Fun fact: Heatstroke is unpleasant.
Secondary fun fact: Reverse mullets are a questionable choice of haircut.
This month was hot. And humid. And overall, generally icky.
We began in the air-conditioned hall with a music rehearsal before moving onto the field to begin learning the drill for Opening Production.
Following lunch, there was more field rehearsing, at which point heatstroke began to hit, thus resulting in the rehearsal being moved back to the air-conditioned hall.
After the rehearsal ended for the day there was the Marching Band family picnic and dance night with much dancing and such, as well as the musical talents of band members and staff Alix Coffa, Tom McCracken, Mark Slegers, Malcolm Ramsay (Normo), Belinda and Katrina Smith, Greg Hebblewhite, Dane and some members of the band 'Superstitious'.
We also said farewell to Lindsay Frost, conductor extraordinaire, who has resigned from the Band. His awesomeness will be missed.
Then came sunday. In order to prevent as much heatstroke as possible, we started with field rehearsal during the least hot part of the day (I refrain from saying coolest because it just...wasn't). The drill for Opening Production was finalised and following a few run-throughs of Battlefield we formed into a parade block and marched around the school practicing the ANZAC day music. Props must go to Liam for turning up in the penguin suit we first saw at Spec.
At this point it should be noted that there are yet more new members in the band: Eamonn, another bass clarinet; Sam the fire twirler, the second boy in colouguard; as well as Brandon, the new Sousa, and Imogen, spec ring in now made full member.
Sadly however, we must farewell Gabe, our cameraman turned drummer who has moved to Queensland and is thus out of the purvey of the DET and resultingly the Arts Unit and its affiliates.
Once the heat became too disgusting, the band split into student executive groups with those not involved having a drilldown.
Then came lunch and the 'Penguin Sunday' dress-up competition. The winners were Liz Arthur from colourguard who penguin suited up, and Keevers who was black and white and red all over... because he was dressed as a penguin in a blender. Tasty.
Finishing off the rehearsal,there was a music rehearsal in the hall, wherein we discovered just how loud we could play. As it turns out, very. And we will have to harness that loudness next rehearsal when we're recorded and filmed to show the NRL what it is we're capable of and thus hopefully perform at a game some time in the future.
Numerous points were awarded as Dane recognised the extra mile students have been going this rehearsal. Unfortunately I didn't have access to a piece of paper so if you know who got points and for what, please comment because I'll be keeping a tally of which section contains the highest proportion of band zealots.
As it stood from last rehearsal:
Flutes: 1
Alto Sax: 2
Low brass and wind: 2
I'll update as soon as I have info as to who got the points today.
The dress-up theme for next month's rehearsal will apparently be Circus, in lieu of the fact that the Ka music was taken from Cirque du Soleil.
Remember to memorise your music for Ka and ANZAC day, remember to stay hydrated and generally just stay pumped. See you in a month!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
A Quick Addendum
It should also be noted that the drum majors have made a facebook group to give you unofficial information regarding rehearsals and such.
If you're not yet a member of it, add Zoe Coffa; Scott Murphy or Belinda Smith (the drum majors) who will then add you. Your best bet is Zoe, as she is the only Zoe Coffa on facebook.
Add and go forth in internet related happiness.
If you're not yet a member of it, add Zoe Coffa; Scott Murphy or Belinda Smith (the drum majors) who will then add you. Your best bet is Zoe, as she is the only Zoe Coffa on facebook.
Add and go forth in internet related happiness.
JANUARY
At the request of Keevers, I'm beginning this post with a FUN FACT!!
Fun fact: according to the NSW department of Sport and Recreation, Marching band an extreme sport. That's right, a government body recognises the crazy stuff we have to do.
It's classed as an extreme sport due to the extremely high casualty rate associated with marching band, which brings me quite nicely to the following message form the Boosters: drink lots of water. Water is good. It stops your internal organs from going into thermal meltdown, and it keeps your brain from shrivelling up. Drink lots of it in the leadup to the February rehearsal because it will be in all likelihood another hot and humid rehearsal.
And onto the fun stuff.
Sunday's rehearsal started with the returning year 11 and 12 members, the section leaders and student executive members watching the fieldshow animation Katrina had written for Battlefield.
