Freelancers

[toddcontra]

That Freelancer/CSUN connection goes at least all the way back to 1980/81, with Grant Nissen, Gary Gardner, Tad Carpenter, and Dane Nelsen in the line. CSUN 1982 had Gary, Dane, Jay Jost (Freelancer Tymp '80), and myself in the line. By 1984 I was the lone Freelancer in the line (although we had a sweet tenor line with myslef and Kevin Murray (VK '84-'85 and BD '85 - '88) in the line. You guys picked up the torch in the late '80's and did us older guys proud. The CSUN Carmina Burana show was awesome.

Now, the Freelancers are gone and so is the CSUN "Mighty Matador Marching Machine", as G. Pratt used to say. No More Red and Black in NorCal or SoCal. Makes me sad...

Glad you posted this Scotty. I marched CSUN and always loved that fact that there was the strong Freelancer connection.

Besides the previously mentioned (Lance Delgado, Roger Johnson, etc. ) I have to include Al Nelson (Freelancer soprano '81) in the mix. Some others (I know there's more) include Don Nieman (Freelancer tymp '85), Christine Clayton (Freelancer guard '89), Eric Douglas (Freelancer cymbals '87), Terry Dawson (Freelancer contra '88), Ken Mengal (Freelancer baritone '89), Melody Beam (Freelancer guard '90), Lisa Marsh (Freelancer guard '92), Thom Willet (Freelancer soprano '87), Adam Payne (Freelancer soprano '89 - ?, DM (?)), Doris Trachtman (Freelancer mellophone '90), Lynn Vartan (Freelancer pit ??) Melissa Scott (Freelancer guard '87 - '89), Bill Garcia (Freelancer pit '90 -?)

I'm sure I've missed many and also screwed up some years for those I mentioned...sorry.

I'm also sorry to say I didn't know the Matador Band was no longer around. What happened to that?

Also, there was a strong Freelancer presence at my high school alma mater, Royal High School in Simi Valley. Any others out there that went to Royal?

Edited July 19, 2006 by toddcontra

[MikeBob]

Wow, this is a totally niggling little point, but I'm pretty sure Adam Payne, DM in '92, joined the corps in 1990, same as me. If it hadn't been for the CSUN connection, I never would've been able to march Freelancers at all.

Also, Greg Morgan -- didn't you/he wear the old grey Freelancer cadet at Finals in '92 for the 20th anniversary thing?

[toddcontra]

'90 vets and staff...please help me remember/understand what the **** happened in the Batman reprise at the end of the Semi-Finals show!!!

All I remember (and it is vivid) the show almost falling completely apart due to a timing thing toward the beginning of that tune. I remember hearing a contra (turned out it was Paul Rich) who was still on and I heard later that Bill Garcia was with him in the pit. I also remember the RUSH/HYPE I felt when I knew we were all back "on"!!!

The way we salvaged that show along with the fact it was the last show I ever marched, created the only moment (I can remember) that I actually let my emotions get the best of me ON the field. At the final note, when I brought my horn down, I SCREAMED and couldn't help it. A bit embarrasing and so "un-hardcell" now that I type this out but hey, it was real...

[MikeBob]

'90 vets and staff...please help me remember/understand what the **** happened in the Batman reprise at the end of the Semi-Finals show!!!

All I remember (and it is vivid) the show almost falling completely apart due to a timing thing toward the beginning of that tune. I remember hearing a contra (turned out it was Paul Rich) who was still on and I heard later that Bill Garcia was with him in the pit. I also remember the RUSH/HYPE I felt when I knew we were all back "on"!!!

The way we salvaged that show along with the fact it was the last show I ever marched, created the only moment (I can remember) that I actually let my emotions get the best of me ON the field. At the final note, when I brought my horn down, I SCREAMED and couldn't help it. A bit embarrasing and so "un-hardcell" now that I type this out but hey, it was real...

Ha! Yeah, that... that sucked. I'm not blaming 14th on it, but it didn't help. The video of it is great: everything's falling apart, and you see Bill doing those runs up the marimba -- then he pauses for a second -- then he goes back to it. A true professional. Not a hint of panic in his face.

Can't say the same for my face, but then again the camera wasn't on me.

I think in the end it came down to something as simple as Chad (was it Chad in the front for that?) conducting a prep bar and someone in the pit looking up two counts too late and misinterpreting where his wacky Chad hands were. Not pinning it on anyone, of course. That's just what I remember the explanation being at the time. Either that, or Keith misinterpreted Chad's wacky hands, which messed up us backfield-facing folks. I'm pretty sure it wasn't that, though.

Still, that gaffe wasn't nearly as bad as our standstill in Des Plains, IL in '92. That was one of the most humiliating experiences of my short life. Terrible.

[toddcontra]

Wow, this is a totally niggling little point, but I'm pretty sure Adam Payne, DM in '92, joined the corps in 1990, same as me. If it hadn't been for the CSUN connection, I never would've been able to march Freelancers at all.

Also, Greg Morgan -- didn't you/he wear the old grey Freelancer cadet at Finals in '92 for the 20th anniversary thing?

MikeBob, I see you haven't changed your niggling ways!

However, I believe you are correct about Adam joining in '90. Adam, where are you to help us with this??? I know someone out there can get in touch with him!

[toddcontra]

Still, that gaffe wasn't nearly as bad as our standstill in Des Plains, IL in '92. That was one of the most humiliating experiences of my short life. Terrible.

I was on tour in '92 (as a driver) so was probably there, but have no recollection of Des Plains. What happened?

[TCBLancer]

Hey Hose! it's about time you got on here! (by the way, I don't get the 2001 reference....)

Hey Scotty, You and your brother are doing the Kingsmen Reunion Corps? That is awesome! I saw you guys at the Walnut show. Pretty sweet, and pretty clean too! I can't wait to see it at Finals next summer!

