Bandaholics Anonymous

[Samuel Culper]

My name is Sam and I'm a bandaholic.

This time of year is painful, because the next marching season is so far away and there really is no news of any sort.  I have two marching seasons left as a band parent and as much as I don't want that time to go by, I can't wait until marching season arrives again.

So, I bide my time watching videos of previous year's performances.  And I may have watched the video of retreat and awards from UIL 6A this past fall a couple (dozen) times.  Still gives me chills.  Every time.  Without fail.

I'm involved in planning for some of our band's activities for this coming year, so that also helps.  But, I'm the guy who obsesses over details and wants to talk shop way too much.  I have to check myself to keep from driving my committee members nuts.

When it's all done at the end of the 2020 marching season I am going to be beside myself with the huge hole left in my life.  I will have to find a new hobby.  Seriously.  I'll still follow, but I won't be INVOLVED and that will suck.

Am I alone in all this?

Thanks for listening.

[madisonbandman1]

Ditto. On every level.


My name is Cody. As most of you might know from my signature on other forums, I’m a junior in high school and I play trombone. Band has impacted my life in more ways than you could know. For starters, it has impacted my health. Since I was born, I have suffered from severe asthma (among other things). Until I joined band, this illness stuck to me like glue from rat traps. I would have severe asthma attacks at least once every two weeks. Doctors told me I would never grow out of it. Now, asthma strikes once every couple of months, and the attacks aren’t as severe. Just a simple treatment of albuterol through a machine called a nebulizer is all I need. If that didn’t tell you how much I appreciate band, I don’t know what will.

Now, I have two passions in my life. Music and Meteorology. As a scholar, I plan on wrestling an odd-ball pair of double majors at the University of Oklahoma. Imagine handling honors band and six college classes, being enrolled in two different colleges at the same tine as high school (I bet most of you did the same thing though).

Before band, I had little to no social skills. I didn’t care about personal image and went to school in clothes I would be appalled to see myself wearing now, many people bullied me, and I only had one focus. School. Now, you may say that is a good focus, but one grows miserable when they start aging into adolescence and they have nobody to talk to. So, being musically inclined, I joined band, and both my social character and confidence grew. I was already confident in pretty much all other aspects, sometimes too confident, but at times I came off as a jerk to others, even if I didn’t mean to.

So, after I graduate I plan to take this further. With my newfound obsession with drum corps, I plan to raise money and audition for a corps going into my freshmen year of college for the summer going into my sophomore year. In taking part in this activity, I am preparing for two different career choices. I’ll have the ability to be a meteorologist, my first and strongest passion, or become a director, preferably at the high school or drum corps level.

Band has taught me a lot, more than the average person’s bag of cliches. I hope I can continue to learn from it.


Well, thank you for taking the tine to read that wall of text. Oh, and, nice to meet you! Love y’all!

[madisonbandman1]

Oh, and I can’t forget how much I have learned from y’all. I have definitely matured a lot since I joined these forums thanks to you all. Sometimes I wonder how many people y’all have watched mature on screen through the years.

[QuadSquad03]

Mar 19, 2019 16:14:40 GMT -6 madisonbandman1 said:

Ditto. On every level.


My name is Cody. As most of you might know from my signature on other forums, I’m a junior in high school and I play trombone. Band has impacted my life in more ways than you could know. For starters, it has impacted my health. Since I was born, I have suffered from severe asthma (among other things). Until I joined band, this illness stuck to me like glue from rat traps. I would have severe asthma attacks at least once every two weeks. Doctors told me I would never grow out of it. Now, asthma strikes once every couple of months, and the attacks aren’t as severe. Just a simple treatment of albuterol through a machine called a nebulizer is all I need. If that didn’t tell you how much I appreciate band, I don’t know what will.

Now, I have two passions in my life. Music and Meteorology. As a scholar, I plan on wrestling an odd-ball pair of double majors at the University of Oklahoma. Imagine handling honors band and six college classes, being enrolled in two different colleges at the same tine as high school (I bet most of you did the same thing though).

