In the words of my buddy Kratville, “Oh man, Princeton! Oh man!” Yeah, In a few hours I’m going to be taking off and heading back to Old Nass. There’s going to be friends, football, and Band stuff. I’m super psyched. Plus, it’s road trippin with Dan and Josh. Don’t worry, there will be pictures all over the place. Boo-yah!
Tos and I always liked to refer to my advisor, Brian Kernighan as the Great Sage. This stemmed from a great picture of the professor at commecement a few years ago. It further helped that he would often dispense sage like advice to anyone who wanted to hear it. And he’d talk to anyone, for hours if given the chance. He just liked to teach.
So when I saw this in the Prince today. I was pretty excited. I’m not sure if he’ll be writing more,but I certainly hope so. He’s just fun to listen to/read.
I just heard that on Monday Night Football. And Yes, I do. But unlike most of th epeople on the planet, my moment isn’t something I watched on TV. My Super Dome moment is my freshman year at Princeton playing the in ‘Dome as Princeton played UNC. Sure Princeton lost.
But the memories of hanging out with other college bands on Bourbon st. Touring the French Quaurter with the PUB. The Pre-Game concert in front of Super Dome. All of it.
And there is sports back in the Super Dome. Life is good.
So it’s over. Reunions 2003 has come and gone, and I have some how managed to survive all of the insanity. Actually, I did better than survived; I thrived in it. I’m pretty excited about that, actually.
So to start off with, day two of reunions is always the hardest day for anyone in the band, and definitely for those members who make up the officer core. On the second day of reunions, the band must perform its two most important gigs. This first is the annual P-Rade, a parade involving the alumni of the school and their families. The second (and the most important in many peoples opinions) is the Fred E. Fox Memorial Concert, a concert put on the band in memorial to one Fred E. Fox �39.
The first gig of these two gigs (in chronological order) is the Fred E. Fox �39 Memorial Concert. This concert (it is more important than just a gig) is so incredibly important because of the man for whom it is a memorial to. Fred Fox was a member of the board of trustees and a devout Princetonian. One of his many responsibilities was that he became keeper of all the traditions associated with the school and ensuring that they would live on in the current student body. In terms of the band, Fred Fox was also one of our biggest supporters and one of our champions. Many times in our history, the band faced certain dismantlement by the university, and every time, Fred Fox would speak on our behalf and save our hides. Therefore, this concert is of the greatest importance. And the entire band treats it as such.
So yesterday morning, at 11:30 AM, I conducted the Princeton University Band in the Fred E. Fox �39 Memorial Concert. To say that I was nervous would be an understatement. Sarah, who is by far one of the most awesome people, ever, was following me around as I was preparing for rehearsal, feeding me and reminding me to breathe. I was actually pleading with the band to get things done as quickly as possible as to avoid me having a coronary. I was just a weeee bit nervous. Of course, they say if you aren’t, something is obviously wrong.
So how did the actual concert go? Pretty well, if I must say so myself. The band (as usual) sounded very good and we had a good crowd, which definitely helped. The weather could have been better (it rained at one point during the concert) but it definitely didn’t take anything away from the actual performance. Afterwards, I was told it was the best Fred Fox concert ever. I’m not sure how much of that was just ego boost, or honest truth, but it still felt good to hear. I felt good about it, as did the other officers.
Next after that came the one and only P-Rade. For those of you not in Princeton, the P-rade is a parade (clever, aren’t we) that all the old alums participate. The idea is that during reunions, anyone who has ever graduated from the school can come back and party for a few days with their old friends. And the P-Rade is the biggest event. It’s where all the alums who have gathered march through campus in a parade to celebrate all that is Princeton. What is really cool is that the band leads the parade and also leads through the senior class. It is awesome thing to be a part of.
This year, I had the distinct honor of getting to lead the P-Rade. Being one of the two �white coats,� I get to lead the band, which means, I’m one of the first things through the gates of Princeton for the parade. I don’t think I will ever be able to fully describe what it felt like to walk in and see a couple thousand alums cheering as I lead the band through the gates. It was truly awesome. The parade as a gig went incredibly well. We sounded good; we looked good, and we were cool. And by cool I mean, totally sweet.
Possibly one of the most awesome parts of the day was leading the senior class. For most of the P-Rade, we only play Princeton Songs, but for the seniors we start off playing the �party songs.� These songs are Schools Out, Louie Louie, and Tequila. Nothing in my life prepared me for the feeling of hearing the senior class, many of whom have made fun of the band for existing, go crazy when we kicked off School’s Out. It was definitely�amazing (I am at a loss for words).
So yeah, after that was other stuff that I will talk about later. For now, enjoy. The school year is officially over. To the class of 2003, congrats and best of luck in the real world, I’ll be there in a year. To the rest of Princeton folk, I’ll see you guys in a couple of months, and I can’t. To Sarah, I love you, hon, and I already miss you. Alright, time to go chill. I’ve earned it.
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