By Andy Dittrich
Capital Sound
romeoprovipimpcs@yahoo.com DeKalb 1: "Wow, our gate time isn't 'till like ... 10:35."

Andy Dittrich
I've been marching for five years, and there are any number of things that I have never done, and that I may never get to do: I've never marched DCI Division II finals. I've never won the Friday night show in DeKalb. Until last night, I had never marched on Saturday night at Huskie Stadium. Some things about my years in drum corps I will forget, but that night is something I won't. There will be some that say we didn't deserve to step on the field that night, and some that will forever feel that we did. The only comment I will make, is that I love my corps, and in my mind, we deserve that every night. Unfortunately, for some of us, it could be once in a lifetime. I will be honest, because if you actually read "Project," you deserve honesty. I'm not sure how many people read my column, I'm putting it somewhere in the 15-20 range, but either way, you probably come to read about the ups and downs of a drum corps member. I was definitely angry on Friday night. I don't know why. I've been second place at that show for five years now, and I suppose that it might just be getting old. Sometimes, it's just difficult to deal with. I imagine, that once we get on the DCI Division II/III tour, there could very well be some difficult night, with some frustrating outcomes. However, it is the path I have chosen to lead, knowing full well how things have turned out over these five years. I will love my corps no less, and I will respect every other corps as much as I ever have, for many of them suffer the same pains that I will. Anyway, I had a great time this weekend! Probably the last shows of the year for us where step-off is 9:45 and 10:45. We stayed at our usual site, Huntley Middle School in DeKalb, where the showers get colder by the minute. This year was different though, as Scouts were not there this year, we were able to take the large gym. Friday we put in a six-hour rehearsal day, in which we just tried to clean as much as we could. We played well in the show, and felt great coming off of the field. We were so great in the parking lot that night as well. Easy explanation: I is fun to play clean. We had a blast, perfect conditions for drum corps after some rain earlier in the day, and a great show put on by some great drum corps.       Interruption: Many of you who watched Capital Sound may have noticed that we only have five snares now, and there is a HUGE HOLE next to me. Well, that hole belongs to Rob, who is now a member of the front ensemble, due to his knee problems. Hopefully, by the time we take the field in Dubuque, Iowa, the situation will be solved, and the hole will either be closed down, or filled. Saturday we had seven hours, and got the chance to be rock stars, being the last corps on the field. It was a great crowd, they gave it up for us. We had a great time, and that night is something I would not give up for the world. I may never get to do something like that again, unless Capital Sound gets a performance that late again within the next four years. It was, maybe, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Quote of the week: "We'll do a little 'ATV Drumline.' We'll play 'Chicken-in-a-roll" and I'll start jogging, and you will just try and keep up." -- Brandon King (Snares actually did this on Saturday. It was hard, painful, but for some reason, I ended up enjoying it) No need to adjust your glasses! It's just "Project!" Andy Dittrich is the center snare drummer for Capital Sound, and is a fifth-year member of the corps. In the fall, he will be attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, studying English. He'll be contributing weekly reports to DCI.org through the summer.