of your body dies. Your liver and brain are literally pickled by that cold beer (or those 16 beers) that you just enjoyed. Ladies and Gentlemen, pickles do not perform the same function as a brain or a liver. Secondly, (again, possibly quite obvious) is that it impairs your judgment. Ladies, guys can be very convincing after you have consumed a few Solo cups of hunch punch! Guys, stupid ideas seem like good ones after a few shots of Vodka! What this point boils down to is that alcohol transforms good people into blubbering idiots. Finally, as it has been said by many people both in Redcoats and elsewhere, you don't have to be drunk to have fun. I had more fun tonight singing songs with like-minded friends at the Fort at St. Augustine than I have in quite a while, and there certainly wasn't any alcohol involved in that event! It doesn't have to be a religious event for it to be a fun one even while sober! Just spending time with friends, making memories that you will remember for the rest of your life is very fun. Being drunk while you hang out with your friends means you probably won't remember these fun times!

You know what, I may be bitter. Maybe I would be better off if I "chilled out" and indulged in just a little social drinking. Yeah, maybe that would help me to not think about my friends killing themselves slowly for one night of thrills. Maybe that would dull my sadness when I see a child killed by a drunk driver. Maybe then I won't be enraged when a man gets drunk and beats his wife/family into submission. Maybe then I won't worry about lives being ruined by dumb decisions made under the influence of alcohol. Maybe then I could rest easily knowing that me and my friends won't die of old age, but rather in our prime of life. Maybe then I won't feel the economic stress of taking care of alcoholics in prisons and hospitals.

Or not. I will continue to cringe at the sight of a teenage girl sipping some fruity cocktail because I know that one of those sips could be the last of her life or the last before she decides that she should do something dumb. I will continue to voice my opinion to those I love and let them know that I love them enough to want them to live healthy, fulfilling lives. And yes, I will even continue to endure the ridicule I receive when I state these truths.

There it is. Say your "amens" or curse me or whatever. This is how I feel.

UGA VIII is 1-0

Well, I'm nearly a week late in this post, but anyways things are looking up for the Dawgs. Thanks to Tennessee and Vanderbilt, we are on a two game winning streak! Hopefully this revival of the team will continue tomorrow when we play Kentucky so we will have plenty of momentum going into the Florida game (who by the way have been named the 5th worst team in college football). The magic number is now 3. This is the number of games we need to win to be bowl eligible! (I really want to go to a bowl in this my rookie season with the Redcoats.)

Thinking about Florida, that trip is only 7 days away! (yay!) This trip should be a lot of fun (whether the football team wins or loses). I am really looking forward to spending the weekend in St. Augustine, FL with ~424 of my closest friends and thousands of like-minded Georgia fans. The extreme prevalence of alcohol will probably be pretty irritating, but bearable due to the large number of Redcoats that share my ideals of avoiding alcohol (Team United).

In other news, we are set to premier show 3, "Epic Movie Themes" at the Idaho State game (although the majority of the show will be altered to include an Armed Forces medley in honor of Veterans' Day). We are opening with the theme from "Independence Day" and the production is "You Know My Name" from "Casino Royale". (I don't yet have the music for the closer, so I don't yet know what it is.) It sounds awesome so far (for the ~1 week that we have been working on it).

I still cannot believe that I only have four more games left in my rookie year in the Redcoats, but these last four should be the most fun! Also, I WANT A NIGHT GAME!!! Every single game has been a noon game which has led to an irritating sunburn every home game weekend. My only chances are the Tech game in Athens and the Auburn game at Auburn as neither of those games' kickoff time has yet been announced. I am hoping that the planets and the stars will align just right so that Georgia will win all the rest of our games and the right people (USC, UF, AU) lose several of theirs so that we can go to a bowl and a decent one at that (S|uga|r Bowl?)

Sorry for taking so long to post again but...

Things are looking up. Our Dawgs thumped the Vols last saturday 41-14. That was very satisfying! Interesting factoid: We premiered our Queen show during that game. In 2003, the Redcoats premiered a Queen show against UT and the Dawgs won 41-14! We may need to play a Queen show every time we play UT.

On to more current matters...
This weekend is Homecoming! Yay! (Sarcasm) Tonight we have a parade, which is good, because that means we don't have rehearsal. Hopefully I can manage to pull off the show well tomorrow without it! Tomorrow, pre-game will be played by the UGA Redcoat Alumni Band and after our Halftime show, the homecoming court will be presented and the king and queen announced while we play "Georgia on my Mind" a lot. I have never enjoyed Homecoming games because playing the same song over and over again get extremely boring (unless you are UT's band and feel like you need to play Rockeytop 40+ times per game), but luckily this is a pretty cool arrangement! I'm not sure even that will be enough to redeem it...

The coolest thing about tomorrow is that UGA VIII will be crowned! He is adorable! Hopefully the Dawgs can give him a 1-0 record tomorrow by beating Vanderbilt (35-10?)!

Go Dawgs!

The game rather sucked but...

Some fans made my day today!

