Rehearsal Notes for May 4

Even though many of you didn’t like our mass music-handout/sight-reading jamboree last week, I want to thank everyone for the flexibility and willingness to plow through as much music as we could. You sounded awesome! This week, we will be back to a traditional marching band schedule.

Schedule
7:00-7:10: Stretching (Full Ensemble, led by Jason G.)
7:10-7:35: Parade Block Basics (Full Ensemble, led by Zach and Derrick)
7:35-7:45: Ensemble Warm-Up (Full Ensemble, led by Derrick)
7:45-8:05: Sectionals
8:05-8:15: Break
8:15-8:40: Brass/Percussion Ensemble – Guard Sectional
8:40-8:50: Malaguena (Full Ensemble)
8:50-8:55: Warm Down/Stretch
8:55-9:00:
Announcements (Full Ensemble)
9:00-???: Band Social (TBD)

Note: Sectionals and Ensemble music rehearsal will be working on 5 pieces, in this order:

• 867-5309
• Get It On
• Mamma Mia
• Kung Fu Fighting
• Malaguena

Ensemble Arch
We will be changing the ensemble arch next week in order to assist with the sight lines for the percussion section. The percussion will now be on the Zach’s left and most of the horn line will be on Zach’s right. Additionally, the Guard will be behind the arch.

Post-Rehearsal Social Volunteer Needed
We are looking for a volunteer to arrange the post-rehearsal social events. This individual will be responsible for identifying a location, working to arrange/identify food/drink specials, and set up necessary reservations.

Parking
Please park in the lot closest to the chapel (where most people are parking already). We need to keep as many cars out of the large parking lot for marching and ensemble rehearsal.

Dues/Uniform Fee
If you did not play with CPSB in the spring, do not forget your marching-band dues. Dues for marching band are $50 for the season. Additionally, EVERYONE needs to pay the $25 uniform fee. Both and can be paid online at dcdd.org or via check/cash to Bruce Herr. If you are unable to pay, please email Bruce at treasurer@dcdd.org for assistance.

Ordering Accessories
If you need to order any accessories this season (lyres, mallets, flip-folders/extra pages, etc.) please feel free to contact CJ in the percussion section and he can get a good price for you. His email is queermusic@gmail.com.

Weekly Note

Are you ready for some Marching Band?!?!

I hope the brass and woodwind musicians have enjoyed their time off, but are anxious to get back to work. The colorguard and percussion have been working very hard the past few weeks in anticipation of the entire group getting together again.

If you are riding the metro, please note you will need to arrive early. Once you exit the Congress Heights Metro Stop, you will enter St. E’s through the security gate, take a left and walk about 5 minutes to the chapel. If you are driving, please enter at the gate just north of Malcolm X on MLK Blvd. Maps are located on the DCDD Calendar and in the Lambda Room.

The schedule for tomorrow will be a bit different from the remainder of the season. I ask that you arrive as soon as possible after 6:30PM so that we may hand out music, get settled in and use as much daylight as we can for running music. At some point after dark, we may move into the chapel, so if you prefer, please bring ear plugs. Remember, if you’re on-time, you’re late.
I plan to start warm-ups right at 7PM, so please make sure you are on-site and ready to play at that time. We will do little marching tomorrow, but mainly sightreading the music for this year. Rehearsal will end around 8:45PM and we will head to a location as yet to be determined for post-rehearsal refreshments.

Even though we will not be marching, you may be standing for an extended period of time, so make sure you wear comfortable clothing (changing facilities are available) and come prepared to work.

I can’t say how excited I am to officially start our full-ensemble rehearsals from this year and I expect and anticipate great things from the group!

From David H. (Percussion Caption Head)
Again, great consistency in the momentum! Try not to get frustrated with Battery Jam, it is really coming together quite nicely, you really can hear the progress. Don't forget to access me for individual or small sectional rehearsals, open and available time is my friend right now. For Monday, be prepared to perform Battery Jam for the full ensemble to show off all your hard work. Also be prepared to play through the Roll-of and Halt cadence. Begin looking for music lyres. We do have a few, but if you have any tucked away somewhere, please dig them out and we'll assess how many are needed. The new sticks/mallets/cymbal pads will be there Monday.

