Drum Corps Universe

Obama in a landslide

2008-11-04T17:11:00.000-08:00

I'm not wild about either candidate, but I predict a landslide for Obama. Folks are fed up with Bush. Like it or not, McCain is associated with Bush. No chance for McCain with this lousy economy.

Obama by a large margin

2008-10-31T16:54:00.000-07:00

NBC-TV news stated tonight that Bush has not been seen on one politician's campaign trail to help campaign. McCain went to the White House months ago, but Bush has not campaigned for McCain according to NBC as he hasn't been asked. I never thought that we could have a prez worse than Nixon. Bush has easily topped (bottomed) Nixon.

As unhappy as many Americans are with Bush, I predict that Obama will win big Tuesday.

Vote!

2008-10-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

There's only one more "Saturday Night Live" to go before the November 4 election. Make plans to vote. Vote early if your state allows it. Whether you're in favor of Obama or Tina Fey, vote!

I waited 5 hours for that!

2008-10-01T20:29:00.000-07:00

Hmm. How can corpsdom have more talent than ever on the field, but drum corps staff, especially in juniors, put governors on volume? If the activity is alfresco, if the history has been built on pinning ears back, if that is what still arouses so many fan$, including the ones who gave up and quit buying tics, then why are we doing it. (Rhetorical.)

The fan who yelled out after the opening chords of Music City Legend during DCAssociates Prelims, "I waited 5 hours for that!" had it right.

The Cadets, Blue Devils, Carolina Crown, Bluecoats, Spirit and so many more have the horses. The Cadets and Blue Devils had brief moments of fff and more, but they were mere teasers. Most of the DCI high-note soloists are hidden and only have a nanosecond of exposure. In DCA, the Kilties, CorpsVets and other corps known for power rarely let it go. Why? Because some judges and some design staff want the "perfect sound," the sweet harmony.

Volume, soloists and taking risks used to be called "pushing the envelope." Don't tell me that some of today's corps are getting anything more than paper cuts with their desk envelopes.

As Pepe Notaro said, "Give me violence!!!"

2008 Drum Corps summer winding down

2008-08-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Phantom Regiment for claiming their first outright title. 'Tis about time. Four consecutive years in 2nd, The Tie in '96 -- I was there. It was heart-warming to be in the front row 45 as Phantom won in Bloomington, IN. Blue Devils A and B. I felt your pain. Congrats to Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets for overtaking BD B.

Now, I'm on my way to the DCAssociates Championships in Rochester, NY, this Labor Day weekend. Come check out fun drum corps. Get your tics, www.dcacorps.org . The Empire Statesmen are celebrating their 25th anniversary, and David Bruni still has 'em entertaining just like Mr. B did. Say "hi" in Rachacha!

New York Skyliners Competitive Drum Corps

2008-02-17T16:38:00.000-08:00

I was truly disheartened today to hear the Skyliners will not compete in aught eight. Drum corps, DCAssociates, is just not the same without the legendary Sky. I wish Dir. Harry Eldridge and the rest of the Sky family the best. Corpsdom needs a healthy Sky. Lookin' forward to DCA minicorps!

Sex in the City of Rachacha

2007-09-10T12:39:00.000-07:00

Some readers on www.drumcorpsplanet.com , "Cozy's Corpsdom ~ Wholesome in the City," were offended by some of my use of words...Wait, it turns out most were upset that the auto filter was manually overriden to allow "blow job," allowing me to get away with what they can't do. My literary license to blow that job was removed after a lengthy discussion with JohnD. In his defense, I remind folks that he does own the site; it's his to do as he pleases, even that is difficult for this freedom of speech el persono to state.

To some who might be offended by words like "condom, rubbers, latex saucers, blow job, menage a trois," etc., I am not known as a "normal" scribe unless I'm representing another association. Reminding folks to use rubbers sure beats off not bringing up such hard subjects.

2007 is the year for Bush to win? Empire? Bucs? MBI? "7"?

