Update from The Cadets on tour
Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Hot and busy, reports the tour blogger

“The turf was 106 degrees — and we were practicing on that!” said Julian Johnson, first year trumpet player from West Orange, NJ.

Warm enough for ya?

YEA! Webmaster Charity Musielak, minding the "souvvie trailer" on tour with The Cadets, reports in her blog about the three days  The Cadets are spending in muggy Martin, Tenn. Near-record highs in the upper 90s are accompanying the humidity.

Though “everyone pushed real hard, no one had to drop out of rehearsal due to the heat,” Johnson told her proudly.

Gino Cipriani, the brass caption head, could be heard on the University of Tennessee’s stadium PA reminding all members to speak up if they needed more water in addition to the frequent rehydrating breaks, or if anyone was feeling dizzy or woozy.

Learning is an ongoing tour task

Even though every day is not a show day, the work does not stop for The Cadets on tour.

The members have rehearsal until 11 p.m. On Tuesday, they learned new music in sectionals during the day, and in the afternoon and evening, they learned a new drill, Musielak reports.

Keeping everyone spiffy

Administrative team members were also using the down time to do some uniform cleaning.

Uniforms have to be disassembled into washable parts so members can clean them at a local laundromat. It takes two days for The Cadets to clean all the parts to all their uniforms, Musielak notes in her blog. Seamstresses and Cadets Maroon & Gold Club members DeAnna Imbro and Linda Vitale met The Cadets on tour for two days just to do needed uniform adjustments.

Souvenirs readied

Also during the performance hiatus, the souvenir team did a full trailer inventory, getting ready to replenish their stock with a large shipment expected at their next housing site on Friday in Illinois. Space is necessarily limited in the trailer, and brisk sales can wreak havoc with the previously neatly stacked shirts and other items.

Food and other fixins

With all their hard work, The Cadets certainly never want to take a break from meals, Musielak reports. And the tour food service volunteers deliver! The Cadets food captain, Matt, fired up the huge outdoor grill for some lunchtime hamburgers and then steak for dinner. Between meals, food truck driver Jeff “Stony” Stonesifer, who is also a mechanic in another life, went around to all the Corps' vehicles and fixed up some lights, wiring, trailer hitches and other minor repairs where needed. Musielak photographed him as he drove by on the "Gator," testing a new trailer hitch.

Back to "work"

The Cadets are next performing at DCI Central Illinois at Illinois State University  on Friday. See their schedule here.

To see more from an insider’s view of the daily Corps life, become an ALL Access video subscriber today!

The Cadets' next stop in the Northeast will be at Pennsylvania's West Chester University August 5. Click here for tickets.