Robert Kirby

I know! I mean, whodathunk that someone would have such a hate-on for the Castlemen of Conklin, NY? I understand being jealous of their mad skills with the rifle, and all, but still..... Robert,

Guess Who the guy on the right is # 251? Clue # 1. One of the Corps that he's been in is the Kilties. Clue # 2. He has been in a couple of PA Corps too! And three Ohio corps, one junior and two senior. Robert

Best wishes, y'all. When you succeed, it will be a tremendous step forward for drum corps in Cali and as a whole. Robert

Here's hoping that you are having a magnificent camp. As a Kilties' fan, from "Pictures" to Praetorius and beyond, I look forward to a positive report from camp. Be nae dauntit, Robert

Perhaps the great Arnold Jacobs, if http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Jacobs and http://www.windsongpress.com/jacobs/AJ_Biography.htm are to be believed. Robert

Do you mean the Maumee Demons, of Toledo, Ohio? They would eventually spawn the Maumee Suns/Glass City Optimists/Glassmen. I've seen references to a Midwest Senior Association. This, from Corpsreps.com, might be an example of their shows: Sunday September 5, 1965 Racine WI Midwest senior Drum Corps Championship Position Corps Score 1 Maumee Demons 61.220 2 Kenosha Kingsmen 59.400 3 Boys of 76 57.280 4 Hamms Indians 54.350 5 Men of Brass 47.070 6 Spirit of St. Louis 43.650 7 St. Clair Shores Vanguard 35.030 Robert

Get better, Cozy. We're praying for you here in Cincinnati. Robert

The Presidents Drum and Bugle Corps of Greeneville, Tennessee has participated in two Presidential Inaugural parades. Robert

Regarding getting back in the saddle, DO IT! I did last year and it has made a tremendous improvement in my life. Wherever The Great Midwest is, there is probably an all-age corps somewhere near you, and I'm sure you'll be made welcome. Regarding the mouthpiece, i played a 24AW through high-school, junior corps and college. I've recently added a Bach 18 MegaTone and, for cold-weather parades, a Kelly Hellberg. I like the MegaTone tremendously. Best wishes, Robert Kirby

I am a recent convert to DCA, having come back to drum corps about a year ago, following an absence of many years. I recently acquired the 2004 and 2005 DVD sets and enjoy them tremendously. Would anyone care to give a review of the 2006 DCA Prelims & finals DVDs and the 2007 DCA finals DVD? Videography, sound, what-have-you? Thanks in advance, Robert Kirby

Thanks right back at you Jim. We had a .... Jim Jordan? <Thinks for a minute. Jim Jordan+Bridgeman+DM> HOLY $#!^ You're the dude in the white %^&*in' coat!! Ya know, we may be moving East sometime in the next couple of years... Best wishes, Robert

Prescriptivists of the world, unite! You each have nothing to lose but your plurality. Robert

Before this thread goes all becaue of the board/guard eligibility remarks, I just want to throw kudos to the bananas. We worked on Land of Make Believe today at Cincinnati Tradition and at one point I remaked that my inner Bridgeman was coming out. What makes that funny is that I was never really that big of a Bridgeman fan, but I was and still am a gynormous Troopers fan. I guess that, whether one thinks of oneself as a fan of a particular corps or not, a group of passionate performers can still make a lasting impression. Best wished to Bayonne, Robert

Back-lit. At night. From behind. Black and white. That is still the classiest uniform ever. Robert

They posted a little earlier. Here are some details: "Artistry in Colour" Popular works from the albums: "Artistry in Rhythm", "Journey into Capricorn" and "Cuban Fire!" Sounds cool! I look forwardn to seeing them and all the rest of us. Robert

So..... I was pretty much not paying attention to drum corps when the transition from two valves took place. Do these kits consist of a third valve assembly that you bolt onto a two-piston horn or are they a complete three valve assembly that can be used to convert even old piston-rotor horns to a three-piston configuration? Do they work with all brands of horns? I'm probably the only person who doesn't know this stuff, but it is very interesting to me. Robert

Ebay has a Conquistadors decanter available. I know we have some Conquistadors alums who read this forum, so I thought I'd post it here. It isn't mine, so I don't know any more about it. For instance, I don't know if this is memorabilia for the S.S.F. Conquistadors, or for the Conquistadors Seniors from Ventura, or some other corps I never heard of or just a pastiche. At any rate, it is at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=350100297555 Robert

It's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Coo-o-o-oorps Robert

I did not know that. WOW, is that a lot of drum corps heritage in one family. Your dad, your brothers, you and your wife and now your son. That is cool! Did your dad march in a corps at some point? As for the 12th, yes you will absolutely see me. I started practicing this week to bring my chops back up to speed. For those of you who might be wondering what Pat and I are getting on about, we are members of the same all-age corps, the Cincinnati Tradition. We have our first rehearsal of the season October 12th. By the way, he added with all the subtlety of a brick through a plate-glass window, anyone who is interested is welcome to join us from 1 pm to 4 pm at Whitewater Crossing Christian Church located at 3420 Glenmore Avenue in Cincinnati. Robert