2007-03-23T09:32:00.000-07:00

ABC's of Drum Corps (Draft, not published)

2007-03-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

The ABCs of Drum & Bugle Corps: Alternative Braggadocio Concepts

by Cozy Baker (ABC: A Baker, Cozy)

An unaBridgemen “Corpsinary” of Drum & Bugle…uh, Brass Corp(oration)s

Alternative Braggadocio Concepts

An unaBridgemen Dictionary of Drum & Bugle Corps

“I love deadlines, especially that whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” ~ Douglas Adams, scribbler of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe

AL: American Legion in Miami, Chicago, Miami, Detroit, Miami…. [VFW (yep, Miami), not Combine or DCI.]

A-Team: Mr. T proudly carrying the National Colors/Colours. [Honor Guard.]

ATV: Pit Crew tractor. Awesome in the hands of skilled daredevils; e.g., Bluecoats loading after a show. [Golf Cart, John Deere, Lawn Mower.] 2. AstroTurf® Visuals? [AstroTurf®, Viz.]

accelerando: 1. Overused pedal on Pit Crew ATVs. [Deaccelerando, Golf Cart, Lawn Mower.] 2. Drum Line on steroids.

adjudicator: Judge from Rodeo Drive. [Clipboard, Judge.]

ad nauseam: Wretched “sameism.” By intermission, many were bored, checking the stock market, retching, ad nauseam. [Et Cetera.]

aficionado: If you can spell this, then you already know the perils and thrill of being a Corps Nuts.

AFL: American Flag Line, old term. [A-team, Honor Guard, Color Guard]

age-out: Burned out performer who needs to crash before returning to school/work. DCA? “Not now. Hmm, DCA looks enticing.”

aisle: 1. Seats in stadiums for Staff to watch their Corps. [Usher.] 2. Room on the Bus to spread out to sleep – For the daring only. [Bus.]

alto: 1. Too Flugel to be a Mello. 2. Mid-voice when Corps sings ambrosian chant on the field.

alumni: 1. Depression era Survivors, Baby Boomers, X-generation and more in a booming spurt of growth in Drum Corps – Our Revival. [DCA, Ol’ Fogy, Seniors.] 2. Age-outs or Burnouts who look back fondly on the Summer of ’42, ’52, ’62, ’72, ’82, the Ties in the nineties….

amplification: 1. Cap Head, Instructor, Staff or Tech who’s blown his/her top. 2. Sure-fire way to electrocute Electronics personnel…eventually during a summer thunderstorm. [Electronics.]

announcer/narrator: 1. Richard I. Blake XXet al. 2. Local personalities who mean well but stumble over “Modest M(o)ussorgsky…Rimsky-Korsakov…Rachmaninoff orchestrated by Respighi,” ad classico, even which Corps is actually taking the field (George’s dad, AMC-TV’s Nick Clooney). Thank you, sincerely, for your contributions! [Band.] 3. Comic on a mike who shouts at DCI Madison Senior ‘99, “And making his debut with the Kilties, DCWorld’s very own….” [;Peashey.]

any key: Car key that DCI majority voters grabbed in their rush to leave immediately after approving the birth of “Brass Corps” in 2000. (“Hoist with one’s own petard.”) [Brass, Bugle, G, Horn, Lamp.]

Any Key Aeon: Current Corps era which replaced the Geerassic Era of Brass Corpsdom.

arc: Circle with missing segments, sometimes missing bodies. Arc! I hear yon drum corps. [Drill, Horn line.]

arrangement: 1. Chorded notes of existing Composition arranged on parchment. 2. A cozy affair ‘twixt some Boreds and Exec. Directors, Directors and Cap Heads, Techs and Members, and on down the food chain.

arranger: Disarranged napkin scribbler of deranged music, be it Brass or percolator. [Composer.]

artsy fartsy: Who cares. (No question mark required; it’s rhetorical.) [;Fartsy, Arte.]

AstroTurf®: Wonderful for Corps, dangerous for contact sports…Hmm, isn’t Drum Corps a contact sport? [Crash, Judge, Saboteur, Shoveling.]

audition: From the nervous multitudes, two lucky performers selected by the Instructor gawds to fill two openings. The audition begins not at Open House, but months before, if one is to be prepared. [Camp, Open House; Bond, Peter Bond, for tips.]

auxiliary: Silks, Stage Right. Sabres y Rifles, stage a la izquierda. Read “auxiliary.” Close your eyes for the Visual. Practice writing on a chalkboard 128 times after Camp. Now, please remember how to spell it.

