Jacques "Tubajake" Edel first marched in the contra line of Revolution in 2005, the year when the corps returned to the field after taking off the previous season. Although we never liked to go on first at competitions, we had no choice in 2005 since Revolution had not fielded a corps in 2004. We were first on and usually last to leave due. We had just finished our brass warm-up and began to line up for our second or third show in Division II & III competition. The horn line began to line up to troop our way to the field when we noticed this other corps in yellow and black uniforms stop their visual warm-up to make two lines for us to pass between. They yelled and cheered as we began trooping to the field, and I'm sure we all took notice of the giant "!" on their uniforms.
The infamous Impulse "!".
After we performed and undressed from uniform, the loading crew and quite a few others wanted to see who in the world was cheering us on. Turns out it was a group known as Impulse, a Division II group who helped us realize that drum corps could be fun, as long as you got the job done. From that show on, we tried our best to catch each others' shows and root for our new best friends. We advanced from Prelims to Divisional Finals at the 2005 DCI World Championships, and we couldn't have been more determined to perform our butts off to try and sneak into the Grand Finals. We heard from the stands—as we were taking the field—a yell of, "Impulse loves Revolution!" A large number of members had run in half-uniform to make it in time for our show. As the announcer asked the drum majors Traci and Tim if the corps was ready, we could hear Impulse in the stands shout, "They were born ready!"
Revolution meets before taking the field during the 2005 DCI World Championships.
Giz and I were near each other in the opening set and looked at each other and without saying a word, knew that we would do everything to get back into the stands in time for Impulse's show. Well, we all performed our hearts out. We got back to the trailer, loaded and undressed, then ran back to see Impulse's show, "The Impulsables." Unfortunately, while loading the trailer, I broke my glasses, yet I was determined to give back to Impulse the extreme love they showed us that season. Fast forward to the 2006 season. It is the middle of July in the Texas heat, 100 degrees plus, with almost 100 percent humidity, and Revolution is about to get to the Houston show in a day or two. We were still in search of baritone and contra players. Sar?©, one of my friends in California that I had met at one of the Division II & III shows the year before, played baritone for Impulse in 2005, but did not return this year. I gave her a call anyway to see if she had finished summer school yet, and if she still wanted to march. Finding the money to go on tour was a factor in her not coming out in 2006, but she still kept her hopes a little high. Sure enough, a miracle happened for her. One of her friends from high school randomly called her and asked her if she still wanted to fly over to Texas to march with Revolution as his treat. Sar?© took the opportunity. It was around this time that she told me that Impulse had moved into Division III for 2006. Because of that, I felt a little awkward since Revolution would now be competing against our Impulse friends from last year.
Revolution sopranos at the 2006 DCI World Championships.
We picked up Sar?© at the San Antonio show along with our last contra player. They were added to the drill by the time we hit our first Division II & III show in Frisco, Texas. When we were in the lot at Frisco, something finally hit me. Sar?©'s sister was the drum major of Impulse. I completely forgot about that until I saw Res?ˇ, who amazingly looks very much like her sister. This made the situation extremely strange. After a couple of minutes, some staff from Impulse came by to wave to Sar?©.
Impulse's drum majors accept the Div. III championship flag.
After the Frisco show, we saw Impulse again in Van Buren and met some of the members. Once again, they cheered for us. Even though we compete against each other, we all still sweat, bled, and cried for the same reason—to give the crowd our best performance possible. The fun we have in Division II & III with other corps is truly indescribable. To the corps that have members I know someone by name, you did a great job and I hope to see you next season. This was truly an amazing year for all divisions. It was a true battle until the end.

Michael Boo has been involved with drum and bugle corps since 1975, when he marched his first of three seasons with the Cavaliers.

He has a bachelor's degree in music education and a master's degree in music theory and composition.
   
He has written about the drum corps activity for over a quarter century for publications such as Drum Corps World, and presently is involved in a variety of projects for Drum Corps International, including souvenir program books, CD liner notes, DCI Update and Web articles, and other endeavors. Michael currently writes music for a variety of idioms, is a church handbell and vocal choir director, an assistant director of a community band, and a licensed Realtor in the state of Indiana. His other writing projects are for numerous publications, and he has published an honors-winning book on the history of figure skating. His hobbies include TaeKwonDo and hiking the Indiana Dunes. But more than anything, Michael is proud to love drum corps and to be a part of the activity in some small way, chronicling various facets of each season for the enjoyment of others.