Vanguard Rich

I just spoke with Baker this morning (10/11/07) and the Alumni Corps recordings have not yet been completed - Still 1 - 2 weeks away, according to Baker. <**> :( <**> :( <**>

The whole Drum Corps community needs to know about this!! Congrats to you, Moe, for all you do and have done for ALL of us in Drum Corps!!!

According to "Scarlet Knight", this is what the "PCP" Corps is trying to talk him into doing. Moe, you're still the best!!! GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^OO^ ^OO^ "Park City Pride is trying to get him in our Honor Guard".

This is the reason I placed those three "emoticons" in this post (again!!!)!!!! :sshh:

This topic was initially generated from a review of the great photos NanciD's been taking of late, and I commented that she could make a profession out of doing this, where I said that she could give Moe Knox a "run for his money"!! Little did I know until "Scarlet Knight" replied that Moe is probably going to retire from taking Corps photos. So I was wondering, what situation or show you were in that Moe took a photo of you, that really "knocked your socks off"!!?? Mine were the photos Moe took of me "floating" my contra in the swimming pool (a football rammed up the bell), taken at Camp Palmer, Derby Conn. back in 1966 when I was on the East Coast tour with the Des Plaines Vanguard. So yours are.................?? :sshh: PS to Moe: To quote Bob Hope - Moe, "Thanks for the Memories"!!!

I'll second this vote!! Also the Caballeros' version of "Bully" from the mid-70's pushes me over the edge every time I hear it!! Others that come to mind for me: 2002 Royal Airs Flag Presentation, "John Brown"/"Battle Hymn"! Quadruple the impact when you see the video along with the audio, with the guard "wheel" & explosion to the front sidelines with the Rifles & AF squad while playing "Battle Hymn", especially after what had just happened on 9/11/01! I don't remember the year when the Madison Scouts did "Icecastles" (late '70's??), but the buildup through the soprano solo into the entire Corps front sidelines "push" always does a number on me!!

UPDATED POST AS FOLLOWS: PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING AND FORWARD IT TO ANYONE WHOM YOU THINK MIGHT BE INTERESTED. ALSO, IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING PLEASE RSVP TO Barb Baur" <barbbaur1@yahoo.com> BY OCTOBER 29, 2007AND LET US KNOW SO WE ARE SURE TO HAVE ENOUGH FOOD FOR EVERYONE. Chicago Royal Airs Drum & Bugle Corps. Once again, as our season comes to an end we are having a year end party for the 2007 season, and a push towards the 2008 (0ur 50th anniversary) season. We are aiming for even more than this past 2007 season. Party Particulars Date: Friday November 9, 2007 Place: Villa Park VFW Post 2801 Time: 7pm until ?????? Open to all that would like to join us at this party. No cost for Dues paid members. There is a $15.00 donation at the door for those who did not pay dues. All the food you can eat!! Cash Bar, lots of friends to see & talk to! So hope to see you all there! A Camp & Open House will also be on this weekend Saturday: Doors will be opened at 8:30 with practice to begin at 9am sharp! Practice is set to continue for the entire day and into the evening & to end at 9pm with breaks, lunch and dinner scheduled also. We would like to continue with our Saturday night tradition of Pizza & conversation & member input on the plans for the future of the corps. Practice is to begin at 10am on Sunday until 3pm. We also have an obligation to perform at the DuPage County building for the Veterans Day Observance. Details for this will be available shortly. The Chicago Royal Airs have announced their upcoming weekend "Open House", scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 9th, 10th and 11th, at the Villa Park VFW located on St. Charles Road at Ardmore Avenue, in Villa park, Illinois. So if you haven't seen the RA guys & gals lately, "C'mon down" More information to follow regarding this event, as it becomes available. ^OO^ ^OO^ ^OO^

I couldn't have said that any better, even if I was PAID to say it!! If 2008 is anything like last year, this REALLY will be a BLAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also, last year's Opener, "Macarena" supposedly is being moved to Concert. We're going to be challened again by Mr. "K", this time to finally play it at 160, where last year he wanted us to play it on the field while moving!!! This Cabs Contrablaster is ready to go!!! ^OO^ ^OO^ ^OO^ Question: Will 2008 be the 14th or 15th Cabs Alumni Corps season???

