Four Drum Majors, Positivity, and the Internet

Yes, this year I decided to go with four drum majors. Why? Well because the band is huge, for one thing. And because next year's show has four songs, for another. And we need more drill techs at camp, for another, and that is what the drum majors do at camp, they help teach the drill on the field. As a director, I have spent many hours choosing this leadership team. I stand by them completely. This is an incredible team of people who will be great! Remember, by criticizing my choices you are criticizing the band leadership team as well. People who negatively react to the team are negatively reacting to human beings who are in those positions. Criticize me all you want, I can take it, just be careful not to hurt anyone's feelings who actually have been awarded these positions. They are our teammates. Negativity is not what we are about here at Roslyn, we are a positive group of people. Of course, it is natural for people to be upset that they or their friends did not get the captain and officer positions. I totally understand that and wish everyone could be a captain. Unfortunately there are only so many positions. As we get to the National Class these positions will become even more powerful. Once again, please remember that these people are on our team. Let's have positive interactions. As always, I will talk to any of you at any time I am free to discuss my selections and rationale. Please remember as well, anything you write on the internet (as is the case with this blog and my website) can be printed out anywhere. Only post things online that you would be proud to have seen by anyone, because it probably will be.

A Sight to Behold!

One of the most incredible things happened today. Let me tell you this story!

Two years ago, prior to my second year at Roslyn, I devised a long term planning grid with the band. Keeping the integrity of the one night rehearsal due to academic demands at Roslyn, we went ahead with our plan. I used the Orchard Park band as a model for building excellence. They started in the novice class in 1987 and built up one of the top bands in the National Class in 17 years. Using their history as a template, I showed the students in detail how they could set long term and short term goals to build something. On Sunday night, Orchard Park won the National Class. They dethroned the West Genesee and Arlington shared dynasty. Today I dusted off that old plan I set in place two years ago. The Junior and Senior classes in the band remembered it vividly. The interesting thing is, and this is why I am writing to you, when I hung it up today outside the bandroom the kids crowded around it like it was their SAT scores. I couldn't clear the crowd! Students started figuring out how our band might get to that goal and reach it even earlier than Orchard Park. I was totally amazed at how a group of kids, who will be long gone when these goals are achieved, attached themselves emotionally to this plan. They saw the "Big Picture." I flew home in my car today, knowing that the "Big Goal," something they won't be here to experience, excited and made Roslyn seem even more special to them. Isn't this what its all about. Getting a group of people excited and attached to a long term goal invigorated me as an educator. I felt humbled by their enthusiasm. It was a sight to behold!

It really isn't about "band" at all. It's about achieving an incredibly difficult goal before you ever achieve it. They won 7th out of 7 in their class, but through vision, they have already won. They will win the National Class, they know it. They are part of this school and it will be a huge part of them forever.

They made my day!

Dome Wrap Up!

The Roslyn Band today continued it's move to the big time. Today, at 10:30am, the band did the most powerful, incredible, and precise performance of any Roslyn band. Today, the band rose higher into the big time. The energy was phenomenal. Today, the band was the talk of the dome. Today, the band became a professional band with concentration, focus, and energy. We peaked, big time, wow. I am so proud of how the band did. That was clearly a "Championship" performance. Let's face it. Unfortunately, the judges didn't agree and that's ok. They have a right to their opinions, we have to respect that, because.......you've heard me say it before. They will soon crown us champions. We will run through these classes in a record time period. We have already started.

I just happened to stumble onto this very interesting file on my computer. Two years ago, prior to the 2005 season we set these goals. I talked about it to the entire band and hung this up in the bandroom. I showed everyone in the band where we are going. LOOK! We are totally on track. Check it out! And remember, all the Band members are involved in this, from the Roslyn alumni band members, to the kids now in pre-k who will be that national band. Every one of us are involved. Let's be proud of our amazing accomplishments!

