Big Adam

This one is funny... Even when I go to shows (ie musicals and such) I think maybe I should sit further back so I can get the visuals. I got you all beat, I'm a teacher and I had to chaperone a school dance. I live to far away from my district to go home so busted out my air matress from my car (camp weekend) and set up shop in the library to take a nap. I was so beat and didn't even think twice about it. I couldn't decide if other teachers were amazed or disgusted haha.

Right foot started because Jeremiah Symphony had to start on the right foot to make sure all the strong beats ended up on the left foot. I personally found right foot to be easier, I don't know why but stepping off with the right seemed to make so much more sense. I came off tour and helped another corps and the only time I really had problems going back to left foot was when we had to do boxes in basics because all the foot placements were different. I don't know if anyone has felt the same way but right foot was just easier.

The podium according to Jimmy Russo (as per a Post 199 conversation): Jimmy: I couldn't see the corps because I was short and had asked the truck guys to make a box for me to stand on for the concert tune. The same conversation later that evening according to Louie Stork: Louie: He's out there waving his arms and dancing and blowing kiss, so we had to put him on a box because nobody could see that four-foot bowl of garlic" I've had a lot of conversations with Louie Stork on the corner of that bar and I can tell you if he says it, then it's true. 96 gets my vote... it's lesson 3 in the "How to be a Caballero" manual. Seriously I think I knew everything about the 96 screw-over before I knew why they call them sopranos and contras.

I personally think 03-04, 06 Cabs - Just intense, raw, energetic shows 05-07 Bucs - Just check out their championship run thats' pretty historic 05 is personally my favorite 06 ES - great solo work, Ray charles was cool to see on the field 06 Bush - great hornline Renegades reception into DCA final competition was exciting and well received. I forget which year but they are always a crowd fave What was the year Minnesota Brass won percussion, I remember that was a good show and they have a couple of others. I don't own the DVD's and unfortunately with my past affiliations I didn't get to see a lot of performances but those are the few that I can remember that stand out for me off the top of my head.

If not this year, then sometime in the near future, Gino is definitely a future half of famer. He forever changed the parking lot "show" for brass, not only that but between him and Meehan they uped the ante for brass warm-ups and approach to teaching. I remember one time I was walking with him on the way into a show with the cadets and we hear a warm-up of his playing in the background. He starts whistling and humming along as if he was listening to the cadets playing it and then it hit all of us that it was another hornline. That's got to be a good feeling knowing you've made that kind of impact to other corps. Having worked Carl Ruoco I can tell you that he is a no bs kind of guy and the impact he has made on DCA in recent years will not be matched for a long time. I can't speak for his DCI years but he deserves to be in a World DC HOF not just DCI. I judged a show once with Frank Williams and I learned more that single show then I had in my 8 previous years in drum corps. I wish everyone could experience that with him. And as far as Al Chez, he is the definitive poster child/man for DCI. When I first started in drum corps that was my little claim to fame, the guy on the late show was in drum corps.... see that guy right there, as I'm pointing to the TV. I mean he is and almost will always be the face of DCI in what I call the drum corps vortex. Which is where your drum corps world meets your real world. I can only really speak from my experiences which are usually brass related but there are other greats out there that need to be recognized... how many nominations do they take?

Congrats Josh..... all your years of service couldn't be contained in that small little plaque. I'm happy to see you as Caballero of the year. And Mike "Danger" Bundy..... McLovin haha....Wow... congrats

Haha I get it..... boatload..... I finally get pirate humor. Haha excited to be back this year can't wait for it all to start.

Congrats to Will.... a real stand-up guy and a huge inspiration for me at the maroon team. Doctorate in performance that's no joke.

