2009 Tour Report

     What a crazy last couple of weeks this has been!  Let's start with the drama.......

     Because we have been housed at Gifford Elementary School for the last 8 years, we have racked up some serious custodial overtime.  With things the way they are, the district moved us to Park High School right after school was let out so that we would be able to rehearse and have custodians there already - thus not having to pay overtime and in the end saving the district money.  This idea sounded good on paper - but the reason we left Park HS after the 2001 season was that trying to get rehearsal space and fields to rehearse on at a high school is often very, very hard to do.  Gifford has been the perfect place for us to house our equipment and rehearse with pretty much unlimited field space.

     So, anyway, the school year is done and at the end of record's day we all meet at Gifford and load up EVERYTHING and make the move to Park to begin our band camp (by the way - this was a Tuesday and our first show was the following Sunday).  We pack everything in record time and get over to Park by about 2:30.  The visual staff runs out and gets the football field lined and we are set to go.....except that now we are being told that the field has been re-seeded and we can NOT use it.  We have use of a field house for only a few hours each day and no place to learn the rest of our show.  Long story short - after two days of NO field time and trying to make the best out of a bad situation - we move back to Gifford for the rest of the summer.  I have never been so happy to see that Gator at the front of the school.

     We finally learned the remaining drill by lunch on Saturday.  Our show in Janesville on Sunday was pretty rough - and it usually is for all of the rookies.  That first show is such an overload on their brains and senses - to just get through it is a huge step forward.  Two nights later, we performed in rehearsal clothes for some other MACBDA bands at the annual social and it was like watching a completely different group - they really turned it on.

     We are currently staying overnight in Prophetstown, IL - home of some killer Kamikaze gnats.  The heat has been pretty intense the past two days and I thought our performance last night was a small step backward because I felt they let the heat get to them - it was almost like they are not used to performing in their uniforms, yet.  The funny thing is - all of the other directors told me the same thing about their members last night.  We have a nice chunk of rehearsal time today to start cleaning the show and I hope the members can kick out a great show tonight.

- Rex out

Mini-Camp Report

     Hello Rex Blog fans!  Sorry it's been a few weeks since my last blog entries.  I wanted to finish up my "Get To Know Your Brigade Staff" and after doing that I was in the middle of my Mitchell Symphony Band trip to NYC and school concerts, etc., etc.  I still have a couple to go - I am going to spotlight Paul Ruffolo (our DVD and recording expert) and my big brother, Gene (our lighthousebrigade.org webmaster).  Maybe I'll even spotlight myself - who knows!

     The mini-camp was very productive and the weather held out for us all weekend.  I see this camp as a huge opportunity to start getting the members to learn how to really rehearse effectively and how we do things the "Brigade Way".  It will be June when we meet again and we are really going to push the members to learn charts quickly and get the show taught and get them performing it at a high level.  For our Saturday 9-9 coming up on June 6th - the members will get computerized charts for the entire opener and the week after that Korean Folk Songs Part I, II and III.  Because of so many snow days our camp has been cut short of 9-9 days - so I have had to adjust the schedule to include 5-9 rehearsals the last full week of school.  This is NOT the ideal way to rehearse and it is a real burden for members trying to study for finals - but at this point there is really not a choice!  We have had to do this the last couple of seasons, so I guess we are getting used to it!

     I thought the parent concert went really great and I am very excited about our whole show after hearing all of the sections playing together.  Is everything polished and perfect?  Of course not - but I think everyone can feel that this show has a TON of potential.  

     As we are getting into band camp and the MACBDA season - I will try to blog daily - so stay tuned for updates on how the members are doing, what the awesome Boosters are cooking for dinner, what the scores from the previous night's show were, and lots more inside information from me!

- Rex out

Know Your Brigade Staff

     The next staff member in the spotlight is none other than our color guard caption head Todd Neuenschwander.  Todd is one of the funniest people I have ever met and also one of the most talented.  As amazing as he is with everything color guard - he is just as adept at everything musical.  You would think that someone who marched in a drum corps that was world champions both years he was in would have an enormous ego.  Not so with Todd.  If you ask him about his world championship years or what it's like to have two (TWO!!) DCI world championship rings - the most you will get out of him would be something like, "Yeah - we were pretty good those years".