First, right after morning rehearsal I was approached by a couple and their middle school aged daughter. They told me that their daughter played trumpet and they asked what it took to be a Redcoat. I smiled and said "A lot of practice and actually learning scales helps too." We continued to talk for 10-15 minutes. It was fun.

Then after the game, I was exhausted, so I went and crashed at Tate for a few minutes. As I was leaving, this guy who was shwasted was stumbing through. He looked at me and said "Hey Redcoat! Can I play your tuba?" Without missing a beat, me and his buddy who was escorting him to make sure he didn't hurt himself said "It's a trumpet, and no." and exactly the same time! LOL. I thanked his companion for the assist and moved on.

Not 30 seconds after that, I was stopped by another fan who shook my hand and said "Y'all played well today!" I thanked him for the compliment and griped about the game for a couple minutes with him before departing for my dorm.

Finally, as I was leaving Tate to head back to ECV, I decided to walk though Reed Plaza to shorten my walk. Well, as I approached Reed Plaza, I noticed that there was a lady that was locking up and not letting people through. I walked up to her and she asked me if I lived in Reed and I said "No, I was just planning on cutting through to get to East Campus." She looked around and said "Eh, your with the band, come on through." I smiled and said thanks, but on the inside I was laughing up a storm! It amazes me how much people care about the band! I love it!


It's great to be a Georgia Bulldog. It's awesome to be a Redcoat!!!

Only a few days late.

I haven't been able to post in the past few days, so I have not yet had the chance to write about my first game as a Redcoat. To put it simply, it was awesome. The feeling of performing in front of 92,000+ screaming fans is unlike anything I have ever done. One of the more awesome things that happened was that during the national anthem, two F18s did a flyover! I couldn't keep playing because I was laughing at the awesomeness of what had just occurred. All in all, the day went well. I didn't fubar the show even though I had only practiced the spot I marched for two days and the band as a whole, according to Dr. Pilato, "sounded in midseason form". It was quite possibly the most fun I have ever had, and I look forward to the rest of the season.

Here are some youtube videos from the UGA v.s. ULL game.

The Beautiful Part of a Very Brutal Affair

That's what we (The Redcoat Band) are. We bring pageantry and awesome music to the blood-soaked sport of football, and we do it very well.

Tomorrow is game one. I am uber excited about it. Just the thought of 92,000+ screaming fans cheering as loud as possible for one common goal as I add the sound of my trumpet to the sound of my band which is the embodiment of the spirit of The University of Georgia. We were told tonight after rehearsal that when people see us in uniform, they are basically seeing a personification of The University of Georgia. We have the symbol of the great state of Georgia plastered on our shakos (hats) and our t-shirts, and we have the symbol of the #1 college in the world, The University of Georgia plastered on our uniforms and on our baseball caps. I wear these symbols proudly in the hopes of bringing honor and glory to the honorable state of which I am a citizen and to the glorious school of which I am a student.

In other news, I was called on today to fill in for another trumpet player who will not be marching at tomorrow's game. This means that I have (had) to learn a brand new routine! Everything I have practiced between band camp and now is pointless for tomorrow's game. I had a couple reps on half time and one of presume tonight and will get some more practice during rehearsal tomorrow morning before the game. *Sigh* I really hope I don't screw it up. I have the sentence "If you fall in the arch, roll to the outside!" streaming through my mind right now. I really don't want to be that guy who falls while running in for pre game. Well, we will see what happens tomorrow. Go Dawgs, beat Cajuns!

Not Redcoat related, but important.

UGA buses irritate me. 'Nough said. The following are a few unwritten (about to be written) rules for riding buses here at UGA.

1) Do not ride the bus extremely short distances. There are people who have to ride that godforsaken tin can completely across campus to get to a class in 15 minutes and your getting on and off the overcrowded bus can cause them to be late.

2) If you are riding the bus for only a couple stops, give your seat to someone who will be there longer. Standing is not that bad, especially when you are only going from Tate to Snelling.

3) When the driver says something like "Stand behind the line" or "Don't stand in the stairwell" obey them! They have not problem waiting on you to obey actual laws and causing the rest of us to be late to class.

4) Pay attention! This is very important while standing on the bus. No one likes it when you flail about the bus because it took off while you were texting your friend about something that has no eternal importance.

5) When boarding the bus, let people get off before you go barging in. When people are trying to move in opposite directions, the whole affair grinds to a halt. Save everyone some time and wait the extra couple seconds to allow everyone to get off the bus.

6) (Not really about riding the bus, but for people who drive cars in Athens) Respect the buses. Your lack of driving intelligence could cause someone to die. It could be you when your Prius gets run over by the massive bus or it could be an innocent person walking across the street when you illegally pass a parked bus.

If we all follow these rules, bus riding will be slightly less irritating. Thanks!

I can't get to sleep, so I will update the blog!