B “Build the bingo halls and they will come.” – Cozyism

Bb: A sharp idea to Marching Bands and some Corps. See Any Key, Band, BOA, Blue Devils, Bugle, Cadets, G, Intonation, Lamp.

BOA: Bands of McCormick.

baby boomers: DCA. [Ol’ Fogy.]

band: 1. Not Corps. A fine world of its own, a beloved cousin of Corpsdom. 2. Hopkins 24/7. 3. What Announcers keep saying during the Summer.

barefoot: 1. The preference of many of the CG a field. [Sabot, Saboteur.] 2. Lack of footwear in the park.

bari: A Euphonium on a diet, and the two most difficult horns to march in terms of physical endurance. (Sorry Contras.)

baton: Li’l stick used by Phantom Regiment Conductors and Cabs’ Jimmy Russo. [Spin, Twirl; Fred J. Miller, Inc.]

battery: A bunch of Guzz diddling Energizer bunnies with no turn-off switch. [Drumhead, Drummer.]

University of Cincinnati Marching Band plays Al

2007-03-12T22:50:00.000-07:00

The University of Cincinnati vs. Pitt game was over, but the UC Marching Band played on. (CozyPhoneCam)

'Nana Puddin' will perk ya' up!

2007-03-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

Nick Angelis runs U. of Cincinnati Band's Drums

2007-03-04T23:36:00.000-08:00

Nick Angelis, former Star of Indiana and Blast! soloist, is the percussion caption head for the University of Cincinnati Marching Band. Angelis, red shirt, jumped into the snare drum line for an hour last Sep. (CozyPhoneCam)

Drum & Bugle Corps in 2020

2007-03-03T23:12:00.000-08:00

(This "Cozy's Corner" originally appeared in Drum Corps World, April 2001. It's a tongue-in-cheek view of drum corps in the year 2020. Some names are teasingly misspelled.)

2020 – News as it happens in the future

“Imagining in excited reverie that the future years had come, dancing to the frenzied drum.” – William Butler Yeats, 1865-1939

Implementing Tiebreaker Plan #135, in the event of a tie at this year’s 2020 Finals in Madison, the drum majors of the tied corps will face off in a figure skating skate-off. Mike Boo will judge.
The Absolute Key meeting still reports a series of ties in the vote to increase the size of the pit. “For now, the limit of the pit shall remain at 135,” Dane Achooson, the Danish CEO of Drum & Brass & Woodwinds & Electronics & Amplification Corp(oration)s Universal, reported in an exclusive to DCUniverse.
The Cadets, also the Star of Indiana Bus Charters, announced jointly that the new 147-passenger bus will be introduced this summer. “With the advances in FRS communications toys, three-mile caravans are not expected to be a problem,” the Drivers’ Consortium proclaimed.
Pioneer reports that Tootsie Rolls® has been added as a sponsor. “We’ll be proud to wear the Tootsie Rolls patch on our unis,” Director Murray proclaimed. Plans are underway to work the candy logo into the paint scheme of the golf carts by the pit crew.
Frankly Ponzo is in the midst of his 15th Final Farewell Tour with the Caballeros. The hand recount of the fan$ vote still shows a unanimous sentiment for Ponzo to play again in 2021. No appeal is pending.