Immediately after that, we realised that during the holidays, Jake had decided it was a good idea to get his lip pierced, which in and of itself declared open season on Jake for this supreme lack of foresight, especially since he couldn't play for another three weeks. The fool.
Everyone then went into the hall for a brainstorming session about what marching band meant to us. The result was Penguin Sunday. The phrase which according to the band seniors best encapsulates the experience of marching band. If you think about it hard enough, it makes sense. Kind of...
There was then a runthrough of the music, which being Cirque du Soleil was rather awesome.
We found out the size of this years band (apparently upwards of 100 people) which just goes to show just how successful the Great Recruitment Drive of 2010 was. The band is big, and not only that, drumline now has enough members for a pit percussion section. Huzzah!
And there's now a boy in colourguard.
On sunday, everyone was bestowed with nametags because the fabled new members whom we had heard so much about were there in their multitudinous glory. The day started off with everyone splitting off into their sections to meet the new people, and in the case of low brass, the returning members who had been amalgamated into their sections. Thus low brass must henceforth be referred to low brass and winds with the addition of the tenor saxes and bass clarinet.
After a runthrough of the music, there was a drill rehearsal where much to the horror of returning members, the drill commands had changed, thus putting everyone on a level playing field with regard to learning the drill commands.
During lunch the seniors who hadn't been in attendance that mornign arrived, and the drill was run through again so as to allow them to learn the new commands. Then followed another music rehearsal with the whole band, in which everyone in the back row of the band (i.e. not drumline), and especially the sousas discovered just how loud the new drumline was. Namely incredibly.
During assembly, the Boosters talked to us about the importance of hydration and nutrition...and STRETCHING. If you stretch, you don't get injured and you find that you're less stiff after rehearsals. Stretching, like memorisation, requires daily work, so for five minutes after you practice your music, take the time to stretch. You'll find that come the next rehearsal you're more flexible, which means you'll be less likely to injure yourself during the rehearsal, and you'll be less sore after drillwork.
Also during assembly, new members were introduced to the band by either section leaders or their alternates.
Monday's nametags were not of the same quality as sundays, with the majority of those with a surname beginning with L or M lacking a first name on their nametags.
Monday saw the beginning of our learning the field drill for Battlefield. It also saw the beginning of the extreme heat which returned on tuesday.
We were also introduced to the points which are to be bestowed on sections demonstrating marvellous dedication to the band. Like a military medal, points are only bestowed for exhibitions of whatever the band equivalent of extreme valour is. Who knows. Maybe there are points to be awarded for extreme valour. I'll be interested to find out in future rehearsals.
Monday afternoon after practice consisted of getting to know you games, in which we were reminded just how good at dancing Shane is. Thanks go to the social committee for organising the games night.
Tuesday was just as hot as monday, if not moreso. The nametags, were back up to scratch, with the exception of that belonging to new David, who for whatever reason didn't have his school written on his. At least his name was.
With the arrival of Katrina, we did lots and lots of drill, getting from set A to set K - a very good achievement when the time in which we'd had the music is taken into account.
There was a drilldown, which was filled with (once again) the hilarity of watching David K (Keevers) do about-faces with a very large drum. The hilarity was compounded by the fact that this year he's playing an even larger drum than last year: Big Bertha. Taking over Keevers' old drum is Gabe, formerly a mere groupie with a camera, now a fully fledged member of the band.
Winning drilldown, there was a 3-way tie between Kathryn (MiniRamsay), Michale Hoyle and Hamish, all of whom somehow managed to wrap their brains around the new drill commands and execution. Thus props to them.
The pointscore as it currently stands is:
Alto Saxes: 2 (One for extreme dedication to attention, one for Hamish winning drilldown)
Low brass and wind: 2 (One for sousas memorising their music on the first day, one for Michael Hoyle winning drilldown)
Flutes: 1 (Kathryn in Drilldown)
And there's another section on one point, but I cannot for the life of me remember which or for what. If anyone knows, it would be great if you could comment on this post and tell me.
For next rehearsal: memoriuse Battlefield, memorise the opening piece for Ka, memorise the Anzac Day music: I am Australian, Road to Gundagai, Great Escape.
