4rt b4ndits

7/28, Warrenton, VA

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:56:25 GMT

So here we are, on the home stretch. Tonight is our last laundry day. We only have 7 more performances, including the 3 at finals in Indianapolis. We've had ups and downs, facing some disappointment in the judges and scores. However, we remain steadfast in our mission: to be the best Cadet drum corps we can be.
We still have a lot to clean, and possibly a few adjustments to make. This last two week will be textbook Cadets: work our asses off and sprint to the finish. That way, regardless of how things shake out in Indy, we can stand on that field after finals and know we did our very best, maximized our potential, and made a bangin DVD.
I'm really excited for the next 11 days: Allentown, Giants Stadium, finals, and then before I know it, I'll be sitting at home on my couch in partial shock wondering what just happened over the past 3 months. Can't wait.

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7/20, Lafayette, LA

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 04:10:52 GMT

The Cadets had a great 4 day run in Texas. We've improved greatly in both rehearsal and performance. The energy is great, and the members are working real hard to perfect their show as we round the 3-weeks-left mark.
Tonight we head to Hattiesburg, MS for a rehearsal day, where we'll make probably the last round of adjustments to the show.

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7/6, Jackson, NJ

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:32:46 GMT

Tonight was a home show for me. It was nice to see my parents and friends from Jersey. Unfortunately, we won't be returning to the dirty Jersey for another four weeks. Tonight, we head south for a tour down to Florida, and then along the bayou towards Texas.
Tonight was a bit of a disaster. Although I though we had a decent show, our performance was overshadowed by a massive pileup at the end of our opener. The pivot point of a rotating box fell, causing several members to fall over one another. I was in the back of said box with a perfect view of the trainwreck, and it was horrific. Everyone survived, although some of the horns took a pretty serious beating.
The consensus within the drum corps community is that we are dirty, and some are even saying that the show is over our heads. The latter group obviously does not know the Cadets very well. However, the debacle tonight did not help to disprove the statements about our underachievement of the show.
The corps continues to work very hard, and there is no questioning the determined work ethic of the membership. What I'm saying is: don't worry, folks. We will get this show clean, and it will kick some serious ass. We've got a long journey to Indy (finals, just one month from now), and we're prepared to fight tooth and nail every step of the way.

Long bus ride tonight down to Chesapeake, VA. Looks like it'll be one of those get right off the bus and rehearse as soon as we get there days. No matter: it's not about floor sleep time anymore. It's not about comfort. It's about taking our program to the next level, as individuals and as an ensemble. I'm looking forward to it.

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6/29, Erie, PA

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:44:26 GMT

It's been a rough couple of days for the Cadets drum and bugle corps. On our free/travel day in Cleveland (which was kind of lame since it was Sunday and everything was closed), the equipment truck broke an axle, and we've been moving our equipment since with a borrowed trailer and a rented Penske truck.
We suffered our first loss of the season to Carolina Crown tonight. Not a big deal, nor a big surprise; we did not perform very well, between failing electronics and ensemble issues. We'll just have to wake up tomorrow and figure it out.
This is a busy week. We just completed the first of five consecutive show days. We'll see how it goes.

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6/21, Pittsburgh, PA

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:11:59 GMT

Well. We've been working pretty hard recently -- very little time to sleep and therefore very little time to update.
We've won our first two shows. Winning doesn't mean much to me... Although I'm a very competitive person, I gave up a long time on believing in the DCI judging system. I don't dig the idea of a few peoples' opinions validating my summer's experience. Such a small percentage of the season is spent in judged performance, which always makes me wonder why people gauge a season's success by placements and scores.
That having been said, it is nice not to lose. It's also nice to have our hard work rewarded when we put it all together.

The plan for tomorrow, a rehearsal day, is to put the very end of the show on the move. It's going to be very fast, incredibly exciting, and ridiculously difficult. I'm just hoping we can get it to a presentable level (i.e. people staying vertical) for the show on Monday. It's going to take a lot of hard work, and probably a lot of conditioning.

The forecast for tomorrow is sunny skies, high of 75. Beautiful day for getting better. Wish us luck.

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6/14, Johnstown, PA

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:33:13 GMT

Our last run through at Johnstown happened tonight. We've been working really hard over the past few days, and I think it's starting to come through in our runs. One obstacle we are yet to overcome is wearing the uniform, which not only adds a degree of physical demand but also seems to send people into panic mode. Well be rehearsing with the uniforms in Chambersburg this week to hopefully fix this problem.
I have to go join the panic and frenzy of moving out of this place, but hopefully I'll get to some more detailed updates soon.