     Todd has brought an extremely high work ethic and desire to always challenge his guard members.  The beauty of it is that all of the girls buy into his teaching style 100% and I wonder if Todd understands just how much his positive attitude also rubs off on the other staff members, students, and parents.  Now on to my Q & A with Todd:

Name:  Todd Neuenschwander

Position:  Color Guard Caption Head

Number of Years on Brigade staff: 6

Marching Band/Drum Corps experience: The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps (2001 and 2002)
 
Current Job: Middle school choir teacher!
 
College degree: Ball State University, K-12 Music Education (instrumental)
 
Main instrument: Saxophone
 
Home Town: Marion, Indiana
 
Birthday: February 23, 1981
 
Favorite Food: I love Italian food.
 
Top Five Favorite Movies: The Godfather, Silence of the Lambs, American Beauty, The Dark Knight, Superman Returns (I need everyone to understand that this was the hardest question on the list)
 
Favorite TV shows: The Sopranos, Smallville, Rescue Me, Simpsons, Star Trek (pretty much all the different versions)
 
Book you are currently reading: Wicked
 
What song is currently playing on your iPod: "I Stand," by Idina Menzel
 
Favorite sports team: COLTS!!!
 
Favorite pig-out food: Nachos!
 
Dream Vacation: DISNEY WORLD!!!!!
 
Worst Habit: Procrastination...oh...and I spend WAY too much money on DVDs
 
Hidden talent you have: I am an innovator of belching technique...but I guess I don't hide it too often
 
Famous person you have met: Ben Folds, Wynton Marsalis, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
 
Famous person you would like to meet: John Mayer, Dave Matthews

Favorite Quote: "Stop wasting so much time remembering what everyone else says, and come up with something clever, insightful, and funny on your own." -Me

Favorite Actor: Al Pacino, James Gandolfini
 
Favorite Actress: Emma Thompson, Meryl Streep
 
Favorite ride at Disney World: Mission Space
 
Add your own personal thoughts about the Lighthouse Brigade:
Working with Brigade over the summer is pretty much the highlight of my year.  I never laugh so much as when I'm hanging out with our staff.  We are probably the most hilarious and brilliant people anyone could ever meet.

Know Your Brigade Staff

     Our next staff member in the spotlight is our new visual caption head, Matt Reichardt.  Matt joined the Brigade staff for our "Dead Men Tell No Tales" tour in 2007 and has been a terrific addition.  He is a very easy going guy who really knows his stuff.  He will probably be remembered best, however, for his involvement in a certain football game that was caught on the 2008 Brigade DVD.  All of us who have seen that footage know what I am talking about and will never forget it.....as for Matt....I think it is something he would like to forget!!

Now on to my Q & A with Matt:

Name: Matt Reichardt

Position:  Visual Caption Head

Number of years on Brigade staff:  3

Marching band/drum corps experience:  Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps ('02 soprano, '03 mellophone), UW-Whitewater Marching Band ('00-'03 mellophone, '04 snare)

Current Job:  AR Analyst

College Degree:  Bachelor of Music - Choral/General Music Education, UW-Whitewater

Main Instrument:  Voice/French Horn

Home Town:  Manitowoc, WI

Birthday:  April 20th, 1982

Favorite Food:  Pistachio Torte

Top five favorite movies:  Shawshank Redemption, The Jungle Book, The Truman Show, Momento, Office Space

Favorite TV Shows:  Seinfeld, The Office, Baseball Tonight

Book you are currently reading:  Songs in Their Heads

What song is currently playing on your iPod:  AIR - How Does This Make You Feel?

Favorite sports team:  Brewers

Favorite pig-out food:  Wings

Dream Vacation:  Germany

Worst Habit:  Eating delicious food all the time

Hidden talent:  Computer programming

Famous person you have met:  Corey Hart

Famous person you would like to meet:  Jerry Seinfeld

Favorite quote:  "These pretzels are making me thirsty!"

