Paulie Erickson

Percussion has become a fundamental part of junior Paulie Erickson’s life.

Friday night lights are a highlight of the week for high school students each fall, whether they’re on the field, in the stands, or by the end line, providing the soundtrack for the night as a member of FHC’s band.

Junior Paulie Erickson loves to do the latter: each home football game, he plays the snare in FHC’s renowned drumline. Not only are the games themselves a major highlight of drumline for Paulie, but also the fun they have afterward.

“I have a lot [of favorite memories],” Paulie said. “All the afterparties are really fun; after every football game we go to someone’s house, and those are a lot of fun. They sometimes get a little chaotic, but everyone there is my friend, in my opinion. We went to Thornapple [Elementary School] a couple weeks ago, and we played ghosts in the graveyard. That’s definitely a highlight of Drumline. I hadn’t played ghosts in the graveyard since I was about ten, and it was super intense.” 

Bonding experiences like these are important for a drumline to have because playing as one unit is the objective. Paulie is an avid fan of pro-level drum corps, and one of his favorite aspects of listening to and watching these groups is how impressively together they are when they play.

“[Watching these groups motivates me] so much,” Paulie said. “Being good is being clean: you’re all playing exactly together, the note is perfectly together, you sound like one drum,; [that] is the goal. They are so clean, and I listen to our drumline; we’re not quite that clean yet, and I think it’d be so cool to be a part of a drumline that is that clean. It’s very motivating.”

Paulie plans to audition for one this winter, hopefully fulfilling his ambition to be in a drumline that operates as cleanly as possible. Drum corps like Drum Corps International (DCI) and Winter Guard International (WGI) have had a large impact on Paulie’s motivation throughout his time in the FHC Drumline. 

“My freshman year, I was definitely a little underqualified to be on snare, to be completely honest,” Paulie said. “I didn’t learn any of my stuff, but after going to all these competitive events and watching them, like DCI and especially WGI, which is indoor drumline stuff in the winter, I went last spring, and it really motivated me again. I’m hoping to do WGI this winter, and I saw how good they were, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so cool. Why can’t we do this?’ And so I just started practicing a bunch. And it made me way better because I’m actually motivated to do it now.”

Being a part of a large group like WGI is not an easy feat. Having strong discipline and being motivated to practice is indispensable, especially since Paulie wants to audition for WGI this upcoming winter. 

“It’s really hard, so I don’t know if I’ll get in,” Paulie said, “but I’d like to get my foot in the door. I’d love to do DCI, but [when you’re in it], that’s what you do your entire summer. You spend all of the previous fall and winter trying out and really working on the audition stuff, and that’s your whole summer. You’re on tour all summer, and so I couldn’t work a job [simultaneously]. And, it costs like $5,000. So I’d love to, but I don’t know how realistic it is.”

Working with people who love percussion just as much as him is, of course, ideal for Paulie, since there is ample opportunity to make new friendships. Throughout high school, drumline and band have done this for Paulie, creating the foundation for several connections over the past years.

“[Drumline] has definitely built a ton of my friendships,” Paulie said, “because most of my friends at this point are in the drumline. I met them all through the drumline, and that’s what we bonded over. Obviously, now we have much more to talk about, but it’s definitely built my entire friend group. Band, as a whole, has.”

Band has not only given Paulie a creative outlet and many memories, but also benefits that go beyond his musical talent. Paulie has made lasting friendships, found a passion for drum corps, and mastered lessons that go beyond learning to play the snare drum, skills that will stick with him for years to come.

“Drumline has taught me discipline,” Paulie said, “because you can work on something and just be so bad at it, but it’s important to keep working at it. My freshman year, I was so bad, and if I would have just been like, ‘Okay, whatever, I’m bad at this; I’m going to keep being bad at this,’ I would have stayed bad, but I worked pretty hard, and I got good. It helps with my motivation and mindset; it’s definitely built some mental strength.”