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6/1, Johnstown, PA

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 02:05:22 GMT

Spring training has gotten real. We're pushing incredibly hard to clean what we've learned as well as put new material on the field. Although the orignal wake up time for the corps was 8am, the past several days have seen the corps up as early as 7 or even 6:30.
Boy Like That is finished. And the ending is monstrous. It will no doubt be one of those drum corps moments. Everyone is very excited, as well as being very tired! After one more day of hard work tomorrow, we'll be given the night off to walk to town and hit the Wal Mart or the movie theatre. For now, that is our buoy.

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5/25, New Jersey

Mon, 25 May 2009 22:28:38 GMT

I just completed my final Memorial Day parade... for awhile at least. Now we're on our way back to Johnstown to continue our spring training.
We've learned all the drill for the opener, and it's ridiculous. When we get back to J-Town, we'll start work on the second production.
Forecast for this week is rain, unfortunately. Time to break out the poncho.

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5/18, Johnstown, PA

Tue, 19 May 2009 05:51:06 GMT

Opener drill is HARD. Weather is COLD. Spring training is intensifying as we start learning drill. Members are scrambling to find time outside of rehearsal to fill out their dotbooks, learn their coordinates, and memorize their music.
Tonight the Cadets had a very enlightening talk with drum corps legend Marc Sylvester. He shed some light on the history of the corps behind the scenes and discussed the origins of our attitude and traditions. He's a very interesting guy, and I hope we get to experience him more this summer.

I've been trying to keep in touch with friends and family, but it's tough! There's no time, and there will only be less as spring training progresses. So, I apologize for not returning calls and e-mails.

Mad excited for some warmer weather tomorrow.

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5/16, Johnstown, PA

Sun, 17 May 2009 03:51:00 GMT

Interesting start. Last night myself and the rest of the scaffolding crew had to walk down the road at midnight to the elementary school to put up a four level scaffolding in the dark.
It rained for day 1 today. Not so bad since the agenda was mostly about learning the music, but nobody likes being inside.
Hoping for a sunny day 2.

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5/15, Johnstown, PA

Sat, 16 May 2009 01:52:17 GMT

So here we are. UPitt Johnstown, our home for the next four weeks of spring training. We don't start until tomorrow, so some of the members are relaxing and enjoying their last few hours of relative freedom. Others have dug into the truck, grabbed their equipment and begun the training process of their own.
We live in the dorms, which are quite nice. The whole campus is actually rather beautiful, set into the woods of eastern Pennsylvania. My roommate is Danny V, who is my darker homeboy from Florida. Not much more to report. We've got a meeting with the admin tonight, and then it's bedtime so we can hit the ground running tomorrow morning. Wish us luck!

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This Summer

Thu, 14 May 2009 02:22:31 GMT

So I think I'll be resurrecting this little blog to share my thoughts while I'm on tour. Enjoy!

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Coming down, the world turned over

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:13:52 GMT

The past few weeks have been crazy.
Chronologically: finals, hosting JB at my house, Christmas, hosting Noah at my house, party, road trip to visit JB, Butter, and Joe, hosting JB again, New Years, hosting Noah again. All the while working at 3C whenever I can come up for air.
I kind of just realized that I've been just going straight, non stop since Novemberish. I feel I've come to rest now... finally. I'm off work tomorrow, and I think that will provide a nice, relaxing coming down period. But after that it's time to crack down... I've got work for school, work for drum corps, work for money, and hopefully a little bit of time for myself when I can.
Here we go.

Tunes

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:20:25 GMT

Does anybody know any good LJ communities for sharing music downloads? I need some new tuneage...
Thanks guys.

A Word of Advice

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 04:47:39 GMT

Before you take care of your dunnies, you've got to take care of your delf.

All Been There

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 05:36:54 GMT

"My shoulder still hurts."
"I don't remember... why?"
"I ran into the wall. We were both drunk."

Brief Tour Recap

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:05:23 GMT

As if that were possible.

