Jake and the Blue Devils

My innocent child took off, the day after his H/S graduation, with this adult circus of marching band enthusiasts. They perform in competitions all across America: from CA to NC; from MN to MS; and points in between. They've performed in these 8 cites during the last 12 days: Dubuque; Indianapolis; Stillwater(MN); Mankato; Battle Creek; Louisville; Tupelo. You can see their entire July schedule here: http://www.bluedevils.org/calendar/

What amazes me is what big business the Blue Devils are, and what big business Drum Core International(DCI) is. The whole thing is a barnstorming tour. They roll into town, hold a giant competitive tournament, then roll on to the next town.
The skill level is quite amazing. The Blue Devils have mini-squads, which are sort of minor league development squads, for younger performers. Jake is one of the youngest performers on the adult squad: the A Squad. He is fortunate to be there - as several hundred tried out for about one hundred postions on the 2006 squad. Candidates came from other nations to try out. Here is the official page of videos which catalogue the 2006 season:
http://www.bluedevils.org/blueview/ The last 60 seconds of Episode 10 (train trip) show a nice sample from this year's July 8 show (Godfather theme) in Indianapolis. Jake is in there somewhere, blowing an Euphonium.

Several have said they wanted to go to Jake's July 20 show(Thus. night) in this area. Sadly, the show will be at Lake Highlands Stadium, in Richardson. The Blue Devils will perform at 10:08 PM. Tickets are $25 each. God Bless if you go to that! You can, instead, if you are an incredibly determined relative, show up at Blue Devil rehearsals and meals. The group will be rehearsing in Frisco on Wed, Thu, Fri. For that schedule, you can click on those days on the calendar: http://www.bluedevils.org/calendar/

Addendum: An account of Jake's and my trip home, during the Thanksgiving holidays, from a Drum Core team try-out. Its about the journey. Thankfully.