Drum Corps Ol’ Fogies Home Newsletter

Remember, bingo this Thursday evening at the Drum Corps Ol’ Fogies Home, patriotic Tom Peashey calling. Bring your shovels. Dave and Carol Eddleman will be the guest tabulators as the constant recounts must cease.
Caesar and Sue Blenski will conduct golf cart driving lessons the second weekend of July at the Home. Tootsie Rolls will be served to all successful graduates. Retired Bluecoats ATV drivers will teach the evasive driving portion.
The dress uni for this Saturday’s banquet at the Home has been posted: Summer dress: Plaid kilts with Greek caps.
Due to popular demand, peanut butter sandwiches will return on Monday, Wednesday and Friday…ok, also Tuesday, Thursday….
Complaints continue to roll in that John Dowlan refuses to stop practicing on his antique snare. “I can beat the whole lot of you with one wrist tied behind my strap,” he stubbornly proclaimed. Dowlan is under investigation as the thief of knee braces from rehab.
Wild Carol Hooton will lead a discussion in the Eastman wing at 7:30 P.M. titled “21st Century Classical Trumpet Influence on Drum & Whatever We Call It Now.”
The retired drivers’ wing of the Home will be showing home movies of 20th century summer tours at 8:30 P.M. If scuffmarks from wheelchair treads continue to appear in the hallways, these videos will be banned. All posters stating “We’re all bozos on this bus” have been found to be in bad taste.
Truth or Crawford announced, “I plan to leave the Home and return as the director of the USMC D&B Corps on November 9.”
The retired scribes continue to bury the front office staff in piles of papers typed on forbidden Royal and Underwood typewriters. Steve Steve of DCUniverse is under investigation as the supplier.
The most recent raid on the photog’s wing to search for dirty bugle photos was rebuffed by a barrage of flashbulbs popping.
The Kilts and Sky vets have won the “Most Retro” award once again. The majority has been found to play Olds bugles and drive – yep, Olds.
Billy Roetzhere continues to stand atop a huge “X” he chalked out in the middle of the Home grounds. He wears his kilt and yells, “Join me in the ‘V’ lads and lassies!”
For the final time, retired VK members are ordered to stop mimicking the health department inspectors. Specifically, desist in your annoying habit of following the inspectors with your clipboards.
The Bill MacGraph family tree has issued its third demand for a larger suite at the Home.
Volunteers are sought as Halloween decorators at the Home. Velvet Knights, Bridgemen, Impulse, Heat Wave and Chops, Inc. alumni need not apply.
Countless reports of eerie appearances of Bones abound.
Meanwhile, the Ghost Riders are still missing.

Back to 2020 news in the virtual world of reality:

Division I voted that Moog synthesizers will be allowed into the historical Northeast League, mood permitting. Divisions VII and higher staunchly hold onto their bugles. Aside: Any bugles in the key of G spotted in museums, jetport sales or tick markets should be reported to the Ol’ Fogies Search Committee. Note: The Smithsonian refuses to release its inventory.
At the archeological site in California, after much zigging and zagging, diggers have reported the remains of a bugle factory. Coincidently, the pit is next door to the present Kanstul Band Instrument Factory. The nostalgic search has been underwritten by grants from the Drum Corps Ol’ Fogies Home and National Geerasic Era Magazine.
“These bizarre bugles are Wild Things!” a young archeologist, Alexis Chex, exclaimed around a campfire while flipping through her bowl of oats.
“Now, if we could only find the King site,” scientist Key Abnormal, standing on a crumbling wall, wailed. “We still need to ‘deg’ for the Dynasty bugle grounds. Then, there is the oldest of the old, Olds.”
Into the Woodwinds opened in Bayonne, NJ. YEA! A somber musical by Yawn Yawn-ho about the Grimm reality of fipple flutes, shawm descendants and Girandella wood, it is conducted by George Dubya.
The Madison Bored of Directors announced that Scott Stewart, executive director, has hired Bobby Knight as director of Hoosier Wind.
After an exhausting study, orchestrated by Bond, Peat Bond, the PR guru reports that the controversial reed-less oboes do indeed project double the distance of reeds. Whether rules will be amended, a majority vote squeaked through, to allow reed-less shawm descendants remains to be determined.
Geoff Mitchell’s on-growing study regarding frumpets in the key of Q is due at the next Absolute Key meeting.
“All your contrabass are belong to us.”

I might just become a vegetarian

2007-03-02T14:23:00.000-08:00

Years ago, I cut way back on pork and beef. With this Filipino beauty, I could go totally veggie!

New York Skyliners Alumni

2007-02-28T19:34:00.000-08:00

The Garbarina Post trooping the stands at Scranton, PA, at the Drum Corps Associates "Alumni Spectacular," around 2003. Photo by Dave Dunckel Sr.

