School Burglarized Of $1,000 Raised By Band Members
April 29, 2008
TAMPA - Members of the Middleton High School band walked into their room this morning to find the director’s office window shattered.
Missing was about $1,000 members collected to purchase new uniforms, said tuba player Brian Francis.
“We’re kind of down,” Francis, 17, said. “That was our push for next year. We were going to start the new year in our new uniforms.”
The break-in occurred Monday night and band members recalled locking the band room before they left school at 4801 N. 22nd St., Francis said.
Tampa police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said the alarm went off when the break-in occurred, but that the burglars “were in and out very quickly.”
“They knew exactly what they were looking for,” she said. The investigation is ongoing, Davis said, and detectives are “working on some leads.” Read more
Obama Former Pastor Jeremiah Wright Gives shot out to Black College Bands
April 29, 2008
Source: Detroit Free Press
Speech Transcript
“Bands from the University of Michigan or Michigan State University aren’t criticized because they use classical marching band precision while African-American bands from Florida A&M or Grambling State universities strut and dance onto the football field, Wright said while demonstrating the rhythm that have made those bands famous.”
“We just do it different, and some of our haters just can’t get their heads around that,” he said.
Southern University Twins Subject of a Documentary
April 27, 2008
Raeven and RaeAna Hall are more than pretty faces. The Southern University seniors are talented dancers and musicians who perform as members of the famed dance auxiliary, “The Dancing Dolls.” BSPIN Media group is preparing a series of multimedia content that documents their senior year at Southern University in Baton Rouge. This is a “Coming of Age” story of two women striving to define themselves for themselves.
Dallas, TX (PRWEB) — Southern University seniors, Raeven and RaeAna Hall, have been selected as the subjects of a year-long documentary project that uses multimedia techniques to tell a story of two women striving to define their lives on their own terms. Titled the “Rae Twins Project,” the documentary series has already produced three mini-books around themes such as their final homecoming, Street Scenes and Groovin’ on a Sunday Afternoon. Two multi-media shows featuring Raeven and RaeAna have been completed.
Read more
Detroit’s MLK High School Headed to Olympics
April 26, 2008
Source: Freep.com
It’s official: Detroit’s King High School band is headed to the Olympics in Beijing this summer.
After months of fund-raising and big donations from philanthropists and businesses, two employees from GMAC Financial Services in Southfield quietly slipped into the King band room Friday carrying a check for $10,000. The employees — Rhonda Gaylor, whose son attends the school, and alumna Sandra Mullen, whose niece is a pom-pom girl with the band — also raised another $2,220 at work. Gaylor said $179 of that was change from coworkers’ desk drawers. Read more
Ozomatli makes pre-Fest visit to St. Aug
April 25, 2008
Maria Montoya
Source The Times-Picayune
St. Augustine Junior Chris Keys never heard of the Grammy Award-winning band Ozomatli before they dropped into his band class on Friday (April 25).”
St. Augustine Junior Chris Keys never heard of the Grammy Award-winning band Ozomatli before they dropped into his band class on Friday (April 25).”
They are rocking, they don’t have one sound, but many sounds,” said Chris, as he watched his fellow bandmates learn a song the band recently wrote in ode to New Orleans.
“It’s amazing that they’re going to be headlining Jazzfest, and they decided to come by here before they play. They’re not from New Orleans … But their vibe is diverse, so diverse like us, like New Orleans.” Read more
SU Dancing Doll Tryouts Approaching
April 25, 2008
Source: Southern Digest
Tryouts will be held June 21-22 in the rehearsal hall of Greggs Hall
By: Darrius Harrison, Digest Staff Writer
Posted: 4/18/08
Southern University will hold its annual Dancing Dolls tryouts June 21 - 22 in the rehearsal hall of the Issac Greggs Band Hall.
There will be an estimated 100 ladies with aspirations of becoming Dancing Dolls attending this year’s tryout, but there are only 12 slots available; “you have to bring your ‘A’ game,” said Lawrence Jackson, Southern University graduate and the director of Southern’s Human Jukebox marching band.
John McDonogh Bandsman Finds Success in Failure
April 22, 2008
Source: NOLA.com
Rogers Youngblood laughed. Not a hearty laugh, but a forced, oh-well kind of chuckle. A math teacher had delivered the news. Youngblood needed to pass the state’s Graduate Exit Exam to graduate from John McDonogh Senior High.
“You failed,” the teacher told him in January in the band room. “You’re lying!” he shot back.
He had earned enough credits to graduate the previous June, but he was still listed as a senior, attending only test-preparatory classes and marching in the band. He had passed the other sections of the test, but failed the math test — by just one point — for the ninth time last October, five months after the end of his first senior year.
Red Sea of Sound, Parades To The Polls
April 17, 2008
By Wesley Young
Source: JournalNow
Early voting kicked off in Forsyth County today with a march that brought some 200 students and others out to walk from Winston-Salem State University to the Board of Elections office on Chestnut Street.
Starting about noon at the clock tower at WSSU, the students marched west on Stadium Drive, led by a drum corps from the university band.
They were met at the corner of Salem Avenue by a group of students from Salem College. While the WSSU students were organized for the march by supporters of presidential candidate Barack Obama, there were some Hillary Clinton supporters carrying signs among the Salem College group. Read more
JSU’s Prancing J-Sette Auditions
April 16, 2008
The Prancing J-Settes will be hosting their Spring Auditions Friday April 25-Sunday April 27 in the T.B. Ellis Gym. TRY-OUTS ARE CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC!!
PLEASE BE ON TIME!
THERE IS A FIVE DOLLAR REGISTRATION FEE!!
April 25, 2008 Interviews begin at 5:00 (business/casual attire)
April 26, 2008-Teaching of dance routine
April 27, 2008- Performance of dance routine
Trimble Tech Marching Band To Get Low, Low, Low, Low, Low, Low, Low at Modern
April 15, 2008
The Modern is presenting another one of its Modern Til Midnight shows on Friday, where live bands perform at the museum, and that in itself is not so unusual. What is striking about this one is the line-up: The Theater Fire, PPT, Strange Fruit Project, Yellow Fever, and, most notably, The Trimble Tech High School Marching Band from Fort Worth.
In conjunction with the opening of FOCUS: Kehinde Wiley, an exhibit of the work of the artist (example above) who blends European classical and hip-hop imagery, The Trimble Tech band will perform a set of hip-hop inspired tunes including Golddigger, Gangsta Paradise, In Da Club, My Humps, and (what would a party be without it?) Low.
The whole thing runs from 6 pm-midnight and admission is $15 unless you’re a musem member in which case it’s free. Call 817 738-9215.
—Cary Darling