Weekly Rehearsal Notes

For those of you Brass and Woodwind players out there, the percussion and colorguard sectionals have been amazing the past few weeks. Their individual features are coming along wonderfully and we cannot wait for you to join them on Monday, April 27th.

Before I post the comments from this year’s caption heads about this week’s rehearsal, I want to extend a special welcome to Derrick Johnson. Derrick will be this year’s Drum Major and will have many duties with the group this year, including conducting during the parades and some stand & blow performances, conducting warm-ups, and various organizational, logistic and administrative duties for the group. Derrick served as the lead Drum Major for the University of Florida Gator Band for 3 years and has a BS in Music Education. Please join me in welcoming Derrick to the DCDD Marching Band family.

Caption Head Notes
From David H. (Percussion Caption Head)
The last rehearsal was great. We had excellent momentum on Battery Jam. Everyone’s dedication is much appreciated. For next Monday, be prepared to start right at 7. new mallets and Cymbal accessories have arrived. We will start outside with marching fundamentals while playing through DC 8’s. We will continue to focus on Battery Jam. We will spend time together and then split into sections for further “jamming of the battery!” We will conclude by reading through the full band Warm-Up and perhaps some of the new tunes that were passed out on Monday. We will end by 8:45. Be well & practice.

From Jason G. (Colorguard Caption Head)
Thanks for all your hard work this past week at rehearsal. We are definitely getting a lot done. In my absence this week, please keep your focus on cleaning what we already know, and focusing on angles, counts, and the tosses. This rehearsal on your own will show me how much you guys are really ready to work for this season. Stay on top of it. I can't wait to get back and see how much you've all accomplished. This week will be a chance for you all to come together as a group and work together to accomplish great things. Visualize perfection and it will become reality.

Upcoming Rehearsal Notes

I am very excited to kick-off marching band next week. Remember, rehearsals on Monday, April 6 are only for Percussion and Colorguard members and will start at 7:00PM at St. E’s (directions and maps are located on the DCDD calendar on the website). Our time is limited, so please be sure to arrive early, if possible. Brass/Woodwinds will start on Monday, April 27.

Don’t forget, you can go to dcdd.org under “Box Office” and pre-pay your uniform charge of $25 as well as pay your $50 dues if you did not participate in CPSB this spring. Finally, I have uploaded the 2009 Marching Band Intent Form and Marching Band Participant Guide into the Lambda Room, so please download the forms and email the Intent Form ASAP to me at marching (at) dcdd.org. -Z

Caption Head Notes
Percussion from David H.:
It is going to be a great year and we are very much looking forward to showing off our percussion section – both the 15 members strong and the new equipment! Below are some notes for rehearsal on Monday.

• Ear plugs are strongly encouraged, but not required.
• We will have enough bass drum mallets for Monday and we are ordering all new mallets which should arrive by the second rehearsal. We are also researching snare and quint lyres.

For rehearsal on Monday, bring:

• Enthusiasm & patience
• Screwdrivers and ratchets, if possible
• Music stands
• Tape
• Don’t panic about the battery feature. We will practice and modify areas as needed.

Colorguard from Jason G.:
I'm so very excited to see a great beginning for this year. The turnout is wonderful. If any of you have any friends that are interested, please bring them along. I plan on making some challenging routines, but will definitely make modifications for those of us that are not as advanced so we can still look great, feel great about our performances, and have fun learning and growing with each other.

For rehearsal on Monday please always try to wear comfortable clothing and shoes that allow you to move well. Some things that I like to see, but don't require, are clothes that aren't too baggy and pants or shorts that allow me to see the ankles. This doesn't mean go buy a new wardrobe. It is most important that you are comfortable and not going to create an injury by wearing non-guard clothing.

