2011 Season Has Begun!!!

The 2011 season has finally arrived and our first camp was a huge success! We have a bunch of rookies this year and they were really working hard this camp. The veterans have stepped up their game and have been awesome role models and examples as they help the rookies learn how we do things the "Brigade Way".

Our opener, "Mars" sounds really cool and the drill possibilities are endless. Each camp will introduce a new part of the show which will consist of: "For the Beauty of the Earth" by John Rutter; Forest Battle and E.T. - Adventures On Earth by John Williams and finally - "Jupiter" by Gustav Holst.

Our staff is very excited for this year we are all enjoying the positive "vibe" the Brigade has! I told the members at the end of camp that my ultimate goal for Brigade would be a band of 85-90 members. We can get close to that if everyone works really hard to bring in ONE friend to try out camp in two weeks. The show music is going to be SO MUCH fun to put together. Our staff is going to be amazing to work with. The boosters are already in overdrive to give our members the best support possible. Brigade is really clicking right now - I sincerely hope as many students as possible take advantage of this great opportunity. The season is going to be terrific and our trip to Calgary should prove to be outstanding.

I'll be back with another blog this week. Until then.......

- Rex out

Here we go again!

Welcome to another Lighthouse Brigade season! Check back often to get updates on our off-season camps and inside information on the progress of the show design! "Redemption" is going to be yet another fantastic Brigade production and the staff and I are very excited that rehearsals have finally started!

We are in the middle of camp #1 (for the color guard) and everything is going great! We currently have 14 girls in guard and the talent level is very high. The veterans are already "stepping it up" and our rookies are working very hard to learn how we do things the "Brigade Way". Last week was the first camp for the horn line, battery and front ensemble and everything is pointing to a very strong season! The attitude, behavior, work ethic and talent level is making the staff very fired up about the potential of this year! We all agree that it feels like 2006 again, where everything just seemed to "click"........and that year ended with the first Lighthouse Brigade championship! Successful season are started in the winter, not in June, and so far I think we are right on track!

I am going to try and post something every few days or so. The staff and I are going crazy with ideas and concepts for this show and I will be sharing them on this blog! Until then.....

- Rex out

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!