Renegades LMS 8, SoCal Dream's LMS L.A., CNY

2007-02-27T11:27:00.000-08:00

Party with the Renegades Drum Corps in San Francisco, March 3, Chinese New Year's Parade, or for the LOUD Music Symposium 8, April 29. Fly Jet Blue to double the fun with SoCal Dream Drum Corps and the Renegades in July, Friday the 13th, for LMS L.A.
Renegades in repose 5 seconds after a run-through. James, no one is fooled by your military bearing. Chris Nalls is exiting the field to create more mischief. (CozyPhoneCam, July 15, 2006)

2007-02-24T13:43:00.000-08:00

A 330-foot-deep sinkhole swallowed several homes in Guatemala City, killing two teens. Rains and underground sewage flow purportedly caused the hole. (AOL news)

Blousemen seek polar bear as drum major

2007-02-22T23:08:00.000-08:00

The Blousemen have scheduled two charter jets to fly to Switzerland to work on their next show "Global Warming on the Rocks."

We'll die on G bugles!

2007-02-14T13:58:00.000-08:00

A faded parchment was found near this embraced couple: "When all others have switched to B-flat, we'll march and project proudly on G!"

Windish endorses Saban Sabres for corps

2007-02-13T16:27:00.000-08:00

Fred Windish, the recent DCAssociates PR director, is an avid 'Bama football fan. At a 2006 game, he decided it might be time for a new coach even though 'Bama beat Ole Miss' that day.

DCI winner is from Mars or Rosemont?

2006-08-07T17:19:00.000-07:00

I made a sojourn to Mars last April. 'Twas a wonderful experience, a revelation.

See y'all at Drum Corps heaven in Madison

2006-07-31T19:13:00.000-07:00

The annual caravan to the DCInternational Drum & Bugle Corps Championships will take place in August in Madison, WI. The Finals will conclude the DCI season on August 12, www.dci.org . DCAssociates has their championships in "Rachacha," Rochester, NY, Labor Day weekend, www.dcacorps.org .

Everyone it seems will be there. Ryan Turner, Velvet Knights drum major in '86 - '87, is flying in from the Left Coast, thanks to encouragement from John Donovan, some Drum Corps Planet honcho, www.drumcorpsplanet.com . James Dawson, CorpsVets pit and DCPlanet contest ticket winner, and Jerald Sheets, CorpsVets sop soloist, will both be cheering for their fave corps.

I'll be there parking buses...Maybe even doing some other tasks. Look for me at the Drum Corps World booth. Please say "hi" and subscribe, www.drumcorpsworld.com . Hopefully, they'll let me down at field level some. I sometimes have trouble getting into the VIP suite as they require shoes, and I keep flunking the spelling test on the same word: "VIP."

General Effect: The generic definition, please

2006-07-31T18:09:00.000-07:00

If only I could grasp the meaning of General Effect so easily. For the past decade, I have no earthly idea what the judges are instructed to look for during the off-season meetings in several associations.

An offer from Mars you can't refuse

2006-07-31T17:59:00.000-07:00

Nourishment has been discovered from Mars -- The Blue Devils "Godfather: Part Blue."

2006-06-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

Where did Allegiance, Marion Cadets, Kiwanis Kavaliers, etc., go? What happened to Royal Airs, Grenadiers and...?

2006-06-12T19:09:00.000-07:00

These are cool seats to watch drum corps!

Update: Latest photo of new Blousemen Corps Hall construction

2006-05-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

The Blousemen will return from their world tour in time to attend the ribbon cutting for the new corps hall. The charter jets will take the Blousemen to Rachacha as part of the DCA tour.

Get off your butt and perform!!!

2006-05-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

If y'all act quickly, one can still slip into a drill spot or percolate in the pit for drum corps. For all-age folks: DCA CorpsVets, GA: sop, mello, bari, 5 guard, pit; DCA Racine Kilties, WI: mello or contra; DCA Empire Statesmen, NY: contra. Contact the Kiwanis Kavaliers in "Eh" country as they have many looking for a summer home. The Marion Cadets also have members "homeless/tourless." Others are looking. See Renegades below. Go to individual corps sites, mostly ".org", or to www.drumcorpsplanet.com . For any who choose a Dixie unit, I can help with housing.