Open House Re-Cap

The 2009 Marching Band Open House last night was a great success. We had over 35 participants attend to learn more about the DCDD Marching Band and get a preview of what is in-store for us this year.

Some Highlights:

• Percussion Caption Head David H. and Bruce H., Bass Drum, did a short demonstration with the new batter equipment
• Reviewed the rehearsal schedule for the season as well as discussed the various marching events we will perform this year
• Discussed fundraising for the new battery and volunteer t-shirts
• Unveiled the music we will be performing this season
• Discussed the uniform and allowed individuals to pay uniform fees and dues

If you were unable to attend, but plan to march this season, please contact Zach at marching@dcdd.org for an intent form and Participant Guide. Percussion and Colorguard rehearsals begin next Monday, April 6 with Brass and Woodwinds starting on Monday, April 27.

Welcome to 2009

I want to welcome you to the 2009 Marching Band season. I apologize for the mass email, but I want everyone to have the opportunity to join us for DCDD’s 29th Year of Marching Band.

The season will start off on Monday, March 30 at the DCDD Marching Band Open House. This will be your opportunity to ask questions about this season’s marching band, pre-pay for this year’s uniform or marching band-only dues, walk through the schedule and expectations for the season and receive some of this year’s music (and listen to some recordings). We have some wonderfully exciting things coming up this year and you don’t want to miss this informational meeting. The open house will be held at Reformation Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill and will begin at 7:00PM.

Marching band rehearsals will begin on Monday, April 6th for percussion and colorguard and Monday, April 27th for brass and woodwinds. Rehearsals this year will be held at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Chapel/Parking Lot in Southeast Washington, DC (Congress Heights Metro Stop). Rehearsals will begin at 7:00PM and last until approximately 8:45PM.

Rehearsal, July 7

I wanted to remind you that we will be having rehearsal tonight at 7:00PM at GW Middle School in Alexandria. If you're 5 minutes early, you're 10 minutes late! Be there and ready to start at 7. There is forecast to be scattered showers tonight, so if it is raining, we will be in the cafeteria.

Agenda:
7:00-7:15 / Warm Up
7:15-7:50 / Music rehearsal
7:50-8:00 /
Break
8:00-8:30 / Marching

Bring all the music that you have tonight as we will be reading through some new stuff that may have already been handed out.

Also, trombonist Rob Spencer's partner David took some great photos of the parade on Friday, and a close up of almost every individual. You can see them at the link below:
http://picasaweb.google.com/dave.ehrlich/DCDDPARADEJULY42008?authkey=fPfflwuez90

See you tonight!

Palisades Park Parking from Parker

From the Palisades Park Parade Committee:

Parking is available in the Safeway or CVS parking lots, one block from Whitehaven. In addition, George Washington University welcomes all parade participants to park, free of charge, in the Mount Vernon Campus Parking Garage just inside the Whitehaven Parkway entrance to the campus, as well as the Visitors Lot, just inside the W Street entrance to the campus. Parking is not allowed elsewhere on the campus.

Palisades Park Details

Uniform (Parade):
The 2008 Marching Band Uniform will be:

• Red & White Baseball Cap provided by DCDD
• Red & White T-shirt
• Light Tan pants or shorts
• Sneakers

Schedule:
Friday, July 4

• 10:15 AM: Line-up/Warm-Up at the corner of Whitehaven Parkway and MacArthur Blvd in Northwest. Restrooms may not be available, so please make plans accordingly.
• 11:00 AM: Parade Step-Off
  

Parade Music:

• Secret Agent Man
• The Pink Panther
• Rawhide

Additional Notes:

1. The location in Saturday morning is not Metro accessible. Please contact your fellow band-mates if you need a lift. If you cannot find a ride, email marching@dcdd.org.
2. You will not be able to store your instrument in the “chase car”. Please bring your instrument only to the parade.
3. The parade ends at the Palisades Park Recreation Center. Please do not stand around this area as this will slow the groups behind us down. If you wish to watch the rest of the parade, please get on the sidewalk and walk back toward the parade.
4. There will be a large picnic at the Palisades Park Recreation Center after the parade, if you wish to attend.
5. My cell number is listed in the Lambda Room of DCDD.org if you need to contact me with questions.
6. The Parade is just over 1 mile in length.

