strutta

I'm still one of 'y'all'...just tryin to keep with the spirit of the music stand debate...

I got to have a cold one with Rich in 2005 in Scranton after the mini corps competition. He was a great competitor and a great guy! All of us at Mass Brass enjoyed listening to him rock the contra in any corps he was in. On behalf of Mass Brass, our deepest condolences to his family and friends!!! We STOMP HIM!!! RIP Rich...

Doesn't famous mean the show that was most seen/heard ever? If that's the case, I'll suggest the 1979-80 27th Lancers as their show was seen by a decent portion of the world during the 1980 Closing Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid...just sayin'

That's all well and good but with the new approach will y'all be using music stands????

I got to have a cold one with Rich in 2005 in Scranton after the mini corps competition. He was a great competitor and a great guy! All of us at Mass Brass enjoyed listening to him rock the contra in any corps he was in. On behalf of Mass Brass, our deepest condolences to his family and friends!!! We STOMP HIM!!! RIP Rich...

I got to have a cold one with Rich in 2005 in Scranton after the mini corps competition. He was a great competitor and a great guy! All of us at Mass Brass enjoyed listening to him rock the contra in any corps he was in. On behalf of Mass Brass, our deepest condolences to his family and friends!!! We STOMP HIM!!! RIP Rich...

Good luck Golden Eagles! Don't forget to bring the fully stocked big truck along with a killer show!!! Strutta Mass Brass

In the DCI era, though Troopers went form 2nd to 25th, the Blue Devils have gone from 24th to 1st; a similar spread. However, Boston Crusaders have gone from 39th to as high as 5th (so far). Though not quite as high it has been a longer climb...just sayin...

I'd hate to have some poor guy for Minne Brass or his friends and family miss out on his photo because we kidnapped him...ya know...in 'typical Southie' fashion...bwahahahahaha!

Thank you Charlie. These look great. However, it appears the last photo in the Mass Brass file is a member of Minne Brass. I know we are always interested in talking trades or free agency but I do not believe we made any deals that night for the performance or a player to be named later...

As a competitor in the mini corps championships since 1998, I'll throw in my perspective: 1) Though no admission is charged to spectators, the event is not free. Mini corps PAY DCA to compete (plus all of the other expenses to get there). 2) When the venues were more intimate (on the street, in the parking lot, etc.) the crowd was a much more integral part of the event as corps fed off the crowd and vice versa, to a much greater degree. 3) Since this has become a much more serious undertaking as indicated by the remarkable improvement in performance venues (Lackawanna Stadium, Rochester Convention Center) the mini corps have become more of a spectacle and less involved in the crowd give and take than in prior years. Overall, I suppose this is a good thing but I miss the electricity we used to get from screaming a tune to an audience 3-5 feet away from you and having them go ####### while you do it. 4) I never even notice the crowd noise when performing on stage as I'm pretty sure my entire corps doesn't. We are too focused on trying to get maximum noise out of the front of the audience (applause, babies, etc.) to be distracted by noise in the back or on the side. (I do agree when I've been in the audience it does suck to try and hear soft passages from a corps when one is in certain parts of the venue.) 5) Dick Pronti and the entire DCA team do an outstanding job of making the mini corps event the best it can be and EVERY corps is grateful for their efforts and certainly understand that there are limits to what they can do to accommodate every viewpoint. So...should there be changes to way things are set up and executed at this event? As a performer, I'm cool with the way things are. They are all going to change in Maryland anyway. (Note to Pronti, et al, if you can get a set up like the OnCenter in Syracuse in 2000, great performance room, bar down the other end of the hall, that would be ideal IMHO). As a fan, I can vote with my feet by: getting a good front and center seat early; moving to where I can hear better; speaking up if I want someone to quiet down or walking out of the venue. All in all, there is still a ton more positives to this than negatives as I see it. Thank you for reading.

True on the last point Ray. Also true on the first assessment that it costs money to do the mini corps thing and take it on the road. In Mass Brass, the membership basically pays for everything of a personal nature including travel and accommodations. The corps so far can only pick up the cost of arranging, music rights and instruction. Without remuneration, we can't do most of the distance shows that are proposed (though we would love to do them).

Why?

Mass Brass has ALWAYS been interested in investigating performances, competitive or otherwise, as long as the travel distance and remuneration are reasonable. I do not see that changing going forward...

When it is said that the first number is for 'music', what exactly are the judges looking for? Is it song selection? Complexity? Continuity? etc... I never quite understood that portion as what is valued seems to vary somewhat year to year. Can someone enlighten? (I understand what is being measured by performance.)

Congratulations to Star United on their well deserved win! You guys are the epitome of class and you rocked the house. I knew that 'Stah ####' would work! Congratulations also to the Ghost Riders on their 2nd place finish. You guys should be proud. Kudos to all of the mini corps for continuing to make this one of the best events of the weekend. A special thank you to the Golden Eagles for once again winning the post show festivities and inviting pretty much everyone to partake of their party truck of love! A shout out and congratulations to our Bay State collegues the Marksmen on their first DCA Mini Corps appearance. We hope to see you back again. Most importantly, CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU to my brothers and sisters in Mass Brass. You guys did a fantastic performance and busted a gut all year. I am very proud of the effort put forth by all involved! Strutta MASS BRASS

Congratulations to Star United on their well deserved win! You guys are the epitome of class and you rocked the house. I knew that 'Stah ####' would work! Congratulations also to the Ghost Riders on their 2nd place finish. You guys should be proud. Kudos to all of the mini corps for continuing to make this one of the best events of the weekend. A special thank you to the Golden Eagles for once again winning the post show festivities and inviting pretty much everyone to partake of their party truck of love! A shout out and congratulations to our Bay State collegues the Marksmen on their first DCA Mini Corps appearance. We hope to see you back again. Most importantly, CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU to my brothers and sisters in Mass Brass. You guys did a fantastic performance and busted a gut all year. I am very proud of the effort put forth by all involved! Strutta MASS BRASS

Dude...I think he called you a whore...which isn't a bad thing...

Which sucks for those of us trying to fly in from Boston. They very well might be grounding flights so we must have a plan B on wheels or jet ski...that'll suck!

True...it was quite a moment in mini corps history to be sure! Unfortunately, our show this year has movement that cannot be avoided like we were able to do in 2004. Looking forward to catchin up with ya, bro. Bring your friends!

What happened Renegades?

Thanks Pete. We hope not to disappoint on Friday.

on DCA, no less...if the rumor is true...

Nobody pays to hear any of us Friday night, that's what makes it great! However, it is impractical to have him sit in despite our considering pretty much every option we could think of. If you're there, you'll see why Friday night.

Mass Brass: Spanish Dreams El Gato Trieste Jazzmerelda Due to an unfortunate Archilles injury to one of our sopranos we will now showcase, 6 Sopranos 4 Mellophones 5 Baritones 2 Contra Basses 2 Percussion ALL in G 1 Conductor