As Pacific Crest drum corps travels during their 53 day summer tour, they made a quick stop for rehearsal and a practice performance in one member’s home town on Thursday.
Brock Allen, a 2013 Brownwood High School graduate, was back on his home field to practice with Drum Corps International’s Pacific Crest marching drum and bugle corps. Composed of 150 members whose ages range from 15 to 21, the group is diverse and full of talent. Membership is highly selective and each of the musicians in the corps were selected through a grueling audition process. The young musicians spend their entire summer learning new music and intense marching drills designs to entertain fans across the nation. DCI is composed of 23 such marching drum and bugle corps located from all over the United States.
The performance of three selections was held at Gordon Wood Stadium for a good sized crowd, including many of Allen’s friends, former teachers and family. His parents, Bryan and Kathy Allen were excited to see their son, even if the visit was brief. Allen auditioned for his place in the group on Memorial Day and left for California to join Pacific Crest on June 7th and immediately went to work with the group to prepare for the tour.
The intensity of the rehearsals are exhausting but the experience is worth it, according to Allen.
“It’s exhausting, there’s not a lot of free time with rehearsals and performances all day,” said Allen. “It’s better than I imagined it would be. It’s exciting; I’ve met so many new people and seen lots of different places (during the tour).”
Allen stated that he has faced some challenges; the most difficult was to learn a new instrument, the mellophone (a brass instrument) which was one spot available when he sent his videotaped audition to DCI. His usual instrument is a woodwind instrument, the saxophone, according to Allen. He was a little homesick, so the stop in Brownwood was great for Allen, even if he could only visit a short while with family and friends.
“It’s all worth it, the exhilaration at the end of the show, fans cheering and clapping. It makes me feel like I did a good job,” said Allen.
With the busy schedule and intense rehearsals, Allen hasn’t had much free time and has even lost weight. He stated that the first week he lost fifteen pounds.
Drum Corps manager David Pham explained that the group is always practicing, taking brief breaks for meals during the tour and that support staff (often parents and volunteers) helps prepare and serve the meals at each stop. The tour group travels on charter buses with a semi-truck filled with a trailer load of supplies and equipment. Occasionally, the group will stop at a mall to eat when there is more free time.
Pham along with the executive director and approximately 20 instructional staff members help the drum corps members to perfect their performances which he explained are more like a stage production.
Pacific Crest will participate in 100 competitive events in 38 states during their tour, which will conclude at the National Finals in Indianapolis, Indiana August 7-11.
After the tour concludes, Allen plans to return home with family before he packs up to attend Texas Tech University on August 16th. He is scheduled to report to band practice at Tech on August 17th, according to Allen’s family.
Pictured above is Allen during the Pacific Crest practice performance in Brownwood. Please see additional photos below along with videos of the group’s performance.
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Pictured above, left to right are: Bryan Allen, Kathy Allen, BHS band directors Leslie & David Lambert, and BISD teacher Dean Kiesling.
Allen visits with his parents during a meal break. Pictured left is Pacific Crest drum corps manager David Pham.