Renegades wanna ensnare more evil!

2006-05-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

Within the span of a few days, the San Andrenegades Fault swallowed 4 snare drummers. If you know Shirley and can play beyond paradiddle, flam your way to www.renegades.org to join the Evil!

Renegades LMS 7, April 30, 2006

2006-05-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

Campbell, CA,
Community Theatre

Having missed the Chinese New Year's Parade, I decided to experience a LOUD Music Symposium. Mac McEntire, over a meal with Jim McFarland, horn boss, tossed the summer show charts to moi. With 10 days to learn, I walked into Exec. Potentate Chris Nalls school ready to play notes, not knowing the rests. (Imagine the possible consequences.)

I had met Jim McFarland, Renegades brass cajones caption head, the day before at an Indigo Diablos rehearsal, where I also chatted with Ironlips, Wayne Harris, Scott Johnson, et al., including Gibbs who had his hands full with BD and his own kids. At the Renegades horn rehearsal, I was duly impressed at how Jim McFarland ran warmups and rehearsal. His is a cross between Zen and Capt. Picard calmly commanding "Make it so."

When Mac McEntire, Renegades visuals guru, and I moved to the community theatre before our scheduled rehearsal, the stage hands were being picky regarding who was backstage. Mac had his own printed badge. I threw on my DCWorld press pass, grabbed Francesca's badge, and walked around like when I report drum corps - "I belong here." Worked.

Our rehearsal was a mixture of squeezing too many on too little and sending out scouts to search for the missing DM that reportedly was on a ladder in the aisle. Those Cyalume sticks that I had Mac buy woulda cured the itsy bitsy glitches in the night show. Glow sticks and we coulda seen the tempo. The acoustics were fine, but the Renegades over-powered the theatre.

What I could catch of the other acts, I was super wowed. The variety was a great recipe to sell tickets, involve the community and expose everyone to the extremes of performing arts.

Hookslide: I heard this 5/4-man (Had to be there for the electronics) a cappella group had as tight a harmony as any similar ensemble I ever heard when I lived in Seattle.

Maximum Indifference: Dunno. Indifferent...Didn't see.

Earl Brown: Earl was quite the entertainer. Besides having phenomenal snare chops, he knew how to work the crowd. He'd do well in Blast! or Stomp! Earl is a former Renegade who took 3rd place in Snare I&E at the '05 DCA Championships.

Leigh HS Jazz Ensemble: They were quite impressive. Chris Nalls has done a fine job with his jazz musicians.

Trip Device: I caught 'em in sound checks. They are a tight Rush-type trio that puts out a lot of complex rhythms with some added "cheater" electronic wizardry.

South Bay (Full of) Trombone Choir: You woulda thought it was a t-bone convention. Every local trombonist showed up. I only saw 'em taking over the place as they meandered in. Didn't actually slide in to catch 'em.

Eddie the Rat: He brought in a crowd of groupies. "He" is actually "they." Program says "experimental" and "avant-garde." Mousily, I admit, I didn't see 'em.

Reneguard: A crowd of horn players got our own personal show outside. Let me tell ya', I was super impressed with the latin dance and equipment work of Lisa Dryden, Deb Peterson, Andrea Tobin, Tiffany Mackey, all current 'Gades, and Lesa Barker, retired, and Emily Mavroudis, current cg staff. I knew Emily looked familiar, but it wasn't until the next day that I figured out she was Christina Mavroudis-Dempsey's daughter, and Ed Dempsey's step-daughter. What a show they put on, and we horn folks had our own private viewing!

Renegades Minicorps: !Arriba, abajo, a centro, en dentro! Let me begin with that toast. With Concierto Aranjuez and Mexico...Mexico Cali?, that other latin piece, the Minicorps has served notice that they are contenders. Fantastic job! Larrie D. on mello?! Give the man an Opus One wine toast.