2002 - 6th out of 6, SS3, 1st year
2003 - 11th out of 11, SS3 , 2nd year, 1st year with a guard
2004 - 8th our of 10, SS3, 3rd year
2005 - Upper 3 SS3
2006 - Upper 3 SS3
2007 - Win SS3
2008 - Move to SS2
2009 - Middle SS2
2010 - Win SS2
2011 - Move to SS1
2012 - Middle SS1
2013 - Middle SS1
2014 - Upper 3 of SS1
2015 - Win SS1
2016 - Move to National, first LI National Band (well, Copiague beat us here)
2017 - National
2018 - National
2019 - National

Goals are crucial to our existence. We are setting and achieving them. There are setbacks, speedbumps, and detours. We are totally on track to building that "dynasty." Let's be proud and realize where we have come from.

Today was FUN! It's fun to be great! It's fun to win! Today, we will have to settle for one out of the two. Next year we're gonna "Take It." Yes!

Oh, by the way, today was no speedbump, it was a pinnacle!

Great Day, Great Rehearsal

We had a great day today. Waking up at 8am, we ate breakfast in two sittings at 9:00 and 9:45. We then relaxed and went to the "Carousel Mall" from 11:30 to 1:30, returned to the hotel from 2 to 4 to relax, and then went to our rehearsal site at Central Square High School from 4:30 to 7:00pm. It took a while for the band to get going at first, we had some problems with falling apart and fixed them. The weather was incredible, the stadium beautiful, a turf field, lights, and all. Then the last 90 minutes the band did the best they ever did. We made some major changes to increase the flow of the songs, cutting out the spaces between the movements. Then we did some work on those transitions to make the show perfect in terms of the dramatic content and musical impacts. We ended as it started to drizzle and went to eat at "Old Country Buffet" in Syracuse. Returning to the hotel at 9:15, the band members had free time at the pool until 11pm when they all went soundly to bed. We were incredibly lucky with the weather for our rehearsal, it seemed to stop just for us! We are all psyched about our performance at the Dome tomorrow.

Remember, judging is subjective. Be ready for anything.

Trade Offs & Departure Day Trip Update

Let me just say that the trip is going great. The kids, as usual, are the best ever! We had a tiny mishap in northern Westchester. While in stop and go traffic, bus 3 was bumped by a car at about 3:45 and we had to stop for about 20 minutes to deal with that. Only a handful of students on the bus actually realized that it happened and everybody was absolutely fine.

As band director, I am constantly balancing the needs of the students with the academics, marching/music rehearsing, and social aspects. We canceled last night’s rehearsal due to these needs. I felt, and the staff agreed, that a night off would help everyone recharge and rest for the up and coming weekend. It would also give people a chance to pack and get some of their school work done. When it turned out to be a nice night my “band director” side said “oh no, we could have rehearsed” while my humanistic side said “good move, the rest will pay off.”

Balancing the needs of the academics has always been an important goal of mine with the building of this dynasty in an academic powerhouse school district. This is why, when some parents were very vocal about leaving after 9th period so that the students would only miss 9th period once, I went along with the request.

I knew it would happen. Leaving 40 minutes later added about 3 hours to our trip. We usually made a point to leave around 1:30, at the beginning of the 9th period in order to get through the city before the traffic became unbearable. Leaving 40 minutes later was a nightmare. The bumper to bumper traffic caused us to spend 3 additional hours on the busses thus missing our free time at the hotel, our traditional “pool time.” We also had to alter our eating arrangements. We had a great dinner at the “Old Country Buffet” in Vestal, NY (just outside of Binghamton) at 8:15 pm. I feel bad that the kids had to sit on the bus all that time, and lose their social time. The trade off would have definitely been more worthwhile if more than just a handful of students went to the 9th period class.

We arrived at the hotel at 11:50 pm and we all immediately went to bed to rest up for a busy day tomorrow. Check back to this blog tomorrow for another update.

At least we got a State Champion Banner!

The band was great once again. The best marching we ever did! We received a "State Champion" Trophy in our class and a nice looking banner. I am thrilled with our performance!

