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The Sam Houston High School Drumline's KNOWN history starts back in May of 1999. Jeff Barge hired a man by the name of Paul Ailey to be the Percussion Instructor. The first year he was at Sam Houston High School he brought the drumline to new heights by actually WINNING some drumline awards, which was seldomly done in years past. with each passing day in 1999 we learned something new about Mr. Ailey, especially in those few hours after the "Bus Incident". In Paul Ailey's second year at Sam Houston High School, the drumline competed at the P.A.S.I.C. High School Standstill Competition at the Dallas Convention Center against the best high school drumlines in the country. Noone thought or expected that they could go through with it, but against all odds they did it and proved everyone wrong. In 2001, Sam Houston reached an all-time high. The drumline played Armenian Dances, written by Paul Rennick for the Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps. It was the hardest thing ever attempted by the drumline, and it was pulled off. At the beginning of the 2002 marching season Paul Ailey announced that he was going to leave the school to further his career by teaching a UIL band. July, 4 2002 was his last day at Sam Houston, then he reported to his first day of work at South Grand Prairie High School. It wasn't until after he left that they realized how good of a teacher he really was. Despite his episodes, they still missed him.
At the beginning of August, Eric Mullins was hired for the position of Drumline Instructor. Because of the staff change, the drumline struggled for 3 1/2 months to get better, reaching a new low. Practices and rehearsals were not productive, and performances were even worse. The drumline fought constantly within the line and with the director. They were going nowhere fast. With nothing to show for the whole season that they did, Eric Mullins was fired. Only a few people know the real reason why this occured.
The 2003 marching season is here and the drumline is on its way back up to the top of the competition. Jeff Barge hired Bob Romano, former Blue Devil and UNT graduate, for the Drumline gig. With an all rookie line, Mr. Barge needed someone that had good teaching skills with beginning level students and he found him. If he stays there at Sam Houston, the drumline will be unstoppable. Talks of going back to P.A.S.I.C. are already underway. Good Luck to everyone in the 2003 Sam Houston High School Texan Drumline! |
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