Renegades: With the pit already assembled in the pit (Well, in front of the stage), the curtain opened on the '06 Renegades. The "Stairway to Heaven" show with Toccata, Stairway, and Adventures in Time brought the house down. The sop line with an attitude (onstage, nice folks off), arced around Rich S's most bodacious contra solo. Man, the dude does rock. He be da' man with that pregnant sop. Chris Nalls, Larrie D., et al., sailed on solos.

Granted, it was a Sunday night, but I was surprised at the non-party attitude. Mac, my host, and I met a few guard folks afterwards. It was a blessing in a way, as I truly got to know an important core of the Renegades. I love making new buddies in corpsdom.

2006-05-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

Amy
Lisa
Capt. Al
Elaina, waxing poetically
Mac, brewing more drill

Post-concert celebration, Reneguard and Mac.

2006-05-03T17:32:00.000-07:00

Fighter pilot mentality soprano line.

As elegant as Opus One wine, as sparkling as Tiffany glass

2006-05-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

Renegade

for

a

day!

2006-05-03T17:24:00.000-07:00

Snares ensnared behind bars where they belong.

I'll let Kelly out in 20 years.

2006-05-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

Each keg is incubating a new Renegade cocoon. Care is taken so that the kegs do not touch or suffer vibration. The evil consequences so close to the San AndRenegades Fault would be much too nightmarish to comprehend.

Mac McEntire looks over the realm of possibilities. Larrie ships or gets off the pot.

2006-05-03T17:10:00.000-07:00

The anti-marching pants guru himself in his evil lab mixing more hellacious visuals tableau vivant near Mont Diablo for the Renegades.

2006-05-03T17:03:00.000-07:00

Mac shows red-shoes Cozy where he ages his diabolical viz viddles for the Renegades in 7 vats.

DCI Championships: 10 Years in 'Bama 'Bama-Lam

2006-04-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

In 2007, the Drum Corps International Championships will be in the stadium where I marched and undefeated national champ Ohio State beat USC and O. J. Simpson (despite his 84-yd. TD jukin' around Jack Tatum) in the 1969 Rose Bowl! Now, DCI is contemplating a 10-yr. package to put the championships in a new Indy stadium -- At least it isn't in the ol' RrrCccAaa Dome. By peeling back the roof of the new stadium, drumlines won't have to be reined in when it's not raining.

Considering the hoppy debate about whether the weather in Indy for 10 years is good for corpsdom, I offer a cozy counterpoint: 10 years in gorgeous 'Bama!

Some complain about many years in the same town. Ok, I propose alternate sites: New Harmony, Geraldine, Buck's Pocket, Lacey Springs, Altoona, Fyffe (Fyffe & Drum championships?), Boaz, Skirum, Hustleville, and Ft. Payne (I feel your pain!)

The Cadets buses will provide free bus rides to the Boaz Factory Outlets, to the Alabama C&W band museum 'n gift shop in Ft. Payne, and tours of the Palm Harbor Manufactured Homes plant and the fire hydrant factory in Albertville. (90% of the U. S. fire hydrants are cast in "Ourrrville" (local pronunciation of "Albertville")). If ever timed for the First Monday weekend, the Crossmen buses will take folks to the crossroads of the Scottsboro Trade Day.

I offer 10-year packages where you can reserve the same spot for your lawn chair every year. Ponzo gets a discount!

A DCMidwest-style picnic will be held in my backyard. Biggg Ken, CorpsVets contra, is challenging all 10-person teams to take him on in tug-of-war. Roman, Sue and Murray will run the picnic. Canoes can be reserved for cruising the Tennessee River, Town Creek, Spring Creek, etc.

DCI and Bands of 'Merica are welcome to move their permanent offices to a couple of shade trees in my backyard, saving expenses. They can discuss mutual? topics like: How do we handle clarinets outside in changing climates? Harps? Hautboys?

Thar' 'tis, folks. If 10 years in exotic Indy makes ya' hot, consider how red your neck can become in Dixie.