I am very good friends with Don Nieman (we were roomates at CSUN and Don was responsible for me getting the CSUN caption head gig way back in 90) and he told me all about Grant and Gary and those guys. Tad was my very first drum instructor and Dane was the caption head at CSUN when I joined. Dane also helped me prepare my audition that got me into CSUN. We all miss Dane......

[MikeBob]

I was on tour in '92 (as a driver) so was probably there, but have no recollection of Des Plains. What happened?

Oh God. This was awful.

Show was rained out, more or less. First we sat on the bus all through our warmup time waiting to hear if we were going to do a standstill or not. Then, at close to the last minute, the word came down that we were doing a standstill in corps jackets only, which already seemed bad. It was still sprinkling out, though, so some people put on clear plastic rain ponchos. Some other people, who didn't have clear plastic rain ponchos, figured Hefty bags would do just as well, so they punched three holes and wore those. Some wore shorts and/or Birkenstocks.

Richie took us out for the quickest warmup ever. C-G-C-G-C --> Cal Chords, then "Okay, that's it! We gotta go!"

We didn't have time to get our pit stuff out of the General, so we asked Dutch Boy if we could use theirs as they were coming off the field. They just laughed at us. I can't say I totally blame them.

Chad and Adam gathered us round to tell us that there'd be two bars of conducted silence before we'd come in on the opener. Most of the euphs didn't hear that, but Dan Balestrini did. When he tried to tell them about it, they silenced him with the usual "Shut up, Dan" (normally a very reasonable response). He said "Fine" and didn't press the issue. Again, I can't say I blame him, either.

Someone in the contra line (maybe Paul) decided it'd be a good idea to kneel on both knees on the front sideline through the whole show. Only Will opposed this, as I recall.

Age-out and brass instructor Jack Taylor decided to play euph.

"Are you sure you'll be able to do that?" Jorge asked.

"Yeah," Jack said, "I know all the parts."

"No," Jorge said. "I mean hold the horn up that long."

(Conversely, Augie, in a rare display of good taste, said, "I just don't think age-outs should play in standstills with the corps.")

So out we go in our trash bags and Birkenstocks and no pit. As we "march" onto the soggy field, people suddenly realize there's an issue of horn manuals to be dealt with. See, since we rarely did victory concerts (once, in my experience), we didn't have a "standard" way of doing them, so it came down to a series of section-by-section decisions on what to do with our horns. Leave them up the whole time and wear ourselves out, or put them down when they'd normally go down and risk looking like idiots? Flat to the sideline? Into the box? Up to the box? There was no real consistency, and it was very last minute.

The performance starts with all but one of the euphs coming in four counts early. They remained four counts off until the end of the intro. In the third movement, we discovered how much we needed our pit when a good minute or two was filled by nothing but the tap of the center snare. Most of the hornline was too panicked to count through the break, so after a while people started taking their best guesses as to when to put horns up (or if they should put them down at some point), which led to horns popping up seemingly at random, then down again just as randomly as the musician thought better of it. Later, Grogan (rightfully) chewed us out for this.

Over in the euph line, the first chance he got, Jack Taylor whispered to Jorge, "This was a mistake!"

Predictably, the contras regretted their decision to kneel almost immediately.

And I looked out into the stands, and there was Chris Nalls, hand on forehead, staring at the ground. It was the first time he'd seen us in a couple weeks.

Not our proudest moment.

[Scotty]

Hey Hose! it's about time you got on here! (by the way, I don't get the 2001 reference....)

Hey Scotty, You and your brother are doing the Kingsmen Reunion Corps? That is awesome! I saw you guys at the Walnut show. Pretty sweet, and pretty clean too! I can't wait to see it at Finals next summer!

I am very good friends with Don Nieman (we were roomates at CSUN and Don was responsible for me getting the CSUN caption head gig way back in 90) and he told me all about Grant and Gary and those guys. Tad was my very first drum instructor and Dane was the caption head at CSUN when I joined. Dane also helped me prepare my audition that got me into CSUN. We all miss Dane......

Lance, let me start off by saying, Yes, we all miss Dane.

Yes, my brother and I are both doing the Kingsmen thing. Jeff marched tenors in the Freelancers in '82 and '83. He also marched Blue Knighst in the Snareline in '81, and was at USC when Wanamaker came on board and switched them over to a corps style line. He marched snare there his first year, and quads for 3 yearsa after that. We're enjoying the Kingsmen thing quite a bit. The rehearsal schedule is completely reasonable. The parts are late '70's old school, which is fitting considering the music selection, the old school colorguard, etc. We're only slated to play at Semis next year, as DCI has determined that Finals night is strictly for the Junior Corps (and rightly so, I think, considering the 27th Lancers Alumni blew the doors down at Finals in '94).

Tad was also my first serious instructor when he came down as Freshman from Northern California in 1979 and helped out with Granada Hills High School. He's still the most powerful Tenor drummer I've ever met. He pushed us HARD! I've had Tad as an instructor at Granada, CSUN and USC!

On a separate note, when CSUN cancelled their football program a few years ago due to Title IX restrictions, the music department axed the marching band. I do think they still have a pep band for Basketball, but it's just not the same. The old practice field on Nordhoff to the East of the Music building is planted with trees, and they are planning to build a new instructional building there. I also think that the stadium at the North Campus will soon be coming down to make way for a Mini-Med expansion. All vestiges of the old days are slowly coming down. Too bad these newer state schools don't know how to build any traditions.

[dbg]

OK, I have jotted down some notes as I read through this entire thread tonight.

Bill Garcia - Bill! And "green", sorry....

Hey Tom, I think I remember a few shades of gray in some states too.