There’s this theory of cognitive development that says there are two times in your brain’s lifespan when it is exploding with new connections at unheard of speed. The first is infancy, and the second is adolescence.
The theme for my final indoor year was The Horror Year. The show looked amazing and the music was more challenging than it had ever been. It was my senior year. I wanted to go out a champion.
Of course, things don’t always work out the way you want them to.
I was all talk.
Ask anyone who played in the line that year what the theme was and they’ll probably say The Cartoon Year. But there’s also a good chance they’ll call it The Jungle Year.
I totally ripped that title off from Tony Hoagland. That’s the name of a book of poetry he put out in 2003 and it always struck me as funny. But seriously, it’s time for me to talk about me. It’s going to get super awkward, but trust me when I tell you it was much harder for me to write than it will be for you to read.
The Elvis show opened with “Heartbreak Hotel,” a solid opening number that showcased, among other things, Joel’s pelvis.
For Tom and Joel’s senior year, Blake decided we should to take on The King himself, Elvis Presley. Elvis was a good singer, and he probably knew three chords on the guitar. But it wasn’t his musical prowess that made him an icon. It was his legendary performances. Frankly, I can’t imagine a more perfect fit.
We haven’t spent a lot of time talking about the band director up to this point. So…I guess we should do that now. I guess.
So there’s these things called “huntin’ camps.”
Anyway, back to that indoor show. Back to The Spy Year.