We wanted to try the other circuit, the USSBA. We did! I was not happy with the way the event was run. In addition we got hammered by the judges. Our number probably should have been in the mid 80's. Copiague should have been higher as well, along with some other bands. Seems bands that aren't participating in their "All-States" championships didn't do so well with the scoring today. Interesting. And what about the food. They had one small food truck, the kind that pulls up outside a factory, with 2 guys selling food for the entire show. Hundreds of kids had to wait on line for hours to get food. This was totally unacceptable. In addition, the drum majors from all those bands had to stand for a long long time before they were brought onto the field. Again, totally unacceptable. Our performance was great. The way the show was run wasn't. There were many other things that bothered us as a staff but I don't want to get into it. I am trying to get some rest tonight!

To be honest with you I was shocked about the food thing. The kids always come first. Eating is a major priority to kids who have been practicing and sometimes driving in busses all day. The food situation really bothered me. I have never seen anything like it. That in itself is enough to never go to that circuit again. Maybe in four more years, we may try the USSBA. If we do, we will bring a bagged lunch!

Tonight! Great, Great,Great Job!

Great job tonight! You know how you did! You focused and did exactly what we talked about all day in rehearsal. YOU WERE ON! BIG TIME! Everyone in that stadium knows how you did! EVERYONE! You took a major step in reaching the Dynasty level! Unfortunately, a few of the judges didn’t agree. They will, give them time!

One of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous quotes is important when we deal with the subjectivity of judging. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

Building a dynasty is very difficult. We are clearly accomplishing our goals and doing it. Along the way there are speed bumps. Tonight was one of those. Whatever the reason, we are getting low scores. Perhaps it is our lack of precision, our lack of focus which is affecting our “getting it done”. Perhaps we are totally doing a great job and for whatever reasons, the numbers aren’t reflecting it. We have a ton of horn snaps, starts and stops, tempo changes, accellerandos, transitions, and very difficult music. We designed this show to win the class. It is a challenging show. Perhaps we just haven’t peaked yet. Perhaps we are a few inches from the gold in our marching band gold mine, and have to dig for another week to reach it. We have 3 big rehearsals left, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. We need to focus and get the most out of ourselves this week. We just need to max out our precision so that the judges see us for what we are, an incredible, championship band. Remember, the marching band season is a marathon which doesn’t end until the dome. Last year we were dumped 3 points below Division on this weekend, only to focus and beat them at the dome when they got 3rd place to our 2nd place! Stay focused! Stay the course!

Those speed bumps in life define us. How we handle things that come at us defines us. It is easy to be great when things are amazing. How we handle adversity defines us.

Here is one of my favorite quotes. Nobody knows who said this quote, but it is perfect with dealing with tonight’s result.

“Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results.”

We have a “positive attitude.” Let’s face it, we define it. Our results are “extraordinary.” We are the talk of the Island, the talk of Roslyn, and soon the talk of the state! Really, we are the talk of everyone who went to that show tonight, that's for sure! We are making big waves in this activity. We love what we do and are great at it! Don’t let 7 people’s decision about what we deserve influence our self-esteem and confidence. Tomorrow they will crown us champions. They will see the light!

Now about tomorrow’s show. We are doing this one USSBA show to try out this circuit. We did one other USSBA show last year at Hicksville and received some great scores. USSBA is part of YEA which is run by the Cadets drum corps. The circuit started in the early 1990s. All the Long Island bands did the USSBA (then called CMBC, cadets marching band cooperative). The Championships were at Giant’s Stadium. When the stadium went to regular grass turf they wouldn’t let the marching bands use it anymore and the CMBC switched their championships to other venues, in Allentown, Atlantic City, and other stadiums. What ensued was an immediate withdrawal of the Long Island bands. With the loss of Giant’s stadium, the Long Island bands all went to the NYSFBC which has the championship at the Carrier Dome. These bands felt that the final venue was crucial and that the dome was a better place to end the season, an indoor venue that ends at the end of October.