Don't forget there's the family picnic on saturday 19 feb after rehearsal, and sunday is a dress up day, the theme of which is Penguin Sunday. Get creative, kids.
Remember to stretch, play lots, get keen.
Fun fact: according to the NSW department of Sport and Recreation, Marching band an extreme sport. That's right, a government body recognises the crazy stuff we have to do.
It's classed as an extreme sport due to the extremely high casualty rate associated with marching band, which brings me quite nicely to the following message form the Boosters: drink lots of water. Water is good. It stops your internal organs from going into thermal meltdown, and it keeps your brain from shrivelling up. Drink lots of it in the leadup to the February rehearsal because it will be in all likelihood another hot and humid rehearsal.
And onto the fun stuff.
Sunday's rehearsal started with the returning year 11 and 12 members, the section leaders and student executive members watching the fieldshow animation Katrina had written for Battlefield.
Immediately after that, we realised that during the holidays, Jake had decided it was a good idea to get his lip pierced, which in and of itself declared open season on Jake for this supreme lack of foresight, especially since he couldn't play for another three weeks. The fool.
Everyone then went into the hall for a brainstorming session about what marching band meant to us. The result was Penguin Sunday. The phrase which according to the band seniors best encapsulates the experience of marching band. If you think about it hard enough, it makes sense. Kind of...
There was then a runthrough of the music, which being Cirque du Soleil was rather awesome.
We found out the size of this years band (apparently upwards of 100 people) which just goes to show just how successful the Great Recruitment Drive of 2010 was. The band is big, and not only that, drumline now has enough members for a pit percussion section. Huzzah!
And there's now a boy in colourguard.
On sunday, everyone was bestowed with nametags because the fabled new members whom we had heard so much about were there in their multitudinous glory. The day started off with everyone splitting off into their sections to meet the new people, and in the case of low brass, the returning members who had been amalgamated into their sections. Thus low brass must henceforth be referred to low brass and winds with the addition of the tenor saxes and bass clarinet.
After a runthrough of the music, there was a drill rehearsal where much to the horror of returning members, the drill commands had changed, thus putting everyone on a level playing field with regard to learning the drill commands.
During lunch the seniors who hadn't been in attendance that mornign arrived, and the drill was run through again so as to allow them to learn the new commands. Then followed another music rehearsal with the whole band, in which everyone in the back row of the band (i.e. not drumline), and especially the sousas discovered just how loud the new drumline was. Namely incredibly.
During assembly, the Boosters talked to us about the importance of hydration and nutrition...and STRETCHING. If you stretch, you don't get injured and you find that you're less stiff after rehearsals. Stretching, like memorisation, requires daily work, so for five minutes after you practice your music, take the time to stretch. You'll find that come the next rehearsal you're more flexible, which means you'll be less likely to injure yourself during the rehearsal, and you'll be less sore after drillwork.
Also during assembly, new members were introduced to the band by either section leaders or their alternates.
Monday's nametags were not of the same quality as sundays, with the majority of those with a surname beginning with L or M lacking a first name on their nametags.
Monday saw the beginning of our learning the field drill for Battlefield. It also saw the beginning of the extreme heat which returned on tuesday.
We were also introduced to the points which are to be bestowed on sections demonstrating marvellous dedication to the band. Like a military medal, points are only bestowed for exhibitions of whatever the band equivalent of extreme valour is. Who knows. Maybe there are points to be awarded for extreme valour. I'll be interested to find out in future rehearsals.
Monday afternoon after practice consisted of getting to know you games, in which we were reminded just how good at dancing Shane is. Thanks go to the social committee for organising the games night.
Tuesday was just as hot as monday, if not moreso. The nametags, were back up to scratch, with the exception of that belonging to new David, who for whatever reason didn't have his school written on his. At least his name was.
With the arrival of Katrina, we did lots and lots of drill, getting from set A to set K - a very good achievement when the time in which we'd had the music is taken into account.
There was a drilldown, which was filled with (once again) the hilarity of watching David K (Keevers) do about-faces with a very large drum. The hilarity was compounded by the fact that this year he's playing an even larger drum than last year: Big Bertha. Taking over Keevers' old drum is Gabe, formerly a mere groupie with a camera, now a fully fledged member of the band.
