Free On The Field From Denver, Colorado...The Blue Knights!: One Member's Experience Of The 1994 Summer National Tour Ebooks To Download
On the field from Denver, Colorado! is one man's view of the inside world of competitive junior drum corps. Whether you've marched 50 years ago, this past year or just yearned to be standing on the field, Gregory M. Kuzma's personal tale will give you a new appreciation for this musical art form.
Paperback: 206 pages
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.; 1st edition (September 22, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0595322786
ISBN-13: 978-0595322787
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #2,183,509 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #53 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Musical Genres > Military Marches #208 in Books > Teens > Art, Music & Photography > Music #323 in Books > Teens > Sports & Outdoors
GM has constructed a compelling description of life inside the cultural microcosm that is competitive drum and bugle corps. This is a fascinating read for both experienced drum corps "nuts" and those uninitiated to the world of pageantry arts. GM's chronicle of his experiences as a member of the World Class DCI (Drum Corps International) touring corps, the Blue Knights of Denver, CO has something to hold the interest of everyone as he masterfully tells the story of the behind the scenes experiences of himself and his fellow musician athletes as the long, grueling competitive touring season unfolds. From his retelling of anecdotal incidents along the way, to the descriptions of rehearsals in pursuit of perfection, to the recount of competition successes and failures, to the familial bonding of the corps members as they live, work, laugh, and cry together in the course of a months long winter/spring reahearsal season and several weeks of summer competitive touring, covering thousands of miles and dozens of cities across North America leading up to the DCI World Championship in August this book is a "page turner"! These "kids" (aged 14-21) work harder and longer than you can imagine, rehearsing up to 14 hours a day under the blazing sun to learn and perfect an 11-13 minute musical and visual presentation that is then performed every night in competition against 5-10 other touring corps before wildly cheering crowds in football stadiums in a different city every night.
As a former member of the Blue Knights drum and bugle corps (1987-1989), I have a fond place in my heart for the drum corps activity in general, and the Blue Knights in particular. When my wife gave me this book for Christmas, I was enthralled by the idea of an insider's account of a summer on the road with the corps, and I read the book from cover to cover within 24 hours. In retrospect, my expectations may have been too high. Gregory Kuzma's book did bring back a lot of old memories, many good, some bad, of the three years I spent marching with the Blue Knights, but I found its "raw" diary format to be tedious and difficult to read at times. That said, the same dodgy grammar and liberal use of drum corps vernacular (e.g., the word "suck" being used in every imaginable form and context) help give this account a certain authenticity that made me feel like I was 19 all over again, standing in the hot sun on a dusty practice field somewhere near the Wonder Bread factory in north Denver.I particularly enjoyed Kuzma's descriptions of Blue Knights staff members and instructors, many of whom I knew personally. He does an effective job of capturing the agony and grit of 12-hour rehearsals (where tempers often flare), the persistent sleep deprivation, and the frustration of realizing that not everyone in the corps shares the same level of maturity, or commitment to excellence and achievement. In the end, in spite of everything, the 1994 Blue Knights pull together and wow the crowds and judges, earning themselves a deserved spot among Drum Corps International's prestigious Top 12 finalists.This book will definitely appeal to young drum corps members and enthusiasts who don't mind wading through grammatical rough spots, and a good deal of corps jargon.
On the field from Denver, Colorado...The Blue Knights!: One member's experience of the 1994 summer national tour Our Indian Summer in the Far West: An Autumn Tour of Fifteen Thousand Miles in Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and the Indian Territory (The ... on Art and Photography of the American West) Colorado Cache Cookbook: A Goldmine of Recipes from the Junior League of Denver 5 Seconds of Summer: The Ultimate 5SOS Fan Book 2015: 5 Seconds of Summer Book (5 Seconds of Summer Fan Books) Kids Book About Knights! Discover Fun Facts About Knights, Knighthood, Chivalry and Armor of Medieval Warriors of The Middle Ages. American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of Colorado (American Birding Association State Field) Martin Luther: A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought (Guided Tour of Church History) 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs of the Tour de France: A Cyclist's Guide to Riding the Mountains of the Tour National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees--W: Western Region (National Audubon Society Field Guides (Paperback)) National Audubon Society Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals: North America (National Audubon Society Field Guides (Paperback)) National Audubon Society Field Guide to Seashore Creatures: North America (National Audubon Society Field Guides (Hardcover)) National Audubon Society Field Guide to New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont (National Audubon Society Regional Field Guides) National Geographic Photography Field Guide: Digital Black & White (National Geographic Photography Field Guides) Best of the Best from Colorado: Selected Recipes from Colorado's Favorite Cookbooks Dream Homes Colorado: An Exclusive Showcase of Colorado's Finest Architects, Designers and Builders National Park Quarters Collector's Folder: Philadelphia and Denver Mint Collection 2010-2021 National Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States, 8th Edition (National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States) Seamless: Understanding the Bible as One Complete Story (Member Book) National Parks of America: Experience America's 59 National Parks (Lonely Planet) Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: A Field Guide to the Northeastern United States (Jeffrey Glassberg Field Guide Series)
