All-Age, All Good ~ Hop the autobus to ‘Rachacha’

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"That makes 49 corps in Rochester!" quipped Gil Silva, president of DCAssociates. Silva's total accounts for the competitive corps in Open Class and Class A, the alumni corps and minicorps. Silva made this comment on Sunday, August 19, at Alliance's initial home show, in Alpharetta, GA, in the critique.

Dick Pronti, co-coordinator of DCA Individuals & Ensembles, and I had just talked. Pronti had informed me that the latest minicorps count "is now up to 19, with the additions of Imperials of Massachusetts, Music City Legend and Carolina (Gold)." That's going to be one busy stage. (Update: 6:35 PM CDT, Thursday, August 23: Director Scott Rhodes of Music City Legend e-mailed Dick Pronti that MCL will not enter minicorps per a phone chat with Pronti. So, 18 minicorps are entered.)

Pronti also stated, "The stage will be flipped to the side. Better acoustics. More people can be closer to the stage. The party remains, but they will be split into the two rear corners."

Fan$, this will be a DCA Championships to remember. I'm going out on a limb and guaranteeing no hurricane, no Ernesto-class storm, just a cozy time at Aquinas Stadium…uh, Paetec Park. Are you ready for some drum corps?!

Joe "JAG" Anthony, familiar video man, called today and said, "It should be a good barn burner. I figure (Acme Corps) will take it, but there will be some pushing and shoving in other positions." Anthony will be in Rochester once again working with Baker Video.

Silva, Cardaneo and full DCA panel at two Georgia shows

Silva and Bob Cardaneo, DCA chief brass judge, flew into Atlanta for the two DCA shows in Rockmart, GA, and Alpharetta, GA. These two shows were in better shape than if Health & Human Services had assisted; each was adjudicated by a full DCA panel on August 18 and 19, including Donny Allen and Gus Barbaro. While one of the two Minnesota shows was being rained out on Sunday, the dreadful 100-plus degree heat wave dissipated a bit in "Hotlanta" to just the high 90s. However, it was close to 100 again by the time Alliance's 1 PM show ended with the CorpsVets' "Remembrance" closer at 3:22 PM.

Congratulations to Alliance for hosting their first contest. Terry Reilly, Jeff Pastor and their many volunteers ran a smooth show. CorpsVets' Suzanne and Brad Hood, Dr. Dave and Tammi Stollberg, Rocky South, Tom Colgan, Dave Medeiros et al. did a phenomenal job of hosting the Rockmart show once again. Music City Legend, Scott Rhodes director, ran a superb DCA South Regional on August 4.

Brad Hood, CorpsVets assistant director, was jumping for joy during CV's closer at the Alliance show as CV earned its 87.188 score. Super fan$, Bob and Annie Sullivan, endured the heat along with an appreciative audience.

Joe Murphy, "dubba C" contra for Music City Legend, who proved Murphy's Law in Rockmart, tells me, "Lindsay Murphy (Joe's daughter), bari, Aaron Christenbury, bari, Terry Wilson, euph, possibly more, will be joining us in Rochester." The added talent is coming in "fresh" from their DCI tours with Spirit of JSU, maybe Memphis Sound. This sounds like the Renegades and many Northesast corps who also bolster the numbers with DCI vets.

Who's in the night show?

The finest example of the growth and improvement of DCA, to me, can be seen in the Open Class rankings of, say, 9th through 12th in Prelims in Rochester. The corps who will settle for 11th or less — Several of these corps would easily have made the night show Finals just a few years ago. Besides the battle for first through third, check out the dogfight amongst corps like the Rochester Crusaders, led by Drum Major Carol O'Brien, the Racine Kilties, Music City Legend and more. The rivalry between the Hurricanes and CorpsVets is heated. Where will the Renegades slip into Prelims?

Class A is another prime example of DCA's strength. The Govenaires, SoCal Dream, and more will elbow each other for bragging rights. Plan to get there in time at Paetec Park to catch these exciting Class A corps. Buy your tickets now at www.dcacorps.org .