The Chicago Royal Airs have announced their upcoming weekend "Open House", scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 9th, 10th and 11th, at the Villa Park VFW located on St. Charles Road at Ardmore Avenue, in Villa park, Illinois. So if you haven't seen the RA guys & gals lately, "C'mon down" More information to follow regarding this event, as it becomes available. ^OO^ ^OO^ ^OO^ Update as follows: PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING AND FORWARD IT TO ANYONE WHOM YOU THINK MIGHT BE INTERESTED. ALSO, IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING PLEASE RSVP TO Barb Baur" <barbbaur1@yahoo.com BY OCTOBER 29, 2007AND LET US KNOW SO WE ARE SURE TO HAVE ENOUGH FOOD FOR EVERYONE. Chicago Royal Airs Drum & Bugle Corps. Once again, as our season comes to an end we are having a year end party for the 2007 season, and a push towards the 2008 (0ur 50th anniversary) season. We are aiming for even more than this past 2007 season. Party Particulars Date: Friday November 9, 2007 Place: Villa Park VFW Post 2801 Time: 7pm until ?????? Open to all that would like to join us at this party. No cost for Dues paid members. There is a $15.00 donation at the door for those who did not pay dues. All the food you can eat!! Cash Bar, lots of friends to see & talk to! So hope to see you all there! A Camp & Open House will also be on this weekend Saturday: Doors will be opened at 8:30 with practice to begin at 9am sharp! Practice is set to continue for the entire day and into the evening & to end at 9pm with breaks, lunch and dinner scheduled also. We would like to continue with our Saturday night tradition of Pizza & conversation & member input on the plans for the future of the corps. Practice is to begin at 10am on Sunday until 3pm. We also have an obligation to perform at the DuPage County building for the Veterans Day Observance. Details for this will be available shortly.

Sometime between the 1977 & 1978 football seasons, the Chicago Connection did two NFL preseason game halftimes. One was at the old Soldier Field in Chcago for the Bears and the other was at old Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for the Packers. Both were memorable for me. I drove downtown in uniform & contra for the Bears game & was running late. Finally I ditched the car at the lot directly South of Gate "0" & shouted to the parking attendant that I HAD to park the car NOW, or I'd miss the field show. He reluctantly let me park it off to the side. I ran as fast as I could with my contra in hand to the West sidelines with the corps already lined up to start. b**bs I ran around the South end zone to get to the East (back) sideline to line up & the Corps took off just as soon as I lined up. Man was I gassed!! Green Bay Wisconsin: I'm surprised that we weren't "booed" off the field in Green Bay, being from Chicago. <**> Best field I ever marched on!! One of our busses broke down on the way to Green Bay; what a fiasco that was - packing everything onto one bus from two!! Parked the broke down bus in the lot where I worked on the I-94 State Line. Imagine the questions from the Office Staff on Monday morning, as to how a large bus wound up in a lot with a locked gate!!

All of us in the Caballeros Alumni Corps take great pride in playing and performing to the best of our abilities. I've always wanted to be able to do that with this Corps since 1977 and now I've succeeded in doing just that. And with the cast/crew and the helmsman that we have, we're always striving to be better the next time out!! Thanks for the compliment!! It is sincerely appreciated, at least by me!!

Last year was the first time I'd been to Plymouth, ever. What a town and event!! The Cabs were at the end of the parade & we got there fairly early so we got to watch most of it before lining up and taking off down the street to participate. This parade is one of THEE BEST I've ever been to or in!! For anyone who hasn't been there for this, get there if you can!! You will NOT be disappointed. And the evening Alumni Corps show aint too shabby either!!! ^OO^ ^OO^ ^OO^

The first thing that came to mind when I read this post, was the scene from the movie "The Patriot", was when Mel Gibson & the "Frenchman" walk into the Tavern looking for South Caroilina militia recruits & shouts, "God Save King George", & then has all those knives and all kinds of "garbage" thrown at them, as they close the door trying to block all of that stuff. And all that "artillery" everyone in the place pulled & pointed at them!! That pretty much typifies my reaction on being called a "band"!! <**> <**> <**>

This is a great thread!! I'm doing this for practially all of the same reasons that have been stated, but also being able to live out a dream of mine conceived when I first saw the Cabs back in 1977 in Allentown. Now I get to play that very same music to thunderous crowd reactions thirty years down the road!! Living the Drum Corps Dream for me!! Not to mention all of the newfound friends that I've now made these last two years!!! Its THEE BEST!!!!!!!!!!! ^OO^ ^OO^ ^OO^

I was wondering when that was going to happen!! Moe's been taking Corps photos for almost as long as there's been dirt!!! Best wishes to Moe from me to a great Corps photographer & individual!!!