The USSBA and the NYSFBC are similar in scoring with one major exception. The NYSFBC puts bands into classes by school size. The USSBA puts bands in classes by the size of band. They then give credit to larger bands and the scores tend to go up as your band size/class goes up. In many parts of the country, if you have a bigger band the General Effect scores reflect it. In most cases, a 140 piece band looks and sounds more exciting than a 40 piece band. Most circuits recognize that. Most circuits put bands into their classes by band size, also feeling that it is unfair to have a 40 piece band perform immediately after a 140 piece band, for that same “General Effect” reason.

Unfortunately, the circuit we are in does not take into consideration the size of the band and actually ignores it in the general effect scores. In fact, Northwestern, the smallest band in our class, is scoring over everyone. They also won the SS2 class two years in a row and have not moved to SS1, a class they clearly belong in. That is another whole issue, bands winning classes and staying in that class for years, winning over and over. A few years ago in the NYSFBC I actually had a judge tell me to cut my band size down to make it more competitive. The NYSFBC seems to reward smaller groups. The Dome is an incredible venue, but I cannot help ponder if we are doing the best for our program by going into an arena that actually makes a point to ignore band size.

I am excited about our band size! A large part of the excitement within a band program is the number of kids in the band. Big bands are exciting. Big bands touch more lives. Isn’t that what it is all about, touching more lives? In addition, with the addition of Giant’s stadium back as a USSBA venue, we should probably think about the possibility of performing in that circuit. The USSBA also has no minimum show requirement and is a more relaxed in terms of timing and penalties which will take alot of stress off our pit parents. In the early 90s the CMBC had a dozen or so bands. Now they are called the USSBA and have over 700 bands in their circuit. Some Long Island bands do exclusively compete in the USSBA and you will see them at this weekend’s show.

Last Night's Rehearsal....Wow! and the Up and Coming Weekend!!!

Last night's rehearsal was incredible! In all my years of running marching bands I have never seen a group work so hard. You raised the bar with hard work and determination. The amount of ground we covered was amazing. We actually cleaned marching, intervals, and horn pops in one half of the show. You were silent, followed directions, and worked tirelessly. Thanks for working so hard! I really appreciate your hard work. Hopefully this weekend it will pay off!

Now onto this weekend. We will be competing against Mineola, who is currently ahead of us by .6 which really means that the spread is gone. We all know they scored an 78.4 at Huntington. We all know they are a great band, a dynasty in fact. But really, who knows what would have happened if we went to Huntington, perhaps we would have been closer, or even over them! We could have scored a 79! Who knows. Anyway, we need to show the judges that we are great so that they reward us!Hopefully they will! We need to be precise, sharp, together with great horn pops, marching and style. Remember, in order for the judges to "make the call", popping us over bands we traditionally haven't beat, it has to be a big spread. Not by a point or two, but by 5 points or more. In the mid 90's, when I was building the Mineola dynasty, we were blowing bands off the field and the scores didn't reflect it. We were not one of the "Big Boys" yet. We were patient! Soon the scores came and now they are a powerhouse! Grant it, the judges have a right to their opinions, we have to totally respect that. I don't ever want to criticize the judging, in fact, the judges have been the best this year. They will one day crown us champions. We just need to really show them what we have! Also remember, building a program is hard. Building a Dynasty is even harder. We have to dig down and get it done. It won't be easy. Aim High....Be Patient!

Lets perform the shows of our lives this weekend at the Mineola Show and at the USSBA Championships. And remember, if someone beats us, shake their hands and congratulate them, they beat a great band! Roslyn! Future Dynasty!

Homecoming & Walt Whitman Wrap Up, Finally!!

So here we go, two nights to think about it, what to write. Sorry I didn't put the blog up until now. I needed to digest the weekend, as you would a gourmet meal, before I wrote about it. I had to reflect on some of my own, shall I say, shortcomings, or maybe a better way to put it would be, my ego. There, I said it, I have one. Actually, we all do.