As of today, August 23, the emcees for Labor Day weekend are: Fran Haring, Finals; Tom Peashey, Prelims; and Ace Holleran, Alumni Spectacular. Barbara Haring, Fran's wife and DCA I&E co-coordinator, is recovering from a stroke. All wish Barb well in her recovery. If Fran can make it earlier, we may just hear his familiar voice at the mike. Peashey is another great drum corps voice; so, all is in good hands, or throat. Ryan Turner, "Voice of the West," will remain on staff with SoCal Dream, not at the mike.

DCA's 'kewl kitchen kats' and personalities

Music City Legend has Dave DePreist as tympanist/multi-percussion, and "kitchen sink" according to DePreist. Tattooed with drums on both arms, DePreist is a character in the pit. I told him that he would fit right in with the Kilties with those tattoos.

Derby City Knights did two exhibitions at the Georgia shows. DCK has a dude on mallets who pounds the pergatory out of his Yamaha Acoustalon.

Dick Pomerleau and his Shenandoah Sound also did two Geargia exhibitions. Pomerleau got Judge Donny Allen's attention on "Hi-De-Ho."

Charles Vanover, CorpsVets sop, revealed, "I marched Imperial Guards '81 – '82. They folded the start of '83. My first DCA show I saw…I marched (in June)." Vanover drives from Kentucky to do CV. His son, Aaron, has marched Memphis Sound.

Dream has Mike Plachta, sop, who marched Guelph Royalaires. Plachta always has a point to make. Other characters, who are reality: Mike Nash, Bob Briggs, and staff like Thom Willet, Ryan Turner and Director Seth Gambetty.

Scott Wolfe endures the heat for Frontier in Dallas. Where were you guys 'n cowgirls when I lived in Cowtown?

The Renegades? Whether you ask who did the penalty or who their chatacters are, the answer is the same: "Me. I did it." Mac McEntire, viz guru, is in the midst of immortals there.

Dave Brietweiser, now Gulf Coast Sound assistant DM, formerly in the guard of GCS and CorpsVets, has been doing corps almost as long as Frank "The Beard" Lozar did for Minnesota Brass. Roger Grupp is now missed from MBI, but MBI is doing just fine, thank you. Gulf Coast Sound has some of the cockiest sops in DCA. Catch these kats.

The Kilties keep the tradition going with J.C. Caspers, mello, Bill Roetzer, sop, "Moon" Johnson, bari, Wally Schlieg, cymbals king, Jeff Seymour, sop, et al.

Are you ready for some I&E? Pronti up to the Gatorade stand!

Get to Rochester by Friday night. Do not miss the I&E party…uh, competition. Paul Chaffee will do his magic during minicorps. I'll do my thing at sops/trumpets/tenor horns/mellos, then to the minicorps stage. If the weather allows some of the percussion events to take place on the closed streets again, it will be Party Central on this planet. DCA I&E takes place at the Convention Center and the adjoining Clarion Hotel. The Crown Point Plaza Hotel is virtually next door to the Clarion, with only the Genessee River in between. Considering I can toss a rock across the only south-to-north flowing river in North America with my left hand, all these facilities are close. This will be the most fun I've had since I took an autobus to Mazatlan and met a triple-tonguing lady in a…club.

Want to hang with Hall of Famers? Want to cruise in luxury? Want to habla espanol and tell tall tales in ingles? Contact Bob and Cathy Cardaneo, www.cruisewithbob.com , for details. The World Drum Corps Hall of Fame hosts its annual cruise, open to the public, February 16 – 24, from Ft. Lauderdale, FL, to Costa Maya, Mexico; Limon, Costa Rica; and Colon, Panama. The Cardaneos would appreciate inquiries by September 15.

 

Posted by on Thursday, August 23rd, 2007. Filed under DCA ... All-Age, All-Good!.