Rehearsal, June 30

Team:

This is a reminder that we will be having a short rehearsal on Monday, June
30. This will give the new folks a chance to meet everyone and go over the
details and run through the music for the parade this weekend.

7:00 - 7:15: Warm-Up

7:15 - 7:45: Music Rehearsal

7:45 - 8:00: Break

8:00 - 8:30: Marching Rehearsal

After rehearsal, we will go down to Freddies for appetizers and social time.

Supplimental Information for This Weekend

I wanted to give you some new/updated information for this weekend, in addition to the details sheet:

First, on Saturday morning, if you need a ride and can make it to the Van Dorn Metro stop in Alexandria, Jason Damaso has volunteered to shuttle folks to rehearsal. Please contact him directly at 571-241-6679 and plan to be at Van Dorn by 9:15AM.

Second, I want to elaborate on the cookout on Saturday night. Chad and Matthew have graciously offered to host a cookout at their home at 1813 Vermont Ave NW after the parade. They will provide burgers, dogs, buns, condiments, plates, plastic ware and ice. But they ask that attendees bring cookout side dishes – chips, drinks, baked beans, potato salad, desserts, salads, fruit… you know the drill. If you want, you may bring your side dish to Chad and Matthew's home between 3 and 4:30 before going to the parade. They have also said that you can use their home as a place to store instrument cases as well.

Pride Weekend Details

Uniform (Parade and Stand & Blow):
The 2008 Marching Band Uniform will be:

• Red & White Baseball Cap provided by DCDD
• Red & White T-shirt purchased through DCDD for $15
• Light Tan pants or shorts
• Sneakers

Schedule:

Saturday, June 14
9:30 AM – 10:45 AM: Full Band Rehearsal (All
Members)
Location: Francis C Hammond Middle School; 4646 Seminary Road;
Alexandria, VA
Note: School is located just east of I-395 on Seminary Road. Restrooms will not be available at this location. Please make necessary arrangements beforehand.

11:30 AM – 1:00 PM: Lunch
Location: Cheesecake Factory – Clarendon
Note: Please bring cash to pay for lunch.

5:00 PM: Parade Line-Up & Band Warm-Up (All Members and Volunteers)Location: 23rd Street NW between M & N Streets NW
Note: We will line-up/march between the Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies and Southwest Airlines.

6:00 PM: Parade Step-Off (All Members and Volunteers)
Parade Music: Secret Agent Man, The Pink Panther and Rawhide

8:30PM (tentative) - ???: DCDD Cookout at the home of Chad Koratich and Matthew Ruest
Location: 1813 Vermont Ave NW
Note: Burgers/Hot Dogs will be provided. Please bring cookout side
dish.

Sunday, June 15
11:15 AM: Call Time for Stand & Blow
Location: Archives-Navy Memorial Metro Stop
Note: Restrooms will not be available at this location. Please make necessary arrangements beforehand.

11:40 AM:
Walk to the Festival and March to the Arts Stage

12:00 Noon – 12:20 PM: Marching Band Performance
Location: Capital Pride Arts Stage
Performance Music Line-Up: Secret Agent Man; The Pink Panther; Mission: Impossible; Time Warp; What I Like About You; Gimme Some Lovin’

Additional Notes:

