unity, teamwork, and drums!

Unity and teamwork are two words that surround my work environment everyday.  In order to accomplish all of things for Detour and Echoloud no one person can do it all.  Unity and teamwork takes time, patience, and a lot of practice. But when unity and teamwork are a mastered craft, the result is a product that blows the mind  and leaves you in awe.

Through school I was really involved in marching band, (yeah go ahead and chuckle its okay) it placed a lot of structure in my life and gave me the experience of first hand leadership and teamwork. But as I look back the most important thing it showed me was true unity.  Unlike other sports or team activities when one person is off their game it can’t be made up/covered up by anyone else, the individual out of step with the others just stands out and makes the entire group look or sound bad. They’re are no superstars of the game that scores the points or saves the team at the buzzer, its only the group!

Every once in a while something amazing happens when unity truly clicks.  Outside of high school marching band there is another level of musicianship that truly rocks the house and that is DCI or Drum Corps International.  This is the NFL of band if you will.  These men literally, live eat and breathe music.  They sleep on buses, gym floors and travel across the country for months practicing anywhere there is open space. In 2002, a corp by the name of the Cavaliers, put on one of the greatest live music performances of all time.  With a score of 99.125 they had reached the highest score in DCI history. While all corps in DCI are full of talent and the greatest musicians, the Cavaliers locked into the key…UNITY!

Whether you know anything about band at all is irrelevant.  When you watch this video notice the precision, duplication, and synchronization that takes place. As you watch ask yourself “Am I showing unity in my life? With my work, school, team, marriage, relationship with God and others?”

(if your in a hurry move up to 4:28, if not enjoy the show)
p.s. the shapes on the field are not actually “making” anything imparticular…(common question)