Before band, I had little to no social skills. I didn’t care about personal image and went to school in clothes I would be appalled to see myself wearing now, many people bullied me, and I only had one focus. School. Now, you may say that is a good focus, but one grows miserable when they start aging into adolescence and they have nobody to talk to. So, being musically inclined, I joined band, and both my social character and confidence grew. I was already confident in pretty much all other aspects, sometimes too confident, but at times I came off as a jerk to others, even if I didn’t mean to.

So, after I graduate I plan to take this further. With my newfound obsession with drum corps, I plan to raise money and audition for a corps going into my freshmen year of college for the summer going into my sophomore year. In taking part in this activity, I am preparing for two different career choices. I’ll have the ability to be a meteorologist, my first and strongest passion, or become a director, preferably at the high school or drum corps level.

Band has taught me a lot, more than the average person’s bag of cliches. I hope I can continue to learn from it.


Well, thank you for taking the tine to read that wall of text. Oh, and, nice to meet you! Love y’all!


I know I'm a few years behind you, but I am thinking about going to OU and am definitely trying out for drum corp. Maybe we will cross paths sometime in the future

[madisonbandman1]

Mar 19, 2019 17:56:01 GMT -6 QuadSquad03 said:

Mar 19, 2019 16:14:40 GMT -6 madisonbandman1 said:

Ditto. On every level.


My name is Cody. As most of you might know from my signature on other forums, I’m a junior in high school and I play trombone. Band has impacted my life in more ways than you could know. For starters, it has impacted my health. Since I was born, I have suffered from severe asthma (among other things). Until I joined band, this illness stuck to me like glue from rat traps. I would have severe asthma attacks at least once every two weeks. Doctors told me I would never grow out of it. Now, asthma strikes once every couple of months, and the attacks aren’t as severe. Just a simple treatment of albuterol through a machine called a nebulizer is all I need. If that didn’t tell you how much I appreciate band, I don’t know what will.

Now, I have two passions in my life. Music and Meteorology. As a scholar, I plan on wrestling an odd-ball pair of double majors at the University of Oklahoma. Imagine handling honors band and six college classes, being enrolled in two different colleges at the same tine as high school (I bet most of you did the same thing though).

Before band, I had little to no social skills. I didn’t care about personal image and went to school in clothes I would be appalled to see myself wearing now, many people bullied me, and I only had one focus. School. Now, you may say that is a good focus, but one grows miserable when they start aging into adolescence and they have nobody to talk to. So, being musically inclined, I joined band, and both my social character and confidence grew. I was already confident in pretty much all other aspects, sometimes too confident, but at times I came off as a jerk to others, even if I didn’t mean to.

So, after I graduate I plan to take this further. With my newfound obsession with drum corps, I plan to raise money and audition for a corps going into my freshmen year of college for the summer going into my sophomore year. In taking part in this activity, I am preparing for two different career choices. I’ll have the ability to be a meteorologist, my first and strongest passion, or become a director, preferably at the high school or drum corps level.

Band has taught me a lot, more than the average person’s bag of cliches. I hope I can continue to learn from it.


Well, thank you for taking the tine to read that wall of text. Oh, and, nice to meet you! Love y’all!


I know I'm a few years behind you, but I am thinking about going to OU and am definitely trying out for drum corp. Maybe we will cross paths sometime in the future
...................................

That would indeed be pretty awesome! Seeing that I will likely be in college for a long period of time, as I hope to pursue a Doctorate in Meteorology, there will definitely be the opportunity assuming you do decide to attend OU, and assuming I get accepted. By any chance do you know what field of study you want to enter?

[QuadSquad03]

Mar 19, 2019 18:33:44 GMT -6 madisonbandman1 said:

Mar 19, 2019 17:56:01 GMT -6 QuadSquad03 said:

I want to Major in percussive studies and minor in teaching. I'm thinking about possibly double majoring with music composition as my second major. I just can't see myself doing something unrelated to music. I have been told that I am very good at teaching people things and I love writing music, so I thought the best job for me would be a  percussion director (or possibly full band director. I focus on percussion, but I know other instruments and I am interested in learning more) for either a high school or a drum corp. 

[LeanderMomma]

Mar 19, 2019 14:47:19 GMT -6 Samuel Culper said:

My name is Sam and I'm a bandaholic.