Winning drilldown, there was a 3-way tie between Kathryn (MiniRamsay), Michale Hoyle and Hamish, all of whom somehow managed to wrap their brains around the new drill commands and execution. Thus props to them.
The pointscore as it currently stands is:
Alto Saxes: 2 (One for extreme dedication to attention, one for Hamish winning drilldown)
Low brass and wind: 2 (One for sousas memorising their music on the first day, one for Michael Hoyle winning drilldown)
Flutes: 1 (Kathryn in Drilldown)
And there's another section on one point, but I cannot for the life of me remember which or for what. If anyone knows, it would be great if you could comment on this post and tell me.
For next rehearsal: memoriuse Battlefield, memorise the opening piece for Ka, memorise the Anzac Day music: I am Australian, Road to Gundagai, Great Escape.
Don't forget there's the family picnic on saturday 19 feb after rehearsal, and sunday is a dress up day, the theme of which is Penguin Sunday. Get creative, kids.
Remember to stretch, play lots, get keen.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
The Marvels of the Interweb
Fun fact!
Liam (aka the amazing Trombone playing penguin) has gone to the effort of creating a Facebook group devoted to the amazingness of marching band.
Unsurprisingly, it is thus entitled 'MMB 4 LIFE'.
It's a closed group, so in order to be able to access the videos of past performances, photos of the band and such, add Liam Willis as a friend and he will then invite you into the group.
Alternately, if you're already a member, add any and all of your MMB friends, and then in the tradition of all spam chain emails compel them to do the same.
Finally, if you've only just accessed this blog for the first time having seen the link on the Facebook group, click the button on the right hand side of the page that says 'follow this blog'. And then follow the blog.
And as a quick addendum, remember to play a little in the holidays so that when the January training camp comes along next January (surprise, surprise) your lips won't get wrecked.
Enjoy the holidays, have a merry Christmas and all the best for the new year.
And practice.
Liam (aka the amazing Trombone playing penguin) has gone to the effort of creating a Facebook group devoted to the amazingness of marching band.
Unsurprisingly, it is thus entitled 'MMB 4 LIFE'.
It's a closed group, so in order to be able to access the videos of past performances, photos of the band and such, add Liam Willis as a friend and he will then invite you into the group.
Alternately, if you're already a member, add any and all of your MMB friends, and then in the tradition of all spam chain emails compel them to do the same.
Finally, if you've only just accessed this blog for the first time having seen the link on the Facebook group, click the button on the right hand side of the page that says 'follow this blog'. And then follow the blog.
And as a quick addendum, remember to play a little in the holidays so that when the January training camp comes along next January (surprise, surprise) your lips won't get wrecked.
Enjoy the holidays, have a merry Christmas and all the best for the new year.
And practice.
Monday, November 29, 2010
SSSSSPPPPPEEEEECCCCC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To start off with, I'd like to say Hi to the people visiting this blog having been prompted by the postcards we handed out en mass at spec. And also: join the band.
Tuesday dawned, with some of the band members having awoken before the sun so that they could make it to Cumberland High school in time. As it happened, the biennial Cumberland vs. James Ruse sports gala day was on, which meant that for our field rehearsals we had to abduct Carlingford West Public School's sports field. Not only that, but the hall was set up for an exam meaning that everyone got really cosy in the concert arcs we set up on the stage. After a cursory runthrough of our music and meeting the spec ring-ins, we headed off for our first field rehearsal.
After a couple of exceedingly sweaty hours, we retreated inside to start learning the finale dance - an activity which turned out to be remarkable fun, thanks to the ridiculous levels of enthusiasm shown by not only the drum majors but also the tenor drummers.
More outdoor rehearsals followed, with out ten hour day finishing at 6.00 pm, resulting in everyone going home rather exhausted.
