John M. Johnson

On behalf of The Sun Devils Drum and Bugle Corps, we wish Brigs a speedy return to the field. One of our drum majors, Amanda Bork, is a Brigs alum and has taken the news quite hard. I am sure she has already contacted you. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to contact anyone in the SD organization. See you soon.

VERY nice!

They were not exaggerated. I did step down off the podium last year. Then something happened...My high school best friend, Derek Torres, passed away from H1N1 back in October. Derek and I marched together at Marian Catholic. I was very torn up over the whole thing. Actually, I am still coping. I got to see him last May and he was genuinely interested in what the Sun Devils were doing, even though he and his family lived in Paris, France. I thought it would be best to honor his memory by performing one more year. That's why I am back on the podium. Prelims was very emotional for me last year. I have no idea how I am going to be this year since Derek will be on my mind 100% of the time. I'm stepping back down next season. My role with The Sun Devils will transition to administration at the conclusion of the 2010 season. Thanks for checking up. I guess I WILL see you on the 50 again! And per usual, SS is invited to join SD in our morning run block. We're doing about half a mile right now. I know, we're slackin. Should be upwards of a mile+ by prelims.

We are very excited to, once again, represent the State of Florida at DCA Finals. The question remains; will you be there too? Stop by and say hi!

Thank you! We will definitely look for it. And thanks for stopping by our little corner of Florida.

~ "If music be the food of love, play on" ~ The Sun Devils Drum and Bugle Corps completed another successful camp this weekend as part of preparations for their third competitive season. Work on the 2010 program "A Night at the Globe" is well advanced, with all sections having received their complete musical books at previous camps. The goal for the weekend was for all sections to learn the first movement drill. Saturday dawned cool and rainy and after a brief welcome and announcements, the corps was led through their morning stretch, movement, and running block by recent staff addition David Bolzman. The corps then headed immediately to the field for the first drill block of the season. Progress was remarkably swift for the first session and when the corps broke for lunch at noon, almost half of the drill was on the field. In an effort to maximize field time and avoid impending darkness, the afternoon schedule was reorganized and the corps returned immediately to the drill field after lunch and by time the afternoon break arrived the corps was able to run nearly three minutes of drill several times. Saturday evening was devoted to sectionals and the twelve hour day was topped off with a music ensemble block and saw the return of "Panda", a Sun Devils charter member, filling the last open spot in the horn line. Despite a remarkably cold winter by Florida standards, typical February weather asserted itself Sunday. After lunch and a short sectional block the corps returned to the field for the first full ensemble rehearsal of the year, where many were surprised to find that the guard had learned approximately a minute of practice work to accompany the drill. Just over an hour after the ensemble block began, the corps accomplished its primary goal for the weekend: a complete marching and playing run of the first movement. With over three minutes of the show now on the field, the Sun Devils will devote the next camp weekend ( March 13th&14th ) to cleaning the first movement and preparing the musical ensemble to learn the second and third movement drill at the first April camp. The corps is still looking for a few guard members and a tenor player to fill out the 2010 lineup. Anyone interested in filling these spots should click the "Join" button on the Sun Devils website to register for the next camp and receive further information. We look forward to seeing everyone on the field this season! ~ "Nothing can come of nothing" ~ Edit: There is a need for a Tenor player. We have the tympanist position filled.

Thank you for the kind words. We definitely worked very hard this weekend. The weather was perfect all weekend long. The EXCITING details of the camp will be provided in the official camp report; which will be released soon.

Join the Sun Devils this weekend at North Port High School in sunny North Port, FL for our first drill camp of 2010. The weather will be nice this weekend as well! Saturday: Mostly Sunny 70° 47° Sunday: Scattered Showers 71° 55° The drill is already available for download in our member site. Let's go ahead and knock out the entire opener this weekend! Saturday February 20th 9:00AM to 9:00PM Sunday February 21st 9:00AM to 5:00PM North Port High School 6400 W Price Blvd North Port, FL 34291 See you Saturday! GO SUN DEVILS!

Plus Keith, you know we will undergo personnel changes as the season progresses. It's the nature of the beast. Again, see you after your surgery.