A prerequisite, no. But that's no reason not to indulge in some gratuitous pirate talkin'. What is the Buccaneer's favorite Irving Berlin song? This Is The Arrrrrrrrmy Mr. Jones Who's a Buccaneer's favorite classical composer? Arrrrrrrrrrrturo Toscanini What was the Bucc's favorite all-girl corps? Arrrrrrrbella Favorite junior corps period? Arrrrrrgonne Rebels Robert

Jason my friend, playing sop with Tradition this summer seriously unhinged your sense of reality. Contras do NOT jazz-run! We exert our will upon the cosmos, warping the fabric of space-time in such a way that the Earth below our feet spins more rapidly, giving the appearance of running. But contras do NOT jazz-run. All the best, Robert "I've got to be WHERE in 10 counts?" Kirby

When I first heard the proposal for any-key brass, I naively thought corps would add voices to their existing lines. I thought we would see something like the following, at least for better-off corps: F or G angel horns, Bb or C trumpets, G flugels and mellos, F frenchies, Bb baris, G euphs and BBb and GG contras. Can you imagine what Hy, Jim or Tru would have done with that? Mind you, according to a quote from Hy it was the G choir voicing that produced the unique drum corps sound. Still, it would have been something to hear. There's nothing like 6 part bass and bari harmony for the Tsar's Hymn segment of the 1812 overture. Robert

So, does anyone have... 1) Any interest in working together to revive this corps? 2) Contact information for any remaining officers or anyone still on the BoD? 3) Copies of the current governing documents? I'd hate to see them go gently into that good night. Robert

Not just big news, but great news! Here's to a big meet-up in Ra-cha-cha. Robert

From my perspective, as just one member at Cincinnati Tradition, we had some challenges we met well and others we met less well. Here are some general principles, followed by examples. I hope that some of this will be helpful to others. 1) Put first things first. Rights and clearances uber alles. No permissions, no arrangement. I believe this so strongly that I just moved this paragraph up in my post. 2) Keep recruiting. If your goal is 42 overall and you've got 42, keep recruiting overall. If your drill is written for 24 horns and you've got 24, keep recruiting horns. If your book is written for 4 mellos and you've got 4, keep recruiting mellos. You're goig to lose people, and you're going to lose them long after you thought you could count on them. We lost half our guard between one Sunday and the next. We went from six middle voices to two in three weeks, after we started learning drill. We lost something on the close order of fourteen folks between the middle of June and the middle of July. Keep recruiting. 3) Focus recruitment energy. High school and college aged members are great! They can bring tremendous enthusiasm to a corps. That being said, they are subject to external factors more than adult members. A change in custody, a change in a parent's employment or other matters, a change in school functions etc can unexpectedly affect a members ability to make some performances, or even to remain in the corps. We had great kids in our corps this summer; some could stay all year, and some couldn't, some could have made it to Rochester, and some couldn't. If everyone remembers these facts of life it may help them to keep recruiting. 4) Focus recruitment energy even more. Recruiting high school and college aged members is terrific! Perhaps focusing this recruitment at schools that don't have marching musical programs, schools that won't have a football game on Labor Day weekend, will produce unexpected results. Focus on folks who've been to a rodeo or three in their day. There are junior corps, including dead junior corps, in all parts of the country. Do you have alumni of those corps available to you? Use 'em! Use the junior corps' alumni association, if it has one. Use corpsreps if the junior corps doesn't have an alumni association. Think laterally. Seek out like-minded groups of people, bagpipe bands and English brass-bands, and do joint music festivals/recruitment fairs. 5) Conduct recruitment that attracts members. If recruiting for a corps making away trips, the corps and the recruit must be clear, from the beginning, whether the recruit will make plans to go. Don't ask "Do you want to go" or "Would you like to go," but "Will you make plans to go?" All members, rookies or vets will have to make plans at some point. It is well to be clear on this from the outset. Depending on ones estate in life, this may mean scheduling vacation, checking with the spouse, checking with the parents etc. Help recruits by having specific information available and by asking specifically if they will go. It is good to remember that sometimes changes in plans are outside the control of the member, especially a younger member. On the other hand, sometimes they aren't. On the third hand, sometimes no plans were made. 6) Conduct all your affairs such that you retain members. See item 1. Statements like "Dues are x amount, payable any time before y date," "Our next rehearsal is such-and-such date at such-and-such time" inspire confidence in members of all ages, and are especially welcome to parents of minors. "See me after rehearsal if you haven't paid your dues" and "Hope to see you next weekend" are self-defeating statements. 7) Diversify leadership. If you ask around, you might find that Frodo the n00b cowbell player has been a director of an exempt organization with a seven-figure annual budget. He might possibly be ready, willing and able to take a flyer to the print shop and then a stack of flyers to the band contest. Especially if you offer him a ham sandwich. But you won't know unless you ask. I'm going to stop here for two reasons. First, because I got to seven. Second, because nobody is still reading. Before going, I just want to say that none of the negatives practices in this post should be imputed to Cincinnati Tradition except for this: we didn't recruit as smartly as we could, and didn't really keep recruiting. Robert