All Age, All Good – Open Houses Open Arms

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It’s time! The DCAssociates’ off-season is thankfully less "off," as the weekends now have open houses beckoning. Mowing the lawn, hosing down the boat, etc., are finished as is being a couch potato since Labor Day weekend. Batten the hatches and allot some of the gas budget for corpsdom. Get your mello out and join the Renegades, pipe your way to the Kilties, figure out how two people who own one Kanstul Powerbore soprano can both play for Dream like Mike Plachta and Bill Howard, but just get off the sofa and paradiddle or spin for MBI, Lakeshoremen, Govies, Chops, Music City Legend, Alliance, Caballeros, Brigs, Sun, and more.

Check your fave corps for schedules like open houses by Gulf Coast Sound Dec. 15, the CorpsVets’ Nov. 18, Kilties Dec. 1-2, etc. The bliss from last season’s championship in Rochester should result in an even more spectacular summer in aught eight. The Rochester buzz from Paetec Park to the Convention Center to the various hotels and practice fields was stunning. DCA is a happening. Join the "corpswagon" now!

DCA has established a fine relationship with DCInternational that is working well for both circuits. We do hope that this symbiosis will blossom even further.

Dempsey to market DCA

Ed Dempsey has stepped from behind his Jumbotron laptop wizardry to take on DCA’s marketing tasks. Donna Petrucelli will continue to assist. Yes, Dempsey is the recent marketing guru from DCI. One can assume that Dempsey’s wife, Christina Mavroudis-Dempsey will also be working to help DCA.

Skyliners Director Harry Eldridge, Sr., called me soon after the October DCA meeting in Newark, NJ, wanting to discuss the meeting and Sky’s plans. Sky will be performing "The Awakening," brass charts composed by Chris Bernotas, with percussion written by Keith Warfield. Eldridge hopes to put Sky back onto the field in aught eight. We all want to see a bright horizon for the Skyliners. At a recent high school football game, the local rival band performed a "NY, NY" show, replete with yellow cabs, horns, traffic jams…Sound like anyone you know?

Fusion Core will have co-caption heads Willy Carmona and Mathew Spatz back to run brass. Fusion Core did a highly respectable job last year for their initiation season. Just what does FC have in store for fan$ in 2008?

Jimmy Steele is rejoining the Empire Statesmen as their brass caption head for this Rochester corps’ 25th anniversary. Steele is a past mello soloist for Empire and a solo champ at Individual & Ensembles. Steele has been the brass caption head for Spirit and the Crossmen. Jerry Kelsey returns to arrange the Statesmen’s brass book. Also returning are Colin McNutt and Peter Garrow to design percussion and guard.

Jeff Mitchell is hopping onto a black saddle to become program consultant for the Connecticut Hurricanes. Jim Dugan, program coordinator, will have brass arranger Dave Dion returning. Can the Hurricanes move on up in ’08? Buy your Rochester tickets soon and schedule a summer of local shows.

Frontier is leaving "1968" behind to journey into "There and Back Again." Frontier will "Caravan" with charts from Jethro Tull, "Scootin’ on Hard Rock," and more. "I’ll Be Seeing You" Frontier.

Will the Reading Buccaneers roll the bones for a four-peat? Staff Coordinator Carl Ruocco has added Jay Bocook to write the brass charts. Bocook has long been the arranger for The Cadets.

Mighty St. Joe’s alumni corps of LeRoy, NY, was just one of the nine memorable corps at last year’s "Alumni Spectacular." Thanks to Bob "Sully" Sullivan, director, for another nice letter following the Labor Day weekend. Check your local calendar and make plans to see an alumni corps in Bridgeport, CT, Rochester, NY, etc.

Minicorps was a jaw-dropping success last year. Mr. Keppel and many more are to be congratulated. Paul Chaffee, under the leadership of Dick Pronti, DCA I&E co-coordinator, ran a tight ship with the aid of "Cupcakes" Curran, Dick Pomerleau et al. We all look forward to Barbara Haring, Fran’s wife, returning. Minicorps had a record of 18 entries, which will be even larger, hopefully, in ’08. Cincinnati Tradition might even bully its way to the Rochester Convention Center stage.

Grenadiers are back!

DCA is in an exciting stage in its history. Phenomenal growth occurred across America. The Grenadiers plan to rejoin DCA from Ontario as a Class A competitor. Sam Signorelli and staff are cranking out a new corps in California’s San Fernando Valley. I predict DCA will have even more entries at "Rachacha" for the championships.

Is Charlie Groh, an impulsive DCPlanet photographer, going to make the trek from the Left Coast to play his Kanstul contra in the Bridgemen? How many DCA shows will Joe "Jag" Anthony make next summer to work audio and video? Buy your DCA tickets for some of the finest entertainment in corpsdom, www.dcacorps.org , www.fivestarbrass.com .

Posted by on Monday, November 12th, 2007. Filed under DCA ... All-Age, All-Good!.