One day in the fall of 1960, an older gentleman handed a shiny chrome bugle to a 13 year old and showed him how to hold it properly. The youngster already knew a few calls, but had never been this close to a bugle with a valve.
Somewhere among my mother’s long-ago stored effects there is a photograph of a 3 year old boy, standing on a sidewalk in New York as a parade passes by, waving a small American flag, an expression of pure joy on his face. That boy was me and, though I do not recall the details, I […]
Big G: “Behold, you are all my peeps. Now go forth and get along with each other.” Crazy G 1: “But they are all different. You can’t expect that.” Big G: “Actually, I can. I Am Who Am, after all. Besides, they are all the same, in essence. They’ll figure it out.” Crazy G 2: […]
His name was Clark, and he wanted more than anything else to play a horn and make sounds like the ones he was hearing on the radio every time he walked home from school past the barber shop, where the men laughed, smoked and told stories about “The Great War”.
-being a short anthropology of the bugle, more or less- The following is a Fractured Fairy Tale, though many of the details are absolutely true. As for the rest… As dawn broke in a boreal woods long, long ago, a drowsy Neanderthal trudged out of the brush and promptly tripped over an old Triceratops skull. […]
On a beautiful summer day 69 years ago, a young Joe Montanaro took some of his buddies for a short boat cruise. They bobbed in a channel for a time and then headed straight for the opposite shore. When they crested the breakers there was much shouting and anticipation, but this was no ordinary beach […]
My friend Curt Moore, drummer with the extraordinary Latin/Jazz group Soul Sauce, was in an earlier life the lead stick in the Santa Clara line of the early’70s and subsequently a top-gun instructor and DCI adjudicator. He has played with Grammy nominees, written books, created videos and conducted clinics and seminars in the US and […]
Now that I think about it, the whole episode unfolds like a slick Hollywood script, except it really happened. If you doubt it, just ask the others. They were there, too. It’s the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend, that most excellent event that stretches summer by one more glorious day. This time holds special meaning […]
In this episode of Off the Record, Frank visits with Glenn Kubacki of Fleetwood Sounds and explores a number of great recordings from the Fleetwood collection, including: 49th Parallel – Scout House 66 World Open – Troopers 66 Dream – Royal Airs 67 American Legion Nationals – Boston 1971 World Open – Anaheim Kingsmen Enjoy! […]
Frank continues his conversation with old friend and drum corps legend Jack Meehan. The episode is perfect for Championships Week of Drum Corps International’s 40th year. Enjoy! Click on the player below to listen
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