"If you are brass or percussion, we still encourage you to come out. There will be a spot for you in The Sun Devils." See you after surgery Keith

Sun Devils Full January Camp Report The Sun Devils rang in the New Year with two very successful camps! For both camps in January, all sections were WELL represented. The brass and drum line numbers were set for the season. With the large number of returning members, the drum line has met their season numbers. In the second camp, the brass line met their numbers for a full line. The corps is still seeking out color guard and front ensemble members to fill out the remaining numbers. If you are brass or percussion, we still encourage you to come out. There will be a spot for you in The Sun Devils. All four days of camp were met with strong enthusiasm as the 12-hour Saturday rehearsals began. Staff new edition, Dave Bolzman, took the corps through morning aerobics warm and then a brisk jog of the parking lot. Later on in the day, Dave worked with the entire corps on body movement. The visual blocks were split into basics in the morning and body visual in the afternoon. Many members said they were very sore on Monday after Dave’s workout! One of the best highlights of the weekend was full ensemble. In the last camp, the camp performed the opener from top to bottom with pit and percussion. Many spectators were on hand for the 3 in a row performance of the opener. With each run, the corps seemed to get stronger instead of running out of gas. After all, this was the very end of camp. And speaking of the end of camp, the color guard entertained the corps with a very solid and together show and tell. This year’s guard is looking very strong. The guard also gave the corps in impromptu performance of Ke$ha’s number one hit, Tik Tok, but they did not spin; they signed the entire song. As you may know, The Sun Devils were the recipients of enough funds to cover 27 uniforms fro Bugles Across America. With that great financial insurgence, Amanda Bork and Jennifer McLemore were able to do measurements of the entire corps. A mock up of the new uniform was on display in the band room. You could see the excitement in many of the older member’s eyes. The old uniforms will be retired, except for a few that will be used in our Honor Guard. Rehearsing at North Port High School has afforded the Sun Devils many opportunities that would not otherwise be available to the corps. One such example was the presence of a Holocaust boxcar on campus. Many of the corps members visited the boxcar, took photos, and stood in silent remembrance of human cruelty. Many sections took time out of sectionals to visit. On Saturday we also held a parental meeting for all who were interested. The meeting was well attended. Many great questions were asked as John, Paul, Mark, and staff were on hand to field any questions about safety, travel, or any other concerns. A byproduct of the meeting was a surge in the volunteer effort, to which we are very grateful. Looks like the corps will have a full time volunteer staff for the 2010 season! As you can see, a lot has transpired in one short month with The Sun Devils. We look forward to our one February camp where drill will be learned! That’s right, we will be learning drill in February! So keep your eyes on the website for news and updates as we get closer to our first drill camp. See you on the field in February! GO SUN DEVILS!

*****OFFICIAL SUN DEVILS PRESS RELEASE***** The Sun Devils Drum and Bugle Corps is proud to announce our 2010 show: A Night at the Globe For over 400 years, the works of William Shakespeare have inspired composers, scholars, artists and poets throughout the world. Rooted in fundamental human themes of love, passion, betrayal and the deadly power of jealousy, his works speak to the human condition. "A Night at the Globe" will seek to portray those themes through Alfred Reed's symphonic portrait Othello, based on the play of the same name. The Sun Devils invite you to join us for "A Night at the Globe". Revel at court jesters; take arms against a sea of troubles; and if thou hast no name to be known by, let us call thee devil!

With the generous donation from Bugles Across America, we will be fully replacing our current uniforms. Although our current uniforms look great, they are showing serious signs of wear and tear. If the order cannot be completed by our first show, we'll just use our old ones until the new uniforms arrive. Thank you for the compliment on our current uniforms! They have lasted 2 seasons with the Sun Devils and several seasons with the previous group. They truly have stood the test of time.

***** OFFICIAL SUN DEVILS PRESS RELEASE ***** January 19, 2010 The Sun Devils Drum and Bugle Corps is very proud to announce Bugles Across America, as a major sponsor of the corps. Bugles Across America offered The Sun Devils a major contribution towards our 2010 uniform fund. The Sun Devils will fly the Bugles Across America flag in our honor guard at every performance. Bugles Across America is a volunteer organization that provides live buglers at Veteran services. With this generous contribution, we can move forward in getting new uniforms for 2010! Bugles Across America founder, Tom Day, and Sun Devils Executive Director, John Hoekstra finalized the sponsorship details this afternoon. We are very excited and truly encourage you to join Bugles Across America today. Let’s help keep the services dignified. Join Bugles Across America. Please see their link/logo in Our Sponsors and Affiliates section at the bottom of our web page. THANK YOU!

