Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 2, 1995 TAG: 9508020045
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAURICE A. WILLIAMS III STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
On Monday, Kurt Akers was in Huntington, W.Va.; he arrived in the Roanoke Valley on Tuesday; today he'll go to Charlottesville; Friday, he'll be in Allentown, Pa.
His schedule has been this way every summer for three years, since Akers joined The Cadets of Bergen County drum corps. Tuesday, Akers and the Bergenfield, N.J.-based Cadets were among six teams competing in the Summer Music Games of Southwest Virginia at Salem Stadium.
For Akers, a 1992 Salem High School graduate, it was the first time he had been home since the cadets began traveling June 18.
``The time spread and the places we go, it's pretty amazing,'' Akers said.
``It feels very good to be home. This takes a summer of your life away.''
The drum corps members are high school and college students, 16 to 21 years old, who perform elaborate routines that combine music and marching. Each corps consists of drummers and bugle players and may have as many as 128 performers.
Corps members pay dues that range from $300 to $1,000 to help cover the expenses of food, housing and travel for the summer. Some of them also hold fund-raising events.
Each corps is judged on its execution of music, drills and overall quality. They earn points toward a ranking. The Cadets are six-time world champions and are ranked second so far this year. The group was formed after World War I by veterans who performed in parades.
Akers attends Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave and plans to transfer to James Madison University in fall 1996. He wants a career in music. He plays the bass drum for the Cadets, as he did for his high school's marching band.
The drummer learned about the corps through a friend who was a corps member. He auditioned for the Cadets and was accepted while in high school, but didn't join until he finished.
The drummer drives to Bergenfield one weekend a month from November to May to rehearse. Once he finished high school, he began intense practices that last 12 hours a day.
On Tuesday, the Cadets pulled into Roanoke at 5 a.m. Members put sleeping bags on the floor of the National Guard Armory for a few winks before a morning practice. After a lunch break, members practiced again before the night's performance in Salem.
Corps members travel in buses, while trucks transport their instruments, equipment and uniforms. A second truck has a kitchen and hauls the corps' food. The members travel with a staff of about 50 that includes cooks, seamstresses, drivers, instructors and directors.
``It gets monotonous, really,'' Akers said. ``You start to get into a pattern. You wake up in the morning, you practice all day.'' He said the directors occasionally let members tour cities and watch movies.
But the crowd reaction makes the long practices in the heat and living on the road worthwhile, Akers said. ``It's the high of the crowd. When we're out there doing the show and there are two or three thousand people applauding for what you did, it's a big high.''
Two frequent crowd members are Akers' parents, Gerald and Sharon. They travel to nearby competitions and plan to attend the finals in Buffalo, N.Y., this month.
``We enjoy them very much,'' Sharon Akers said. ``Not just The Cadets, but all the other corps. They're very entertaining.''
But the Akerses added that it has been difficult not having their son at home most of the year.
``I'm not crazy about it,'' Gerald Akers said. ``We miss him.''
He said the strenuous practices his son and the other corps members undergo are beneficial.
``It's a learning experience, it really is,'' he said.
This year will be Kurt's last, because corps members cannot be older than 21. He said if students with an interest in music can handle the commitment, he would encourage them to try the corps.
``It's just a heck of an experience. It's not only about performing with all these people, it's about teamwork.''
by CNB