I am very competetive, big time. I hate losing, at anything. Whether its fishing on a party boat, to playing chess, or even a video game, I hate to lose, to anyone, at any time. Sorry, I am being honest with you. But sometimes I have to compose my thoughts, and look at the big picture. Here with the Roslyn Band, the big picture is one of the most beautiful, incredible, and breathtaking pictures I have ever seen. That is what I realized after digesting this past weekend. Watching that huge and precise band marching down the street, taking up 3 blocks, with parents and groupies following the band like they were celebrities was heart wrenching to say the least. Seeing the huge crowd at the homecoming, the whole community coming together to watch our teams and students celebrate our school's homecoming, was an incredible thing to watch. The passion, the love, the rise of Roslyn in so many ways- what a great picture to take in. We all need to take a step back and look at the "Big Picture."

Now back to the reality of life. Sometimes it is difficult to deal with the subjectivity of judges, of a person or persons totally deciding if you "got it done" or not. Actually, it is always difficult dealing with it! After homecoming, at the Walt Whitman Show, it hit us like a ton of bricks. Fun to watch, but a little scary because you don't know what is coming. With subjective judging there are so many variables that are involved, you have to be very intelligent and patient when dealing with it. You have to constantly adjust your goals. You have to have unwavering resiliency. It is very similar to getting into the best colleges. A person or persons on an admission team will decide if you are worthy of their school. It is totally subjective when it comes right down to it. Of course, you need the great grades and SAT's, the great essay and brilliant interview technique, but when you come right down to it.........someone is going to decide if you "got it done." Pretty scary!

Now back to the band (sorry about the rant).

The band was incredible, clearly one of the best on Long Island. We have gotten better every year. We have gotten bigger every year. Everyone is talking about the growth of the Roslyn Band. "Where did they come from" is a frequent line around the marching band scene on Long Island. In addition, we are more organized and have an incredible support system from our school, community, and parents! We have the hardest working band I have ever seen. I am proud to direct such a great group of human beings. Wow, I really mean it!!

We have a goal, we are building a dynasty. We are doing it. Big Time!!!!

Do the judges realize it yet? Maybe........and maybe not. It doesn't matter. They will. I'll say it again. THEY WILL. Maybe this year, maybe next year, and maybe 10 years down the road. The bottom line is that WE realize what we are doing here. We need to take it all in. We need to Pat (ha) ourselves on the back. We need to realize how great it is going, how much we have all done here. Sit back and think about it, ponder it, watch old tapes, you will be mezmerized by the incredible growth of the Roslyn Marching Band Program. Feel it, internalize it, then press on.

The energy, from the parents pouring onto the field to set the band up, to the new shakos and plumes, to the 7 tubas, to the incredible drum line, to the huge and hard working low brass section, to the incredible clarinets, the great flutes, the crazy, nutty alto saxes (who play great!) to the great bass clarinets, and the great colorguard. We have it all! The pit rocks! Remember a few years ago when there wasn't even a pit or colorguard! Our colorguard was right on this week! They were incredible. The trumpets are one of the best sections on Long Island! The mellophones march like pros and sound like it too!

Remember the word......Dynasty! We are building a marching band dynasty! It's fun! It's more fun than anything to win! Hopefully we will! But have fun in the process, don't miss out the fun it is building this thing!

Now, if we get a low score, that is when you are really put to the test. Anyone can handle a great score. It is a very special group that can get a low score, dust themselves off, work hard, and take the championship by storm. We are that group! We did it before! Remember, we did some of our best work when we are in last place last year! We ended up beating 11 bands, winning a Silver Plaque, and moving up a class. We are that special group. Roslyn is a very rare place, hard workers, very competetive, and we love marching band. Let's dig down, get psyched, and tear down the dome! (not literally). Our goal is still to win the dome! Stay the course! Aim High.......Be Patient!

P.S........from the bottom of my heart......I love all of you and appreciate how hard you are working!

Rest day!

We all need a day off, to not think about marching band. I will write on the blog tomorrow, Monday, about the weekend and the up and coming last two weeks! Great job Saturday, it was an incredible day!