On wednesday most people realised two things: firstly that they should have put on more sunscreen; secondly that they should have stretched before they went to bed, because lactic acid buildup is unpleasant. Regardless, we returned to Cumberland ready for another tough day. Whereas on Tuesday our drill was far from sound, on wednesday everything started coming together much to the relief of Lindsay. Wednesday also saw the beginning of a subset of the band learning the drill for 'Come Follow the Band'. Which meant high-stepping for the entirety of the song. Luckily, there wasn't much complex drill to learn, and thus we went back to the far more entertaining and enjoyable task of learning the finale dance. We were to be situated on the very edges of the stage, which meant that we would be the only people really visible from the audience... no pressure... but we learnt the dance (and as it turned out, we knew it better than some of the dancers, so snaps for us :) )
On wednesday most people, despite really greasing themselves up with sunscreen, still managed to sustain some sunburn, most notable Tom B, who although he put on sunblock quite regularly, including when we were indoors rehearsing (because you never know when the sun's going to burn a hole in the roof) still managed to get burnt.
Then came thursday. We started off with a couple of runthroughs of the fieldshow, followed by Come Follow the Band and the finale dance, and then it was onto one of the three buses chartered for us to get to the SEC. Much fun was had on the buses, including David K doing some memorable headbanging (as it turns out, the emo-esque fringe is well suited for it). Once at the entertainment centre we got out our instruments and proceeded to wait with incredible boredom for the Come Follow the Band rehearsal to begin. The first runthrough was... questionable, due to the fact that no-one was in time with anyone else, be they the Orchestra, the choir or us. That was soon rectified with the drumline being given earpieces allowing them to hear what was going on elsewhere and the second runthrough was quite good.
There was then some marvellously boring practices of getting onto the stage for the finale dance, which showed us just how bad some of the dancers were at staying in straight lines. It also taught us that sitting through a rollcall of all the school groups involved in the finale was as BORING AS ALL GETOUT!
But with that finished we had an afternoon rehearsal under the bridge overpass, which greatly delighted the general public, as apparently we're entertaining to watch.
During the course of thursday we had our first of numerous encounters with Kane and Ambo - the ABC3 presenters, on this occasion we gave them each one of the commemorative spec shirts. Thursday also saw the beginning of what I've decided to name 'The Great Recruitment Drive of 2010', in which we were tasked with going up to as many people as we could and convincing them to join band.
Thursday ended with our rehearsing the fieldshow and then making our way to our holding area at UTS.
Then came friday, our 15 hour marathon of performances. We arrived at 8.00, ready for a day jam-packed with marching related awesomeness.
First there was the dress rehearsal, in which we had the good fortune to see the outfits Lindsay and the drum majors would be wearing - Penguin Suits (figuratively). There was also the hilarity of Liam's ACTUAL penguin suit (which led to him being referred to as penguin boy by some primary school kids - although how they managed to recognise him when he wasn't wearing the suit is beyond me...) and then there was the preview performance, followed by an afternoon break (and recruitment time) and the night performance.
A notable incident stemming from the dress rehearsal was during the practice of the finale dance. Everyone who was in attendance thursday morning doubtlessly remembers the amazingness that was Shane dancing the finale. Not everyone was however of our opinion of his brilliance. Apparently, not only was Shane told off for not 'takign it seriously enough', but it was enquired of Lindsay whether he attended a Special Learing centre. Thus did we discover that enthusiasm is alright, as long as it didn't outshine the dancers. It's not our fault if we're an excited bunch. Anyway.
The preview matinée performance was memorable for the reaction of the Hip-Hop boys preceeding us in the show when they laid eyes on a Sousaphone for the first time. Their reaction went somewhat along the lines of 'OMIGOD BRO!! IS THAT A GIANT BONG??'
For the record: No. It is not a giant bong. This however didn't curb their delight every subsequent time they saw us.
Whilst hanging out in the parking lot before the finale dance, some members of the band were interviewed by ABC3 (because we're that awesome) ostensibly increasing our renown.
We returned to our holding area to the strains of I Want You Back and drum cadences, much to the enjoyment of the audience and the terror of the dancers who never ceased to be taken off guard not only by us coming to attention but also by the volume of the cadence (not to mention the arm length of the base-drummers, with David K causing some collateral damage).
It was at UTS that Normo was crowned 'Lord of the Dance'. Also at UTS, Dane had the idea of getting everyone who hadn't yet signed up for 2011 to do so, thus ensuring that everyone who was eligible for another year of band would be there. Then came free time, during which we joined the several thousand school kids around Market City and Darling Harbour. Drumline also had a drum party with the drumline from Yanko, convincing the majority of them to join band.