This summer was my seventh season of drum corps, and my first with the Cadets. It was incredible. I learned so much more than I ever thought possible (especially since I've been doing this so long). It's a whole new level of dedication and perseverance; it takes quite a bit of soul searching and exploring one's own power of will just to get through the summer. It certainly helped that the people there were great. We had a good deal of fun, plenty of shenanigans, and certainly no lack of tense moments of conflict. But, in the end, we emerged a family, knowing that whatever bumps in the road we may have hit and whatever conflicts we may have had with other members, staff, or whomever were just parts of a larger process. The feeling of unity and support I felt from literally every member of that group truly amazed me -- I had never seen such strength in a drum corps (or any group of people for that matter).

It started with a month of all day (usually 9 to 9, sometimes longer) every day rehearsal known as Spring Training. This was quite an interesting experience. In retrospect, I'm impressed with how sane I stayed throughout the process. It helped to just take one day at a time, and not worry about how long we've been there, how long until we leave, what's going on at home, what's going on in the world, etc..
There certainly were plenty of interesting times. Friday, June 13th, I remember dstinctly. I completely busted my ass on this huge backup set that we have... it was the first time I had ever fallen in drum corps. And man, did I wipe out... flat on my ass. And it wouldn't be the last time. That was definitely the most challenging drill I'd ever performed. That same night, the fire alarm went off in the dorms due to an overzealous microwave going to town on a bag of popcorn. Happy Friday the 13th.
I learned at Spring Training how little of a morning person I really am. There's something about the morning, atleast for me, that completely changes your state of mind. Every morning I would wake up and say to myself, "Why the fuck am I here?". Thankfully, by marching block, this attitude would (usually) wear off.
I stayed in pretty good physical shape throughout Spring Training; no injuries, really. Every day I would reinforce my socks with duct tape because my feet were getting chewed up, but that's about it. In fact, the only injury I really got all summer came later in Massachussetts, but I got over it pretty quickly. Something about my anterior tibialis. And boy did it hurt.

And then, before we know it, we were off and running on our tour. Tour is pretty much a big, timeless blur of bus rides, moving into gymnasiums with my eyes half open at 3am, rehearsals, and performances. It certainly had it's hard times. I remember staying outside Houston, TX... we were scheduled to rehearse until after 10. Around 8:30pm, we start wondering if they're going to turn the stadium lights on. They don't. Before we know it, we're rehearsing in the dark. That got a little bit uncomfortable. That same night we found out we lost our next housing site for the San Antonio regional. So, instead, we would stay in Houston, rehearse for a little early in the morning, and then make the 3 hour trek to the San Antonio show.
And then there was San Antonio itself, a big Saturday regional. The first time all of the DCI corps see each other. A very important moment. Not my finest moment. The turf in the Alamodome is strange, to say the least. It's not as grippable as most turfs we'd been on. Due to the high demand of our visual program, several members lost their footing, and I believe 4 actually fell over completely. I was one of those. And I was the worst. We ended our show in a company front, which is a straight line across the field that pushes forward as it maintains that straight line. Of course, this company front is preceded by truly insane drill. Going into the front, I was at the end of the form, farthest from the line, so I had to do this massive backup move at 200 beats per minute coming out of a decent sized forward move. Not impossible, but difficult. Anyways, I went to make this direction change, and my left foot slipped out from under me completely. I tried to recover, but just wound up stumbling backwards, and eventually fell completely on my back, limbs flailing, not unlike an overturned turtle. Embarrassing is an understatement. Here I am at the front of the field at a focal point of the development of the climactic final drill move (a straight line that even my grandma can tell if it's not straight), and I'm on my ass. I made it back to the final hold of the company front just in time, but the damage was done. After the show, I was so frustrated, I just wanted to scream and punch things. And, of course, I had nobody to blame but myself. Thankfully, I was in uniform for a while after the show, so I had to keep my Cadet composure. By the time I got changed, my heart rate had gone down and I wasn't gritting my teeth any more. I still punched some things just to relieve some of my anger, but by Monday I was laughing about the incident. Not that it was all that funny, but what else could I do? It was a thing of the past.
San Antonio was a turning point. I guess I was so mad at myself that I felt I had to make it up to the organization. One could say I stepped up my game. I tried to pay better attention at rehearsals, tried to adhere to the rehearsal technique, and made a solid attempt at completely perfecting my craft.

