Fran Haring

She's fine, Terri... thank you for asking! She's taking a very strong antibiotic to combat an infection... and it's kind of a catch-22 situation. The infection is resistant to other antibiotics, so without it she risks having the infection spread to her bloodstream...... that's not good, and could possibly be very serious. But..... the antibiotic itself can cause all sorts of side effects. She's experienced a few of them already....including insomnia (and another more serious one... I'll spare you all the details!). Thus, we are home in Baltimore. Our two cats are loving this... extra attention for them all weekend!!! So.... we'll be on DCP later, getting the Finals play-by-play! Fran

Geez.... we go out to dinner for a few hours, and all this drum corps stuff happens. Seriously..... congratulations to the prelims winners..... Alliance in Class A and the Buccaneers in Open Class. And hats off to the DCP crew for their hard work...... great play-by-play. And excellent video... that was a great idea! And of course, major props to the DCA crew. Wish we could be there, but stuff happens. Way too much stuff for the past year, IMO... but that's life. Gotta make dinner plans for Sunday now. Fran

They're up, on the "scores" page. Fran

Great coverage, guys!!!! I'm at home, "multi-tasking" with DCP on the computer and the Deutsche Bank PGA tournament on TV.... LOL Barbara and I are not making the trip this year. To make a long story short..... she had an incident last night, a side effect to an antibiotic she's been taking to knock out an infection. Sooooo.... we had planned on driving up today, and I would work Finals. But we had to change our plans. Kinda weird.... first time since 1975 that I haven't been to DCA weekend... either as a fan, performer or show announcer. Man, I'm old!!!! So hopefully, we'll see you all in Rochester. Next year. LOL Fran

Good points, Andy. The I&E contest has so much stuff going on.... and DCA basically is staffed by volunteers, who have a lot on their plate not only tonight but all weekend. So when it comes to I&E scores and such on the DCA site.... patience, please! Fran

At the I&E contest site. Fran

I miss my daily dose of The Far Side. Just thought I'd say that. Fran

I can hear those corps' staff members now..."Finally.... a judge who understands what 'sucks' means!!!!!" LOL Fran

OK..... here we go. Barbara and I are traveling to Rochester tomorrow (Saturday). Best-case scenario, arriving by mid-afternoon. So I'll be working Finals, probably watching at least part of Prelims. We just got word from her doctor that we can travel this weekend, without restrictions. Since late last week, Barbara has been battling an infection that 1) nearly put her back in the hospital earlier in the week, and 2) nearly caused us to scrap our travel plans for the weekend.....if we had to make this travel decision Wednesday or early yesterday, it would have been a no-go. And if her doctor had expressed the slightest reservations at all...... we'd be staying home. But Barbara's been adjusting well to the antibiotic she's taking....so her doctor said "go enjoy your weekend." It's a bit of a shortened weekend for us.... but that's what we plan to do: Enjoy the weekend. I hope all of you who are traveling there enjoy your weekend, too. See you in Rochester!!!!! Fran

Fran

Oh...yeah, sure.... YOU do it right, but what about everyone else!!! Mike, I hope it works for whatever DCI corps decides to use it... but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Fran

Honest to God, I don't remember the first show I attended!!!! I know it was in 1967.... the summer my older brothers were marching with the Raiders of 88 junior corps from Highland Park, NJ....in the old Garden State circuit. So my first show was either a Garden State show, or one of the Wildwood NJ states shows.... VFW or AL. Hey... I was nine years old at the time, for crissakes. We're talking ancient history here. I did end up joining the Raiders of 88 that September... the corps folded a couple of months later. Go figure. My one brother joined the Manville Sacred Heart Crusaders junior corps, Eastern States circuit... the other enlisted in the Air Force. I ended up with Sacred Heart for my first season marching, in 1971. Too young for the Air Force. Fran

I'm pro-electronics, but the miked brass thing has me worried. At any of the band shows I've worked, I don't like the sound of miked instruments (woodwinds, mostly) at all. It sounds tinny and ....well..... not good. LOL. Plus, I've never had a problem hearing a drum corps brass soloist or ensemble, without microphones. So regarding this particular rules change...I gotta wonder. Fran

Frank Zappa's "Billy The Mountain".... The Classical Side Fran

Yogi Berra: "When you get to the fork in the road, take it." Pepe and Yogi would get along famously, I'm sure! Fran

What Tony said. I never met Danny, but he was most definitely an icon in the drum corps activity. RIP. Fran

I love it... eliminating the middleman and drinking right from the bucket......LOL Fran

Jim, that would be an awesome name for a show theme.....Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Let the audience figure it out. Fran

Same memory here, Pete. NJ had a whole bunch of corps back in our day. My first season with the Manville Crusaders....1971... I think there were something like 23 junior corps in competition that year at the American Legion state championship in Wildwood. Fran

IMO, it's the training of the players. On both sides of the coin. In recent years I've heard B-flat lines that have absolutely knocked me out with great in-tune sound. One example: Getting a chance to hear Carolina Crown's horn line this year from ground level, 50-yard line......WOW. What an incredible sound. But every time I hear the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, they also knock me flat with great in-tune sound....on 2-valve G's. So again, IMO.... it's the training of the players.... and I guess, the philosophy of the brass staff. too. A staff that wants its horn line to play with a big, full, confident sound can certainly get those results. To me, it's still that "drum corps sound".... even on B-flats. Fran

True story.... back in the late 1980's, there was a bar band at the Jersey shore named Free Beer. "Friday night: Free Beer" LOL Fran

Unfortunately for INT, this is a typical response from fans who, for whatever reason, don't want to see what INT has to offer. A complete lack of respect, I tell ya. Fran

Not only will INT be doing two performances, but my sources tell me that they will be performing two entirely different shows. Should be interesting. Fran

In 2006, we went to a barbecue place called Beale Street a few minutes driving time from downtown Rochester. Kind of a less-touristy version of Dinosaur. Fran

LOL..... not quite yet. BTW, congrats to the Statesmen on their win! Fran