Happy Birthday to the big Yiddish Kitty.....ha

I'm not trying to start anything here at all but I would like to point out that it bothers me when some one says there's no loyalty, especially about a guy like Tom. He's a been a cadet for like 30 years, sometimes people just want something different, there's something exciting about moving on or starting over. I just find it disrespectful to question loyalty among corps staff or members because the truth of the matter is that if someone wasn't cutting it on a staff somewhere, then the adminstration would fire that person regardless of loyalty or tenure. So it works both ways. Adam

Alright..... there's a couple of urban legends going on here at the same time. haha. I can tell you from 2005 we actually had two broken bones march finals night with the Cadets however they were in too much pain to much the encore. In fact the two of them were standing right in front of the hornline during the hit in the ballad (for the encore) and it really was quite sad to see them stand there and cry and not get too march their last performance. There was Kat and she had a broken bone in her foot. She knew that about a week and a half before the end of the season, they brought in an alternate for her but she still pressed on and marched the finals performance. Secondly was Tracy, she had really bad hips to begin with and was in pain probably about 98% of the season. So towards the end of the season it got worse and we really didn't think much of it because it was a chronic pain. After finals she got it checked out and found out that the latter half of the season she was marching on a broken hip. We also had some really bad pulled muscles. We had a girl from Japan that pulled a groin injury in spring training and when she came to the banquet in December she was stilll walking with a bad limp. As far as paper cuts and pile ups. I don't know, I didn't march those seasons. But I do remember them telling us to memorize your music and drill ASAP as to avoid career ending paper cut injuries. So I think that one could be true. haha. Adam Cadets 04-05

I don't know Pat Mcgee but his profile is pretty #### funny

It's different for each corps. Sometimes the supervisor serves as a consultant. Sometimes they can't make the full commitment for the season so when they are there they become the top dog. Sometimes it's political, some one who is behind the scenes. Sometimes it's some one who is stepping down and grooming some one else to be in charge. Someone to over see design or to be the guy that comes in from time to time to be a fresh set of ears. It's whatever they want to be. Or visa versa. The supervisor could be the everyday guy runnning the show and the caption head could be the name its not always clear cut.

that's crap... we all know the mellos couldn't play loud that year. Anyways Jay also borrowed a little of to tame the perilous skies too. That whole show made me proud to be a Cadet. Awesome opener, amazing ballad, kiss *$$ drumming and fast closer. It's all it needed to be. Forget the door, it was fun to perform. The Frog

What a hard working, dedicated, talented and entertaining drum corps we have this year. This show has some real amazing moments in it (and the opening guard work is definitely one of them). Let's not forget about the smoking drum book or the quality of the hornline, this season is really going to be one of the most memorable Caballeros years that I have ever been part. We do still need 3 trumpets and 1 low brass to help bring to life this modern classic, intense and emotional version of Carmen. Be a part of it, trust me as an almost ten year member and staff member of this drum corps, this is becoming my favorite and most proudest years that I have ever had. Don't miss it, you'll regret missing the opportunity to be part of an amazing drum corps and an even better family. Adam Freeman

The Caballeros have always been an international favorite but it's official the 07 Cabs will have members representing three different countries. We now have members from all-over the tristate area and not to mention Canada and now Japan. People are coming from everywhere to be part of this world class organization and to spend their summer with the Caballeros. There really is something special going on here folks and the time to join it is now. The brass line could still use a handful of talented high brass musicians, soprano or mellophone. Come play one of the most challenging books that is full of the style and passion that has made the Caballeros WORLD FAMOUS. Don't sit on the fence anymore or else this opportunity might pass you by or else someone from another country might take your spot. Any questions feel free to inquire at cabscontra@aol.com Adam

Oh that was good. Hahahaha. Made me openly laugh out loud at work. Now people are staring at me weirdly. I gotta go. From, Another Obnoxious Eagles Fan

Just a side note the brass line is still looking for a few more solid players. We are looking for a handful of trumpets (doesn't matter what part you play), a baritone or two and a tuba or two. Come be part of the tradition and excellence that has excited fans for over 60 years.

Truly a great book.... Dennis is good at what he does... Can't wait to see and hear this on the field. Join us on January 6th and 7th, If I were you I would not pass up this opportunity to be part of a what is going to be an amazing drum corps. COme check us out Adam

Just got a copy of the openr and all i can say is wow.... it's hot! like nelly.

