Thunder brings movement, color, design
This summer thunder won’t send you scurrying for cover.
Summer Thunder 2006 hits Central Valley High School stadium Sunday at 7 p.m. for an evening of elite-level drum corps performances.
Hosted by the hometown Spokane Thunder, the competition features the Blue Knights from Denver and the Santa Clara Vanguard, both Division I units and the Seattle Cascades and Oregon Crusaders, both Division II programs.
The Spokane Thunder, starting their second year of competition, were the No. 3-ranked Division III unit in the country after their first competition earlier this week.
“For competitions there is usually a theme,” show director Kay Feely said. “For this show, the theme is ‘Firestorm: Nature’s Wrath and Rebirth.’ That should be familiar to most people in this area. You’ll see that played out on the field.”
Drum and bugle corps competition is fierce, brassy and heavily syncopated.
“The best explanation is that it’s similar to marching band competitions,” Feely said. “The difference is that these are professional-level marching bands minus woodwinds. The corps is made up of brass and percussion, with an auxiliary group made up of flags and rifles. They use arrangements of classical music set to a field formation. There’s lots of movement, lots of color and design.”
Spokane Thunder, 65 members strong, is made up of Spokane-area musicians between the ages of 14 and 21.
“You have to dedicate yourself fully to something like this,” Feely said. “We start rehearsals in December or January. Starting in May we meet once a week. Once school lets out, we go into two weeks of 12-hour rehearsals – from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m.”
The commitment is made both personally and financially.
Members must pay monthly dues to be part of the unit, and the cost of travel is divided evenly among the membership.”
Right now, the group is in the middle of the first stage of its summer tour, with competitions in Pasco Tuesday and Boise Wednesday. The group will be home refining its routines for the remainder of July before heading out on its national tour.
The season culminates in the World Championships in Madison, Wis.
It’s not a glamorous tour, Feely said, but it is fun.
“We travel in two buses, with a semitruck to haul equipment and a couple auxiliary vehicles,” she said. “We have volunteer cooks who travel with us and prepare our own food, and we don’t stay in hotels. On a tour like this, we’re sleeping in sleeping bags on gym floors.
“But when you send your kid off on a tour like this, you get a different kid back after. They learn a lot.”
The Spokane Thunder is in the verge of growing from Division III competition to Division II.
“I would have to say that it’s going to happen sooner rather than later,” Feely said. “A lot depends on the numbers we get out. Going from Division III to Division II is a big step, but not as big as going from Division II to Division I. To compete at the Division I level requires a huge commitment of time and money.
“At the Division I level a corps will compete in as many as 30 or 40 shows per summer with a lot of travel.”
Tickets for the event are available at the gate or through TicketsWest outlets.