Preparation for an NMA reunion is a year-round job, but the hardest work is done in the last days before we get together. That gear--the stands, the PA system, the drums, pianos and computers--has to be moved to the hotel.
There are no roadies. There are no School of Music "IP" students. There's just us.
In 2010, Death Valley was booked up, so we settled for San Antonio, Texas. Terry Chesson and David Blakeley drove a van full of NMA gear from Virginia Beach to San Antonio.
Their advice for anyone who takes a 1,600 mile trip in a vehicle packed tight with drums, pianos, amplifiers, basses, music stands, lights and cartons of reunion gear: somewhere in that rat's nest, probably buried at the bottom, is a snare drum. Before turning on the ignition, turn off the snares. If you don't, they will rattle and roll, mile after mile, day after day.
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Terry and David looked a bit frazzled when they arrived at the hotel. They've just driven halfway across the country in a permanent buzz roll.
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When you're an officer in the Navy, you get to dine at the "O" club and relax in the wardroom. When you're an officer in the NMA, you get to haul gear around the country.
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