So band camp is now over, and classes have begun. Camp was a lot of fun, but VERY tiring! Several sections decided to do their Hype Night on Saturday, and in doing so, provided much needed comic relief that allowed my fellow Redcoats and myself to push through our exhaustion and pain to finish putting the last couple pages of drill for our first show onto the field. A couple notable Hype Night themes from throughout the week were "Number 1 Party School", "Robin Hood", "SEC Refs" (Ours),  "Luchadors", and "Toy Story 3". 

One aspect of The Redcoat Life that has already manifested itself is the family-like attitudes all Redcoats have about one another. I ran into fellow Redcoats twice today (well yesterday now) and even though we may not have actually known each other well, we still carried on a conversation simply because we had one thing in common, The Redcoat Band. I LOVE IT! It is an incredible feeling to know that I can run into a random Redcoat anywhere, and be treated like a brother or at least an old friend. It all boils down to one simple fact: being a Redcoat is a very unique experience that serves to the betterment of musical skills while being an active social community.

It's getting INTENSE!

END DAY THREE: Today was yet another awesome day of band camp! We started putting our first show on the field after getting the entirety of pre game on. Funny story, pre game had to be redesigned because we added over 50 players to our ranks (mostly sousaphones and trombones) so, everything is BIGGER! "Big" pretty well describes the 106th installment of the Georgia Redcoat Band. In terms of personnel, there are just copious amounts of people on the field who are among the most talented musicians, drummers (haha, band people should get that joke), dancers and baton twirlers in the world. I consider myself blessed to have the opportunity to perform with and become friends with all these awesome people. Not only are our numbers big, but our sound is too. All of the new low brass players are phenomenal and give our sound an awesome base (bass) that helps to carry the band. In section time today I nearly was raptured when I got to hear all 62 of us trumpets playing Krypton Fanfare! It was AWESOME! The sound that we made as just one section of the band was HUGE! I am excited to hear how we sound after some more practice!

The intensity I alluded to in the title is the drill for our first show. The music is fast! The drill is crazy! When you put those facts together, you get pure marching band brilliance. I give some serious kudos to the designers of this year's first show. I think this show may be able to grab the attention of even the drunkest, least attentive fan during half time.

Not going to give anything away, but tomorrow's post should be interesting as there is a lot going on tomorrow! "Ain't nothing finer in the land, than the Georgia Redcoat Marching Band! Go Dawgs!"

Second to NONE!!!

So, I just finished up day 2 of band camp. It has been incredible so far! The people are amazing, we really are like 420 brothers and sisters. I could not think of anything I would rather be doing than rocking out at Redcoat Field with my newly found friends (all 400+ of them!). I have yet to meet a single person who was even remotely not nice!

The trumpet section is HUGE! We are 62 members strong! (pause for holy crap moment) We are definitely the biggest, baddest, and best section! This is a huge honor because the 106th installment of the Georgia Redcoat Band is the most awesome band in the SEC America THE WORLD!!!

The best way to describe the sound that we put out is epic. The low brass sections' numbers increased dramatically so the bottom end is tremendous and then the trumpets and all the other folks that play in the higher range come in and fill up the top, creating quite possibly the most powerful sound I have ever had the privilege to even hear, much less be a part of!

In the end, the whole experience can be described quite simply as the most epically awesome thing to ever happen! :) All of this awesomeness has left me drained, so I am going to hit the hay to get ready for day 3 of Redcoat Band Camp 2010! GO DAWGS!!!

And now for something different!

I know this blog is supposed to be about my experiences as a Redcoat, but I am going to abuse my power to help out a friend. My buddy Eric is trying to win a contest sponsored by 104.7 The Fish in which he can earn the privilege to perform as the opening act at Celebrating Freedom (an event being hosted by the aforementioned radio station). You can help him out by viewing his video on Youtube! Every view on his video counts as a vote for him! For your convenience, the video is below. If you really like the video, go to it on Youtube and comment on it or like it!




Here is the link to it on Youtube!

It's gonna be a good season...

I just got my music for the upcoming Redcoat season and I am very excited! I'm not going to give away what we are playing right now, but the music is very fun and I expect it to be very well accepted by the spectators at Sanford stadium!

As you can see by the countdown on the top right of the page, I am counting down the days until band camp! August 9th just can't seem to get here soon enough!

Yup, I had to find a way to inform everyone I drive past that I am a Redcoat!

It is one month...

... and three days until Redcoat Band Camp 2010. I just decided to go ahead and set up this blog in which I will write about my experiences with The University of Georgia Redcoat Marching Band!

Well, I guess the first thing I should do is tell you (y'all, them, those guys, my readers, etc) a little about myself. I am a Sophomore (and a half) at the University of Georgia, and I finally managed to try out for and get accepted into the finest musical organization in the world. In addition to being a member of the greatest marching band in the world, I am also a (awesome alliteration, alright?) member of the greatest section within the aforementioned band, the trumpet section! I have been playing the trumpet for nine years now, but I have never been more excited about it than I am now due to playing with The Redcoat Marching Band!

I will update this page as regularly as possible (or at least as often as I have something somewhat interesting to blog about). Thanks for reading!