14. March 2008 by David Lafond.

It’s hard to believe we’ll be starting our 2008 season in less than 3 weeks with our traditional march down Elm St., for St. Patrick’s Day.  Before we know it we’ll be hitting the field in Brockton and then, it’ll be August and we’ll be wondering where the summer went.The 2008 Muchachos are going to be the best group this corps has seen in quite a while, and we’re definitely raising the bar on ourselves.  It seems like last year we we’re concerned about whether we’d be making the cut with DCI and wondering if we’d be performing at our DCI show here in Manchester.

Look at us now…  We’ve grown in all sections, have additional instructional staff and we’re on track to having our show learned with some time to spare for some cleaning.  It’s great seeing the new faces and from what I’ve seen it looks like they’ve been part of our drum corps family for years.  Your commitment to each other and the corps has been excellent over the off season and it’s important we continue that commitment.

We had a great rehearsal last weekend and I hope we continue to make strides like we have been doing through the spring.  We made progress and we’re ready to hit the street with ‘Z’ and I’m sure our fans will appreciate hearing it again.  I will declare on the 30th that McBrazil is officially an Irish tune for the day (can I do that?).

This time of year is important.  If you can get an extra 10, 15 or 30 minutes of practice at home, or can even just think about your marching form and maybe practice it while at the grocery store or taking a walk with your family, it’ll pay off in big ways.  It could mean the difference between just being ready for Brockton and really putting on a performance that will generate new fans for the Muchachos.

Keep memorizing and perfecting ‘Z’ and Brazil, if you can try to get ‘Dream’ memorized.  It would be a great parking lot tune the day of the big parade, but only if we can play it well from memory.

Enjoy the Easter weekend with your families, and we’ll see you all on the 30th ready to debut the 2008 Muchachos to our hometown.

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26. February 2008 by David Lafond.

We had a productive rehearsal on Sunday.  ‘Live Goes On And On’ (Z) is really sounding solid and it’s a pretty exciting piece.  This will be a great opener and with a little movement should make quite a statement.

 Brazil is starting to gel too.  I know we’re working on some subtle musical things along with trying to get the tempo right plus the new ‘road map’.  This is progressing nicely too.

 The key to really get these two tunes locked in now is to memorize your parts, this will help you keep your eye on the Drum Major and allow you to focus on your playing.  We’ll be playing both of these for St. Pats in one month from now so next rehearsal these need to be memorized.

 We haven’t focused too much on ‘Impossible Dream’ or ‘Like a Lover’ yet but expect to over the next several rehearsals.  If you can memorize these too.  By April you’ll need to have all your music memorized for when we learn drill.

‘Oye Como Va’ sounded pretty good considering we hadn’t touched it in a while.

 Remember what Chris talked about during M&M and start thinking about how you look too and think about how you march and the effort you put into it.

Lastly, I wanted to thank everyone for your efforts and the commitment you are putting into the 2008 version of the Muchachos, attendance has been very good and the results show.  Continue the good work, June 29th will be here before you know it.

 Dave

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18. February 2008 by David Lafond.

Hi All,

 This is my first posting.  The goal of this blog is to keep everyone updated on the happenings in the hornline.  Keep your eye on this blog as it will probably replace my regular updates.

This season is off to a great start.  Keep up the great work  you’ve started and we’ll have a great season. 

Dave

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17. February 2008 by Al Gagne.

As Corps Director, I would like to welcome you to our new blog and web site.  Thanks for your interest in the Muchachos.

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17. February 2008 by admin.

Hi Everyone! Good news, spring is coming, that means a return to the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen. As in the past I am asking for your help to continue what we, the Muchachos, have started by providing a beautiful and fitting tribute to the men and women interred in these sacred grounds.  In 2006, the Muchachos started what has become the pride of New Hampshire. Brass players from across the State have joined the “100 Nights of Remembrance”. Last year the Knights sounded Taps every night from Memorial Day to September 11^th. For 100 nights we stood to Salute and say “Thank You” as part of our commitment to “Never Forget” after September 11^th.  Several of the Knights decided to continue our tribute and, every Sunday at 1:00 PM (1300 Hours), one and sometime two Knights have stood along side of the Grand Flag in the center of the cemetery to sound Taps.

This Memorial Day, Saturday May 31^st, we, the members of the 100 Nights will once again answer the call to Never Forget with our Opening Ceremony. I ask for your support.  Please join me as we begin our 2008 tribute. I would like to have the Corps lead the procession into the cemetery. I would like to have Amoskeag Sound play the National Anthem and similar to last year have all the brass players join the 100 Knights in sounding Taps. I would like our Drum line to lead us in with our Color Guard leading many other Guards as they did last year into the area of the Grand Flag. If you are available and feel that this tribute is important please e-mail me so that I can start planning and inviting other units. If you have not seen our web site lately please visit soon. www.100nightsofremembrance.org  Please take a minute to sign our Guest page. Thank you. 

“So We May Never Forget”          Noel  

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