Ever have one of those "once in a lifetime" opportunities, and taken advantage of it? I did a few months back and the result is that I'll be marching in the 2004 Pasadena Tournement of Roses Parade on January 1st.
I'll spare the details, but if you or the family watch the Rose Parade on TV, look for the 24th unit (there are 100 units in the parade which include all the floats, horse units, bands, etc) as that will be the one I'm marching in. For the last few months I've been rehearsing with my old group that I marched with years ago, which has been fun as I got to pull my old horn out of mothballs. At any rate, it's called the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps from Santa Clara, CA, and we'll be wearing green & red uniforms with green "Aussie"-style hats.
This is only the 2nd time in the parade's 115-year history that a drum corps has been invited to perform at this parade, so it's pretty special for us. Believe me, this is not a candy-a$$ group; you won't miss us because we're going to be really freaking loud, much louder than we were at a "tuneup" parade we did in San Jose back on December 7th. My wife and 3-year old son will be watching from the grandstands and my kid can't wait. We will also be performing that the pre-parade festivities on December 30th at Pasadena City College.
Here's some more info on the lineup at:
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_plants_roses/article/0,1785,HGTV_3612_2456668,00.html
...then scroll down to #24 where it'll give you a brief synopsis.
QUICK BUICK COMMENT: I've been driving my GN to our local rehearsals in Burbank every Saturday. The reaction from my fellow musicians has been classic: "A Buick...with a rollbar...??"
At any rate, thanks for reading, and be sure to set your VCRs!
Regards,
Morgan
'87 GN (low low 11s on the old stock motor, hoping for better with the new one-- thanks Neal!
)
'96 Roadmaster/masher
I'll spare the details, but if you or the family watch the Rose Parade on TV, look for the 24th unit (there are 100 units in the parade which include all the floats, horse units, bands, etc) as that will be the one I'm marching in. For the last few months I've been rehearsing with my old group that I marched with years ago, which has been fun as I got to pull my old horn out of mothballs. At any rate, it's called the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps from Santa Clara, CA, and we'll be wearing green & red uniforms with green "Aussie"-style hats.
This is only the 2nd time in the parade's 115-year history that a drum corps has been invited to perform at this parade, so it's pretty special for us. Believe me, this is not a candy-a$$ group; you won't miss us because we're going to be really freaking loud, much louder than we were at a "tuneup" parade we did in San Jose back on December 7th. My wife and 3-year old son will be watching from the grandstands and my kid can't wait. We will also be performing that the pre-parade festivities on December 30th at Pasadena City College.
Here's some more info on the lineup at:
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_plants_roses/article/0,1785,HGTV_3612_2456668,00.html
...then scroll down to #24 where it'll give you a brief synopsis.
QUICK BUICK COMMENT: I've been driving my GN to our local rehearsals in Burbank every Saturday. The reaction from my fellow musicians has been classic: "A Buick...with a rollbar...??"
At any rate, thanks for reading, and be sure to set your VCRs!
Regards,
Morgan
'87 GN (low low 11s on the old stock motor, hoping for better with the new one-- thanks Neal!
)'96 Roadmaster/masher