By the evening performance, everyone was somewhat tired, but we still managed to drag up our last few dregs of enthusiasm and pep for the performance.
During some of our inter-performance time on friday and saturday we also watched some marching band documentaries. Oh the sunburn.
On saturday, although by then rather tired we turned up for our last performances of the year, and in the case of most of our year twelves, their last performances ever with the band. Also on saturday, recruitment went into overdrive with masses of postcards being handed out left, right and centre in an attempt to get people to join.
We were also lucky enough to see some pirated footage of the fieldshow obligingly shot by en ex-band member (who in the interests if privacy shall remain unnamed).
Saturday evening saw the end of year pizza and farewell party, in which we said goodbye to 14 of the 17 year twelves; as well as our fantastic drum majors for the year: Megan, Chris and Normo (Malcolm). The drum majors for 2011 were also appointed: Scott, Zoe and Belinda.
Surprisingly energetic, despite the 50ish hours we'd already marched during the week, we went into the evening performance giving it everything. Just before the finale dance, ABC3 filmed some of the door 1 band members as one of their ads for the spec broadcast, thus ending our lovely relationship with the hosts of ABC3.
The finale dance was awesome, and we finally perfected the art of getting off the stage without anyone being trampled by rampaging dancers. With our performances finished, we marched back to UTS for the last time in 2010, packed up and were dismissed. Much hugging then ensued, what with the year 12s being finished, and everyone went home for some much needed sleep.
Another year, finished, and finished well. I hope to see you all next year at the january training camp, not to mention multitudes of new members. Until then, do yourselves a favour play loud and proud. Because it always helps to keep your lip in.
See you next year.
Tuesday dawned, with some of the band members having awoken before the sun so that they could make it to Cumberland High school in time. As it happened, the biennial Cumberland vs. James Ruse sports gala day was on, which meant that for our field rehearsals we had to abduct Carlingford West Public School's sports field. Not only that, but the hall was set up for an exam meaning that everyone got really cosy in the concert arcs we set up on the stage. After a cursory runthrough of our music and meeting the spec ring-ins, we headed off for our first field rehearsal.
After a couple of exceedingly sweaty hours, we retreated inside to start learning the finale dance - an activity which turned out to be remarkable fun, thanks to the ridiculous levels of enthusiasm shown by not only the drum majors but also the tenor drummers.
More outdoor rehearsals followed, with out ten hour day finishing at 6.00 pm, resulting in everyone going home rather exhausted.
On wednesday most people realised two things: firstly that they should have put on more sunscreen; secondly that they should have stretched before they went to bed, because lactic acid buildup is unpleasant. Regardless, we returned to Cumberland ready for another tough day. Whereas on Tuesday our drill was far from sound, on wednesday everything started coming together much to the relief of Lindsay. Wednesday also saw the beginning of a subset of the band learning the drill for 'Come Follow the Band'. Which meant high-stepping for the entirety of the song. Luckily, there wasn't much complex drill to learn, and thus we went back to the far more entertaining and enjoyable task of learning the finale dance. We were to be situated on the very edges of the stage, which meant that we would be the only people really visible from the audience... no pressure... but we learnt the dance (and as it turned out, we knew it better than some of the dancers, so snaps for us :) )
On wednesday most people, despite really greasing themselves up with sunscreen, still managed to sustain some sunburn, most notable Tom B, who although he put on sunblock quite regularly, including when we were indoors rehearsing (because you never know when the sun's going to burn a hole in the roof) still managed to get burnt.
Then came thursday. We started off with a couple of runthroughs of the fieldshow, followed by Come Follow the Band and the finale dance, and then it was onto one of the three buses chartered for us to get to the SEC. Much fun was had on the buses, including David K doing some memorable headbanging (as it turns out, the emo-esque fringe is well suited for it). Once at the entertainment centre we got out our instruments and proceeded to wait with incredible boredom for the Come Follow the Band rehearsal to begin. The first runthrough was... questionable, due to the fact that no-one was in time with anyone else, be they the Orchestra, the choir or us. That was soon rectified with the drumline being given earpieces allowing them to hear what was going on elsewhere and the second runthrough was quite good.
There was then some marvellously boring practices of getting onto the stage for the finale dance, which showed us just how bad some of the dancers were at staying in straight lines. It also taught us that sitting through a rollcall of all the school groups involved in the finale was as BORING AS ALL GETOUT!
