Twinkie World

The most delicious thing I have ever eaten has been the worst for me. I’m talking about deep fried golden and delicious and costs less than five dollars. A deep fried Twinkie wrapped in bacon. Now this may sound horrible. And really it is for your heart, but it is definitely worth it when you take that first bite.  Imagine the regular soft vanilla Twinkie with the fluffy white cake and delicious creamy inside. Now that I got your attention, Picture that same Twinkie and add bacon. Now smother that Twinkie in batter and fry it to a light brown color. The end result, well I like to call it diabetes’s cousin, is a warm cake with a crunchy outside of the salty bacon. Followed by warm vanilla cake leading to the cool creamy center.  This is my definition of heaven right there. These are not really hard to make. In fact you probably already have the Twinkies hiding in your house now. What you will need is a box of Twinkies, bacon and some batter (easy to make, and buy, cake batter works wonderfully, as well as pancake batter.) A large pot and canola oil if you don’t have a fryer. Now first off if you don’t have a fryer. Add the oil to the large pot and set on high. Add about 3 cups of oil, or enough to cover half the Twinkie when placed in the pot. Remove the Twinkies from their package as well as the bacon. Whip up the batter into a separate bowl. Take each Twinkie and wrap 3-4 pieces use tooth picks to secure the bacon around each Twinkie. Cover with batter lightly and remove all excess batter from the Twinkie. Make sure the oil is hot and then add the Twinkie to the oil. The Twinkie will float, so you will have to dunk it under the oil, or rotate the Twinkie to completely brown. Remove the Twinkie from the oil with a pair of tongs and let cool for a few minutes. Remove the tooth picks holding the bacon on. And Enjoy. Note eating to many of these Twinkies may make you sick.

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kids and fun

Do you know what I find really interesting, the fact that as a kid you have so much energy compared to now. Imagine, as a kid you are at the park and you are running around. Playing tag with your friends, trying to stay away from your friend by juking and trying to out maneuver him. Running in between tree, around corners and doing your best not to get caught. After tag you start climbing the monkey bars. You swing around and jump off, then do it all over again. Not noticing the blisters and rough skin on your hands.  I find it really interesting that as a teen who does cross country and is active that I have a hard time doing some of these activities. I went to the park with my little nephew David. His favorite game is tag. Now being 7 he’s not very fast and I can easily catch him in a couple strides. But he is just full of energy. After playing like literally like twenty games of tag, he still wants to play more. He’s all excited and jumping up and down and I’m sitting here panting and sweating bullets. Next he runs to the monkey bars and is climbing all over them. He looks like he is having a blast. Being 6’6 I have to pull my legs up when I climb the monkey bars. After swinging around for five to ten minutes, my hands where really aching. But more than that they were starting to blister.  I looked over at David, and he had no problem with his hands. He picked up some dirt and rubbed it on his hands and continued to play. This kid has more energy than I thought, and he has no problem with the pain. I on the other hand, am extremely tired and ready to go home and sleep.

Halloween Horror

What really gets me about Halloween time is how custom shops can put out so many items and charge ridiculous prices. I was at the spirit Halloween shop the other day and I was looking for just a cheap mask that I could use at a party. Well at this store these basic latex masks where about 60 dollars. Which don’t get me wrong is not a horrible price. But for a college student on a budget, it’s a lot.  But what was really wacky, was the fact that latex pieces that you can glue on your face and such where almost as expensive as the masks. Anyway one of my favorite things about Halloween is that people get dressed up and everything. One of my favorite costumes places for ideas is Stan Winston school of the Character arts. They are the leading art guys when it comes to movies like the Mummy, Alien, The Terminator, and others. They really know how to blend costumes and ideas into reality. They work well with latex and often show of costumes for Tim Burton’s movies and others. They really put creativity and imagination into everything they do and inspire me to make Halloween an all out event. I wanted to join the school and use my creativity and ideas and apply them to art and other creations. Halloween is an amazing time of the year and it really makes October fun and brings joy to everyone, with costumes and candy and scaring everyone. Put watch out for the candy they give you, you never know whose lurking where and doing what on Halloween. But the mask that I got for the Halloween party was of an old man, I think that with a button up shirt and a cane, with a fake pillow as a big belly I can really pull of the old geezer look. This cane I got says over the hill and has a caution sign on it. It will be a good year to trick or treat.