Three of us in the Cabs Alumni Corps play 4-Valve "G" Dynasty contras & we love 'em!!! And no cutting any tubing to get them pitched correctly, either!!! ^OO^ ^OO^ ^OO^

Yes, Truman did know how to write!! ^OO^ ^OO^ ^OO^ If you check out Cindy Crawford's blog on MySpace, (http://www.myspace.com/cin4057) she has listed all of the arrangements that Truman did, in a specific blog (Under Music Scores - right side of her home page). This list is AWESOME!! I also must make a correction to my previous post, that in fact the 1965 RA Corps DID have mellophones (1st year), but they still had french horns as well, as most Jr. corps did back then.

Very well said, "VC"!!!! From "MC"

I agree with Shadow 7 on the Schilke mouthpieces. They work for me. I'm in the same boat as you, being primarily a contra/tuba player, having now been playing small bore instruments now for other venues for the last 6 years, primarily at "Bugles Across America" functions. For me, it feels like I've been working a whole different set of "chops" muscles to do this. I "buzz" alot on the small bore mouthpieces to develop some sort of range. It's taken me over 3 years to develop that, and I can't stop either as the durability, range and tone quality go right down the crapper if I stop doing this for any extended periods of time.

If you were at the 2002 Alumni Spectacular in Scranton, PA. and caught the Chicago Royal Airs Reunion Corps performance, all of the music played utilized mellos and contras, which didn't exist when the Junior Corps played that very same music in 1965 ("Ballyhoo", "Watermellon Man", "Alexander's RTB" and "John Brown/Battle Hymn"). It certainly changed the "sound" using them, but better from a contra player's standpoint, as those "Truman Tunes" finally had a bottom sound to them which really didn't exist back then (IMHO). No knock on mellophones, but I still missed the french horn "sound" tho. And the charts were pretty much the same, with the exception of having to write contra parts to play as they didn't exist back in 1965, because the RA didn't have contras in 1965 (& won the big three without 'em either that year - Amazing??!!!). Comments, anyone???

Look out Moe Knox!!! Great pics!!!!!!!!!!!! This could be your next profession!!!!!

I would check into the chrome plating of the horn. I investigated having a horn chrome plated and I was told from the Company that does replating that the chrome replating process will eat the brass metal on the horn, possibly to the point you may have weak spots and maybe even holes in the tubing or bell. So please check this out before you have the work done. Maybe even verify what I have been told about this?? Good luck!! I have an old 2-Valve DEG 5/4 contra that I'm going to have converted down the road to three valves, so I'll be going through all of this as well.

Too bad that someone can't take a hint, as we're there to entertain an audience. I would really like to know how many of the "fans in the stands" would have loved hearing us play that. From where I was at as we were leaving, you could almost hear the buzz: "What, no Cherry Pink"??? It would have really been the "frosting on the cake" for our performance! And whomever can scream as loud as they want at me about running overtime (in one ear & out the other) as I'll take all the playing time I can get, for driving 10 hours & 600 miles each way!! Penatlties??? - throw us off the field or not be invited back?? I don't think so. <**> :ramd: And notice that I hardly stopped playing when Larry was tuning the horn line down to the contras on Sunday morning??? Just trying to get my moneys worth!!

As soon as we left the field, I inquired as to why we didn't play that, and I was told because of the 14 minute time alottment, we had no more time left. I'm VERY curious as to what the audience thought of that??? I know I wanted to hear that one myself!!!

Caught part of Les Diplomats "Parking Lot" performance right after the Alumni Spectacular. They were really going at it and having alot of fun with it!! ^OO^ ^OO^ ^OO^