Years ago, I had an idea to write a post called “Down with the Dodge Stratus” – which was based on the fact that in the early 2000s, most of the race-approved 1/10 electric on-road (sedan) bodies were based off of the Dodge Stratus. You can see in the roar archives that the Stratus was phased out in 2008 (search “Stratus”). Bleh, I’m glad it’s gone! When’s the last time you saw a Dodge Stratus actually racing?!?
After graduating from Irondale High School in 1995 I went on my first tour with the Phantom Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps. I wasn’t just a band geek I was an audio geek as well. I purchased a MiniDisc recorder in 1994 and I brought it on tour in 1995. Even though I was playing Euphonium with the corps, my friend and Irondale alumnus Aaron Fisher (who was on staff) was able to set things up and record a couple rehearsals and performances. Continue reading →
Winter Camps
I think most of these recordings were from the March camp, because we went outside for the April camp and these are definitely indoor recordings.
One of the concert pieces we played during camp was an irish traditional called The Minstrel Boy
Here is the hornline singing The Minstrel Boy
The 1995 Program – Adventures Under a Darkened Sky
About the tracks on this early recording of the 1995 program:
1. The capriccio introduction and Symphonic Dances remained relatively unchanged throughout the season (minus tempo changes).
2. The ballad – Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, 18th Variation remained relatively unchanged throughout the season.
3. This introduction to the 2nd Piano Concerto remained relatively unchanged, except by the time we got to DCI finals, the last note was a whopping 24 counts 😁
4. Jeff Prosperie, our percussion arranger at the time, is a visionary. Phantom Regiment was doing very innovative (and sometimes crazy) things with percussion design in the 90s during his reign. One of the things I had almost forgotten about was the “pots and pans” tenors. Jeff had a set of tenor drums made with what I can only describe as pots in place of the drums. It was a wild idea that never made it to the field, but you can hear them in this recording.
Also this version of the closer has the longer original arrangement of Caprice Bohemian. Later in the season it was shortened and the Allego from the 3rd Symphony was inserted as the new percussion feature.
Summer Tour
We did a fairly extensive east-coast tour in 1995 and participated in some sort of concert-in-the-park standstill performance with the Cadets.
1995 Phantom Regiment Cadence
1995 Phantom Regiment East Coast Standstill – this show has an earlier arrangement of Rachmaninov’s 3rd Symphony – before the notes got watered down on the road to finals.
1995 Cadets Cadence
DCI Finals
At finals in Buffalo we recorded the Blue Devils on-field warm-up. It was a variation on their “west coast warm-up” to reflect their Carpe Noctem show:
And also America / O Canada – led by the Cavaliers who had been crowned champions that night.
Do you remember?
If you remember any more of the details of this stuff let me know in the comments and I’ll update it. Otherwise, enjoy!
Extras
Here’s another post about Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony. I have a CD that I bought in 1996 of the 4th Ballet Suite (which we played that year), and it also included Shostakovich 10. My regular jam was to gather original recordings of all the music we played in the summer – including concert pieces, etc. I’d listen to those recordings before and during tour to get to know the composer or the piece a little better.
My son and I got 2wd Slash trucks for his birthday and Father’s Day respectively. Since my daughter is left-handed, I would occasionally swap out the radio for the left-handed Arrma ATX-300, put the ESC in “Training Mode” (50% speed) and let ‘er rip.
Swapping out the radio was getting old. Plus one time I left the ESC in training mode when I hit the track. You can imagine my surprise when I’m getting passed in the back straight like I’m standing still, wondering where all the power went
Something Smaller
Why not get her a car/truck of her own? Something smaller and better suited to a 5 year-old. Continue reading →
My daughter is left handed and she also loves to drive R/C cars with dad and her brother. To make sure she has a good experience, she needs the appropriate tools. I’ve seen several lefties use standard right-handed transmitters. They hold the grip in their right hand to work the trigger, and the steering wheel faces away, so they reach around the front to work the steering with their left hand.
My left-handed daughter instinctively did just this with a normal transmitter (Tx). Even at only 5 years old, her brain told her to steer with her dominant hand. While it works for many, it’s unfortunate. Left-handed transmitters are not widely available for people entering the hobby, so they try to make it work with a right-handed Tx. By the time they can afford a model that can be converted to left-handed, they’ve already gotten used to contorting themselves, so what should seem natural feels strange.
This is an anecdote addendum to my story arc as an RC driver. I’m still not great, but I’m getting better, and in the last month I earned three 2nd place spots at club races I’m going to be honest about how I wound up there, but it’s really a commentary on consistency. Continue reading →
Continue reading 
I’m going to be honest about how I wound up there, but it’s really a commentary on consistency.