Marching Showcase. 731

One of my most memorable marching experiences was that of marching Southern Showcase  .It is the first marching competition of the Buchholz High School Golden Regiment. And for a marching senior, it is the last competition of your marching year. My senior year marching at the Southern Showcase competition was one of my most unforgettable shows. It is held every year at Santa Fe High School in Florida. Santa Fe is a large high school and a lot of space to hold bands. When I marched my last show there it was October 13. And the weather just started getting chilly. This poses a major problem for all brass players. They use their lips to buzz and if they dry out and crack, well it’s really hard to play with a bleeding lip. Anyway this show had a lasting impression on me, because well in our show I had the baritone solo in the ballade. That is a big deal for and solo player. But it is often rare to have a baritone playing a solo and almost unheard of for the baritone to play the solo in the ballade. Well that day, it was really cold and my lips were really cracked. My first performance was around twelve that day and before I played my solo, I slowly walked up to my playing position. One of my visuals was to move my hand across my face in a fluid gesture. At this time I put Chap Stick on. Brass players do this occasionally to keep everything moist and play better. I was preparing for my solo and after putting on the Chap Stick. I put it in my left glove. All brass players have to wear gloves, and it is an easy place to conceal small items and is not noticeable. I raised my baritone to my lips and played my solo as beautifully as I could and continued with my show. After the show we had the award ceremony to show which of bands would place in the finals. We placed and received our new playtime. As our time came to preform I went to apply the Chap Stick again, and to my demise I had lost it. I was freaking at this point. I didn’t want to continue to lick my lips for the fear that they would dry out faster. I was terrified that I would mess up my solo and end up losing points for my band and dropping our score. As I was marching the show, my solo was coming up again. I started slowly walking to my playing position, when I noticed an orange thing on the ground. Upon closer arrival, I noticed it was my chap stick that I had dropped. Thinking only that I would mess up my solo, I and hurt the band by my performance. I did my visual at which point instead of playing my solo, in a circular motion, I rotated onto one knee picking up the Chap Stick. Now I know what you must be thinking, you’re going to mess up the timing of the solo and then the rest of the band. My solo was the starting point and tempo of the ballade, the band (which was facing back field) was not allowed to move until they heard me play. This gave me a few seconds of time to rotate onto my knee, pick up the Chap Stick hold it in my hand. Redoing a similar visual before I went down on one knee I moved my hand slowly across my body. Popping off the Chap Stick lid I put some on. And then raised the baritone and played my solo. Upon finishing out the show my band director came to me showing fire in his eyes. He was furious that I did not follow what I was taught to do. We went to the awards ceremony and waited nervously for the hearing of the placements. As we heard our placement, everyone was shocked at the band getting first place. As I read the judge’s comments, each were stunned at me changing my solo. Saying how the change brought a new flow to the ballade and brought the bands score up instead of down. To my shock my director was so pleases he allowed me to keep the new visuals and input them into my solo.  

Word count. 731

The Real Truth About Marching. Segment 2

Last week, I talked about the beginning of how Marching band is a sport and the process that the band goes through to compete. I left off talking about how the band must watch the drum major for timing and that the band members are constantly watching their peers and adjusting their forms to match the set designs. And there are a lot more that goes into band practice before they are ready to compete. The band is broke up into three groups. The pit section, which are all the instruments in percussion. Such as the marimba the vibraphone, the timpani, and other instruments the band may need.  There is also the battery. Those are the snare drum, marching bass drums and tenor drum. And finally there is the band itself.  The odd part about these three sections is that they are all on different times. The Pit section has to play behind the drum majors and the band. The band plays with the drum majors and the battery plays before the band. You might think this is a bit odd, but if you were to stand on the field and listen to the music, it would hit you in three different waves and make no sense. However if you were to sit out in the stands each sections music blends together and reaches you at the same time. You would be able to hear each section at the correct time and compare the colors and tones to each other and hear the band as a whole. A major problem comes up when the band practices. It is easier to listen while marching then it is to watch. Think about driving in the car and the radio is on. That familiar song comes on and you turn the radio up. You start tapping to the music as the beat comes down and the music gets louder. You feel the music move you and eventually you give in and start singing. It’s no different when marching. You listen in on a certain part of the music and you start feeling it. Instead of tapping you move your body. The feet start moving out of time as you listening in on a certain part of the music. And at the end of all of it, you start rushing the music. You play out of time, move out of time and well are out of time. It can be a real struggle trying to get the band to be in time when everyone listens and doesn’t watch the drum major.  Bands can spend weeks focusing in on one part of their show to get the timing just right between everyone and the marching. It eventually comes to the point in the marching season where everyone watches or the show falls apart. It literally gets beaten into how you play, and march when you are on the field. In the end the sections have to work together and play in their respective times. And that is on top of everything that the band does already.

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The real truth about marching.

