Cozy Spreads Some Love
All-Age drum corps news is popping-up all over as we reach the first day of Summer. By now, most of our activity’s players have donned uniforms and made their first public appearance. Questions are beginning to have answers, predictions gain some foundation, and the number of active viewers of Drum Corps Planet soars to record height.
Drum corps fans of all levels awake each morning, check the ‘net for news and opinion. It builds enthusiasm for our own first live viewing of the new season. For performers, DCP is the place to be for validation that hundreds of difficult hours of preparation did result in a display worthy of mostly positive reviews. We require much more than scores alone.
Thank heaven for good people, like our friend Cozy Baker, who work so hard to gather and package so much for our enjoyment. Be grateful for the technology that brings what we need so quickly.
So, Cozy . . . what’s happening?
Cozy’s DCA Planet
by Cozy Baker
Wild Thing, I think I love ya’! So much to love in DCA!
The Renegades were cruising comfortably at 39,000 feet after beginning an ascent on Stairway to Heaven. Asudden, out of an anvil-topped cumulonimbus cloud, River City Regiment swooped in, sun at their backs, and Sidewindered the Renegades. The Renegades horns and guard, distracted by huddling around to protect their new battery members, were deluged in the onslaught.
When the sky cleared, the Renegades could claim slight bragging rights, but River City Regiment is probably still crowing from towers of power in Sacramento. Caveat: When the Renegades five new battery members gok into the Renegades’ Shirley shtick, beware.
River City Regiment is the real deal. They beat Renegades’ guard! That’s quite an accomplishment. These freelancers need to be seen and taken seriously. Welcome to the aught six center ring RCR!
The good news on the DCA Left Coast just keeps tremoring. RCR and the Renegades will still be licking wounds when they go to LA-LA land, off Rodeo Drive, to meet SoCal Dream at the two DCInternational shows on July 8 and 9. SoCal Dream is reality in the alpha state and will be at the DCA Rachacha Rochester shindig.
The Reading Buccaneers have served notice they are not about to just give away their trophy. “Exotic Impressions” edged strong Empire Statesmen and Hawthorne Caballeros shows.
The Minnesota Brass is strong yet again. The Kilties, Govenaires and Chops will soon find out how they stack up. Govies have beaten Chops early.
Congratulations to DCI and DCA for working together to place most of the DCA corps on DCA scoring sheets at DCI contests. (Confused yet? So are corps aficionados.) Eventually, this will satisfy most fan$. The minor glitches in June will be resolved.
Please go to the all-age corps souvie booths and all corps souvies to support them. Travel expenses to DCA Rochester, NY, costs so much more than in the Conestoga days.
The photos posted about the DCA Wildwood, NJ, beach party show are classics. Go check these photos of Jimmy Russo, Cabs Alumni drum major; casual Buccs like Jeff and Josh; Kay; and – Put on your dark sunglasses before viewing Emcee Fran Haring’s and Cabs Biz Mgr. Al Katz’s Hawaiian duds.
Dastrup plays Wild Thing
Larrie Dastrup, Renegades soprano, is going to play and solo using a Flip Oakes’ Wild Thing Bb trumpet, with the rest of Renegades still on G. I’m a dealer for Callet trumpets. Callet and Wild Thing (Al Chez, Paul Shaffer Band trumpeter on David Letterman, former Garfield and July 1 Bugler Hall of Fame inductee, uses a WT) are about the only mostly conical trumpets along with the Puje. I’ve owned two WTs. Currently, I own three Callets. It’s no coincidence they are both partly Kanstul built. They are screaming horns with a huge sound, trumpets capable of sizzling with projection alfresco with their conical bugle-like fullness.
Dastrup shared his thoughts when asked if it’s true, “Yes, I’m flattered to even be mentioned! I’m actually playing on the Wild Thing for the first two productions, then for Toccata, I will be playing on a Besson 4-valve right-handed piccolo in A. That is, if DCA will grant us an exception to a rule that prohibits use of 4-valved horns, except for tubas. I’m off to Kamp Kingsmen tomorrow, then back to Treasure Island, Saturday & Sunday.”
Why, I like both kinds of music – Drums and bugles…uh, brass.
Peashey? Judge for yourself
I have tremendous respect for Tom Peashey. In corpsdom, Peashey has done it, judged, played it, judged, taught, judged, directed, adjudicated, run bingo, etc. Peashey commented on his experience and his DCP posts, saying, “I always get into stuff like this morning that involve how a judge ‘thinks.’ With everything I’ve done in drum corps, I still believe I was best at ‘educating and knowing’ the adjudication systems. Sometimes, too many people just don’t get it. They don’t understand the methods necessary to make it come even close to working and how they developed over the last 60 years.
“It’s ironic that my bio (being inducted this year) for the (Drum Corps) Hall of Fame almost ignores my 15-year-plus adjudication career. I judged seven DCA Championships and was chief judge at two.”
In response to the recent posters wondering about some glitches in the posting of all-age scores from DCI and DCA shows, some poster named JohnD 🙂 explained DCP’s efforts to correct the process. Thanks!
