Cody had a band festival here in town today. He told us that the band was supposed to perform at 4:15. However, when we got there, they had added some more bands to the program. They were supposed to compete up in Tupelo, but due to poor field conditions, they moved them down here. Since the host band always goes last, we had to wait until they were done.
This wasn't a contest, in that they didn't compete against each other. They competed for ratings. They could earn a score of 1 through 4, with one being the best. Still, out of the 19 band that performed in the afternoon session, 17 of them got overall scored of 1. It's like they just have to show up to get a 1. And when they hand them out like candy, do they really mean anything?
Nevertheless, here is the video I took. Sorry it's so shaky. It was pretty chilly out there. Plus I really need a better camera, but that's going to have to wait until times get better.
After the band competition, I came home and caught most of the LSU/Florida game. Florida won, as I expected 13-3. Still, I guess it's sort of a moral victory that LSU was able to hold them to only 13 points and a single touchdown.
Oh, the conundrum! Texas was playing at the same time! They were about a quarter ahead of the LSU game, so I watched most of Texas' second half before switching to the LSU game. Texas won handily 38-14. When they took Colt McCoy out of the game, that's when I stopped watching.
Gratuitous Colt McCoy photo:
When they take Colt McCoy out, the game's pretty much over anyway.
I was going to post this last night, but I went to the High School football game, and by the time I got home, I decided I was just too tired. So you get Friday's post on a Saturday morning.
So, I went to the ball game last night, and I must say that the first thing I noticed was the smell. After nearly a month of rain --I think we've had ONE day in the last month when it didn't rain at least some-- the field smelled like swamp. It pretty much looked like one, too. They didn't even have hash marks or numbers on it, because it hasn't stopped raining long enough for the grounds keepers to get them down.
Grenada won, for the third time. Now, this is the team that won one game all of last season, and so far this year, they have won three. They've got a couple of really good running backs that are carrying the load.
But what I really go to see is the band. Last night, the opponent was Vicksburg. Their band also did a halftime show, and I felt so sorry for them. I guess they just weren't used to marching in such muddy conditions, because they were slipping and falling all over the field. One poor girl fell, and must have gotten mud in her flute because she didn't play any more after that. She just kind of marched where she was supposed to and held her flute. Once they were done, we were sure to give them good applause. They deserved it, just for making it through their show.
After that, our band got out there and did their program--well, part of it. They won't reveal the whole program until Band Night, which is usually the second week of October. Cody had told me when they first started learning it that their show was going to be "AWESOME" and he was right. Just what I heard made my neck hairs stand up.
Finally! The videos of the spring band concert are up and ready to be viewed. Cody actually sat where I could see him this year. He's in the back, in the black suit playing the tuba. He said to tell you that his cheeks aren't really puffing out that much. The light just makes them look that way.
This song is In A Gentle Rain
This one is called His Honor.
They played a third song, but I ran out of memory on my card about half way through. The silver lining is, I came home and tore up my house until I found my 2G camera card. I ought to have enough memory for next year, at least!
The Grenada Junior High Band. You can't see Cody. He is playing the tuba on the far side, right in front of the line of souzaphones.
Since most of our parade consists of cars with hand lettered "EAT AT JOE'S" signs duct taped to the sides, floats like these are always exciting to see.
Shimmer and Shine was the parade theme for 2007.
This is a new addition to our parade this year--the Holmes Community College Marching Band from Goodman, MS.
The Nativity Story An old truck. An old car.
A Hillbilly Christmas
If I'd made it to class sometime in the last three weeks, I might have known the dojo was going to be in the parade. I wouldn't have marched with them. I had to cheer for my baby. Son still trumps sensei.
An antique fire truck. Some know it all loud mouth kid behind us said that this was the oldest thing in Grenada. I love it when people make fools of themselves at the top of their voices.
Santa made an appearance.
And finally, the highlight of our parade--The Grenada High School Marching Band.
Had intermittent internet connection tonight, so I didn't really get to post anything real. I only hope this posts before the nex goes out again. It's ok, though. I didn't really have anything to say!
Oh, here is the sixth grade beginner band playing Jingle Bells at their Christmas Concert. B's youngest granddaughter is in this band, but you can't see her. She plays clarinet.
Band night 2007 was held as scheduled despite a light rain falling throughout most of the event. Yes, I had a jacket. The camera was wearing it. That shows you where my priorities are. At least this year it was warm.
Cody is the shorter of the two tuba players seen to the left of the screen.
Tomorrow I'll post videos of the high school band.
Practicing eyeballing perspective on a table at work.
My brother and my nephew Joshua celebrating Josh's third birthday.
Only 5 months and one week until NFL kickoff weekend! H/T to Vera for posting this on her blog.
The school's band festival is this weekend. Cody's band played this afternoon. They scored top scores in both performance and sight reading. They played the same songs they did at last night's concert.