The real truth about Marching

No one calls marching a sport. The definition of a sport is an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature such as racing, baseball, tennis, golf and bowling etc. Let me tell you a little bit about marching in a band. Marching band is a sport. For starters band students get more field time on the football field than most high school football players. By FMBC (Florida Marching Band Championships.) regulations, marching competitors have to have a show that does not go over ten minutes long.  In most competitions the bands play there show once for certain, and if they score high enough to get into the final round then another time. Not to mention an encore if it pleases the crowds. That is about thirty minutes of field time that some football players don’t even get to see. Bands are graded on a scale out of 100. And by three different judges on a ray of different categories. Categories like marching technique, music performance, as well as other areas. So that checks of the physical aspect in the definition of sports. Marching students poses a lot of skills. There’s the obvious aspect they march and play music. But there is a lot more than just marching and playing. As marchers they have a lot of responsibilities. First all they have to remember set designs as well as counts to each set they go to. A show can have anywhere from one hundred to two hundred sets. Between each set and counts there are different counting methods that reflects the style of music. Music can be in different time signatures, and these time signatures control the speed of the music and thus the speeds at which the marchers move and play. From counting different sets and playing the music the must constantly watch their friends next to them. Each marcher must know as close as they can every position they are relevant to the field markers and each other. In band terms we call it covering down. In covering down we also have to watch the drum majors for time. The written music gives us a guide to follow, but the drum majors really control the speed at which the band plays. If the drum major conducts a tempo that is faster or slower than the marchers, it is the marcher job to correct him or herself to match the drum major. That is a brief cover just of the marching segment. To learn more about marching bands and to continue the story stay tune for next week’s post.

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Marching Baritone

The marching baritone along with the tubas, are the foundation to the marching band. The marching baritones are about four pounds and for a new member of the band, the marching baritone often causes the most trouble. The baritone is held at an up right position with the elbows at a ninety degree angle forming a triangle between the elbows and the instrument. The marching baritone is one of the most dreaded instruments in the marching band, with the ability to over play much of the band and one of the heaviest it often gives directors much trouble. The baritone in its section are split up in to three groups. The third baritone plays the root of the chord. The members of the third baritone group are often played with the tubas and the low reeds, having music that often supports the band. The music is often similar to the tubas in style and new baritone members often start off playing this part. The second baritone part comes next. being in a middle octave it plays much of the same style as the saxophones and the horns. The second baritone part is often described as the warm glow in the ballads. Having the ability to be paired with many different types of instruments in marching, their music often changes from the harmony to the melody to the root through out any piece. The second baritone parts are often played by members of the band who are developing their skills and can control their air flow and tone. These members tend to be older than the third baritones and are often younger than the first baritone part. The first baritone parts are the top dog in the baritone section. Having the highest range and the hardest music to play the first baritones often lack in numbers but make up in sound and music style. Having the melody often, the first baritones play music accompanied by trumpets, clarinets, as well as flutes. First  baritone players are often members of the section who are the oldest and have acquired a lot of skills in articulation and controlling their tone. Being the biggest in the band, marching baritone players can easily be seen by their big bells flashing around in the sun and their loud blasts of music throughout a piece. Being a member of a baritone section is very difficult and requires a lot of heavy lifting and moving, but in the end it is very rewarding. I was a part of the Buchholz High School Golden Regiment from 2009 to 2013.  Playing baritone during marching season I started out as a third baritone part my freshmen year. But the following year, I moved up to first baritone part and became the captain of the baritone section my senior year. I have learned a lot from being in the section and playing music. And I give a lot of credit to any new member knowing the difficulties they will face. I am proud to say I love marching band and music, and will not forget the teachings of my former band director Alex Kaminsky.

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All about Sax

There are a lot of different type of saxophones each with their own distinct sounds and design.

The most common saxophone is the alto saxophone, the alto saxophone is the second smallest saxophone. The alto saxophone has a distinct sound that can often be heard throughout most jazz pieces . The alto saxophone is in my opinion the most diverse sax in terms of music style, articulation and range. The alto sax has a very soft tone that can easily pierce through the soft warm sound of the piano and drum set allowing it to be the an ideal instrument in jazz. With the small saxophones size and the right training you can easily produce a warm glowing sound that can captivate the mind and sooth the heart.

The alto saxophone is then followed by the tenor saxophone, lower in pitch and is slightly larger than its brother the alto. ranging between 20-23 keys and being in the lower harmonics the tenor sax can easily be blown into an over tone that resonates deep with in the saxophone and can be easily accompanied by trombones and other low brass instruments. The Tenor saxophone resembles in sound mostly that of a bassoon, yet has the ability to be over played and is often used along side the baritone sax, tuba and euphonium to get a rich triad. With the warm sounds produced the tenor sax has been used in many rock prices and has attributed to a lot of blues as well.

Following the alto and tenor saxophone is the baritone saxophone. Much credit has been given the baritone saxophone for playing an important roll in the military bands. The bari sax also played a great influence in Motown hits of the 60s. Being on of the larger saxes it takes a lot of strength to hold it up using a chest harness to help support the weight and allow proper playing position. Being in the lower register with the tuba they often share the same music and are the foundation of most bands.

341 words