Today's Schedule Revisions

Well we got the breakfast to be later since we cannot warm up at Phoenix until 12:30.  So here are the schedule adjustments for today.  We are waking up at 9, eating in two shifts at 9:30 and 10:15, and then leaving for Phoenix HS at 11:30.  We will be reporting directly to Phoenix HS where we will be warming up in the Auditorium.

Smooth Sailing and Off to Syracuse!

After two amazing and unbelievable rehearsals we are off to Syracuse.  We reached the "Old Country Buffet" at 6pm and left there enroute to Syracuse at about 7:15 pm.  We hit very little traffic, everybody is in great spirits, and we are rocking! I am on the bus writing this and morale is extremely high, we are on a mission!  Tomorrow will be an indoor show, they decided around 5pm.   Remember, the show will be at Phoenix HS which is also called Birdlebough HS.  We should get to the hotel around 9pm, check in, have some free time at the pool and then to bed for the big weekend.  I will be updating this blog daily and will let you know how we are doing.

Goal Accomplished! On to the Dome!

Wow, what a night. You totally "Performed!" The show was incredible. It was magical, musical, with great marching, great tempos, amazing guard and an all around top notch performance. The members of the staff and I were so excited about breaking the 80, a first for our program, a major accomplishment, putting us in great shape going into the final week. Finally, the judges recognized what we are doing out here! Yes, it is a great feeling. However, when I approached the band at the High School I was flabergasted! Band members were dissappointed about not achieving an 83. What was that about. All week long I was talking about breaking the 80 barrier, a very aggressive goal, and somewhat risky for me to say this all week. Somehow, in some way, the band was shooting even higher. I was going to get to the bottom of this. After summoning the drum majors to my office I found out what happened. It seems that Mr. Downey, without any approval from me, renegaded and promised, yes, promised the band ice cream if they achieved an 83. He raised the bar using a technique which has been mastered through the ages.....bribery with food. Yes, the overall goal immediately became the ice cream. Forget about the championship, that inevitable first place trophy, or breaking an 80 for the first time. The entire band, motivated themselves through visions of lining up at Carvel, choosing what topping would be on their cone, while Mr. Downey proudly opened up his wallet, secretly wishing that the band got an 82.9, winning the dome just falling short of the ice cream breakpoint.

For those of you who think I am serious, I clearly am not. I am kidding around. Yes, we are all somewhat giddy this morning, realizing the goal of 80 has made our year a total success regardless of what happens from here on with the subjective judging.

As always, the dome is entirely up for grabs. You never know what will happen until all the bands in the class are in the same room, on the same day, with the same judges. Like a diamond in the proverbial diamond mine, the band who works the hardest and smartest the last week of the season will get that diamond. The band who stays healthy, focused, and keeps their heads in the game will be the most successful. In the famous TV show the apprentice, Donald Trump calls the final stretch "Crunch Time." This is the time that really tells what you are made of. This is the time when you dig down deep and pull out everything you have to get the most out of yourself and do your "personal best."

The hits, the ten of them, how did we do? Well 1 through 6 were too soft, 7 was better, 9 was a little better, and 8 and 10 blew the roof off! We need all 10 hits to break windows, not just two of them. We will work on that this week. Our sheer power is one of our strengths, we need to be consistent.

So you ask, Mr. Patterson, what can I do this last week to help the band do its best at the dome next week? Well, I have the answer for you and have listed them below. If every single band member does the following 6 things, we will have an incredible ending to our season.

1. Get plenty of sleep, 8 hours a night, eat well, stay warm when outside, and don't get sick.
2. Watch the youtube site over an over again, watch our last show for things to fix. Make notes, list comments, and be picky, very picky, we are aiming for the top!
3. Come to the final two rehearsals ready to work, with warm clothing, on time at 6:30, without any other distractions on your mind. We need to squeeze as much into these final two rehearsals at home to make our show perfect.
4. Send me an e-mail if you want to receive the rehearsal schedule on rehearsal days. The staff spends hours planning out what to work on and change. You can know ahead of going to the rehearsal so you can mentally prepare.
5. Practice anything you need to work on, the fast runs you don't quite have down, being in tune, making yourself louder, etc.
6. Make a great tee shirt to help the band get psyched on Friday.