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at Go Graham Go. 

If you have never experienced IDL (Indoor Drumline) you should.  This is a unique musical feast to the ears.  All percussion, IDL uses all manner of drums, including a brake drum.  Yes, a brake drum from an automobile!  Additionally, you will experience keyboards, guitar, xylophones, bells, chimes, cymbals, and others I am surely forgetting.

Frankie is a member of IDL at her high school.  This is her second year.  Last year Frankie was the dancer in the show and I attended one competition and a special family of IDLers performance of their show.  This year Frankie plays the bells.  To me this looks like a small double xylophone.  As you know, if you are a follower of my blog, Frankie primarily plays flute and piccolo.  She does play piano and this is proving to be helpful in her learning to play bells for IDL.

Valentine’s Day is a day for love and what better way to celebrate than to watch the beating of many, drums!  I was in charge of the door.  This is very important to the flow of the performances.  Timing is critical.  We were, ahead of schedule?  Really, we were.  The first group was a middle school group.  They played for about 30 seconds, if that.  There was to be a five minute break before starting with the next division, but the next school was ready and the judges allowed them to start early.  From then on we were ahead of schedule by nine minutes, or the time the performers have to set up, play, and leave the floor.  This made for a very relaxing day.  Lulu was a band guide.  So this turned out to be a girl’s only day.

Our school came in six of seven.  The show is tricky and they are scheduling more practice time to be better prepared for their next competition.  They have competitions every Saturday until the end of March.  I plan to attend them all.  These can be great fun and I get to spend time with Frankie.   This is important since she plans to go away to school in the Fall, if finances allow.

See if your local high school, or college, has an IDL group.  If so, then support the school and attend a show.  And, for those still curious about IDL, check out this video: 

Lately I am reminded of just how very long ago it was that I was in high school.  Two, not one, but two notifications have been sent to me regarding my 20 year reunion.  Seriously?  Has it been 20 years already?  At least I was invited this time.  They never did find me for my 10th.  I did hear about it, but it was held on my birthday and not the way I would choose to spend that particular day.  Twenty years.  

Yes, the math would put me at graduating in 1989.  The last class of the eighties.  The first graduating class of my high school.  Twenty years.   Now I am remembering the music, the bands, the HAIR.  Oh, yes, this was the time of the metal hair bands.  You know, when boys were boys but looked more like girls.  Big hair.  Not quite the beehive of the fifties, but big hair nonetheless.  I had big hair.  Not like I could really help it.  My hair is curly, wavy, frizzy, pick an adjective.  I had bangs and knew how to use them.  

And then there are the clothes.  Remember the zippers, everywhere!  Tight pants, stretchy pants (these are back in style, what a shame), leg warmers, day glow, Member’s Only, mini skirts (think Madonna).  I recall wearing plaid shorts with a white t-shirt and two different knee-high socks with my yellow Converse high-tops (today these are lovingly called Chucks) folded over.  Frankie once called these particular shoes ugly and something she would NEVER wear.  Check out that picture above, that is Frankie wearing really high-top Chucks.  She has since added her own bit of flair by partially painting them pink with blue stars.  

So, the question becomes, do we choose our own style or is it chosen for us?  Does Frankie dress this way because she really wants to (probably to some degree), but did she start because of my influence?  You should see her sock collection.  And is this of any concern?  No.  Frankie is artistic.  Artists are a bit nutty.  They have their own style and move to the beat of their own drum.  Frankie is no exception.  No low cut, too high, too much showing for her, or Lulu for that matter.  Frankie wears shorts under her skirts, just in case.  Recently I bought her a cute skirt at Old Navy for $1.00 and she wears that over her jeans.  It is way too short to wear alone unless you are wearing it over a bathing suit. 

Teen style.  Do you worry about your teens style?  I don’t.  Why, because I encourage my girls to express themselves without having to show too much of themselves.  They see others dress provocatively.  Who wants that kind of attention, really?  Why not get it in a more positive way.   Talk to your kids and get involved.  Do not put down everything, but suggest alternatives.  This works better than you would think.  Be a part of their decisions or you may find you have lost any and all say.

Frankie and Lulu did not have school Friday.  Well, school was in session and they did go there, but then they took a road trip to attend two days of all-district band.  Friday was spent learning music and learning to play with other teens from area schools who were honored with making the cut for this grand opportunity.

Let’s take this back a step.  In December the girls attended try-outs for the all-district band in our area.  Neither of the girls have made all-districts since middle school.  This was Frankie’s last year and she was ready.  This year the kids had to leave their cell phones on the bus or they would be automatically disqualified.  And, the group left before the results were in.  That was okay, the band director stayed.  He called Frankie later that day with the good news.  There are two levels of band playing, concert and symphonic.  Symphonic is the best, but concert is okay by us.  Frankie had made 3rd chair flute in concert band and Lulu made 12th chair clarinet in concert band.  They would be playing together this time around.

Frankie made 7th chair symphonic on flute in 8th grade.  Lulu made 1st chair symphonic on bass clarinet in 7th grade and 3rd chair symphonic on clarinet in 8th grade.  Lulu was not going to try out in 7th grade and on Frankie’s suggestion she tried out on the bass clarinet, less competition.  This is what gave Lulu the confidence to join the high school marching band in 8th grade.  Yes, in our county 8th graders can join high school extracurricular activities if there is a need.  

This past Saturday was the concert.  The girls rehearsed Friday and a good part of Saturday before the concert.  It was wonderful!  I swear if you closed your eyes and listened you would have thought it was a professional orchestra.  I bought the cd and will post a snippet as long as I can without copyright or other infringement.  I do not think this will be an issue.  They played five pieces and it was the most enjoyable concert of theirs I have attended to date.

The other day I spoke about spending the day at JMU with Frankie and her boyfriend Richard.  In doing so I spoke of the stress associated with applying, and auditioning, for college.  In the days that passed, Frankie has become more stressed and somewhat down in her concern over acceptance for college.  She has applied at JMU, Radford University, and Randolph-Macon College.  Frankie still needs to audition for Radford, but will need to schedule an appointment for this.  The up side to this is the shortened day.  There will not be hundreds of others, hopefully, scheduled to audition during the same timeframe.  We can check out the campus and see if this might be a good fit for Frankie.

Now, on to the reason for this post.  Frankie has been accepted into Randolph-Macon College.   It is not her first choice.  Yet, it is a good school.  In recent years it made news when it decided to go coed after years of being a women’s only college.  She also has been awarded a $9,500 scholarship, renewable annually.  The admissions department was impressed with her dedication to music.  She has been a member of the marching band 4 years, IDL (indoor drumline) 2 years, Jazz band 1 year, and participated in the high school musical 2 years.  Frankie has held the office of Band Historian 2 years and was the flute/piccolo section leader this past year.  She does all of this while maintaining a 3.8 GPA.  A parent could not be more proud.

No matter what happens with Frankie’s other college applications it looks like she will be attending a four-year school come Fall.  This could be a really good opportunity for her.  She will be close to Richmond and D.C.  This would be only a short train or bus ride up to New York or New Jersey where we have family.  Randolph-Macon College offers work opportunities for students wishing to work on campus.  There are tutoring positions available at local elementary schools, too.  Frankie wants to be a teacher and this would be great training.  Now I am getting excited.

Congratulations, Frankie!  Be proud of yourself and your accomplishments; I am.