I never like the idea of getting a kid summer stuff (bikes, skateboards, etc) for Christmas because in Minnesota you have to wait another 4 months before you can even think about using it. Getting her a stand-up paddle-board (SUP) for her birthday in May would be a better idea.
I didn’t actually make it 6 months, only three. In that time, the price on this thing didn’t budge. As much it looks like a top-quality boat, I was reluctant to drop $500 on something that might not be a hit. So I kept looking π
What I found in November is the Retrospec brand, an LA-based outdoor recreation and fitness company. They also have an eight-foot paddle board for kids for $250. I subscribed to their notifications and waited, but I didn’t have to wait long, and was able to snag the board on sale for $200.
It sat in the box for a couple of months waiting for my daughter’s birthday to roll around. She opened it earlier this month, and finally over Memorial day weekend, we were able to take it out.
The board itself is great, it comes with everything all nicely packed in a backpack to carry it around. Inflation was easy and honestly I’ll probably keep it inflated for the summer. We just take the fins off while moving it, and they’re easy to snap on and off.
She did great on it, even on a windy day π¬οΈ The only time she had a problem was near the shore when the wake board boat wake came in, creating some big waves! π
My only regret is that we didn’t get a photo of her on the maiden voyage π
I just got done with a fantastic first season with MBI Winds, a new independent hornline that competed in WGI’s Winds class. Our goal was to create an outlet for horn players of all instruments and all ages. We set out to show how hornline culture is cool π And it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
Having worked with RVS since 2020, I felt there was enough momentum from graduates to make an independent group happen. At the start of the season it seemed promising. This was a screenshot of the registration list that wound up in the staff chat for RVS:
AND there was another Independent group from Mankato that was supposed to come out in Exhibition.
The timing seemed right! But I underestimated how hard recruiting is. Recruiting is hard. Harder than getting a college degree. Harder than marching an entire season of drum corps. It was draining! π
It wasn’t just me. I soon came to find out that both Minnetonka and Mankato would not be coming out this season for recruiting reasons. I kept at it through late January – that was when we filled our remaining saxophone spots. I was content to keep the group at 20 members even though the drill (and budget) was written for 24. Otherwise I would have gone insane π€ͺ
Independent Groups are Hard
We don’t have a captive audience like a student body. Members are paying to participate. They can decide in an instant that it’s not worth their time or money. This fact is not lost on anyone inside an independent organization, but I’m not sure if outsiders realize it.
We don’t own any real estate, so facilities are a big deal. The days of hand-shake deals with local band directors are over as just about everything goes through Community Education. Some of the best things Independent Groups can do are:
Partner with a local church or other space that might not otherwise receive income/donations to use their facility.
Find a school district that operates without a Community Education management system and negotiate a partnership directly.
Negotiate a deal with Community Education based on the number of rentals (this is rare, but sometimes possible)
Paying for all of our facilities means we must maximize what we can do in that time. Sometimes the work isn’t sexy, so we must fall in love with chopping wood & carrying water.
All instructors & administration of independent groups are underpaid. In most cases they need to be – to ensure affordability for the members, and the survival of the group. Staff should be there for the love of the activity & the members. If money is what you’re interested in, you’re better suited to finding a scholastic program in a ritzy neighborhood.
Independent Groups are Important
The success of any independent group is usually reflective of the success of scholastic groups in their region. Band directors – think about what your goals are. Not just the goals of your program this year or the next 5 years – over your entire career. One thing that is not lost on me is making music last a lifetime.
50% of students are going to quit playing after high school. What if we could encourage students to keep playing just a little longer by asking them to follow-through on something outside of school? Independent groups (including community bands!) are part of that equation.
How can people help right now? Local band directors, we need your help specifically. None of the things I will suggest are groundbreaking.
Answer your email and return phone calls. I get it, we all have hundreds of unread messages. For every band director I contact I typically get a 35% response rate on messages.
If someone from an independent group is asking for interested members, ask. Even if you think no one is interested, just ask. If someone is interested, great! If not, then you can at least say you did.
We are on the same side. MBI Winds maintained a policy that outside music commitments come first unless it impacts a competition. Recognize that members participating in independent groups are high performers. They’re the ones in all-state band, honor band, etc. There’s a compromise to be made on both sides and communication is the key.
Making it last
I was speechless when I was recognized by peers as going above and beyond to make the season work.
I was super greatful, but my favorite “trophy” for the season was this:
I’m forever grateful for these 20 musicians that dedicated themselves to an idea. We had no basis to know what the group could or couldn’t do – we all just had to believe. I’m hopeful that next season might be a little easier π€The groundwork that was laid will hopefully be a good foundation. If we turned some heads and got people to say “that looks like fun” then I think we’re on the right track.
I wanted to buy a USB audio interface to use at home when working on the backing track for MBI Winds. Our winds group uses a multi-speaker setup (currently 3 channels) that I wanted to be able to easily replicate at home without pulling out 2x 100-pound speakers and a 32 channel mixer π
So many choices!
I started by looking at interfaces on Amazon, starting with the hugely popular Scarlett and the Behringer 4-channel units. I asked around at work because lots of folks like to use USB audio interfaces for podcast mics, or simply to get rid of headphone noise induced by their computer’s main board. After asking my list went from 2 to 6 units.