Favorite actor:  Tim Robbins, Ed Norton, Steve Carrell

Favorite actress:  Anne Hatheway, Natalie Portman

Favorite ride at Disney:  20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

Add your own personal thoughts about the Lighthouse Brigade:  Lighthouse Brigade is among the hardest working, most dedicated group of students I've ever worked with.  Lighthouse Brigade performs at a very high level, but also does not take itself too seriously.  I appreciate the strong tradition of working hard and having fun and doing the right thing.

Know Your Brigade Staff

    Our next staff member in the spotlight is our music caption head Dan Schmidt.  Dan is simply one of the nicest guys you will ever meet and he is also, like myself, a fan of the wonderfulness that is Starbucks!    Dan is an outstanding musician and teacher but I bet most people don't know that he is really quite adept at computers (especially if they are Mac's).

     Dan has also been the assistant director for the Junior Brigade for the last few years but this year he will only be devoting his time and talents to the Lighthouse Brigade - and we are all very happy to have him working with us again this season!  Now on to my Q & A with Dan:

Name:  Dan Schmidt

Position:  Music Caption Head

Number of years on Brigade staff:  4

Marching band/drum corps experience:  None

Current job:  Instrumental Music Director, Clintonville High School

College Degree:  Bachelor of Music Education - UW-Stevens Point

Main Instrument:  Saxophone

Home Town:  Juneau, WI

Birthday:  July 28th, 1983

Favorite Food:  Steak, Pasta

Top five favorite movies:  any of the Bourne films, The Prestige, Ocean's 11, Dead Poets Society, The Patriot (do you have that one on DVD?)

Favorite TV shows:  Arrested Development, The West Wing, Seinfield, Good Eats, The Daily Show

Book you are currently reading:  Teacher Man, The Audacity of Hope

What song is currently playing on your iPod:  Keith Jarrett: Yesterdays

Favorite sports team:  Does the Chicago Symphony count?

Favorite pig-out food:  Doritos

Dream Vacation:  another European trip

Worst Habit:  Procrastination

Hidden talent you have:  I can fix tractors, sort of

Famous person you have met:  Rex Rukavina

Famous person you would like to meet:  Barack Obama

Favorite quote:  "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.  So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." - Teddy Roosevelt

Favorite actor:  Matt Damon

Favorite actress:  This changes on a weekly basis.  This week it is Charlize Theron

Favorite ride at Disney World:  Never been

Add your own personal thoughts about the Lighthouse Brigade:  I'm excited to be back for another great season of Brigade!  I really enjoy being able to do this kind of work and the students and staff are great!

Know Your Brigade Staff

     The next staff member in the spotlight is Steve Lange - one of our percussion technicians.  Steve joined us in 2006, our championship year, and has been a terrific addition to our staff.  Steve can pretty much always be counted on to fix any type of drum using only a rubber band, stick of gum, a penny, or a toothpick!  Steve is an all around great guy and will also "River Dance" for you if you request it of him!  If you are ever having problems in math class - you can also ask Steve for some help!  Now on to my Q & A with Steve:

Name: Steve "MacGyver" Lange

Position:  Percussion Technician

Number of years on Brigade staff: 4

Marching Band/Drum Corps Experience:  14 performing seasons, 6 teaching seasons

Current Job:  Professional Nerd (aka math teacher)

College Degree:  Geographical Quantitative Techniques - UW-Whitewater

Main Instrument:  Kazoo

Home Town:  Atlantis, Lost City of

Birthday:  November 31

Favorite Food:  Gum

Top Five Favorite Movies:  Pulp Fiction, Seven,  The Godfather, Anchorman, Wayne's World

Top Five TV Shows:  South Park, Family Guy, Simpsons, Ali G Show, Ducktales

Book you are currently reading:  The Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson

What song is currently playing on your iPod:  Don't own one......on CD - Stephen Lynch "Voices In My Head"

Favorite Sports Team:  Manchester United

Favorite Pig-Out Food:  Wings

Dream Vacation:  Baghdad

Worst Habit:  Kicking people in the shins randomly on the street

Hidden Talent:  I can drink a half gallon of Gatorade really fast with a sombrero on

Famous person you have met: Vladimir Putin

Famous person you would like to meet:  George Murisan

Favorite Quote:  "It seemed like a really good idea at the time"

Favorite Actor:  Kevin Spacey

Favorite Actress:  Jenna Jameson (yes, she was in House of Wax, I think)

Favorite Ride At Disney World:  Never been

Add Your Own Personal Thoughts About The Lighthouse Brigade:  Where else can a mean spirited individual get power, get paid for yelling, and have people thank him?!  Just kidding, I don't have any power!  The Lighthouse Brigade is the only teaching job I actually like.

