DVD Release Party!!!!!

     The wait is almost over!  The Release Party for the 2008 Lighthouse Brigade DVD is right around the corner!  Put Friday, October 24th on your calendars and be ready for an awesome reunion and viewing of the DVD!  I am working with Paul Ruffolo from Southport Digital again and this is, without a doubt, the snazziest project we have ever put out!  I think you will all treasure this terrific keepsake and record of our amazing 2008 season!  Here is the info on the Release Party:

Friday, October 24th

The Charcoal Grill (8300 Washington Ave.  Racine, WI)

6:00pm - 7:30pm - Social for all Brigade members, family, staff, alumni and fans.  Ryan Bloom, a former marching member and now manager at The Charcoal Grill is working with me to provide a great place for our reunion.  There will be an outstanding array of food for the social - and the price per person is $15.00.  Coffee and soda are included in this cost and anything from the bar is on your own.

7:30pm - 9:00pm - First public viewing of the 2008 DVD.  If you only wish to come for the DVD viewing - you will need to be at here by 7:30.  Food will not be available at this time - but you may still purchase beverages from the bar.  After the night is done - you will be able to purchase your very own copy of the DVD for $35.00 each (please make all checks out to: Racine Band Boosters).

If you wish to come to the social - please contact me at: rex_rukavina@lighthousebrigade.org 

- Rex out

New Executive Board

     In November the Racine Band Boosters will be starting a new era with a totally "new" executive board of directors.  I say "new" because all of these parents have already been involved for the last few years!  Just elected at the band booster meeting last night: Jenny Miller - President; Bob and Cheri Harms - Co-Vice Presidents; Michael Ziolecki - Treasurer; Cathy Behling - Secretary; and Faith Christian - Past President.  Congrats to all of our new executive board members.  I look forward to working with all of you on our continuing mission of keeping the Lighthouse Brigade bands moving forward.

     I would like to give out a HUGE thank you to our departing executive board members.  They have been in these positions for many years, now and it has been an honor and pleasure to work with all of them: Faith Christian - President; Cheryl Thomas - Vice President; Diane Sluga - Treasurer; Karen Ludwig - Secretary; and Mark Buhler - Past President.  They will still be around to help out and I am glad they are more than willing to lend a hand with the new executive board members.  It humbles me each year as I see the amount of hours, dedication, commitment and love for this organization our parents give time and time again.  Our parents may not be wearing the uniform our marching members perform in - but they are every bit as important to what you see on the field of competition each season!

- Rex Out

- Go Bears!!

     WOW!!  Congrats to all of the marching members, staff and support team of the Phantom Regiment - the new 2008 DCI World Champions!  I am so proud of my corps (you see, when you have "worn the helmet" of the Phantom Regiment you will ALWAYS be a part of the corps and its traditions and history).  They were already champions after hearing the crowd reaction - the ending in first place was just icing on the cake, believe me.

     Aside from a very small minority of idiots who only try out for a corps because they think they will have the best chance to win championships with them, most people march in a certain corps because they love the style of music they play or the way they approach performing.  ALL of the marching members are champions for all of the hard work they put in this season - it's just that someone has to be crowned the ultimate champion and it sure is great that the Regiment can bask in that glory!  Their only other title was a shared championship with the Blue Devils in 1996 - so having one all their own is pretty cool!

Now, I've got to get back to working on the 2009 Brigade music and the 2008 DVD!!

- Rex out

What a fun evening Thursday night!  I was at the Quarterfinals broadcast at the movie theater and it was great to see so many Brigade members also there.

I am very proud of the fact that we saw five former Brigade members on the big screen:

Matt Jacob - Blue Stars

Nick Taylor - Bluecoats

Mike Kowbel, Joe Bauer and Tony Holm - Madison Scouts

Awesome job, guys!!  Now - it is obvious that I have a special place in my heart for my former corps, Phantom Regiment and I was thrilled to see that their field show production of "Spartacus" has already become a drum corps legend.  They are really throwing it down this year and wether or not they take the championship title - they have my respect and admiration.  The picture at the top is from the 1982 version of Spartacus!!  SUTA!!

Here is how I would have (HONESTLY) ranked the top twelve corps last night:

 

1.  Phantom Regiment

2.  Cavaliers

3.  Carolina crown

4.  Blue Devils

5.  The Cadets

6.  Santa Clara Vanguard

7.  Blue Coats

8.  Blue Knights

9.  Boston Crusaders

10.  Blue Stars

11.  Madison Scouts

12.  Glassmen

- Rex out

No More Flutes? Really????

Greetings from beautiful Winter Park, Colorado! I'm on vacation, but since I have internet access where we are staying - I thought I would add a new post.

