Hey everyone. My name is Michael Rockwell (19), but most people in this activity know me as Rocky. I played bass 5 here last year (#MadBass5) and I’m psyched to be back this year for round 2. Last summer was my first summer marching drum corps, and I was only 18, fresh out-of high school. Before then my experience consisted of being a member of the Walled Lake Central Marching band and Walled Lake Percussion in the winter. I was also privileged to be chosen as a member of the US All American Marching band in 2013. Currently I am a student at the University of Michigan where I’m studying for a degree in biology when I’m not busy with marching band or indoor drumline. Look forward to sharing this season with you guys and giving you a glimpse into life as a member of MadBass 2014. MYNWA.Hi everyone, my name is Alex Richey. This is my third year in the Scouts and I am a member of the one and only MadBass. I’m from Alabama and, compared to other guys in the corps, I have a thick accent. So over the years, I have evolved to have an alter ego of “Southern Man”, the crawdad and gumbo king of #teammasondixon. Outside of drum corps, I go the the University of North Alabama where I am pursuing an education in journalism and Spanish. I spend the entire off-season getting hyped for the summer, and now that its finally here it is surreal. Over the course of the summer myself and a friend will help narrate how the season is going and give you a behind the scenes look from a members perspective and let everyone back home get a feel for what tour is actually like and what we do everyday.May 17th- Rocky:Day one! Early move ins for the percussion section started today, brass will be here next week. Arrived at our new move ins sight at about noon today and instantly started painting the field. We are at Indiana’s FFA leadership camp in Trafalgar, Indiana, which is nestled into the woods. Although our move ins site from last year, WACPAC, was great and has so much history behind it, I think this new site is going to be just fine. We get real beds!First thing we did was set up the percussion cabin, Cabin 1. The main field is also pretty nice- it’s flat! There’s a big steel tower on the 50 yard line for the staff that kinda looks like a cruise ship smokestack or something. For meals this week we’re on our own. We stationed our food in the kitchen, I brought lots of cereal and Greek yogurt for breakfasts, PB&J for lunch, and filled a big Tupperware with chicken casserole for dinners. I was smart in that I didn’t bring any food that needed to be heated up, for it’s day one and people are already starting wars over who gets to use the microwave first. We only had two blocks today; sub section (snare, bass, tenors) for the first and then learned drill for the opener in the second. All-in-all it’s great to be back. I was able to reunite with my brothers from last summer and even make some new ones. I can already tell we’re going to be getting pretty close in the next three weeks.