There are so many things you can do but the best is to just go back to the basics. If you are worried about just tonguing faster than practice that on straight eighth notes. start on concert f and work your way up to Bb, middle of the register stuff where you should be most comfortable. Tongue a measure of F eighth notes, then G, then A, then Bb and back down. Technique is more important than speed. So make sure you are hitting the same spot in your mouth every time. Take it real slow and then over the weeks gradually speed it up and expand the notes. Tongue up to C and down to Eb. It's a real process but it works. Once you start speeding up your tongue exam how your air effects the speed. Keep a consistant airstream behind your tongue and make sure the back of your tongue is down low. If you say the word Dog you can feel the -g- hit in the back of your throat. Now say the word Dog without the -g-....... it should sound like Dah. A naturally tendency with beginners and people first learning how to tongue is that they seperate the notes in the back of the throat like the word dog..... make sure that you are doing this correctly. You should be able to say the word Dah! faster than the word Dog. So it comes down to three things...... that your tongue is doing the correct motion, that your tongue is hitting the same spot every time and that your air is helping your tongue move and not hindering it. Once you get good at these things you can move on to other styles of articulation. Also a private teacher is always your best bet they will be able to better identify the parts of your tonguing that need the most help. And understand that tonguing correctly is a long, long process once you have become good at the very basics then you can add tonguing exercises or tonguing across scales or whatever. Always remember that when you can't master a passage, isolate what the exact problem is and work it out on the simplest and most basic level. Hope this helps. Adam http://www.cabs.org

The music and ideas I've heard so far have been great..... I'm really excited about working with Dennis and the rest of our amazing brass team. This year is going to be another amazing product that might just make us the fan favorites again. Of course the only way for anyone to truly know that is to come check out the open house. So see you there.

Call it my biased opinion but Cadets have the hardest book out there this year. Put all the theatrics aside and you'll notice there are alot of notes, a lot of intricate parts, timing challenges and just a demanding musical book in general. I think once you all get the cd and really listen to it you'll hear. However challenging doesn't mean it is being performed to the best it can be but...... there is a lot there musically. So I wouldn't count them out far the most demanding book. Anyways out of these corps I'm amazed that Phantom gets the sound that they do while running jazz running most of their show. So my vote goes to them. Cavies are more entertaining visually than musically and I would play that DVD for everyone of my friends that I would want to introduce to drum corps. However I would not play the CD for them. Still it's and amazingly designed show. All in all I think it has been a good year for DCI and similar to 2000 the top six are really somthing to talk about this year.

It went great this weekend. At one point Saturday night Frank Gerris turned to me and said "This is the best camp weekend this corps has ever had". Everyone worked so hard and the end result was amazing not only for May but amazing for where we will be in a few months. WIldwood was so proud to have us there that the mayor said we could stay and practice out on the field all night if we needed to. Which because of the work ethnic of the corps we were able to end earlier than planned all three days. It was a great time, we worked hard but we also performed on a jaw dropping level. The drill for malaga is intense and will certainly be a highlight for this season, the ballad is so beautifully written that its hard for some of the old timers to listen to it without getting tears in their eyes (and it's not even June yet). The opener is just shear excitement and expect a little 60th anniversary suprise out of the closer. I don't think there was a single person that didn't leave this weekend juiced up for this season. Not only did we work hard but we had a great time at the Waikiki (I'm sure Gordito is still washing his arms) and are excited for this upcoming weekend. Unfortunately the brass line will be still looking for a few new members, we have hit that point in the season where sometimes there are conflicts with jobs and personal lives. We will soon let you know what is available and if you are interested in marching let us know because if I were you I would not pass up the oppurtunity to be part of 64 for of the greatest members the activity has probably ever seen. Adam

I was there too and they sound amazing. The ballad is just incredible, the brass line sounded so good that I had chills. After playing last year's ballad Dancer is a little sentimental in my book and it would be hard for any corps to beat that for me. They could very well do that. The cadets have not been posting the best parts of their show on the internet because there was a lot of stuff that I was like "wow that's going to be cool" and as weird as the concept sounds it's not going to be that bad and will probably be alot easier to follow than last year. Wait until you see it for yourself because I know that that's what most of you will say so spare yourself. I was really entertained this weekend and can't wait to see it on the feild. Adam