2004.
Gala night for the band was supposed to be a big to-do. Our band director had huge plans for gala night. He also had big plans for the money gala night would bring in. He was like that, but very, very good at what he did.
The marching band as a whole only had one thing to do, just one song if memory serves. This meant we would have to sit through the entire thing until we did that one damn thing. Such is the life of a marching band member: hurry up and wait.
We had a very long practice for that one thing. We had to sit and wait and sit and wait and then do something, then wait. It was frustrating.
We had a break and Robby, Channing, and Candi went to eat. We went to the McDonald's by campus, chatting and having a good time, a very nice change of pace. After we were stuffed, I uncharacteristically said, "Let's not go back."
I was the guy who was always on-time. Not just on-time, but band on-time. You see, if you're on-time, you're late. If you're early, you're on time. I just didn't feel I had anything left in me and I wanted to quit. And I finally let myself voice it.
Candi called me on it. "What? You're the guy who's always ..." blah blah blah. Yeah, I was that guy. I quickly retracted my statement and got up, ready to head back for more punishment at the Moores School of Music for the remainder of the gala rehearsal.
We got back to the rehearsal and an elite cadre of the band, some of the Haves, got up to perform in an instrumental performance that really helped the lot of us not mutiny. They put on a heavily choreographed and impeccably performed rendition of Santa Esmeralda's "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." I know it wasn't written by them, but the performance more closely matched that version.
I found one of the performers afterward and thanked him. It was one of the finest demonstrations of musicianship I had ever and thus seen.
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