Synthesis 002: Winter

The Synthesis year was the last year that the Garnet Valley Indoor Guard came to all the shows and on most of the bus rides with us. Actually, it might have been a combination guard as well, but I can't exactly remember. In either case, they helped up move our things and we helped them move their things, and we always watched each other's shows because we would basically be each other's floor crew if they needed any help at all.

The colorguard's show was done to a song called "Winter," by Tori Amos, I think. It was very light, with just piano and vocals and maybe a string bass or something. The chorus had some pretty ascending and descending lines with words something like, "When you gonna tell me again? / When you gonna love me as much as I do [you] ?"

Of course, Marc and Brian didn't exactly dig that style of music, and they loved to make fun of the colorguard's show. I think the best time was definitely at one of the two or three Synthesis parties we had in Schlichter's basement during the season.

Her brother had a bunch of "construction worker" toys - hard hats, fake drills, tool belts, hammers, etc. Marc and Brian, who were pretty good friends, liked to joke around and pretend to be "gay for each other," so of course when they saw the construction worker garb, they threw it on as fast as they could and put on a humorous show for us. Don't worry, nothing bad actually happened.

At one point, somebody put "Winter" on through some speakers. Brian and Marc started to dance to it with each other, in the same slow tone as the song. Bright yellow hardhat on, and toolbelt, and white tees. And while they were singing, one of them decided to serenade the other with the line, "When you gonna bust on my face?"

I think we had actually used that line before - during the colorguard shows, nonetheless - but this was definitely the best execution of that line. I also think that Evan K came up with it first, but I'm not too sure on that.

Peace out!

Synthesis 001: Where Are You?

We got our music very early on in the Synthesis season, as far as I can remember. At least, we definitely thought it was early. I'm pretty sure we had part two by the end of the first week, or something like that. I remember we were supposed to learn it during one of the first practices and then we ensembled it later that practice.

We had the pit instruments facing the TV and the doors then, in an arch. I can't remember what instrument I was on, but I think it was xylophone. They always put me on xylophone. We were playing through the first sections of part two. Kathleen and Sarah were still in the pit then, so they had the marimba 1 and marimba 2 parts that Steve and I would take later.

There was a Dr. Beat on, I remember, and it was extremely, extremely loud. I had my music in front of me because I still didn't have it memorized. We were playing the same piece over and over again, I guess it was the first three measures or so. At one point, Christian gave a direction that I didn't quite understand. I played the same bit that I had just been playing. He stopped everyone, came over to me, and said very cuttingly, "I'm at measure four. Where are you?"

I forget exactly what I told him. I'm not sure I told him anything. I might have just judged him and assumed he was a jerk at that point, in which case I wouldn't have responded.

Although I'm a little sad it was directed at me, that was definitley one of Christian's best, defining lines all season. People said it for years after that whenever someone didn't listen to directions, and we'd all think of that exact same moment.

Peace out.

Synthesis 000: Faceplant

It was sometime in early 2005, when Synthesis drumline was just getting started. It wasn't one of our first practices, but it was pretty early on in the season - my guess is February or so. Saturday practice had just ended and the instructors were having a meeting with us in the band room to discuss everything like they normally do at the end of practice.

So for those of you unfamiliar, our band room is fairly large open room. A little bit bigger than 40' x 60' on the floor. There are two sets of double doors on the 60' sides that almost line up with each other. One leads outside, and the other leads to a band locker room where the kids keep all of their instruments and folders with music and such. A lot of times, we worked on the props we used for our drumline shows in there.

In the Synthesis year, we had four props that were basically identical. They were made of wood. Think of it as a L shape, but the legs were the same length. One of the legs basically sat on the floor [we had wheels on the bottom of it to make it easier to move] and the other leg went into the air. The leg that went into the air was connected by a wooden beam at its top and bottom. In the square made by the aired portions of the two Ls and the beams that connected them at the top and bottom, we put sheets with drawings of clocks and clock workings on them [our show's theme was clockwork].

Now, a very important part was that the beam on the ground was *only* connected at one end. The backs of those two ground beams were unconnected. Furthermore, to make the weight even so that they would stand in place during the show, we put bricks on the very backs of the grounded beams. I think this calls for a picture.So at the end of the day, we were trying to move these props from the locker room to the band room. They were a little bit too big to go through the door upright - with the wheels - so we usually had to turn them to go through.

So we were all sitting in the band room. Most of the kids were sitting in an arch facing the TV, which Christian was standing in front of, which is on the same side as those doors that lead to the locker room. I was sitting a little bit behind the arch, on the right side of the room, close to the doors and the piano. So as Viv, Lauren, and Jack were trying to get the props through, they turned them so that the parts with the bricks were very high up in the air, and no one was supporting them. I think this was the first day they had attached the bricks to the props. I was very, very, very afraid that our precious props were going to break. I mean that, really. It would have been TERRIBLE if those props had broken in half.

So as Christian was talking, I saw the bricked legs of the props bending, and I just though, Oh god, I need to go run over there and help. I was sitting in one of the regular band room chairs. I had my ankles crossed - not my legs, just my ankles. I stood up and started running over to try to grab them. But as I did, my feet got caught up in themselves. I was about halfway there when I tripped. At that point, I was right near the piano, and the guitars and electric pianos. And, with the speed of running, I tripped, and my face thwacked forcefully against the corner of one of the amplifiers. Yes, you read it: I ran myself face-first full-force into an amplifier. Everyone heard it. Everyone looked. I didn't know what the hell to do, so I got back up and went to take a hold of the leg of the prop in the air.

I couldn't really feel it that badly, but I think it's because I had so much adrenaline from the embarrassment. Someone asked me if I was okay as I was holding the leg and I just said, "Yeah, yeah, I'm alright." And someone said, quote, "Your face is bleeding." And at that point I was like... ((O_O)). After we got the props down a couple seconds later, I went to the kitchen on the right wall of the band room. I looked in the mirror. My skin on my right cheek bone somehow tore off and I was bleeding a lot. It still didn't hurt too much, but it was definitley bleeding a lot. I used a lot of water and a lot of paper towels.

Christian came into the kitchen later and asked if I was okay. That made me feel a little uneasy because I had still barely talked to Christian at that point, and I still thought he was mean. He told me that it was good that I did what I had done, otherwise the props would have broken. I'm not sure if they actually would have broken, but I guess it was nice that he said that anyway. Other people said the same thing to me. I guess that was nice.

I had a scar on my face afterwards. At least, I thought I did. It was just a little patch of discolored skin on my right cheekbone. At first I was really really upset about it. I'd have to live my entire life with that scar and when people asked why, I'd have to explain that I made myself faceplant into an amplifier.

It eventually went away, and at first I was happy. I didn't want to have to explain that. But thinking back, I think I would kind of like to have a tiny bit of a scar there. Not a huge one, but one so small that I'd have to let you really inspect that area of my face for you to see it. I guess I just want it so I can just have one more thing to show for that season.

I miss Synthesis.

Peace out.