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Brassed Off
by Dave Landers, Baritone
“Welcome to February” was the running joke this weekend. Indeed, it is true that it is only January, but with the way this corps played AND moved this weekend under a beautiful sunny sky and 65-degree days, one might be lured into thinking it was April.
Saturday morning started out great with a stretch under the calm serenity of “Yoga Master” Rich Duarte. It was initially apparent that the sedentary nature of the holidays had taken its toll on the horn line’s bodies. There was so much creaking and cracking that I thought the December 23 earthquake was having more aftershocks. Thanks to Rich and Rachel for getting us moving in the right direction.
Big News Item #1: The arrival of a truckload of new (to us) horns, of course! Thanks to the efforts of the RAT (Renegades Acquisition Team) and the generous donations of a few members, Renegades purchased a set of 60+ horns, mostly Kanstuls, from The Blue Knights. Plans are underway to outfit the entire line with Kanstuls.
Speaking on a personal note, I can tell you at least two reasons why this change is a great thing. My chops were much stronger all the way through the weekend since I wasn’t fighting the intonation and tone problems encountered by a mis-matched line. The second reason is the CONTRAS! Oh my God! After standing in front of these monsters for a number of hours Saturday, I do not see how anyone could doubt the fact that the Renegades Contras are an established entity now. They are to never be discounted, and title #3 is on the way. To quote Lee Rudnicki, "those guys are playing a snare book." Cheers to the Contras for excellence as always.
Saturday night ended on a high note with an incredibly intense 3+ hours with John Meehan, Clint Matsen, and Ed Teleky. Rehearsal was scheduled to finish at 9 p.m. That time came and went and we were still going strong, and nowhere in the house was there a complaint about going overtime. We official ended at 9:45 after two full run throughs of the show. It is a great feeling to be driven by goals rather than the clock.
The drive back to my host house was accompanied by some Alison Krauss to bring me back down to Earth, and 500 milligrams of Naproxen to cushion the fall. I awoke in the middle of the night with the sensation that my knees would either A) not bend at all, or B) bend uncontrollably. Imagine my surprise when my left knee chose option A and my right knee chose option B. Woohoo! Sunday should be FUN!
Big News Item #2: January Drill!!! Two words not often seen together in Drum Corps Land. I am number 40. I have not had a drill number in 12 years. Are you as excited as I am right now? Damn, you better be, 'cause this stuff is exciting.
Next month brings the Chinese New Years’ Parade and a number of our brethren flying in from all over to play with us. In the meantime, I have to go practice "The Lick" and the "Other Lick" among a few hundred other notes. The Renegades' New Year is off to a great start. Here’s hoping that yours is as well.
- Dave
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