At every Carlmont assembly or football game, students walk in excited to see Drumline ready to entertain the audience with their choreography and upbeat music.
During the start of the 2014-2015 school year, Drumline underwent two major changes. Despite these changes, the group works to fulfill the expectations set by previous years of Drumline.
This year, Drumline dropped four members, decreasing from 12 to eight drummers. Band teacher John DaBaldo had Drumline minimize their size due to behavioral issues from previous years.
Drummer Daniel Wehara said, “It feels really empty. We can’t do as much with only eight people.”
The position of captain was also passed down from graduated student Josh Fagel to senior Peter Brydon.
Brydon said, “With Josh, he ruled everything drumline did. People didn’t have as much influence on choreography or what music we would play. I’m not Josh, so people can say what they want to say. If they want to add a piece of choreography and everybody approves of it, we can add it.”
Taking on the title as captain comes with more responsibilities. Brydon is in charge of everything that makes Drumline run. He writes the choreography, directs practices, and organizes performances for school events as well as public events such as Save the Music.
Brydon said, “I have to control all the chaos at practice and with a bunch of teenage boys, it’s difficult sometimes.”
The work that Brydon and Drumline put in pays off. The audience is able to feel the energy and fun that drumline weaves into their performances.
Junior Kendall Kaufman said, “They definitely are the people that make people spirited. When you’re at a football game, sometimes its just to see Drumline, because every time [their performance is] something different, and every time you know it’s going to be fun or funny, because [the routines are] choreographed and not simply playing drums.”
“Everybody loves to bob their head to the music if it’s a cool beat. Its fun to watch it during the assemblies when other stuff [wasn’t] as entertaining. Drumline is really the cap that ends it at assemblies,” said Brydon.
With a new year ahead of Drumline, the drummers and the students are excited to see what’s in store.
