Busted out the old drum pad

15+ years ago, James Sparling wrote the front end of this ditty for Nick Fields and Ross Patterson. Who then taught it to Chris Demuth and, later, me.

Then Nick and I blew it up for the high school variety show.

This week, my ward had a talent show and I figured I’d pull my quad pad of out storage to play something.

Here you go:

Smooth Jazz (on Argyle with a Banana Split on the Side)

Performed Solo, by the weaker half of Nick Nat Diddle Tap

Video Cred: www.andybeutler.com

By |2021-01-15T15:37:23-07:00April 11th, 2017|Music|0 Comments

Sang in General Conference

My stake and a neighboring YSA stake were asked to staff the choir for the Priesthood Session of April 2017 General Conference.

I sang T1. About 40 guys I go to church with each week spread themselves out across T1/T2/B1/B2.

#ThisIsWinmill

We sang . . .

Rise Up, O Men of God

Jesus, Once of Humble Birth

(Made the camera on this one, around 0:48)

Redeemer of Israel

and

Hope of Israel

Great times. Hats off to our conductor Brett Taylor, music boss over at Mountain View High School.

Takeaways:

  • There are 364 seats in the Conference Center choir loft.
  • Brett embraced his choir-geek music-nerdiness so much that it worked in his favor and won over the cooperation and trust of 364 mostly-amateur-singer dudes to sing with form and sound like a choir.
  • A teacher who loves what they do, cares, finds simple ways to convey and teach building blocks of technique, who provides lots of “this way, not this way” demos, and who provides lots of “see, you’re improving” feedback makes a world of difference in short time.
  • “The more in-tune that 5th is, the more truth there is in it. And thereby, the more the Spirit can testify of the truth of what we’re singing.”
  • “If you come to the performance unshaven and with unkempt hair, heaven awaits you . . . but the choir does not.”
By |2023-11-05T21:02:18-07:00April 3rd, 2017|Faith, Music|0 Comments

DCI Recap: The Battalion and Madison Scouts Exhibition (Sanpete Beat)

On June 21, 2016 I attended Sanpete Beat, an exhibition of The Battalion and Madison Scouts in Mt. Pleasant, UT. The Scouts were formed in 1938, and 2016 is The Battalion’s inaugural year.

The summer after I graduated high school I went on national tour with a military-style, all-brass-and-percussion music group.

For the uninitiated, this is called “drum corps” and the competition league is Drum Corps International or DCI. Yes … it’s like a competitive marching band without a school affiliation and caters to 14-21 year olds who, like me at that age, couldn’t get enough from my high school’s program. You live on a tour bus, practice/perform/compete 12+ hours a day and get maybe a few hours of sleep on a school gym floor after arriving there around 2 or 3 a.m. No joke. (Did I mention 21 is the age limit?)

Anyway … a decade later … the guy (James Sparling) who first really showed me how to ram notes on quads is now the percussion director of the Madison Scouts, the second oldest drum corps around.

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][Watch] Archive footage from my high school variety show (2003!!!) of the drum duet my best buddy Nick Fields and I put together: A Tribute to J.M.S. & Co. by NNDT.

James was on leave getting R&R with family (dude — next time skip a flat state like Kansas; #Utahisrad don’t miss it), so he’s not in the pictures, but here are the guys he writes music for and directs all summer long. (Yup, guys. Madison is by tradition an all-male corps).

The Battalion and Madison Scouts Exhibition - June 21, 2016 - Madison Scouts Drumline In The Lot

 

And later … The Integrated Arc!

When James first showed up at Sycamore High School, he shook up the drumline a lot and taught me about training my ears to listen. We’d warmup in traditional setups like the one above and also in other formats like this where the tenors and snares intersperse with each other:

The Battalion and Madison Scouts Exhibition - June 21, 2016 - Madison Scouts Drumline In The Lot - Integrated Arc

 

Madison Scouts Drumline :: In The Lot :: Video

If the videos don’t show, hit refresh or watch all three here.