Monty finally ate, so the only snake still fasting is Slider. Hard headed rascal.
The art school that I finished this test for finally got in touch with me--rather my answering machine. It took them nearly a year and a half to contact me. I don't know if I will even call them back. I don't know if I can afford it now. Eighteen months ago I could have--but things have changed since then.
Ummm, I can't think of anything else, so I guess I'll get back to knitting.
Once again I am amazed at the skill with which these kids played. This is the first band, or Symphonic band. The second band is called the Concert band. They are good, too. But not this good. But then, my child is in this band, so I'm a bit biased.
*If you can't see the videos, try again later. *
First up: Flourish
And then: In The Valley Of The Ancients. I've heard high school bands that don't play this piece this well.
Pretty good for a bunch of 12 and 13 year old kids, huh?
Yes, it is cold here. A perfect day for staying in and knitting. Tonight is predicted to be the coldest so far this year--well, this winter--and winter isn't even here yet. The thermometer outside my back door currently reads 23', and it is supposed to be down in the low teens by morning. I'm glad I don't have to go anywhere tomorrow.
So, while avoiding all that coldness, I finished the dishcloth I started yesterday:
I've already learned something new from my Monthly Dishcloths KAL. If you soak your cotton dishcloths in vinegar, then rinse them, before washing them for the first time, it is supposed to make the color not fade so fast. I haven't tried it yet. I think Mr. Christmas Tree and Mr. Rocky Horse will be my guinea pigs. Even if it doesn't work, it certainly won't hurt anything.
This antique car--I don't even know what it is, but it's neat looking--is brought to you by:
While perusing knitting blogs, I've discovered lots of photo sharing rings--Eye Candy Friday, Walk With Me Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, Saturday Sky, and the like. The only one I participate in regularly is Saturday Sky, but that won't stop me from throwing in an Eye Candy Friday or Wordless Wednesday from time to time. Those come in really handy on days like today when I just can't think of anything interesting to blog about. Oh, I can think of things to blog about, just not while I am sitting at my keyboard. I think of them while at work, or at the store, or in the bathtub...by the time I get to my computer, I've forgotten what I want to say.
And finally, if you can stand just one more band video...
This is the last one, I promise. And I mean it because I don't have any more. Isn't that drumline amazing? Yes, those are all 7th and 8th grade students. I am just awed by these kids and their talent.
Not one, but two packages of yarn. The loose yarn is all from my friend Patti, and the package at the bottom left is some cotton I ordered from Mary Maxim. Needless to say, I immediately cast on another dishcloth. I'm going to wait until it's finished to post a picture of it, though.
You know, I sometimes wonder what happened to common sense. Tuesday evening, half of the town was lined up along the parade route.
It looked like this on both sides of the street. Santa was there, along with a turkey and they were giving out candy canes. Veterans were walking up and down giving all the kids miniature flags. Vendors were selling cotton candy, boiled peanuts, and candied apples. The funeral home was handing out free hot chocolate. People were there with their blankets, coats, and cameras singing carols and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.
Why then would anyone ask, "Does the parade come down this street?"
Ummm, no, we just all like to sit out on the side of the road in the cold...
An interesting thing happened at the parade while I was trying to get a video of the band playing. Do you see the fire truck in the following video?
As I was standing there taping the band, this guy in the cab of the firetruck began frantically waving. I didn't know the guy, so I figured he must be waving at someone in the crowd. He kept waving, and it looked like he was looking at me, so I waved back. I figured, "it's a parade--you can wave at anybody and it's ok." I guess he was waving at me because as soon as I waved back, he stopped waving and sat back down. I turned to the people behind me and said, "I don't know who in the heck that was." They didn't know him either.
I got to work the next morning, and said to one of my co-workers, "the weirdest thing happened at the parade last night." And I told her what had happened. She laughed, and said, "Yeah, that was Jamie" (her son). He had worked a summer at the plant several years ago when he was still in high school. He had recognized me and remembered me. I hadn't recognized him, but then he'd changed a lot more in the last few years than I had, including growing a beard. So I have an excuse.
Every town I have ever lived in has had their annual Christmas parade on a Saturday. Some do it in the morning, others in the afternoon. This town has their Christmas Parade on a Tuesday night. Tuesday. Night. I've never seen such a thing. Usually, by the time the end of the parade gets through, it's full dark.
Last night was the parade. It was a rather short parade this year. Not that many entries, which is fine because most of the entries are just cars with handmade "Eat at Joe's" signs duct taped to the side of it. Some of the more creative ones will dress their little kids up and set them on the hood.
The highlight of the parade is usually the school bands. This year it was no different. I should note that the local private school no longer has a band. Therefore the only bands marching were the public school bands.
I have posted before about my first impressions of the Grenada Bands. However, I've gained a few new readers since then, so I will re post a part of what I said.
