TOS Review

[HomeGrownB'men]

Knowing Morecraft, he's probably up in heaven right now conducting everybody to shut the f**k up .... :)

Moving on ... I heard everyone had a nice time at the show despite the inclement weather ... GREAT job everyone!

I agree w/Lisa. I was lucky enough to march w/Jerry for seven years and, as teenagers, spent alot of time together outside the corps as well. He was truly a great guy. All this nonsense about who was on the field playing Taps and who was not is so ridiculous. I was standing on the field next to Jerry's wife and daughters; and I'm sure they didn't notice what corps participated and what corps didn't. A beautiful tribute was paid to a great person, a husband, a father and a friend.

Now can we please close this topic and move on.

Have a nice day!

Diane Leahey

[Larry Kerchner]

I agree w/Lisa. I was lucky enough to march w/Jerry for seven years and, as teenagers, spent alot of time together outside the corps as well. He was truly a great guy. All this nonsense about who was on the field playing Taps and who was not is so ridiculous. I was standing on the field next to Jerry's wife and daughters; and I'm sure they didn't notice what corps participated and what corps didn't. A beautiful tribute was paid to a great person, a husband, a father and a friend.

Now can we please close this topic and move on.

Have a nice day!

Diane Leahey

Hi Diane. Larry here. Well said. Thank you! I hope they move on too, but a lot of people said a lot of unkind things, without knowing the all of the facts, or thinking about how their words can hurt. Maybe the following note, which I wrote from the heart, will help put closure on this topic and allow them to see things in a different light. I can only hope. (I apologize for its length, but I had much to say.)

As compelled as some individuals seem to be to trash the Caballeros Alumni corps for not playing "Taps" at the end of the Tournament of Stars show in Bayonne, NJ, I feel equally compelled to defend the members and staff of the Corps. They do not deserve the mean-spirited arrows that are being slung their way. The insanity of it all is that the men and women of the Cabs Alumni are being vilified for NOT doing something! They did nothing wrong. Nothing.

The various corps' invitations to participate in the Tournament of Stars were not contingent upon the playing of "Taps," nor were there any contractual obligations to that effect. It was not mandatory in any way. Rather, it was voluntary, and the fact that any individual, or group of individuals, did not participate does not mean that they were making a statement, or thumbing their noses, or being disrespectful. Yet, it seems that people were not allowed to exercise their right to choose without becoming sacrificial lambs. It makes me sad to think that my arrangement of "Taps" is being used as a vehicle to attack perfectly nice people -- probably strangers to the attackers -- when my entire purpose in arranging it in the first place was to honor those who have given their lives to protect us, or have lifted us up in some way, or, in the case of my father's generation of World War II veterans, to say, "Rest in peace" to those who saved a grateful nation.

I wrote the arrangement in 1989 at my Dad's request, not long before he died. (July 1st marks the twentieth anniversary of his passing.) As far back as I can remember, he always welled up whenever he heard the original "Taps" being played. I'm sure his thoughts turned to fallen friends. Writing that chart was the least I could do for him.

Now I'm saddened to think that something I created to be beautiful and meaningful has been reduced to a topic of debate -- especially one that has caused people to go out of their way to make it ugly, and to allow its meaning to get lost in self-serving, undeserved diatribes. I'll be very cautious in offering the rights to perform this work in the future -- it's way too personal to me.

Wouldn't one assume that I -- the guy who WROTE the "Taps" arrangement and made it available, free-of-charge, to anyone who chose to participate -- would be the first to want to have the Cabs play it? (After all, for them not to play it is like the shoemaker's kids not wearing shoes!) The answer is "Yes. Of course I wanted them to play it," but sometimes there are other circumstances that are more important than my personal desires, and they have to take precedence. Such was the case at the Tournament of Stars.