 

And here’s the Madison Scouts Drumline working their opener in uniform (again, backup link):

… yeah, there’s dirt in here. It’s early season. And as James was fond of saying teaching yelling back in the day:

“CLEAN YOUR OWN HOUSE.”

 

For 2016, Madison’s show is Judas and showcases music from Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Broadway hit, Jesus Christ Superstar.

The Scouts did their first full, in-uniform run of their 2016 show at this exhibition on the North Sanpete High School football field. Which btw was PACKED! S-R-O in the stands.

 

HQ Audio of The Madison Scouts 2016 :: Drumline In The Lot & Full Corps On The Field

Click to listen to all these files on Dropbox

  • Madison Scouts 2016 Show – Judas
  • Madison Scouts – Encore (four)
  • Madison Scouts Drumline In The Lot – Accent Tap
  • Madison Scouts Drumline In The Lot – Book Clip (six)
  • Madison Scouts Drumline In The Lot – Eights
  • Madison Scouts Drumline In The Lot – Flams
  • Madison Scouts Drumline In The Lot – Stick Control
  • Madison Scouts Drumline In The Lot – Triplet Diddle
  • Madison Scouts Drumline In The Lot – Triplet Partials
  • Madison Scouts Drumline In The Lot – Untitled Ditty
  • Madison Scouts Drumline In The Lot – Untitled Warmup
  • Madison Scouts Drumline In The Lot – Snares – Triplet Roll
  • Madison Scouts Drumline In The Lot – Tenors – Untitled

The mountains made for a good backdrop:

The Battalion and Madison Scouts Exhibition - June 21, 2016 - Madison Scouts on the field

 

The Battalion

The Battalion is the first drum corps ever to come out of Utah.

Just to see this piece of music and state history was worth the 90-minute drive each way.

The Battalion and Madison Scouts Exhibition - June 21, 2016 - The Battalion on the field

Mad props to the trio that envisioned The Battalion and are making it happen: Luke and Alyssa McCollum and Dallin Hatch. When I marched inside quad on the BYU Drumline in 2004 the fall after my DCI tour, Luke was at my right and Dallin was a few spots over on snare.

Getting The Battalion together and onto the field for their first exhibition was two years of hustling and rallying a crap ton of people and resources. Running an existing corps is a huge undertaking. And they are tasked with starting one AND running it. I’m so proud of them and all their staff/volunteers/board/backers/etc. for creating musical opportunities for the 100+ youth in their corps.

 

HQ Audio of The Battalion 2016 :: Full Corps On The Field

Click to listen to these files on Dropbox

  • The Battalion 2016 Show – Standing Runthrough (Partial)
  • The Battalion 2016 Show – Moving Runthrough (Complete)

 


 

Live Drum Corps is a Singular Experience

There is nothing like sitting on the 50 yard line in front of a full field of brass and drums.

Booming and bellowing waves rattle every bone in your body.

The soprano trumpets scream on pitch, and every hair on the back of your neck tingles.

When the contra tubas blast, your lung chambers echo.

If you monitored your heart, you’d find it beating in sync with the drums … whatever the tempo.

And goosebumps … the goosebumps!!

Call me a band geek for life.

I don’t care!

It’s worth it if only to keep feeling that sound.

 


 

Btw, Utah’s only DCI show is in Ogden on Thursday, July 7. Visit www.dci.org to find shows near you.

The Battalion

The Madison Scouts

The Battalion and Madison Scouts Exhibition - June 21, 2016 - The Battalion on the field

The Battalion and Madison Scouts Exhibition - June 21, 2016 - The Battalion on the field

The Battalion and Madison Scouts Exhibition - June 21, 2016 - The Battalion on the field

The Battalion and Madison Scouts Exhibition - June 21, 2016 - The Battalion on the field

The Battalion and Madison Scouts Exhibition - June 21, 2016 - The Battalion on the field

The Battalion and Madison Scouts Exhibition - June 21, 2016 - The Battalion on the field

2016-06-21 19.19.11

The Battalion and Madison Scouts Exhibition - June 21, 2016 - The Battalion on the field

 

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By |2021-01-15T15:37:23-07:00June 28th, 2016|Music|0 Comments