Can’t you just feel the love in the Forums? Posters notice glitches in DCP scores listings, wonder, and the horse’s mouth explains. I’m beginning to think this JohnD cyber guy is all right in my book. Like Tom Peashey, he has los cajones to jump in here and tell us how it truly is, not abandoning us corps nuts to wonder and wander in the cyber boonies.
JohnD posted, “We LOVE DCA and have no intention to slight our All-Age members and fans.”
I enjoy DCP way too much. After posting a comment on the scoring, I added, “I shouldn’t be wasting time posting. I need to scribe. Soooo, I’m off to my Dixie outhouse armed with quill pen and an old Sears catalog. See ya’ later, alligator snapping turtles.”
Jackson Generals have a brigade of experience
The Jackson, MS, Generals are certainly loaded with experience. They have members who performed with Anaheim Kingsmen, Blue Devils, Bluecoats, Glassmen, Guardsmen, Madison Scouts, Memphis Blues, Memphis Sound, Phantom Regiment, SkyRyders, Suncoast Sound and Troopers. Impressive. Competing this year, the Generals hope to expand in ’07. Come join the festivities at DCA Individuals & Ensemble/Minicorps, Generals. Thanks to Patrick Wiggins, mello, for sharing. I can’t wait to see DCA’s new Dixie corps at the CorpsVets’ DCA Rockmart, GA, contest.
Dannah “Princess Leia” Griffith, Atlanta CorpsVets sop, shared her anticipation for her first drum corps show in DCI Powder Springs, GA, an exhibition for the CorpsVets, “The CV show is definitely higher impact and more entertaining than I could have ever dreamed it could have been. I think the audience will love it, and the good thing about it is, our show will only get better and better from here.”
The CorpsVets’ six tenors (7s/6t/5bd) are playing on multi-tenors designed by Leif Marwede, caption head. Marwede is a past Percussive Arts Society tenor champ. Marwede marched Blue Devils and taught the Cavaliers.
Elizabeth, sop in Carolina Gold
Elizabeth, we all want to know more about your experiences as a rookie with Carolina Gold. How are you enjoying the Tower of Power show?
Whew! I survived! In the last column, I spewed names like a diva hitting goblet-breaking notes in an aria. I was convinced I’d catch some flack. In fact, to Fred Windish, DCA Marketing, and Kevin Gamin, DCP editor, I commented, “I’m releasing chipmunks on a screened-in back porch here with all the names. Folks love to see their names in print. When they don’t see theirs, I’ll hear about it. When someone sees it misspelled…I hate to think about it. ‘Travler Garvey’ is correct.” Lo and behold, not one complaint did I receive. Still, I thought of tons of names I left out.
Did you hear the news that Holiday Inn Express is joining DCA as a sponsor?…Oh, wait, that was just Fred Windish, DCA Marketing, cracking us up in his DCA column. Maybe they should sponsor DCA. Windish had kidded about someone asking him, “Are you the owner of Drum Corps Planet?” Windish responded, “ No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.” Or should have said it.
I’m not known for PR news releases. I’m giving a shameless plug to a manufacturer that has been here for drum corps, which has paid for numerous ads in drum corps publications like DCWorld. Here’s news they just sent to me:
Dynasty USA is very excited to bring two important topics to your attention in this newsletter. Information on our Mark Ford Signature Series Marimbas is here with specifications, pictures, and some info on Mark Ford. The Ford Signature marimbas are the first in a series of new artist quality instruments Dynasty USA will be bringing to you.
Additionally, we are equally excited to introduce Tim Fairbanks as the newest member of the Dynasty USA family. Dynasty USA is pleased to announce that Tim Fairbanks (Centerville, OH) has agreed to join the Dynasty USA family effective June 2006. Tim is a well-known designer and instructor in many percussion idioms.
Tim is the Percussion Director for Centerville (OH) High School, and is the visual designer and program coordinator for WGI Independent World ensemble Rhythm X of Columbus, OH. Centerville High School is a perennial Bands of America Grand Nationals finalist. Tim was the section leader for the 1996 DCI World Champion Phantom Regiment. For the last five years, Tim has been a member of the DCI Judging Team, and, this summer, is working with The Bluecoats from Canton, OH.
I once had three members of the ’93 BOA Champion Centerville HS band march in my corps. I’ll take Dan Pfunder and his wife in any corps I’m associated with any day. Such talent! The Pfunders marched in Northwest Ventures a few years ago.
“ScoJo,” Scott Johnson, Blue Devils and Renegades percussion honcho, contributes percussion advice through Dynasty.
A.J. Wright and Dinkles have been loyal sponsors of DCA. Thanks for the support!
Subscribe to DCWorld, www.drumcorpsworld.com. Order your DCA tickets, www.dcacorps.org.
Well, I’ve been hanging long enough. Time to staccato along to DCI Powder Springs, GA, DCA Dover, NJ (Pack shades; Fran will be there.), LMS L.A….