1. If you have not ordered/paid-for your DCDD Marching Band T-Shirt, please email your size to David McBee (president@dcdd.org) and bring $15 on Saturday morning.
2. The rehearsal location on Saturday morning is not Metro accessible. Please contact your fellow band-mates if you need a lift. If you cannot find a ride, email marching@dcdd.org.
3. You will not be able to store your instrument in the “chase car”. Please bring your instrument only to the parade. If you need to store your case, you may do so at Steve Messina’s condo at 1401 17th Street NW (17th and P). Please plan to drop off your case between 4:00 and 4:30 PM. You can ring Steve from the intercom or contact him on his cell phone (which is listed in the Lambda Room).
4. After parade line up on 23rd Street a) When throwing trash away, only use trash receptacles provided by Capital Pride – not dumpsters at Junior High or Hotels in the neighborhood and b) Two Portable toilets will be located at the entrance to Francis Junior High’s parking lots. Do not use those of neighboring buildings or hotel.
5. There will be 2 announcement stands this year along the parade route. The first is a general announcement stand located on the south side of the intersection of 18th and New Hampshire. The second will be the judging stand located in front of Whole Foods on P Street between 14th and 15th.
6. The parade ends at 14th and N Street. We will be moved over to the sidewalk at this point. Please do not stand around this area as this will slow the groups behind us down. If you wish to watch the rest of the parade, please get on the sidewalk and walk back toward P Street.
7. National City Christian Church at the end of the parade route will be hosting a Hospitality Station for parade participants. They will be serving popcorn and water and will have their restrooms open for use. If you need a rest, their sanctuary will be open and is air-conditioned (and rumor has it their organist will be playing show-tunes for a sing-a-long).
8. If you have not signed up to work the DCDD Pride Booth, I strongly encourage you to do so. Please contact Matt Swearman at mattsndc@hotmail.com if you can help.
   My cell number is listed in the Lambda Room of DCDD.org if you need to contact me with questions.
9. The Parade is just over 1 mile in length.

A printable copy of the detail sheet can be found at in the Lambda Room under Marching Band Resources

Hosted Housing Needed

I am looking for a volunteer to provide hosted housing for one of our guests this weekend. He is looking for a pet-free/smoke-free environment.

If you can assist, please email marching@dcdd.org as soon as possible.

Rehearsal, June 9

Our next rehearsal will be on Monday, June 9 at George Washington Middle School in Alexandria, VA. We will begin at 7:00PM and run through approximately 8:30-8:45PM and then will be going over to Freddie’s for half-price appetizers.

The schedule is listed below:

7:00 – 7:10: Group Warm-up
7:10 – 7:30: Winds, Percussion, Guard
Sectionals
7:10 – 7:45: Winds/Percussion Ensemble, Guard
Sectional
7:45 – 7:55: Break
7:55 – 8:30: Full Ensemble
Rehearsal (be prepared
to march/move)
8:30 – 8:40:
Announcements/Wrap-Up

It is going to be very hot, so please plan to dress accordingly!

2008 Marching Band Uniform

I have gone through a great deal of thought lately on how to dress the band this year. With this being my first year, I wanted the group to be casual and fun and without a great deal of effort.

Hats:
I had many different ideas on hats for this year (including my comment at rehearsal on June 2 to just find a mostly solid color baseball cap), but in hindsight they have all not been feasible. We have purchased white baseball caps for each member of the marching band and the band-aides to wear along with the rest of the uniform. I hope to have these available to hand out at rehearsal on June 9.

Shirt:
The shirt we will be wearing this year is the red “Band is the Word” marching band t-shirt. T-Shirts are $15/ea and can be ordered through the Lambda Room on dcdd.org. If you do not have access to the Lambda Room, please email your name and shirt-size to treasurer@dcdd.org. Please bring your $15 (check or cash – exact change suggested) to the next rehearsal to obtain your t-shirt.

Pants/Shorts:
We will be wearing light-tan pants or shorts – your pick based upon your existing wardrobe and preference. Please make sure they are light tan, not olive (green), slate (gray) or any other popular color variation.

Shoes:
There will be not color requirement for shoes this year. Please wear comfortable sneakers – with socks.