Yup - the heading of this post is true. For the 2009 Brigade season there will not be flutes in the horn line. The reason I have decided to do this is not because I hate flutes - but because I love the sound of the flute so much (heck, my wife is a flute player!!). It breaks my heart each season to see our flute players work so hard to learn and memorize their music - and then pretty much not be heard on the field of competition. Yes, you can hear them a few times during the show - but the sound of a flute just CAN'T be heard that well (1) outdoors and (2) in a horn line with much louder instruments.

If you are reading this thinking I only have it out for flutes - please understand that there are many instruments we don't use in our horn line set up. Examples: oboes, alto/bass clarinets, baritone saxophones, french horns and trombones. People may think we are not playing fair when we make trombone players learn baritone - but often Brigade is all about the members learning new instruments to help flesh out our instrumentation. Take the pit, for example. Of the six pit members we had this year, only ONE of them was an actual percussionist! We had woodwind players playing brass instruments, percussion instruments or performing with the guard. We also had actual brass players switch to different brass instruments to help with the balance of our sound.

I can tell you from experience that switching from a woodwind to a brass instrument was a lot of hard work, yes - but it was also a ton of fun and it opened up my eyes to the world of brass warmups and building up my "chops". Flute players will have many opportunities with Brigade in the future. They can switch to louder woodwind instruments such as clarinet or saxophone. They can learn a brass instrument. They can see if the color guard would be something they would want to try. They can join the pit, try out for a battery instrument or even try out for drum major.

In 2006 we won championships with a brass line that was mostly made up of woodwind players who learned a brass instrument that summer. So - here are the "new" opportunities for the Lighthouse Brigade:

Horn Line:

Clarinet
Alto Saxophone
Tenor Saxophone
Trumpet
Mellophone
Baritone
Contra

Percussion:

Snare
Tenor
Bass
Pit

and of course, Color Guard or try out for Drum Major.

- Rex out

2008 - another season done!

Just as fast as the 2008 season started - the uniforms, instruments, equipment, and truck have been put away until the 2009 season gets underway. I was very happy with the field show production of "From The New World" and even though I didn't agree with some of our scores and even our placements - I could not have asked for more from our members, staff and parents. The show we "left on the championship field" in Traverse City was awesome and the crowd loved us. I am so very proud of our marching members and they improved their performances each and every night!

Lighthouse Brigade is a TEAM EFFORT and I would like to thank a number of people:

Racine Band Boosters - what an amazing group of parents who do everything from chaperoning, heading up our bingo games, preparing our awesome "Booster Dinners", organizing the home show, taking care of uniform fittings, fundraising, and a million other jobs. We would not be able to do what we do without your efforts and help! An extra shout-out goes to our executive board - Faith, Cheryl, Diane and Karen.

Brigade Staff - these are some of the most talented, dedicated and funny people I have ever had the pleasure to work with. I sometimes wonder if the members realize just how lucky they are to be taught by our staff. You inspire me each year and keep me young at heart!

Scott Musiel - not only is Scott one of the best truck drivers out there, he will do anything and everything for the Brigade and its members. We would be lost without him.

Gifford Elementary School Staff - they work hard to make us feel right at home.

Racine Unified School District - for their continued support.

Our Brigade alumni and fans - we always appreciate your support!

Our Brigade marching members - what you all did day after day and night after night this season was incredible to watch. I am so proud of all of you and I can't wait to see you back at the DVD release party!!

Believe it or not - I have already begun work on the season DVD and the music for 2009. Start making plans now to be a part of the 2009 (30th Anniversary) Brigade Season!!

- Rex out

Traverse City Update

Greetings from the Horizon Bookstore in downtown Traverse City!!

I would first like to say congrats to the Shadow Armada (Oregon High School) on their 2008 MACBDA Championship! It was a well earned victory and they did everything all season with class and great sportsmanship. Great job!

The Brigade had a thrilling performance last night in Traverse City and the members left everything they had on the field of competition. I am just SOOOO proud of them and how our show improved night after night after night. The large crowd in Traverse City loved us and I hope everyone remembers what it felt like when I gave my last speech to the members. THIS is why we all do Brigade year after year - that very feeling.

We came in third place and, to be honest, I did not agree with most of the scores. I have been telling the members all season that I would be very honest with them and if I thought they should or should not be winning certain captions I would tell them exactly that. I feel like we should have been higher in a few of our captions and other ones I was ok with us scoring what we did. Oh, well - all of this is out of our hands. We can't control how the other bands perform or what 6 judges do as far as giving us a score. If we just focused on that stuff - we would all go crazy. We can only make the commitment to come back to Brigade next year and do everything possible to make this organization stronger and keep moving it forward.

The weather here has really been great. We were worried about rain all weekend - but it has been sunny and not too hot. The members marched in the Cherry Royale Parade today and have the rest of the night off in Traverse City to shop, relax, have dinner, visit the Cherry Festival grounds and stay for fireworks on the beach.

Tomorrow we will clean up our housing site, go to the Grand Traverse Mall to relax and perhaps catch a movie, and then work our way back to Ludington, MI to pick up the SS Badger Car Ferry home.

- Rex out