band camp

Damn. I guess, that in my four years of high school marching band I somehow managed to be totally oblivious to this massive culture of sexual promiscuity going on around me for a week in August each year. Clearly, there was a conspiracy afoot.

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But seriously though, In real life, Band Camp is probably the closest a non-millitary person can come to Boot Camp. Now, I'm not going to argue that training for Marching Band is anywhere near as rigorous as getting your ass into shape, Army style, but there are some similarities, primarily in the "marching around repeatedly in the blistering heat" category.

A period of weeks during the summer during which a marching band trains its rookies and puts together a show. Sometimes this is held at an actual campsite, other times it is simply a daily gathering at a school or other facility with a football field. Most band camps are not full of sex as would be implied by that line in American Pie. Rather, they are full of formation marching, memorizing drill, memorizing music, and generally being entirely too hot and sweaty for your own good. Band Camp is the part of the marching band experience usually considered to be the least fun. However, any competitive marching band needs to hold band camp every summer to prepare for that year's season. (Note that this entry applies to High School bands.)