TOMORROW! LEAVE NO DOUBT

- REMINDER - The Sun Devils Drum and Bugle Corps will be hosting our FIRST CAMP OF 2010!!! Saturday January 16th 10:00AM to 8:00PM Sunday January 17th 9:00AM to 5:00PM North Port High School 6400 W Price Blvd North Port, FL 34291 All sections are open and all are welcome! Additionally, we will be holding auditions for Assistant Drum Major on January 16th. The 2010 show has been revealed to the membership, with the entire musical show ready to be passed out! If you are on vacation and are in Florida, STOP BY! We are finally climbing out of that arctic chill. It will be in the upper 70's / low 80's this weekend. For more information about The Sun Devils, please visit http://www.sundevilscorps.org GO SUN DEVILS!

On behalf of The Sun Devils Drum and Bugle Corps, we wish you a speedy return to the field. You, without a doubt, will be missed. See you in 2011!

On behalf of the entire Sun Devils organization, we wish you and yours peace, love, and much happiness during this holiday season. All the best to you and your family. John M. Johnson, Drum Major Sun Devils

The SECOND Sun Devils Open House for the 2010 season will be held on Sunday, December 6, 2009, from 10:00AM to 4:00PM. North Port High School 6400 W. Price Blvd. North Port, FL 34291 Come join the fast growing, ever improving, up and coming, Sun Devils Drum and Bugle Corps! 2010 marks our third year in existence and our 3 consecutive competitive year. In 2009, the Sun Devils were crowned champions throughout the season: North Port Freedom Fest, Music City Metal III Class A Champions, and finally DCA South Class A Champions. This amazing accomplishment was achieved in only our second year! Only the future can tell what year 3 will yield. That is where YOU come in. The Sun Devils cannot do it without you. So stop by our open house on December 6th and become part of the tradition. Become a Sun Devil. GO SUN DEVILS!

Open House Report 2010 The day started at 10:00am at North Port High School. There was a long line of people looking to register and get set for the day. After the registration period, the new 2010 Sun Devils members took a seat and listened to staff and management introductions. At first glance of the full house, we noticed that more that 75% of the 2009 corps is returning for 2010. This made the staff very excited! After the morning's formalities, the corps split up into sections. This gave the caption heads a chance to have the new and old members introduce themselves to their sections and welcome them to the Sun Devils family. Then all of the new members were taken outside by Executive John Hoekstra for their first Sun Devils visual block. The very first thing that EVERYONE noticed was that it was hot outside. November 1st and it was 90 degrees outside. What a better way to get a feel of the corps than to be in a real world rehearsal situation. It felt like late August in November. After a few minutes, the brass vets came out to join the visual block. JJ, 2009 drum major, and Paul McLemore both assisted in the visual block till lunch. A Dominos pizza lunch was provided by the corps. Lunchtime gave the new and old members a chance to mix and mingle before music block. After lunch, the horn line played the opening lick from our 2010 production. A formal show announcement will be made soon. However, the opener is written and done. There were some very impressive sounds coming from the horns. The drumline was equally as impressive and the color guard boasted its largest numbers in corps history. At the end of the day, the new corps members were introduced to the Sun Devils dismissal. The room was electrified. Rumblings of, "I cannot wait to march this show!" and, "Oh my God, this corps is in its third year?" resonated throughout the band room. Open House numbers: Brass: 31 Percussion: 24 Guard: 14 We knew of at least 10 people that could not make this open house but will attend the December 6 open house. We encourage you to attend as well if you could not make the November Open House. 2010 looks like it will bring another quality Sun Devils show to our fans and DCA. Below are a few pics from Open House GO SUN DEVILS!

We'll get a formal Open House report together tonight. I don' have all the numbers yet. It was a GREAT turn out though.

New recruitment video supporting Open House on Nov 1, 2009 at North Port High School in North Port, FL. Enjoy! GO SUN DEVILS!

I will check into it for you.

I may be able to provide you with some assistance. PM with more info. Thanks!

Home now. What a weekend. Good night!