Sunday, April 23, 2006

One More Time Chuck Corea

So I'm down in Orlando this weekend for a lesson with Bill Carmichael, and he mentions to me that a bunch of the cats from the Disney band are doing a show with Chick Corea tonight. The concert was at Rollins College and there was no real box office to call for tickets so I just headed down there to see if I could get one at the door.

I got there early enough so I did get a ticket, but it was sold out by start time. What a fantastic show. Chick has been composing and recording since the '60s and has amassed an incredible number of CDs across many different jazz genres. The band he was playing with tonight was fantastic. Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge are a contemporary jazz orchestra, with complete rhythm, sax, trombone, and trumpet sections as well as tuba, french horn, and bass clarinet players.

The lead trumpet player, Chad Shoopman, is an absolute beast. Not only was he screaming for the entire 2 hour show, but he ended the encore on G above double C. Supah-Schweet.

If you know why there's no typo in the title of this post, you get bonus points for being cool.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Brokeback spoofs

If you liked Brokeback Mountain (well, even if you didn't) you'll love some of the Brokeback spoofs. I haven't watched them all, but the Back to the Future, Good Will Hunting, Star Wars, and Point Break spoofs are pretty good. Enjoy!

Monday, April 03, 2006

One second every hundred years

On Wednesday morning for one second it will be 01:02:03 04/05/06. That only happens once every hundred years. Pretty neat.

Band geeks are taking over the world!

I went to the movies this weekend to see the new Denzel Washington movie, Inside Man. I'd give this moving a weak 'B' rating. You can definitely wait to see this movie on Netflix (or even HBO).

However, the interesting thing was one of the previews that they showed. It was for the Drum Corps International (DCI) Tournament of Champions. That's right. The DCI Top 12 is no longer relegated to PBS. It has made the big time.

It isn't like the top-12 from any specific year like you might get on DVD though. It is twelve of the top performances of all time:


  • 1975 27th Lancers

  • 1979 Blue Devils

  • 1980 Bridgemen

  • 1984 Garfield Cadets

  • 1988 Madison Scouts

  • 1989 Phantom Regiment

  • 1992 Crossmen

  • 1993 Star of Indiana

  • 1995 Cavaliers

  • 1999 Santa Clara Vanguard

  • 2004 Carolina Crown

  • 2005 Bluecoats



Feel free to check out the movie trailer for yourself.

What's next? The best poker hands of all time on the big screen?