Know Your Brigade Staff

     Our next staff member in the spotlight is none other than Matt Koscinski (aka "Satan").  In addition to being one of the funniest people on the planet - Matt has been involved with the Lighthouse Brigade for what seems like forever!  Matt was a marching member in the Junior Brigade when I used to direct it for crying out loud!

     Matt was our visual caption head last year and this year he and Danny Greenberg will be going out west to Oregon for a masters program.  However, he and Danny both agreed to help us out as much as possible until they have to leave!  It is always great to watch young people grow up and become professional musicians and teachers and it has been a true pleasure to have known Matt for so many years and be able to see his progress!  Now on to my Q & A with Matt:

Name: Matt Koscinski

Position:  Visual Consultant

Number of years on Brigade Staff:  9

Marching Band/Drum Corps Experience:  Lighthouse Brigade (5 years), UW Madison (5 years), Phantom Regiment (1 day!)

Current Job:  Director of Bands, Park View Middle School - Mukwonago, WI

College Degree:  Instrumental Music Education - UW - Whitewater

Main Instrument:  Trombone

Home Town:  Racine, WI

Favorite Food: Chipotle Burritos

Top Five Favorite Movies:  Primal fear, Mystic River, Anchorman, Rudy, Caddyshack

Favorite TV Shows:  Heroes, Lost, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, 30 Rock

Book You Are Currently Reading:  The Road

What Song Is Currently Playing On Your iPod:  What's an iPod?

Favorite Sports Team:  UW Badgers

Favorite Pig-Out Food:  Chipotle Burritos

Dream Vacation:  Touring Europe

Worst Habit:  Saying the word, "Ridiculous"

Hidden Talent You Have:  Rock Star at Guitar Hero

Famous Person You Have Met:  Donald Driver

Famous Person You Would Like To Meet:  Barack Obama

Favorite Quote:  Amateurs practice until the get it right, professionals practice until they can't get it wrong   -or-  "It's simple.  Be better"  - myself

Favorite Actor:  Neil Patrick Harris

Favorite Actress:  Angelina Jolie

Favorite Ride At Disney World:  It would have to be around the world in EPCOT (is that even a ride?)

Add Your Own Personal Thoughts About The Lighthouse Brigade:  What can I say.  Where I am right now in life is directly related to my experience in the Lighthouse Brigade.  It's a great way to achieve something greater than yourself while having a blast.  There's a reason that I've stuck around forever.

Know Your Brigade Staff

     Our next staff member in the spotlight is Patrick Coughlin, our percussion caption head and all around great guy.  Patrick has had to deal with my continued razzing about his choices for food whenever the staff is at a restaurant.  Patrick has the unique ability to always choose the wrong food.  Example:  Staff at a steakhouse - Patrick will order some type of pasta dish.  Staff at a burger joint - you guessed it - Patrick is going for the grilled cheese!

     In spite of this major flaw in his personal makeup, Patrick is an amazing musician and teacher and the Lighthouse Brigade is very lucky to have him on staff.  Now, on to my Q & A with Patrick:

Name: Patrick Coughlin

Years on Staff: 6

Marching Experience:  University of Wisconsin Marching Band (2 years), Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps (1 year)

Current Jobs:  Freelance musician; Director of the Green Bay Packer Tundra Drum Line; and multimedia staff at Borders Bookstore in Madison, WI

College Degree:  Percussion Performance - University of Wisconsin

Main Instrument:  Marching Bass Drum

Home Town:  Inukshuk, Alaska

Birthday:  July 14th

Favorite Food:  Corn Dogs

Top Five Favorite Movies:  Shawshank Redemption, Bourne Identity, Dark Knight, Lord of the Rings, Fight Club

Favorite TV Shows:  Mythbusters

Book you are currently reading:  Miley Cyrus autobiography

What is currently playing on your iPod:  4:33" by John Cage

Favorite Sports Team:  Whoever beat the Bears last week

Favorite Pig-Out Food:  Gatorade

Dream Vacation:  Europe.  Again.

