EVERETT – Even after they finished, they didn’t break formation.
The band members – who had just finished a fast-paced drill performance on the Mariner High School football field – marched out of the stadium in single-file to the pound of a drum beat.
When they reached the parking lot to the east of the stadium, the person in front of the line came to a halt. The rest of the line spiraled around that person, everyone still marching, until everyone stood in a tight circle.
Even when not performing, the bands of Drum Corps International – a competitive league for marching bands from around the nation – remain disciplined.
“These kids are very dedicated, and almost psychotic,” said Pat Davis, a board member of Seattle-based Cascades Drum &Bugle Corps, one of the league’s bands.
On Saturday, several of the league’s Division II and Division III teams competed at Mariner High School. The competition was one of the last before the league’s national championships, which are scheduled in August at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
To compete in the league is fun but grueling, Davis said.
Bands traveled to the competition in Everett from as far as New Jersey and Massachusetts.
Most bands cover about 12,000 miles per year while driving to different events. They travel in caravans, too. It’s not unusual for a band with 50 to 100 members to need three buses, a staff vehicle, a van, a motor home and two tractor trailers – one for gear and another for cooking.
Everett resident Laura Myers has a 17-year-old daughter, Shawna Myers, who is a member of Cascades Drum &Bugle Corps, a Division I band.
Once, when it was too hot to practice during the day, the band would practice at night between shows. Then they’d sleep on the bus en route to their next competition, Laura Myers said.
“Drum Corps taught her so much about self discipline and working hard,” she said.
Injuries aren’t uncommon, either. The instruments are heavy, and sometimes band members are actually running in formation, Davis said.
After the national championships, many Drum Corps International members will go straight to their high school or college band camps.
“The kids themselves are pretty worn out by the end of the summer,” Davis said.
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
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