Penn State

nice :)

congrats Holy Name and Crown! Can't wait to see the shows

thats one way to keep butts in the stands for encore

If you don't have your heart set on new horns give The Brass Shop a shout, thebrassshop@charter.net They often have used Yamaha tubas (both 201 and 202) at very affordable prices, in excellent condition. Curious, what setup do you have now (mix of sousas and concert horns, old convertables, condition, other, etc..).? How many do you need? I have not played either convertable model but have played the Dynasty 875 and a Jupiter concert tuba (can't remember the model). Personally, I preferred the Jupiter...but take that with a grain of salt.

Wow...really??? I'm surprissed that they are not playing on Yamaha horns...Is it safe to say that more corps in the USA are playing Yamaha instruments???

Agreed, the Yamaha YBB-201 is an excellent horn, even if it is 'convertable'.

He did fail at one very important aspect of his position...he did not know where he was in relation to the playing field, a huge error on his part.

Agreed, I would also prefer the front of the jackets to have been symetrical. I prefer a look that is more traditional military in style. Do have to say the unis look much better on the corps than the model...still not sold on the new look yet though.

Based on my internship experience with Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics (Event Office) these are my recommendations: 1)If possible have a liasion avaible on site during all practice hours. The purpose of the liason is to facilitate any needs of the guest, not necesarily cater to them 2) Designate a staff member for after hours emergency contact 3) Provide a list of important phone numbers to the guest manager. The list should include: - School Police/Security - Maintenance - Local Police - School physician on call 4) Communicate with all fall sport coaches who utilize school facilities for summer work out sessions. Find out what facilities they use and when. 5) Communicate current school usage of facilities. It is very important to remember the corps is a guest. School use (e.g. ahletics) have priority of use of facilities such as weight rooms. 6) Utilize volunteers (responsible students, boosters, etc..) to add perks for the corps - have coolers with ice water, ice and bags, and cups readily available (ask the athletic trainer if you may make temporary use of hydration equipment) - (as mentioned before) provide a home cooked meal. Are there any local business that would be willing to contribute? - Have a daily weather forecast for the guest manager. When severe weather is pending, monitor the National Weather Service for updates. Communicate updates to guest manager. The guests should follow the hosts established protocol in regards to severe weather. (policies will be available through the Athletic Director) That's all I can think of for now.

Puppet, you're the best!

Was wondering if there are any parade corps in NEPA, specifically around the Pocono/Lehigh Valley area? I'm really itching to play with a group and unfortunately do not have the time for competitive senior corps. Really apprciate it if anyone could point me in the right direction. If any one cares or is interested...I'm a tuba, euphonium/baritone, and mellophone player. As long as the key of BBb, Bb, or F is not a problem, I have my own equipment to play on and can transpose music from the key of G. Thanks for the help, really appreciate it!!!

I love both equally!!! Great recording, very excited to see the show live!!!!

You are right! It is a custom screened bass drum head from the Rose Bowl/ Tournament of Roses Parade.

excellent explanation! I'll take it one step further and say...it looks like a stocked uniform from catalog ABC, jut choose your preferedschool color combination for that 'custom look'.

IMHO, the uni looks very cheap. I feel the new design looses the military bearing the previous uni designs had. The new uni has the same effect on me the Cesario Cadet unis had, looked ok, just seems like a cheap high school marching band rip off of the real thing.

What brand horn is it? Curious since you've reported mechanical problems. I hope it wasn't an 'ebay horn'.

There's some footage from the 2007 season. However most of the footage is from the 2008 season, including the prospective rookies they were following.

Ouch, you weren't even able to take away a new appreciation for the Big Ten band experience after watching it??? Would you say the same if the documentary was done on any D-I corps? I'm willing to bet you would be singing a different tune...anywho.... The drummer interviewed, Jake Gall, is a Cadet center snare age out and current Blue Band drumline captain. I beilieve he is still 'teching' for The Cadets this summer. Several other members seen through out the video marched Blue Devils, Glassmen, Jersey Surf, Buccaneers, Caballeros, and Crossmen. My apologies if I missed any corps with members in Blue Band.

To help pass some time before the competitive season begins this summer... "Making The Blue Band" can be viewed online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1ip7ROLjDM (original message ABBA members bellow...) To the Members of the ABBA, We're pleased to announce that Making The Blue Band has aired throughout Pennsylvania on public television and nationwide on the Big Ten Network. The half-hour documentary is now available online for Penn State Blue Band fans everywhere. Please share the link below with friends and family! We'd also like to thank everyone who contributed to this program in one way or another. We could not have produced such an exciting program without your financial and moral support. It was an honor to tell the Blue Band's story-and it was pretty cool reliving our own band camp days so many years later! We hope watching the program will stir wonderful memories for youŠmarching through the tunnel for the very first time, the long, hot days of band camp, and the life-long friendships that began there. The Blue Band is a truly unique organization that has had a positive impact on so many of us. Thank you for your part in sharing this story! Jeff Hughes (JHughes@psu.edu) Producer, Penn State Public Broadcasting Blue Band Trombone, '86-'88 Cole Cullen (colecullen@psu.edu) Producer/Editor, Penn State Public Broadcasting Blue Band Percussion, '92-'96 "Making The Blue Band" can be viewed online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1ip7ROLjDM DVDs are available for purchase from: Penn State Media Sales 1-800-770-2111

Couldn't agree with you more! Just hope it won't be forever and a day until we see an other show on par with PR '08

I would be very interested to see what would happen if... DCI had two sets of judges at a few early season shows. Group one would be composed of seasoned judges. Group two would be composed of professional instructors who are also seasoned judges, but never had judge for DCI (and preferably never been to a DCI show). It would be interesting to see how the scores from each group would stack up. Would we see 'score inflation' for the 'big three' from the DCI judges? Would the non-DCI judges scores be significantly lower than the DCI crew? Could scores vary so much that the 'champion' for the show would differ between the two judging groups? Other possib;e scenerios I did not list/think of??? I feel a setup like this could prove or disprove our feelings on judging. Please feel free to add comments and suggestions....

GREAT story!!! thanks for sharing with the 'class' :)

take it easy rookie... no need to get upset

IMO, the only difference between modern contra basses and marching tubas is the length of the instrument. When you just look at the basic of both horns, they both are tubas in an over the shoulder configuration. One is just picthed in G while the other is BBb. That being said, I use the term contra, to honor the history of the activity and do call the trumpets sopranos from time to time, they are the soprano voice of the dc brass choir. At least theres no conflict with mellophone, baritone, and euphonium.

All I know is one of their DMs this year is a mellophone player, Penn State music major (clarinet), Blue Band member (clarinet at first but now on mellophone!!!), and is one swell guy!!!! Very excited for this season of DCI and can't wait to see what Glassmen have instore for us!!!!