Worst Habit:  Narcolepsy

Hidden Talent:  Jim Carrey impression

Famous Person You Have Met:  Donald Driver.  I threw him a pass.  He caught it.

Famous Person You Would Like To Meet:  Brian Urlacher.  I'd kick his butt.  I could take him.

Favorite Quote:  "Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken"  - Tyler Durden, Fight Club

Favorite Actor:  Jim Carrey

Favorite Actress:  Jim Carrey

Favorite Ride at Disney World:  The Lazy River

Add Your Own Personal Thoughts About The Lighthouse Brigade of Racine:  The best thing about Brigade is the booster dinners!

Know Your Brigade Staff

     Really?  Another Brigade staff member and their Q & A??  Really??  Of course this blog entry is on one of our visual consultants for this season - Danny Greenberg.  Danny joined the staff last year and we all really enjoyed his sense of humor and his teaching style and expertise.  We also all went back to our teaching gigs in the fall saying, "REALLY" way too much!  Danny and Matt Koscinski are going out west to Oregon for a masters program and will not be able to be with us for the entire season.  However, they have agreed to help us out as much as possible in the off-season and a part of band camp!  Now on to my Q & A with Danny:

Name - Daniel Greenberg

Position:  Visual Consultant

Number of Years on Staff:  2nd year

Marching Band/Drum Corps Experience:  Rancho Bernardo High School; Esperanza Drum and Bugle Corps; San Diego Alliance (staff); Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps; and Capital Sound (staff)

Current Job: Director of Bands at Merrill Middle School in Oshkosh, WI

College Degree:  Instrumental and General Music Education - UW-Whitewater

Main Instrument:  Tuba/Euphonium

Home Town:  San Diego, California

Birthday:  February 19th, 1983

Favorite Food:  Pasta

Top Five Favorite Movies:  Grumpy Old Men, Ace Ventura

Favorite TV Shows:  Boston Legal, CSI, Simpsons, Chuck, Saved By The Bell

Book You Are Currently Reading:  Reading.....isn't that why they make movies?

What song is currently playing on your iPod:  Lost! - Coldplay

Favorite Sports Team:  Wisconsin Badgers

Favorite Pig-Out Food:  Dots!

Dream Vacation:  Australia - just to see if the toilet water flushes the other direction.

Worst Habit:  Cracking my knucks

Hidden Talent You have:  Poop master extraordinaire

Famous Person You Have Met:  Jason Alexander

Famous Person You Would Like To Meet:  Kate Walsh

Favorite Actor:  Jim Carey

Favorite Actress:  Kate Walsh

Favorite Ride at Disney World:  Space Mountain

Add Your Own Personal Thoughts About The Lighthouse Brigade:  Really!!!!

Know Your Brigade Staff

     Our next staff member in my "Know your Brigade staff" is our color guard technician - Danielle Birkholz.  Danielle marched in the Lighthouse Brigade from 2002-2006 and was not only rookie of the year in 2002, but aged out a champion in 2006 with our MACBDA victory and high color guard trophy!  Danielle as a marching member was always one of the hardest working students on the practice field.  She NEVER coasted through rehearsals and the staff and myself would often be amazed at how she performed 100% of every second  of rehearsal.

       I remember telling Todd Neuenschwander (our color guard caption head) during his first year on staff to just watch Danielle if he wanted to see how his color guard work should look when performed.  It was a very easy decision to add Danielle to the staff in 2007 and we are all very happy that she shares her talents with us!  Here is my "Q & A" with Danielle:

Name:  Danielle Birkholz

Position: Color Guard Technician

Number of years on staff:  3

Marching Band Experience:  7 years total with Junior and Senior Lighthouse Brigades

College:  Music education, UW-Stevens Point

Main Instrument:  Voice

Home Town:  Racine, WI

Birthday:  May 20th  1988

Favorite Food:  Gyros

Top five favorite movies:  I don't really have a concrete list, but here are a few:  Fight Club, Sweeney Todd, Boondock Saints, Silence of the Lambs, Memento

Favorite TV shows:  House, CSI, One Tree Hill

Book you are currently reading:  A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire

What song is currently playing on your iPod:  Le Temps des Cathedrales from Notre Dame de Paris

Favorite sports team:  The Packers of course!