Drum Corps Midwest 2003, Mad Plaid sop trio (l to r): Cozy, Roetzer, Mitchell

2006-04-01T16:15:00.000-08:00

Sleeping in my pickup by the motel, I was awakened to tell me our pic was in the DeKalb paper. I wondered what we'd done this time -- The F - A - dubba C Auld Lang Syne boys: Mitchell, Roetzer and I.

CorpsVets have all the Luck, Ladies, in the Copa

2006-03-27T18:16:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed this past weekend's visit to Rockmart so much (Hmm, never saw one rock for sale.), that I just had to put pucker piece to lips attached to my sop and join the Rat Pack hoedown for the weekend. Hunter Moss, Bill Wear, Jerald Sheets, et al. -- Dey be da' men! Those guys can wail Mexican cutie tattoos right off a Navy vet.
Leif Marwede and Vic Kulinski, Jr., have enough battery to give Biggg Ken, contra, a run at a tug-of-war championship. Bigggg Ken is so Bunyanesque that he makes even some of the Mad Plaid DeKalb tug-of-war champs look puny. I tried extra hard in stretching for fear Biggggg Ken might squuush me like a lightning bug.
The drill bots complained about the nip while learning their revamped drill. (Sound familiar?) You rebel marchers should try doing spring drill in Racine, Rochester, Hurc country, Minnenippliesota, or in those "severe winters" on Treasure Island???
The Rat Pack will be proud and Feelin' Good. Carmine Miranda would enjoy the revue. Drinks are on the house at the Copa. Pull the handle on this CorpsVets show. One might just spin out 7 - 7 - 7 ... or end up in a Colgan tomb, broke.
CV brought in the heavy artillery: DM supreme David Bruni smiled in to lend a hand.
Put da' lime in da' coconut and shake it all up.

Spirit rollin' like Ol' Man River

2006-03-27T18:10:00.000-08:00

The first weekend of March, I popped in on Spirit at Jax St. U. in the Coosa Holler of 'Bama. I was welcomed and liked the package I saw. Jim Ott would be proud of the '06 Spirit. Go out to see how this Div. I powerhouse will stir their Black Magic this summer!

Fractal geometry roll-stepping in De Kalb cornfiedlers

2006-03-23T14:20:00.000-08:00

It is weirder than fireflies flickering at noon, more memorable than a night in a Tunisian bandshell. This Pooh-Bah was sent to investigate a sighting of fractal geometry patterns tromped into Illinois cornfiedlers. I found no Pooh B'ar, not even a phantom phart. Upon arrival, while tossing in 80 cents...80 cents...80 cents, I spotted a man in a Greek cap wandering aimlessly in a pit. Not as handsome as El Guapo, nor as luscious as gals from BD '93, but he offered me a Tootsie Roll. What could I do but tune in? It coulda been some allan dynasty, but I kanstul respect the king. While waiting for him to fran hardily his tale, he got sleepy and yamahaed. He told me the big kids had stuffed their marbles into a BBb tuba case and Lombarded away to Kalamazooie, not via Joliet.
I asked what he planned to do in the off-season of harvesting? "Can youse or 'Canos?" Like a Roman centurion, Greek Capt. pioneered this Irish jig, "I'll Sue...Well, maybe just be a bit Murrayed." He seemed so livid he could see plaid. I vickered he'd 6 to 5, at least by 8 to 5 on the Mad Hatter's pocket watch, his complaint to the govs orwoll to some big rerereretaining Wall, maybe even spit off some husky stadium, but he got lost climbing a rickety ladder and cavalierly looking for indigo stars.
Lothar of the Hill People woulda seymoured a way out of it. Holy Toledo in a Chattachoochoo! C 1-1/2 gruppies follow this all the way Bach. It's right off the Roetzer Scale like a dubba C on a power tower with a 6A4a bill chaser. Now, that's terra firma, passing wind and singeing marshmallows.
In aught seven, don't just scout "7" and the Marines. Racine the heavy artillery: Crunched amFabians?...froglegs, and fly in the Blousemen. Mac everyone wear anti-marching trousers and play delong way. We should all be obbligatoed to DA brass cajones. Then, we'd see some gaines. Kinda blue and bushed. Too tired to buc. Slingpost some blogs. Syneing off to Grub Street.