There were other hard times as well, such as when it rained for like 24 out of 30 days. All my stuff smelled like rain and sweat and mold... it was awful. My shoes were the worst. There was also a point in the summer where I split my lip from playing, and at every show warm up it would open up and start bleeding. I bled on my tee shirt, into my mouthpiece, and supposedly on this one kids shako. Oh well. And there were the little things like having to write each of my coordinates 15 times, or a 15 minute lunch on the shittiest rainy day ever when we practiced in a 20% inclined parking lot that had yardlines made of soap. But when you look back, you smile at those things, as they were all part of the process.

Sometimes things went well, sometimes they went poorly. Sometimes time went quickly, and sometimes days dragged on endlessly. Often I would miss the little things about home and the stationery life, like eating at a table, driving my car, playing the piano, my mom's cooking, watching crap on daytime TV, and other niceties of life back in Wyckoff. But, I took each day at a time for what it was, and I enjoyed most of them. Before I knew it, the milk jugs off the food truck had August expiration dates, and I was like, "Wow... I'm almost there".

And then, before I knew it, it was over. Those past 3 or 4 days went by so quickly... I'm still trying to put them together in my mind. Performing on that finals field was unreal. And it was an honor to perform with 149 other kids who busted their asses all summer and were now a part of my family. I was incredibly proud of the group's determination, self-respect, class, and level of performance, especially in the face of all the adversion we faced all summer (see: nobody likes our show).

It was a summer well spent. I went into it saying it would be my last, and I came out of it saying it simply can't be.

Now I'm home. And I'm broke. I have nothing to do but sit around and wait for my boss to call me on the off chance that he needs me. The inactivity is making my antsy... it's a bit of a culture shock going from drum corps days to this crap. Hopefully I'll find something to do.

Home

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:10:23 GMT

For the first time since May 21st, I am home. Stationery.

P.S. YOU HAVE ONE MILLION UNREAD E-MAILS.

P.P.S. OH MY GOD.

My Summer

Fri, 23 May 2008 03:30:30 GMT

I'm going on tour this summer. So, if I don't answer your phone calls or e-mails or Facebook posts, I apologize. However, if you'd like to catch me in action refer to the following schedule. Details can be found at dci.org.

June 21 - Toledo, OH
GLASSMEN All-Star Review
June 24 - Belding, MI
Silk City Rhythms
June 27 - Racine, WI
Kiltie Klassic
June 28 - Madison, WI
DCI Madison presented by Drums on Parade
June 29 - Naperville, IL
Cavalcade of Brass
June 30 - Erie, PA
Lake Erie Fanfare
July 2 - Beverly, MA
The Beanpot Invitational
July 3 - Bristol, RI
Summer Music Preview
July 5 - Clifton,NJ
July 6 - Coatesville, PA
Music in Motion-Pennsylvania
July 7 - Chesapeake, VA
TIDEWATER SUMMER MUSIC GAMES
July 9 - Columbia, SC
First BEAT
July 10 - Milton, GA
The Atlanta Brass Classic
July 12 - Orlando, FL
DCI Orlando
July 15 - Ocean Springs, MS
July 16 - Lafayette, LA
Drums Across Cajun Field
July 17 - Houston, TX
THE exSIGHTment OF SOUND
July 19 - San Antonio, TX
DCI Southwestern Championship
July 21 - Wichita Falls, TX
Rumble in the Falls
July 22 - Wichita, KS
Drums Across Kansas
July 26 - Atlanta, GA
DCI Southeastern Championship
July 27 - Jacksonville, AL
Alabama Battle of the Brass
July 28 - Sevierville, TN
Drums Across America
July 30 - Warrenton, VA
Drum Corps in Fauquier
July 31 - West Chester, PA
Music in Motion
August 2 - Allentown, NJ
August 3 - Westminster, MD
Music in Motion - Maryland
August 7-9 - Bloomington, IN
DCI World Championships

If you have any questions or you're interested in coming to a show, I'd love to see you.
Otherwise, have a great summer.
Peace.

April Fools' Day

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:12:05 GMT

The award for best April Fool goes to YouTube. Check out their Featured Videos.

I've Got Dreams to Remember

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 01:56:22 GMT

Nap dreams are the best.