I started combing over the instruction manuals and found an issue. Most of the 4-channel USB audio interfaces simply passed the channels 3-4 along at line level without an option to adjust volume. This included the Scarlett and Behringer models I was looking at.
Homework or help?
I had my work cut out for me, but rather than digging in, I reached out for help. Cristian Good is our sales rep for the drum corps, and he really knows his stuff. This was a personal purchase, but I reached out to him anyway. At around 4pm on a Friday I sent him a message asking about units that could also adjust the volume on channels 3 & 4. I figured he’d get back to me on Monday as the homework seemed daunting. Nope, he got back to me within an hour recommending the Solid State Logic SSL2+
This one goes to eleven!!11
There it is, right on the front – the “Phones B” output can be changed to send channels 3 & 4 and be adjusted with that knob.
Channel 3 & 4 outputs
The SSL2+ has a few options for channels 3 & 4 – there are RCA jacks on the back, but these (like the other brands) pass the signal on at line-level. But press the “3 & 4” button and it will switch the Phones B output to channels 3 & 4. You can see the Phones A & B outputs and their corresponding knobs below:
So I have a couple options on how to hook things up at home. I can use the balanced outputs (to the right of the RCA jacks above) for the main left and right channels (1 & 2). Hook it up to a pair of studio monitors and use the big blue knob for the main level.
Or I can use the unbalanced Phones A jack for main left and right channels (1 & 2) and use the Phones A knob for main level.
Channels 3 & 4 will have to use Phones B which is also unbalanced, but that’s not really a big deal to me. I’m not running long cables and the line-level RCA outputs aren’t balanced either.
Speakers
My next move will be to get some speakers to complete my mini home audio studio. Cristian has already recommended to me this JBL 8″ model, so that’s likely my next purchase π
It’s now officially cheaper to subscribe to renewable energy through Northern States Power, a.k.a. Xcel EnergyβMinnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. It’s not by much – only $2 on a recent $200 bill, but it puts to bed the argument that renewables aren’t cheaper. Let’s take a closer look.
We have two electric vehicles and aren’t (yet) subscribed to a EV charging plan. This is mostly because Xcel wants you to buy or rent their hardware and I wanted a particular type of charger. So we use more electricity than our neighbors, which according to Xcel use around 600kWh/month. We’re also subscribed 100% to renewables (solar and wind).
The way the Renewable Connect program works is you pay a higher rate for your electricity, but they refund you the fuel cost charge – which is for trains and trucks moving coal to the power plant. They print everything on your bill and credit them off so you can see what you’re saving. Below you can see a $54.75 fuel cost charge added and removed via a credit.
Then the cost of the renewables are added, $52.37 for this month, which is $2.38 less than the fuel cost. They even list it at the bottom so you know how much you’re saving.
We don’t have any rooftop solar (yet), so hopefully our usage will go down in the future. It’s all based in kWh, so these saving will still scale to whatever your electric bill is, so why not sign up today?
Top of the show! We’re nearing the end of the WGI season. And whether you’re into drum corps, marching band, color guard, or drumline, a full run of the show at the end of rehearsal is the capstone of the day. It’s where the members and staff get to see the work they put in, reflected back in a complete run of the program.
Is there something you can do at home, to keep things fresh in-between rehearsals? Practicing your parts is mandatory, but a lot of what we do is simply mental. Remembering counts, where you’re going, relationships to others on the field or floor, movements and how they line up with the music.
There’s a different type of homework you can do using your mind. You don’t need to get your horn out of the case or find room to spin. It’s called a mental run-through and it can be useful for days off or even as prep as you’re riding the bus to a contest.
I haven’t found much written about the mental run-throughs, so I’ll give two examples of how I like to do them:
Real-Time Run-Through
This one is easy and only takes 5-10 minutes, depending on how long your show is. Find a recording of your show, hopefully the most recent one. If you’re doing winter guard, use your copy of the soundtrack. If the recording is a video, that’s fine, but don’t watch the video. Instead, close your eyes, listen to the audio, and use your minds eye to put yourself on the field or floor in your spot.
Follow through your entire show in realtime. Imagine yourself moving through your drill, playing the notes, and doing the work. Picture the relationships to others around you as the drill changes.
Bookmark anything that is unclear so you can review it later with your equipment. If there’s anything that felt too-fast, you might want to try a different approach…
Mind-Time Run-Through
Mind-time run-throughs don’t require anything but yourself. You don’t need a recording, just the memory of it. Work through your show from top to bottom. You don’t have to go at show tempo! You can slow things down and work through the count structures and checkpoints.
If you know where your dots are, say them to yourself as you pass those sets in your mind. But also make sure you are imagining those around you and your relationships to them. Know your dot… but also know if you’re covered down, have good intervals, are part of a smooth arc, are in the diagonal, etc.
Using mind-time you can slow or even pause and rewind if needed, but don’t overdo it! The point is to make it all the way through the show in one go. Again, mentally bookmark the things that are unclear so you can check with your dot book, your equipment, your captain, or your instructor at the next opportunity.
Results
The goal of a mental run-through is to keep things fresh in your mind, even if you won’t rehearse again for a week or two. We all need time off for rest and relaxation, but we should keep our current season programs at top-of-mind until the final show. Everyone has put in so much time, taking a step backwards is not an option.
Is there any other mental run-through advice that I didn’t mention? Let everyone know in the comments!