Now this is a classic shot!
OK, here's the damage control for this scandalous picture. In high school (Shippensburg Area Senior High School), I played football and baseball but was also in orchestra and band. I played double bass in orchestra and electric bass in band. However, part of band is marching band. Since I played football, I was not the "traditional" band geek who had to perform at half time and during football games but I was required to perform during parades. Since I didn't have someone to wheel around an amp with a portable generator, playing electric bass was out of the question.
As this picture demonstrates, the drum line is where I ended up. I originally played cymbals (Disney World - Orlando FL parade) but later moved to bass drum after I discovered that the drum line had been misplaying the cadence all year long. Of course, in my head, I imagined the bass drum sounding like a detuned LinnDrum kick but that's another story.
The blurry man running in the left of the picture is Kurt Hargleroad. Mr (let's be formal) Hargleroad was the band and orchestra instructor/leader at SASHS. More importantly, he was my mentor and friend. He taught me double bass technique, music theory, and severely expanded my electric bass playing abilities and love of music. His instruction and encouragement helped to land me (at age 17) my first professional music gig as electric bassist for Gil James and the Sounds of the Decades (Big Band music) and paved the way for my entrance to college as a music education major at IUP. He is a key figure from my life and deserves all my thanks and respect.
P.S. Thanks to Kim (Scott) Hepfer for sharing this magical moment from the Newburg Parade in Spring 1988 (CORRECTION - 05/17/87).
So, if you happen to play electric bass (Matt Norcross) and electric guitar (Dirk Frey) in high school band, what are you supposed to do when it comes time to fulfilling your marching band duties? Well, this picture holds the answer... Play bass drum (and imagine it sounds like a LinnDrum).
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