Favorite pig-out food:  I can pig out with the best of them, doesn't matter what kind of food!

Dream Vacation:  I've studied Greek and Roman art and architecture and I would love to actually visit and experience the beauty of it first hand.

Worst habit:  I run my hands through my hair all the time - it actually gets quite  obnoxious I'm told.

Hidden talent you have:  I can kick some butt at judo!

Famous person you have met:  Wynton Marsalis

Famous person you would like to meet:  I would LOVE to meet Stevie Wonder!

Favorite quote:  "The only thing better than singing is more singing".  - Ella Fitzgerald

Favorite Actor:  Anthony Hopkins

Favorite Actress:  Angelina Jolie

Favorite ride at Disney World:  Aerosmith's Rockin' Rollercoaster!!!

Add your own personal thoughts about the Lighthouse Brigade:  Honestly, I have no idea what to say here.  In short, so far I've dedicated ten years of my life to this organization, both performing and teaching.  I wouldn't have stuck around this long if it wasn't all worth it in the end.

Camp Update

Update from the third Brigade camp of the season:

Horn Line - continuing working on breathing exercises; warm ups; and technique - worked on the parade tune, "Battle Hymn" and the opener, "Incantation and Dance" - will be starting work on "Variations on a Korean Folk Song" in a few weeks!!

Front Ensemble - Patrick was unable to be at camp, however, the pit members worked on various exercises as well as starting work on the opener!  The front ensemble will be eight people strong this season!!

Battery - continuing work on various exercises as well as the parade tune and the opener.  Work on the second half of the show will begin next camp!

Guard - continuing work on warm ups, dance technique, flag technique and various tosses - all of the girls were also spinning rifle at camp and the guard began to work on actual show routine!!

All in all, I thought this was a very productive camp and I am still impressed with the talent level of the members this year (both rookies and veterans!!).  Drum major tryouts will happen next camp - which is the first weekend in April.

- Rex out

Know Your Brigade Staff

          The next staff member to be thrust into the spotlight for my "Know Your Brigade Staff" posts is one of our percussion technicians - Tony Holm.  I had the pleasure of having Tony as a band student at Mitchell and it was a true joy to see him go through the Lighthouse Brigade experience for five years as well.  

     Tony was a part of some of the best drum lines MACBDA has ever seen and it was no surprise to me when he made the snare line with the Madison Scouts - where he marched for the last two years.  I am thrilled to have Tony back on staff for this season for what promises to be a very strong year for Brigade - especially the drum line.  Now - on to my Q & A with Tony:

Name:  Tony Holm

Position:  Battery Technician

Number of Years on Staff:  2 full (4 being involved)

Marching Experience:  Junior Lighthouse Brigade (3 years), Lighthouse Brigade (5 years), Racine Kilties (1 year) and Madison Scouts (2 years) 

College/Major:  University of Wisconsin (biology)

Main Instrument:  Snare Drum

Home Town:  Racine

Birthday:  January 24th, 1987

Favorite Food:  Italian

Top Five Favorite Movies:  No order, and there are a ton more, but this is what comes to mind:  Blow, Ghandi, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Boondock Saints, Super Troopers

Favorite TV Shows:  South Park, Colbert Report, The Office, Planet Earth

Book You Are Currently Reading:  I Am America (And So Can You) by Stephen Colbert

What song is currently playing on your iPod:  Definition by Black Star

Favorite Sports Team:  Green Bay Packers

Favorite Pig-Out Food:  Grapes or chips and salsa (good salsa, though - not that Pace garbage)

Dream Vacation:  Travel the world

Worst Habit:  Tapping

Hidden Talent You Have:  Playing Jurassic Park

Famous Person You Have Met:  A bunch of drummers who are famous by drum corps standards - Ralph Hardimon, Scott Johnson, Roger Carter, Casey Brohard and Jeff Queen