But with that finished we had an afternoon rehearsal under the bridge overpass, which greatly delighted the general public, as apparently we're entertaining to watch.
During the course of thursday we had our first of numerous encounters with Kane and Ambo - the ABC3 presenters, on this occasion we gave them each one of the commemorative spec shirts. Thursday also saw the beginning of what I've decided to name 'The Great Recruitment Drive of 2010', in which we were tasked with going up to as many people as we could and convincing them to join band.
Thursday ended with our rehearsing the fieldshow and then making our way to our holding area at UTS.
Then came friday, our 15 hour marathon of performances. We arrived at 8.00, ready for a day jam-packed with marching related awesomeness.
First there was the dress rehearsal, in which we had the good fortune to see the outfits Lindsay and the drum majors would be wearing - Penguin Suits (figuratively). There was also the hilarity of Liam's ACTUAL penguin suit (which led to him being referred to as penguin boy by some primary school kids - although how they managed to recognise him when he wasn't wearing the suit is beyond me...) and then there was the preview performance, followed by an afternoon break (and recruitment time) and the night performance.
A notable incident stemming from the dress rehearsal was during the practice of the finale dance. Everyone who was in attendance thursday morning doubtlessly remembers the amazingness that was Shane dancing the finale. Not everyone was however of our opinion of his brilliance. Apparently, not only was Shane told off for not 'takign it seriously enough', but it was enquired of Lindsay whether he attended a Special Learing centre. Thus did we discover that enthusiasm is alright, as long as it didn't outshine the dancers. It's not our fault if we're an excited bunch. Anyway.
The preview matinée performance was memorable for the reaction of the Hip-Hop boys preceeding us in the show when they laid eyes on a Sousaphone for the first time. Their reaction went somewhat along the lines of 'OMIGOD BRO!! IS THAT A GIANT BONG??'
For the record: No. It is not a giant bong. This however didn't curb their delight every subsequent time they saw us.
Whilst hanging out in the parking lot before the finale dance, some members of the band were interviewed by ABC3 (because we're that awesome) ostensibly increasing our renown.
We returned to our holding area to the strains of I Want You Back and drum cadences, much to the enjoyment of the audience and the terror of the dancers who never ceased to be taken off guard not only by us coming to attention but also by the volume of the cadence (not to mention the arm length of the base-drummers, with David K causing some collateral damage).
It was at UTS that Normo was crowned 'Lord of the Dance'. Also at UTS, Dane had the idea of getting everyone who hadn't yet signed up for 2011 to do so, thus ensuring that everyone who was eligible for another year of band would be there. Then came free time, during which we joined the several thousand school kids around Market City and Darling Harbour. Drumline also had a drum party with the drumline from Yanko, convincing the majority of them to join band.
By the evening performance, everyone was somewhat tired, but we still managed to drag up our last few dregs of enthusiasm and pep for the performance.
During some of our inter-performance time on friday and saturday we also watched some marching band documentaries. Oh the sunburn.
On saturday, although by then rather tired we turned up for our last performances of the year, and in the case of most of our year twelves, their last performances ever with the band. Also on saturday, recruitment went into overdrive with masses of postcards being handed out left, right and centre in an attempt to get people to join.
We were also lucky enough to see some pirated footage of the fieldshow obligingly shot by en ex-band member (who in the interests if privacy shall remain unnamed).
Saturday evening saw the end of year pizza and farewell party, in which we said goodbye to 14 of the 17 year twelves; as well as our fantastic drum majors for the year: Megan, Chris and Normo (Malcolm). The drum majors for 2011 were also appointed: Scott, Zoe and Belinda.
Surprisingly energetic, despite the 50ish hours we'd already marched during the week, we went into the evening performance giving it everything. Just before the finale dance, ABC3 filmed some of the door 1 band members as one of their ads for the spec broadcast, thus ending our lovely relationship with the hosts of ABC3.
The finale dance was awesome, and we finally perfected the art of getting off the stage without anyone being trampled by rampaging dancers. With our performances finished, we marched back to UTS for the last time in 2010, packed up and were dismissed. Much hugging then ensued, what with the year 12s being finished, and everyone went home for some much needed sleep.
