Memorial Day Weekend Report
– May 24-26, 2008
In drum corps circles, Memorial Day weekend camp is often referred to as “death camp”, but looking back on our weekend, I’m not sure that “death camp” is how I would describe it. As with every Memorial Day weekend that I can remember, our muscles got a little sore and our chops got a little ragged, but “birth camp”, or “life camp” seem to be better metaphors for our holiday weekend. Four out of the five movements in “Renaissance” were brought to life, and our first uniformed appearance of the season in the West Racine Memorial Day parade was quite possibly our strongest ever showing in that parade.
Saturday was review day. The weather gods were smiling as we assembled for breakfast at 9 AM. Temperatures were in the mid 50s, and it was sunny with light breezes, great marching weather. At 10 AM, corps director Scott Stewart laid out our ambitious weekend schedule. Scott and the rest of our staff had every precious minute meticulously scheduled so that we could make the best use of our time together. That meticulous scheduling coupled with the abundant pre-camp preparation and coordination of the staff are the most noticeable operational changes from prior campaigns. Not that it was necessarily bad in the past, but as I said, it is noticeable.
2008 Drum Major Guy Gregg led us through stretch followed by a basics block fronted by Guy and 2008 visual guru Dave Koelz. Then we spent the rest of the morning split into three groups with the brass and guard on the main practice field, battery on field 2, and the pit in between hammering away on Movement I charts. Brass and guard went set to set in Movement I “Out of the Darkness”. It was review for the brass line and new material for the guard. Of the four movements that we have on the field so far, this one is the most difficult for me. It is a hard driving 160 beats per minute throughout, and it really gets the heart rate elevated and the lungs lumbering. When it’s clean it is going to be killer.
We did the same with Movement II “Celebration”. Once again it was review for brass and new material for guard. This number is not as physically taxing as Movement I. Visual effect is derived more from tricky “gimmicks” and fun surprises than from velocity and field spread. It is very light hearted and should leave the audience smiling when it is performed well.
That took us all the way to a slightly later than usual lunch. Joan and Joe Kraus served up great Memorial Day weekend cookout fare of brats, pasta salad, watermelon and all the fixins! The great brats made me feel like summer has finally arrived in this neck of the woods.
After lunch it was all about coordination. We all warmed up the chops and hit the main field together for full corps full ensemble coordination. We broke each movement down into defined segments. For example, segment 1 of the opener is set 1 through 8, segment 2 is set 7 through 14, etc. Then we worked each segment first with Dr. Beat only, then singing, then with percussion playing and brass singing, and finally with everyone in. When coordination problems occurred we addressed them. At around 5:30 we ran the entire opener all in. As you might expect, it was a little rough in spots and it left us all winded, but the run-through had some really awesome moments as well. It left us all with a good feeling of accomplishment.
Then we coordinated Movement II the same way as the opener, defining segments and working the same process. At around 7:30 PM we ran Movement II all in. Like the opener it had some rough spots, and some really great moments. Again, it was mission accomplished.
Sunday morning greeted us with more good weather with temperatures reaching the mid-60s by mid afternoon. The weather man was touting the possibility of scattered showers in the afternoon but again the weather gods smiled and the showers never materialized. Guy Gregg mixed things up during stretch and introduced the corps to a basic yoga routine that left me amazingly loose and limber considering how stiff I was going in. Very cool! After a short basics block, we jumped right in learning drill for Movement III “Conflict”. This time brass had the main field, and percussion and guard had field 2. This movement is the percussion feature and it drives at a frenetic 172 beats per minute (a new Kiltie record). Most of it is in ¾ time, so there are also plenty of “right foot leads” when sets are grouped in odd numbers. Tough stuff, but I actually found it a little easier than the opener simply because we have our horns down for the first 2/3 of the movement.
We made it about 2/3 of the way through before lunch. Joan and Joe kept with the Memorial Day cookout menu and served burgers, salads, fruits and all the fixins. Thanks again Joan and Joe!