This time of year is painful, because the next marching season is so far away and there really is no news of any sort.  I have two marching seasons left as a band parent and as much as I don't want that time to go by, I can't wait until marching season arrives again.

So, I bide my time watching videos of previous year's performances.  And I may have watched the video of retreat and awards from UIL 6A this past fall a couple (dozen) times.  Still gives me chills.  Every time.  Without fail.

I'm involved in planning for some of our band's activities for this coming year, so that also helps.  But, I'm the guy who obsesses over details and wants to talk shop way too much.  I have to check myself to keep from driving my committee members nuts.

When it's all done at the end of the 2020 marching season I am going to be beside myself with the huge hole left in my life.  I will have to find a new hobby.  Seriously.  I'll still follow, but I won't be INVOLVED and that will suck.

Am I alone in all this?

Thanks for listening.

Awww Sam. You aren’t alone. You know that. Look at me!    There’s even a band life AFTER being a band parent, Sam. And it’s a heck of a lot of fun!

[LeanderMomma]

Mar 19, 2019 16:51:54 GMT -6 madisonbandman1 said:

Oh, and I can’t forget how much I have learned from y’all. I have definitely matured a lot since I joined these forums thanks to you all. Sometimes I wonder how many people y’all have watched mature on screen through the years.

You’re a good boy, Cody. It has been a joy watching you grow up on these band forums. I know your parents are proud of you and how much you have matured and of all of your success and goals. Keep it up!

[flplantguy]

Just remember there is no october. Only bandtober lol. And its power absorbs parts of september and november as well. That time of year always feels different to me, especially diesel exhaust. Reminds me of busses in the parking lot at competition. Makes fall more bearable for a plant person like me

[bandnerd03]

Mar 19, 2019 16:14:40 GMT -6 madisonbandman1 said:

Ditto. On every level.


My name is Cody. As most of you might know from my signature on other forums, I’m a junior in high school and I play trombone. Band has impacted my life in more ways than you could know. For starters, it has impacted my health. Since I was born, I have suffered from severe asthma (among other things). Until I joined band, this illness stuck to me like glue from rat traps. I would have severe asthma attacks at least once every two weeks. Doctors told me I would never grow out of it. Now, asthma strikes once every couple of months, and the attacks aren’t as severe. Just a simple treatment of albuterol through a machine called a nebulizer is all I need. If that didn’t tell you how much I appreciate band, I don’t know what will.

Now, I have two passions in my life. Music and Meteorology. As a scholar, I plan on wrestling an odd-ball pair of double majors at the University of Oklahoma. Imagine handling honors band and six college classes, being enrolled in two different colleges at the same tine as high school (I bet most of you did the same thing though).

Before band, I had little to no social skills. I didn’t care about personal image and went to school in clothes I would be appalled to see myself wearing now, many people bullied me, and I only had one focus. School. Now, you may say that is a good focus, but one grows miserable when they start aging into adolescence and they have nobody to talk to. So, being musically inclined, I joined band, and both my social character and confidence grew. I was already confident in pretty much all other aspects, sometimes too confident, but at times I came off as a jerk to others, even if I didn’t mean to.

So, after I graduate I plan to take this further. With my newfound obsession with drum corps, I plan to raise money and audition for a corps going into my freshmen year of college for the summer going into my sophomore year. In taking part in this activity, I am preparing for two different career choices. I’ll have the ability to be a meteorologist, my first and strongest passion, or become a director, preferably at the high school or drum corps level.

Band has taught me a lot, more than the average person’s bag of cliches. I hope I can continue to learn from it.


Well, thank you for taking the tine to read that wall of text. Oh, and, nice to meet you! Love y’all!

I graduated High School in 2003, but have still followed the Marching Arts since I graduated. Watching LD Bell, Westfield, and Ronald Reagan in the early to mid 2000's really pulled me in and I've been hooked since. My sister was also in marching band from 2013-2016, which gave me an extra excuse to stay involved. 

Like you, I also have a huge passion for weather. I've been obsessed with weather since I was 5 years old. The Weather Channel was my favorite channel growing up. I had been accepted to OU for meteorology, but unfortunately life took me in another direction and I wasn't able to go. But, I still follow weather closely to this day. I wish you the best of luck and hope you are able to follow your passions.