Tulsa World: Drummer keeps a steady clip

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Drummer keeps a steady clip
She shaved her head along with the guys on the Broken Arrow High School drumline.

Broken Arrow drumline members shaved their heads before their first competition in a show of unity. Erin Nally (foreground) didn't want to break with the tradition. Shane Bevel/ Tulsa World

By SARA PLUMMER World Staff Writer
Published: 10/2/2008 2:06 AM
Last Modified: 10/2/2008 2:42 AM

She shaved her head along with the guys on the Broken Arrow High School drumline.

BROKEN ARROW — Erin Nally saw no downside to shaving her head last fall, except for one thing.

"Ugh, rubbing the head," she said. "It happens at least once a day."

Nally, a senior at Broken Arrow High School, made the decision last year when she became the only female performer on the drumline.

"It was a tradition in the drumline. I didn't want to break the tradition," she said. "It's just hair. It will grow back. It's not like I got a tattoo."

Jake Miller, another senior, said that shaving heads became a tradition in 2006. Before then, the drumline members would bleach their hair.

"It's for unity mostly," he said. "It's the uniform mentality. We look the same, walk the same. By the end of the season, we all talk the same."

Before the band's first competition, members of the drumline gather in a garage and shave each other's heads, with the help of a parent.

"It was really cool. One guy went out for pizza. We played video games," Nally said.

The idea of shaving her shoulder-length locks was something she thought about before she tried out for the drumline, but once she made it, she knew she would go through with it, she said.

"I would have felt left out of the loop," she said. "They would have gone through something I didn't go through."

Miller said he and the other drumline members wondered whether Nally would shave her head but that they wouldn't have thought any less of her if she hadn't.

"She showed up on the day. If she hadn't, we would have been like, 'Hey, that's her choice,' " he said.

Nally said she wasn't sure what kind of reaction her shorn head would get.

"I didn't know what people would think, if they thought I was weird or joined a cult," she said, but everyone was supportive. "I guess they thought pretty highly of it and 'Oh, you're so brave.' "

After letting her hair grow to her nose, she shaved her head again last week, and it was a lot easier, she said.

After graduation, Nally plans to retire the razor and let her hair grow out. "Not too long," she said. "I like to keep it short."

Sara Plummer 581-8465
sara.plummer@tulsaworld.com By SARA PLUMMER World Staff Writer

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	Report Comment Graychin, Eucha (10/2/2008 9:44:36 AM) "...shaving heads became a tradition in 2006. Before then, the drumline members would bleach their hair." A "tradition" since 2006? Wow - and this is its THIRD year! "It's for unity mostly. It's the uniform mentality. We look the same, walk the same. By the end of the season, we all talk the same." I'm speechless. Completely speechless.
	Report Comment k-ba, (10/2/2008 9:51:38 AM) Oh, leave them alone. It's their last year of high school together, and it's nice to feel so close to others in a group in such a huge school. When I was there, they were still bleaching their hair, but everyone knew they were the drumline and there's no need to make fun of them. It's just like the soccer players or cheerleaders hanging out together.
	Report Comment crystal, (10/2/2008 9:54:17 AM) You rock, Erin! Don't mind what those old worn out hippie lookin' dudes have to say! They've probably have never been involved in such a group. You go, girl!
	Report Comment Graychin, Eucha (10/2/2008 10:30:32 AM) I was in the Army....
	Report Comment crystal, (10/2/2008 11:13:17 AM) Thank you, old gray one for serving! My family has served in the military as well. I, however, did not have the courage to sign up. Basic sounded waay too scary! Regarding my comment, I was just mouthing off. You are quite good looking. I am sorry.
	Report Comment Few Clothes, Austin, TX (10/2/2008 1:24:09 PM) "It's for unity mostly. It's the uniform mentality. We look the same, walk the same. By the end of the season, we all talk the same." This young lady certainly doesn't look the same as the boys, and I doubt if she walks the same.
	Report Comment 24681, Broken Arrow (10/3/2008 1:59:33 PM) All of you are invited to attend the big band show called the Broken Arrow Invitational on Sat. Oct. 11, 2008. You can search for Broken Arrow Band BAI to find the list of 30 bands from 4 states who will attend to compete for the trophy. Please come to meet Erin. Bring a copy of this article for her to autograph. You can meet all the students in the drumline and see the very best local high school marching bands. Union, Owasso, Bixby and many more will be here on saturday, Oct. 11, 2008.
	Report Comment 24681, Broken Arrow (10/3/2008 3:03:27 PM) Godwin's Rule. Look it up.
	Report Comment Few Clothes, Austin, TX (10/3/2008 3:19:16 PM) Doty, you are amazing if the only difference you saw was that her sleeveless shirt has something under it! It's obvious to the rest of us that she is a young woman! Can we go without you bringing up your clerk typist career in the military? The remainder of us were grunts in the jungle and our PTSD is real.
	Report Comment Missy M, Depew (10/25/2008 10:05:00 PM) Who cares if she shaves her head,if she can live with it,whatever!

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