OldManAlto

do you plan on transferring away from JSU??? lol

Spirit... I'll get you some pics somehow

Not only do I have zero endurance right now, I just wish I could breathe without hurting or passing out. I haven't played since JSU graduation in May, mainly because of a million tests at the doctors and a few surgeries here in Atlanta and Houston. It really sucks bad

I also like the kanstul M6, but it takes alot of practice on it to feel comfortable...and with a sharp rim, it's liable to kill ya

forget that. double C's sound absolutely glorious on a UMI 6 :)

I saw that. He played a little bit of Let It Be Me (wasn't it?), right at the end of the show. At the end of the ballad...and he actually doesn't play the solo...just stands there looking pretty like Matt Burns does. HAHA (he's going to kill me when he reads this)......anywho, if you notice there is a trumpet player who turns around backfield and plays the solo, facing Matt

Frank- he cheats. He brings a pad of paper with him and writes it all down as it happens :)

SEAN!!!! HAHAHAHA.... man, you left the stuff we talked about and the event staff helpful my butt....

The old look into Spirit's past will defintely bring a lump into someones throat....if they know what it means, unlike last night....The people in the audience were like....what the ####???

I put that one in there just for you big boy

Hey Carla- let the fallout commence :)

ok.... so first I went over to the dorms, just to talk to a few people before they left for warm-up at the stadium. They were all pumped up about a day that they rehearsed as a real show day, top to bottom. The pressures of being trapped in Jacksonville got to a lot of them, and who wouldn't blame them, I'm stuck here as well and there isn't a darn thing to do in this place. lol While the hornline was starting to walk in two's, I rushed over to my car and then back to the line where I placed Spiegadagak on Candy's shako. Wouldn't be a true Spirit performance without our beloved rat watching over to hornline at warmups, and also on the sideline with the staff. About the guard unis, those weren't the real unis....there was a small glitch in the other ones, so they had to send them back...I don't know exactly what they are going to do though, so maybe those will be it for the summer...not to dis on them though, because they look great from the press box About the field condition, I helped bring the podiums onto the field while the corps was still in warmups. I wasn't taking a large step at all and I almost bit the dust. I turned to Jeff Richmond, Spirit's DM, and told him someone is going to bite it tonight On to the show....starts with a chime solo, copying that of a bell tower striking noon, and then one by one, individual sections faintly begin their trek through "time"<------- I just came up with that one. b**bs Faintly you here segaments of Auld Lang Syne and Time in a Bottle backfield and then, striking quickly, the corps turns around, giving the crowd a moment of shock as they push back the stands with Somewhere In Time. The intro ends with the corps forming into an hourglass, as the guard runs down from the top to bottom like sand Without stopping, the corps goes into Mach 1 with Vertical Momentum( Whirr, Whirr, Whirr). They had their biggest problem with this last night, not exactly timing issues, but with the field being so crappy and their feet moving so fast, a few members took a couple spills, but in doing so, still had a great run of it. Those mello runs are something to be drooling over. Side-splitting movement as you watch a few of the pass throughs If you all thought that Spirit's 02 ballad was an emotional moment, you are for some more goose bumps as the corps goes into October. An already amazing piece transformed into another amazing arrangement by Mark Fifer. Only trouble spot they had was the small ensemble group and they working those bugs out today...and if you don't think October wasn't enough to give you a hair raising experience, Matt Burns marching out onto the field in a vintage Spirit of Atlanta uniform, with what looked like an old 1980ish G bugle??( somebody from Spirit clarify this for me), will. Although the Let It Be Me solo is played backfield and not by Matt, it will put a tear in your eye. I was standing up in the top press box of Paul Snow with the likes of Spirit alumni such as Hunter Moss, Mike Morris, et al, and I think just having the old alumni who wore that uniform at one point, see that back on the field, put quite a few tears in their eyes, as well as my own. From a beautiful, emotional piece, to just WOW!!!!! Spirit goes back into the past with a LOUD version of Nuttville/No Jive. The kids are really having a fun time with this. All throughout, the hornline is just searing with energy. The drum solo/block party is really something to groove to, still not being an expert on drums, I can’t talk much about it except to say I can already tell an improvement from last year’s line. When the horns come back in, it becomes more intense than the first part of the tune, pushing the stands back another 100 yards or so. Definitely going to be a crowd pleaser. And finally the closer. More great movement in the drill. The entire corps just settles in after into a groove and lets it ride the rest of the way. Great work done by all sections. Starting out with Appalachian Morning and then starting to work back the time, with another LOUD statement of Somewhere In Time, this time with the horns and drums pushing forward in a company front and the guard up front, doing their best to spin those nasty, wet silks. Show ends with the corps forming another hourglass, this time with the guard running back to the top ….Show ends….crowd goes nuts…keeps cheering…horns and drums arc it up, playing Georgia…crowd goes more ballistic…evening ends….Be prepared to lose your voice Overall... the guard, drums and horns are all much improved since last summer. Sure there are some points that need work, but then again, it isn't August 9th yet :) and the drill, WAAAAAAY better than past summers. Spirit has the package this year. We can only wait and see where they take it

just to clarify, it is Matt Burns, our third DM, that steps out on the field with the 80 uni

There is just something about senior corps that makes you feel 44...I feel it and I'm only 22. lol :P

They had that ending to the ballad when we went to Columbia w/Stp:

Boudin is d### good....Us altos last year for Spirit had a feast on it a few times last summer thanks our Cajun comrade and his parents

if I remember correctly, all the shows we were at with the G-men last year, he never cracked either, until finals night...

I see higher!! :D :D

true...it was 97

Spirit's trumpet line has been very productive since December. By Madison, they will have completely passed last year's line, which I placed second behind the Devs in 01. And the lead line are a bunch of hosses, and I'm not talking about playing wise Slim and the fat 5 is their name :D

Speaking of Hunter Moss, and "Blues in the Night", the CorpsVets show this year might just bring back some fond memories. He's still got it. true that...Everytime I hear him play it now, i shut my eyes and I think i'm in 84

Louis- We hit 115 during all-days last summer so I'm sure it was higher than 120 when we achieved White Heat in Houston

SOA 80....That bari line was full of monsters... First time I heard it, I imagined them all being fed 20 oz steaks thrown on the ground...that or them hunting down a cow themselves...Just raw power

Spirit 02...OMG!!!! The entire horn book is incredible, but Mark Fifer really outdid himself with the alto parts.. I just can't wait until the fall when we pull out the big guns at JSU :) and my favorite alto solo- Gary Hopkins, Spirit 78( Higher and Higher)

started playing trumpet in 4th grade.. My director in 6th grade wanted me to switch to alto sax, but I laughed at him( I even knew better back then :)...then played trumpet through my junior year of high school when my god send of a director asked myself and my best friend to switch to mellophone because there would have only been 4 of them on the field..all girls..Nothing against the girls at all.. but we had one upcoming senior, two upcoming juniors and a rising freshman.. They could all play well, but they couldn't produce the sound to match it. Then my friend and I picked up the mellos and I've been happy ever since