Another year, finished, and finished well. I hope to see you all next year at the january training camp, not to mention multitudes of new members. Until then, do yourselves a favour play loud and proud. Because it always helps to keep your lip in.
See you next year.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Hello Band Members!
I have a special request from Rachel McCracken and the Band Boosters, could you all please email your home addresses to mmbboosters@gmail.com, (this is the boosters email) so they can send some postcards for you to give to your friends who might be interested in joining us!
thankyouthankyouthankyou
cya all at spec!
I have a special request from Rachel McCracken and the Band Boosters, could you all please email your home addresses to mmbboosters@gmail.com, (this is the boosters email) so they can send some postcards for you to give to your friends who might be interested in joining us!
thankyouthankyouthankyou
cya all at spec!
Monday, October 25, 2010
The October Rehearsal
Saturday was humid and rather nasty, until it rained and was then damp and less nasty. Regardless of the fact that weather was so utterly not on our side, we soldiered on, beginning to learn the music for Adelieland and Boogie Wonderland; as well as a curious and complicated manoeuvre involving a never-ending conga line and the fact that according to Lindsay, a square is a circle with flat sides... or a circle is a square with curves... or both...
Regardless, Saturday set the foundations for the awesomeness that was Sunday.
Although the weather was inauspicious to say the least (it rained continually with varying strength of downpour), meaning that we couldn't actually practice on the field, we started with a live performance on ABC radio (link to follow), followed by sectionals in which we memorised as much of the music as we could.
There was also a memorably complex and downright confusing drill session in which we used a scaled down version of the Spec stage to work out a wheely-spinny-swirly piece of drill for Boogie Wonderland. It must be said, however, that we mastered it in far less time than Lindsay had thought it would take.
After lunch there was trivia organised by the Social group, which much to everyone's surprise, drumline won.
Following the trivia we saw some footage of the UW (University of Washington) marching band at football games provided by Katrina, having amassed the footage whilst on exchange.
Then the choreography began. Adelieland, as it turned out, is going to be a dancing extravagnaza. The learning of the choreography went off more or less without snags, with the exception of when the trumpets had to make their way to the front of the block in the space of no time whatsoever, prompting several entertaining rehearsal runs involving the trumpets sprinting from the back of the block to the front, skidding to a halt in front of the trombones, only to be told that they were late and for the whole thing to start again.
I here pass on Lindsay's request for us to practice the 'forward, right, left, right, back, right, step, step' thingy in preparation for next month.
And as always (possibly moreso than ususal) practice and MEMORISE your music, because if you don't know it by the time Spec comes around, it's already too late. I Wish will be arriving in your mailboxes some time soon.
Until then, play loud and proud.
Regardless, Saturday set the foundations for the awesomeness that was Sunday.
Although the weather was inauspicious to say the least (it rained continually with varying strength of downpour), meaning that we couldn't actually practice on the field, we started with a live performance on ABC radio (link to follow), followed by sectionals in which we memorised as much of the music as we could.
There was also a memorably complex and downright confusing drill session in which we used a scaled down version of the Spec stage to work out a wheely-spinny-swirly piece of drill for Boogie Wonderland. It must be said, however, that we mastered it in far less time than Lindsay had thought it would take.
After lunch there was trivia organised by the Social group, which much to everyone's surprise, drumline won.
Following the trivia we saw some footage of the UW (University of Washington) marching band at football games provided by Katrina, having amassed the footage whilst on exchange.
Then the choreography began. Adelieland, as it turned out, is going to be a dancing extravagnaza. The learning of the choreography went off more or less without snags, with the exception of when the trumpets had to make their way to the front of the block in the space of no time whatsoever, prompting several entertaining rehearsal runs involving the trumpets sprinting from the back of the block to the front, skidding to a halt in front of the trombones, only to be told that they were late and for the whole thing to start again.
I here pass on Lindsay's request for us to practice the 'forward, right, left, right, back, right, step, step' thingy in preparation for next month.
And as always (possibly moreso than ususal) practice and MEMORISE your music, because if you don't know it by the time Spec comes around, it's already too late. I Wish will be arriving in your mailboxes some time soon.
Until then, play loud and proud.
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