Famous Person You Would Like To Meet:  Ghandi

Favorite Quote:  "Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today"

Favorite Actor:  Johnny Depp

Favorite Actress:  Megan Fox

Favorite Ride At Disney:  Soarin'

Add Your Own Personal Thoughts About The Lighthouse Brigade:  The Lighthouse Brigade is an organization that not only educates you musically but it also helps form friendships with people that will last you a lifetime.  I have performed with and have been a part of many organizations and can honestly say the best times of my life were spent with my friends during Brigade seasons.

A Change.....

     I am very sad to announce that Brian Braatz, who was set to be our visual caption head, will be unable to be with us this season due to personal reasons.  Brian first joined the Brigade staff in 2004 and was a huge reason for our winning numerous marching trophies.  I will personally miss Brian and would like to thank him on behalf of myself, the rest of the staff, and the members for all of the hard work, great teaching, and excellent memories he brought to us.

     On a much more positive note - I am thrilled to announce that our new visual caption head for this season is Matt Reichardt.  Matt has been with Brigade since 2007 and is someone I respect and trust to continue our tradition of excellence with our visual program and bring it to new levels of performance in 2009!

     Remember that our next camp is Saturday, March 21st and Sunday, March 22nd.  At 5:15 on Sunday we will continue to do our "show-and-tell".  Parents are more than welcome to come and check out all of the terrific things that are happening with Brigade so far this year!

- Rex out

Know Your Brigade Staff

     My next installment of "Know Your Brigade Staff" will feature our visual caption head - Brian Braatz.  Brian first became involved in 2004 and has been a fantastic addition to the staff.  Through his efforts we have won many high visual trophies and have become known around MACBDA as a group with very strong marching technique.  Brian got married last year and was unable to be with us in 2008 and I am really happy to have him back on board with us for this season!  I am sure that many of our veteran members will agree with me that Brian at one time had the funniest ring-tone on the planet!  Now, on to my Q & A with Brian:

Name:  Brian Braatz

Position:  Visual Caption Head

Number of Years on Staff:  5

Marching Experience:  Madison Junior Scouts (1 year), Capital Sound (6 years), Madison Scouts (3 years), UW-Whitewater Marching Band (6 years - 2 as drum major)

Current Job:  Accounts Payable Department in the national office of Brookdale Senior Living

College/Degree:  Instrumental Music Education - UW-Whitewater

Main Instrument:  Trumpet

Home Town:  Morristown, WI

Birthday:  May 28th  1982

Favorite Food:  Chipotle Burrito

Top Five Favorite Movies:  Casino Royale, Bourne Trilogy, Ocean's 11 Trilogy

Favorite TV Shows:  King of Queens, nearly everything on HGTV, Man vs. Wild

Book you are currently reading:  "Feeling and Form" by Suzanne Langer

What song is currently playing on your iPod:  "Happy" by Natasha Bedingfield

Favorite Sports Team:  Badgers

Favorite Pig-Out Food:  Cool Ranch Doritos

Dream Vacation:  Greece

Worst Habit:  Not shaving

Hidden Talent You Have:  I love dancing - contemporary, ballet, tap - though my technique is undoubtedly rusty

Famous person you have met:  My great grandfather taught Charles Linbergh how to weld

Famous Person You Would Like To Meet:  Dave Ramsey - radio talk show host on life and money

Favorite Quote:  "Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion." - Martha Graham

Favorite Actor:  Matt Damon

Favorite Actress:  Anne Hatheway

Favorite Ride at Disney:  Splash Mountain

Add you own personal thoughts about the Lighthouse Brigade:  I'm continuing to be impressed by this organization and the students who put so much effort into such a wonderful product.  In many ways I think winter camps and six weeks in summer is more educationally and socially developing than 36 weeks of school.  I'm so glad that there is an administration and a parent group so supportive that this activity can continue, yea even thrive, in a climate that looks left and right for ways to cut costs.  That members, volunteers and staff regularly devote 100% to Brigade is truly praiseworthy.