Donk

Hey Blue Rock, Great review! Are going to be at Oswego tonight? Be sure to stop by... Kos

I was playing on a Bach 5B, but I would get really tired when playing for more than an hour or so. Then I bought a Schilke 12B4 - much shallower but not a cheater piece. I added one or two notes but my endurnace and comfort was much better. But I missed the precision of the Bach. So I bought a Bach 3D which I use on my trumpet almost exclusively but still is a lip killer during long rehearsals. The shallower cup dosen't really adds notes to you range - it just makes the higher notes easier to play. I'm currently messing around with the Bobby Shew lead trumpet mouthpiece (marcinkiewicz something or other). Not exactly a cheater, but it sure sounds good in the upper register and the lower stuff ain't bad either.

w/Stp:

We are not all 55, some of us are only in our late 40's! Thank you so much for your review. We gave so much to try to live up to the past. And if you want to see a lot of crying, come to our final performance at DCA where our entire corps will be balling like babies when we have to say goodbye. I really enjoyed all the corps as I got to see both Quarters and Finals. Things are sure different than they were 35 years ago but the excellence has remained the same. I hope everyone enjoyed the history lesson. We all should reflect on where we came from every once in a while. 2002 was, in fact, "A Very Good Year". Yes, it was an excellent year!

The line-up for this show is usually pretty good, but this is the best line-up in a long time. Santa Clara hasn't been in Chicago for a while, Rockford fans only had to drive 75 miles, and beside Cavaliers there were two other potential top 12 corps plus Mandarin, Troopers, and Royal Airs. And all for $15 or $20! Sure there is always a good crowd, but whenever I have attended there has always been decent seats outside the center sections. The field is great for marching (natural grass). There is a wide track for trooping the stands. And there are good spots for souvenier trucks. The only downside is the close proximity to O'Hare Airport (jet noise). Many people don't stay in their seats because this turns out to be a "man, I haven't seen you in years" reunion thing. Chicagoland used to be a huge place for drum corps. I miss being able to go to a show nearly every weekend in the summer and never have to drive more than an hour.

I have attended this show many times over the years, but this is the first time I remember the stands being packed to the edges. The reserved section is usually sold out, though. But I do remember the port-o-pot and foods lines always being long. I know a lot of people came out of the woodwork to see the Royal Airs and I'm not sure that will happen again. It's kinda of nice to have a show at the same place every year. People get used to and it makes it easier to keep the fans coming back every year. I say fix the problems and keep the venue.

Mitch, I'm sure you would remember me, after all we marched together in Cavaliers in '76. Actually my parents were at the Des Plaines show. My wife and two boys won't be cheering "Good Luck Dad!" until Madison. Thanks for the kind words about Royal Airs 2002 (which includes about 10 Cavalier FMMs) - we are having a blast! Don Kosmal

Just one more comment about the Cavalier/DesPlaines show. . . from down on the starting line you could see that the stands were packed to the edges and there were people in the back stands as well as standing on the sidelines. I can't ever remember a crowd of this size at this show. Obviously several factors help draw the big crowd; the Cavaliers having a phenominal year, Santa Clara being in town along with several other top corps and the appearance of the Royals Airs. I know many of the "old timers" came out to see this show. I guess you can say that there was something for everyone to enjoy.

The Top three pleasures in life. 3. Hearing some fine screamin' trumpet/soprano parts 2. Playing some fine screamin' trumpet/soprano parts 1. Sex Sometimes I get 1 & 2 mixed up. I'm working on my upper register. I'm getting some fine sounding high G's (both on trumpet and soprano). Squeaking out of few double C's. Now I need to be able to do it without the headaches (it's getting better). I've played with Pawlowski, Fererra, and Sobacki - all fine players.

I play just for fun (drum corps, community band, church...) B-flat trumpet Bach Strad model 37 B-flat trumpet Yamaha student model (which my son now plays) B-flat Flugelhorn Yamaha matches above trupmet G bugle DEG 3 valve

Would that be the same Don Kaihatsu who marched in the Nisei Ambassadors and Chicago Connection? If it is tell him to stop by the Royal Airs Alumni corps this summer - there are at least a dozen guys who would love to say hi.

The spokesman was none other than Serge Uccetta - one of our Drum Majors (and drum major back in the '60s)

When I was younger I played on a Bach 7CW which I used on both my trupmet and bugle. After high school, I didn't play too much on the trumpet anymore and I lost my mouthpeice so I picked up a Bach 5C which worked really well for me. After I aged out of DC, I went back to the trupmet and my teacher suggested a Bach 5B. Since I didn't do a lot of outside playing and my tone was improving I stuck with it. Now I'm back playing soprano again using my Bach 5B but I was fooling around with a Yamaha 14a4a, which was too shallow. I did a little research and bought a Schilke 12B4. My endurance and range is a bit better but my attacks and precision suffer a bit.

I'm playing on a DEG G soprano and I'm fighting with it all the time, especially on the G# and A on top of the staff. I am pleasantly surprised with the valve action on the horn. I bought a Schilke 12B4 to see if that would help out a bit. I think a slightly brighter tone sounds good on a bugle. I hadn't played a bugle for over 20 years, having only played trumpet since I stopped marching.