The Cabs Alumni are no different than the Bridgemen Alumni, or the Yankee Rebels Alumni, or any of the corps I teach or write for, or have ever taught or written for. Their members work hard, love our activity, and do the best they can. To think that they would deliberately do something to offend someone, or make some sort of an overt statement of disrespect is preposterous. What would anyone possibly have to gain by behaving in such a way? Most of them didn't know Jerry, but that wouldn't have mattered because, if the circumstances had been different, they would have happily joined in. The fact is, even though the Corps has played "Taps" in the past (the last time being April of 2008), they didn't have it memorized well enough after fourteen months away from it to play it at the TOS, and anyone who knows me knows that I have little tolerance for poor performance. I wouldn't allow them to be embarrassed because, BY NO FAULT OF THEIRS, there simply wasn't an opportunity for me to teach it to the horn line again. So, if you really feel the need to "blame" anybody, you can blame me. For the record, just prior to taking the field for their performance, Director, Peter Bishop, asked me to have the horn line try playing it, in hopes to be able to join the others. We tried, but there just wasn't enough retention in over a year to sound as good as they would have wanted to sound in public, so it was decided that rather than risk being a detriment to the ensemble, and rather than deny the audience the Corps' best, that they would sit this one out, knowing there would be plenty of drum corps brothers and sisters out there who would "carry the day" this time. As one Cabs member said to me, "Don't worry, Larry, the other corps will do you proud. We'll lean on them tonight, and next time someone else can lean on us." THIS was the general feeling -- one of disappointment. NOT one of disrespect.

There is no need to air dirty laundry by listing the specific reasons why re-learning "Taps" just wasn't in the cards for the Cabs at this juncture. They're not allowed to take music on the field, and "faking it" would show the ultimate disrespect. I'm far too principled for that. Suffice it to say that a seemingly endless list of challenges simply converged at once, and in the final analysis, the fundamental needs of the corps had to be met first. People will never know how much blood, sweat, and tears it took for the members to pull themselves up by the bootstraps to be able to perform for the crowd in Bayonne. There WAS no "20 or 30 minutes" to review "Taps" or anything else that was not germane to their obligation to perform their show. But, they did it, and I'm proud of them for their fortitude in overcoming monumental obstacles . . . just as I've been proud of the Bridgemen countless times over the years, or the Rebels, who couldn't even make the TOS because of their challenges. Nobody likes to disappoint. We're all in this because we want to please. But, you know what? The Rebels will pull through like the champions they are; the Bridgemen will entertain if it takes their last breath; and the Cabs Alumni will draw upon the strength of a proud history.

So, to those out there who felt the need to "blame" some very nice people who did nothing wrong, I hope you'll reconsider your reaction. When Jerry's widow, Kate, walked over to me and gave me a hug, I didn't feel outrage from her over who had played and who hadn't -- only love and appreciation. She had no idea that I was feeling a very emotional connection with my Dad at the same time she and her children were feeling a similar connection with Jerry, but it didn't matter. Her heartfelt embrace and gracious "Thank you" spoke volumes, and I knew my Dad would have approved of "Taps" being played that night. By WHOMEVER played it -- whether it was one player or a thousand. My only real disappointment was that I wasn't able to conduct it. I know my Dad would have been smiling down (with his arm around Jerry), hopefully proud of me, and saying, "That's my son."

So you see, there is always more going on than meets the eye and we need to put things like this in the proper perspective. Each case is individual and cannot be dismissed with one broad stroke.

It is my true wish that, next time, folks will consider taking the high road and assume the best in people instead of the worst.

Sincerely,

Larry Kerchner

[Windsor]

As compelled as some individuals seem to be to trash the Caballeros Alumni corps for not playing "Taps" at the end of the Tournament of Stars show in Bayonne, NJ, I feel equally compelled to defend the members and staff of the Corps. They do not deserve the mean-spirited arrows that are being slung their way. The insanity of it all is that the men and women of the Cabs Alumni are being vilified for NOT doing something! They did nothing wrong. Nothing.

Sincerely,

Larry Kerchner

Well said, Larry. Thank you for posting this.

[Jeff Ream]

thank you Larry

[YR-Rudi]

Well put Larry. I wonder if the same things would have been said about the Rebs if we had been there. We didn't know the song either.

Gus

[Dennis Argul]

Bravo.

[sophillycab]

Thank you Larry. Not only for taking the time to respond to some of the comments on this post, but also for sharing with us your personal attachment to an amazing tribute. As always it is an honor to play your arrangements, whether in memory of, for the entertainment of, or just the sheer personal joy of playing your notes. Lucky me, I get to play them proudly as a Caballero.

[TennTux]

Bravo!

Thank you Larry....

[FPonzo]

Thank you Larry....that is EXACTLY what I was trying to say!

(Just in not so many words!!! LOL)

As always, WELL DONE!!!

And your dad IS proud of you. Even though I never met him, I can't hear him now......"atta boy"!

[cabhorn]

Well Done Larry!!

Well Said.

Thank you for what you do for the activity.