For instance, I'm at the first day of Spring Training with Cadets. For some reason, I'm marching baritone, trumpet, and flute(?). I'm freaking out because I have my trumpet and my flute, but the baritone I have is not mine. I yell "CHECK SERIAL NUMBERS" but of course no one listens. So, during this rehearsal block, Gino (the instructor) is ripping this kid a new asshole, and I get mad nervous because I'm not playing my own horn and it keeps fucking me up. Then, we have a basics block in a building that strangely resembles my garage.
After rehearsal, we're all hanging out on the bleachers of the stadium, and, for some reason, all of the assholes from Crossmen are marching with me (none of the cool people though, unfortunately). Anyways, we wind up getting into a fight and I'm like, "It's the first fucking day of Spring Training and you're already being an asshole. Way to go."
I get frustrated and leave, and then somehow realize that I forgot something at home (which, mind you, is about 3 hours away). I decide to walk home (I didn't have my car with me). I get home, get whatever I needed, and start heading back. On the way back, I'm walking on the highway through snow drifts which are literally up to my eyeballs. For some reason, I'm barefoot. Doh. I realize that it's getting dark, and I'll never make it back to Cadets before my feet freeze. So, I turn around and start walking back. I pass a drainage grate on the side of the road, and something inside starts beeping at me. It freaks me out, so I start running.
I make it home, hop in my car, and drive down to Cadets. I get there to see the corps rehearsing on half the field while a football team practices on the other half. As soon as I get there and get out of my car, all of the lights at the facility go out. Darkness and chaos ensue. Everyone is running around and screaming. I find my way to the bleacher structure, under which exists a conservatory hallway lined with practice rooms. In the first practice room, I find Sam Bennett, who offers me a flan. I graciously accept, but, for some reason, never recieved my flan.
After that, the lights come back on, and I remember thinking to myself, "Shit, now we have to rehearse." Then I woke up.

Inspiration

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:15:53 GMT

It seems to only come when it is most inconvenient.

Well, at least I get to watch the sunrise.

Tonight

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 08:12:22 GMT

Tonight I ate with Ben. At the restaurant, some girl told me I look like Michael Cera. I think that's a good thing? I think she just wanted to say something to me, because she was looking at me and later hitting on me all night. But she was wack.
We gathered Tim and went to see "Rambo". It was good... lots of blood.

School so far is good. I have no money, but I'm working on it.

I'm opening tomorrow... I have a lot to do over the next two days between working open-close. Or I can just put it all off. Yeah.

Grades

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 20:38:11 GMT

MUSIC THEORY III - A-
COMPOSITION SEMINAR - A-
KEYBOARD STUDIES III - A
ORCHESTRATION I - A
JAZZ ENSEMBLE - A
PRIVATE STUDY: COMPOSITION - A
SOLFEGE III - B+
20TH CENTURY HARMONY AND COUNTERPOINT - A

Semester GPA: 3.76
Cumulative GPA: 3.86

Well, I guess despite the occassional self-doubtful fear that I am an alcoholic, drug addict, or overall fuck-up, I seem to be doing OK for myself. Not that academic performance is comprehensively reflective of quality of life, but it's nonetheless a reassurance.

It's a very strange feeling... having nothing to do. I guess I'll go read some Conrad.

Random Thoughts

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 06:18:06 GMT

1. I just cleared out my cell phone of useless numbers and people I don't want to speak to, or never have spoken to. However, after closer examination of the right half of my computer screen, I've discovered that what really needs a cleaning is my Buddy List. Half of the screennames I have I don't even recognize. Of the half I do recognize, half of that consists of people I may know but never talk to. So, I really only talk to 1/4 of my buddy list. Ill.
And by the way, people have some really dumb screennames.

2. I was thinking about what I'm doing with my life. Writing music. I thought about how I got here. I started out playing sax. I loved jazz. I'm pretty sure I could have been pretty ill (I was pretty good), that is if I had ever practiced. I never practiced. Hated it. It was not for me. If I had even practiced half an hour (or, ideally, 1 hour +) per day, I probably would have been very good. Good enough to pursue jazz performance. But that didn't happen.
I started writing music after I started in drum corps (freshman year of high school), and I guess when I realized that I was not all that good at the saxophone because I hadn't practiced my whole high school career, I jumped that ship and focused more on writing music. I created an entire portfolio for my applications, which I didn't even start until senior year. So that's how I started. Every now and then I see jazz majors or performance majors just shredding, and I get jealous of their talent, especially when I consider that I probaby could have been that good. But I'm pretty sure I'm happy with what I'm doing.

So kids, the moral of this story is, "practice".