After lunch the guard and brass (minus the small ensemble participants) learned the tricky “diamond cutter” drill that is the climax of movement III. Battery and small brass ensemble participants worked on field 2. Then we all headed to the main field for coordination work on Movement III. I think this movement is going to be my favorite. The musical rhythms are so intense and the pace is so frenetic that it just exudes energy. Add in the fact that our percussion section is noticeably improved and it should result in a real show highlight.
We spent most of the rest of our Sunday learning Movement IV, “Peace”. This is a brass only ballad that is visually highlighted by a 50 person flag ensemble. Most of the song is played back field, then we turn around and a 50 person brass arc appears out of nowhere and hits the front stands with big sound. The tricky part of this number for the brass line is hitting the arc out of nowhere. We’ll need to be pretty precise to maximize the visual effect. That being said, the flag work will be where everyone in the audience is drawn visually, and it will be good. They flag ensemble has been working on this movement every camp since January.
We capped the camp by running all of the defined segments of the 4 Movements and then each complete movement. I was really pleased with Movements I and II simply because the performance level was right where it had been on Saturday. In other words, there was a really good retention rate which bodes well for us down the road. It’s harder to improve if you have to re-teach things all the time. But I was most excited about Movement III, simply because it cooked and I felt like we really performed it well, especially for our first day with it.
We all celebrated a successful camp with another epic bon-fire and cookout at the Fazzari residence, complete with hand roasted hot dogs, marshmallows and ‘smores. Nearly everyone made it to the party and it gave us a great chance to meet all the new people and bond as a corps. We really have a great group of dedicated members and staff this year. We all work hard together, and when we’re done working, we really enjoy each other’s company. I think it’s going to be a great ride!
Memorial Day greeted us with more great weather! We gathered at the Southwest corner of Washington Avenue and West Blvd. for the West Racine Memorial Day parade. The mostly sunny skies and mid-70 temperatures meant that the parade route would be packed with people. It was fun to see and help with the annual first donning of the uniform by new members. If you have ever actually put on one of our uniforms, you know why it is a bit of an ordeal the first time you go through it. But we think it’s the coolest uniform around, so it is all worth it. And speaking of cool uniforms, we all got our first look at the awesome 2008 guard uniforms. They are a clean and classy earth tone design in the 16th century “Renaissance” peasant motif. They will complement the 2008 “Renaissance” show theme perfectly, and they were a welcome visual exclamation point on our appearance in the parade.
At 9:30 the brass line warmed up in the north lot, and the percussion and guard warmed up in the south lot. It was great to see all of the Kiltie alumni and friends on hand for warm-ups. I think they were all pleased to see the largest contingent of Kilties that we have ever assembled for this parade. I was particularly pleased with the professionalism that the corps showed during warm-ups. We capped a good warm up with a run of the street beat, Scotland the Brave, street beat, Auld Lang Syne, and a run of the show opener.
We hit the streets playing Scotland the Brave to a wildly cheering throng of Racinians. Then we settled into the “once through the street beat… roll off… horns up” routine for the remainder of the parade, alternating between runs of Scotland and Syne. It’s always fun to march parades in Racine because the locals give us such a great reception. I think that this year the crowd was especially appreciative, and why not. It was our biggest and I think it was our best showing as a senior corps at this parade.
We finished the parade marching into Graceland Cemetery where we arced up and capped our weekend with the playing of “Slow Syne” in remembrance of recently deceased former Kiltie board president Dennis Hagner, and in honor of all veterans who have sacrificed so much to protect our freedom.
Scott gathered the Kilties around him and addressed the troops. What he told us will remain with us. Suffice it to say that things are good in Kiltie-land and Scott is pleased with our progress to date.
So there you have it. Our May 31-June 1 camp will see us reinforcing the first 4 show movements and learning the first half of the closer drill. I for one can’t wait!!
Til Next Time,
J.C.
P.S. Congratulations to Kiltie Brass and Visual staff member Barry Oosterwaal on the recent birth of his new daughter Carmen. She was 20.5" and weighed in at 7.6 pounds. Proud papa Barry and his lovely wife introduced her to us all at the Sunday bonfire and I think she is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen! Congratulations again Barry!