I'd heard about the band and how good it was and all, so I was looking forward to hearing them for the first time. I was watching the parade, and the band marched by playing, and I thought they were pretty good, but didn't see what all the fuss was about. They weren't any better than my old high school band....Then my cousin leaned over and said, "That's the jr high band." I was floored. "That's the JUNIOR HIGH band!?!?!"
You can read the entire post here, and get a pretty good recipe to boot.
Back to the topic at hand--last night was Cody's first time marching in the parade as a band member. I can't even tell you how proud I was when I saw those kids come marching down the street. (Cody is the third sousaphone player--right next to the really tall kid.)
Unfortunately, the sound kind of fades out once they get past where I was standing, but you can still get the idea of how they play. I am continuously amazed at how well they play. When I was in Jr High, I remember having to go to band concerts. The beginner band was nothing more than a cacophony of noises. The 7th and 8th grade band would play snatches of recognizable tunes, but nothing like this.
And the High School band...You know, the attitude those kids have amazes me. When I was in high school, the band was for those not good enough for the athletic program. Oh, most people didn't say anything, but being in the band did carry just a hint of a stigma.
Not here. Those kids are proud of being in the band. They'd rather be in the band than play football. (Maybe if the football team won as much as the band does, it would be different.) The dedication they have, and the discipline they display is just inspiring to watch. There was no goofing off in the parade last night--not even in the Jr High band. Heck, they march better than the JROTC. Ok, well maybe not the Jr High band, but they are just learning to play, and to march, and it's twice as hard to learn to do both at the same time.
I only wish I could afford had the high dollar tech equipment to show you the way they really sounded. This is only a pale comparison to what it was really like standing beside that street with the music---man, I'm at a loss for words. I'll be you never expected that to happen.
Maybe some of you are wondering, "What makes this band so good?" Well, it is the way the band program is set up. When I was in school, a student decided whether he wanted to be in the band, picked and bought an instrument, and signed up for band. When he started 6th grade, he went to band class with about 75 other students in one big room with one teacher trying to teach everyone how to play their varied instruments. If the student made it through Jr High, he then went on to high school band where he was in one big room with some 200 other students and one teacher trying to teach everyone their varied parts. Plus, you had to deal with the "second class citizen" syndrome that goes along with not being an athlete.
It's not that way here. You see, not everyone can get into the band. All 5th graders are given a music aptitude test, and only those who score above a certain mark are invited to be in the band. I like that. It elevates band students from being "second class citizens" to being someone special. They didn't join the band. They made it into the band.
After Cody took his test, the 6th grade band director called me at home because he was so impressed with Cody's score. He scored the third highest out of all the 5th graders in the school district--108 points out of a possible 112. He was even further impressed when I told him Cody had had no musical training whatsoever. "He doesn't even sing in the kid's choir at church."
When the students start 6th grade, none of them have an instrument yet. They spend the first 6 weeks or so learning musical theory. Only after that are they allowed to try out various instruments. The directors score each student on each instrument, and after they've tried out all the major groups, they are given a recommendation as to which instrument they would be best playing. They are usually given a choice of two or three instruments, and the student and his parents decide which one he will play.
Once the student has his instrument, he begins learning to play. Unlike many schools, however, there are not 200 students competing for one director's attention. Grenada Bands has 7 directors. Brass, woodwinds, low brass, percussion etc, all have a practice room and a director. Since the Jr High and the High School are close, they share the same band hall, and the same band directors. Mr Joe Presley is the low bass director, and unless he leaves, Cody will have him until he graduates.
There is a lot of time and effort that goes into making a successful band program. In a larger city, in wealthier areas of the country, this is easily accomplished. Here, it is a different story. The Grenada Band directors work hard at making this band the champions they are.
This is the 6th grade beginner band doing their scale patterns. Cody said it's not fair because they got a whole month to practice before band night. When he was in 6th grade, they only got 9 days. That is the high school drum line helping them out.
Again, I apologize for the shakiness. It was rather chilly out there that night.
Lesson for the day: When you have a broken molar, never spend the entire day with your jaw clenched no matter how mad you are at your son for making 4 C's on his report card.
One more thing before I go: As my old Dad would say, only 2 more months until Christmas.
Last night was band night at the school. All the bands performed, from the 6th grade beginner band, through the high school band. I've uploaded a video of Cody's 7th grade band performing a song called Wully Bully. Sorry about the quality. I didn't realize that with that particular camera, you can't zoom after you've started recording.
Since most of our parade consists of cars with hand lettered "EAT AT JOE'S" signs duct taped to the sides, floats like these are always exciting to see.
Shimmer and Shine was the parade theme for 2007.
The Nativity Story
An old truck.
Practicing eyeballing perspective on a table at work.
My brother and my nephew Joshua celebrating Josh's third birthday.
