Following an incident involving the drumline, some liquor, a couple of borrowed monkey costumes from a local thrift store, a little instigation from a certain un-named corps' drum major, and a night in a county jail, the Jackson Flares have overcome their 34 point drop in score from the Toledo show. There is a petition in for the corps' score to be changed in order to reflect only those members who actually performed instead of who was "supposed" to be there, but this remains in limbo.

For the time being, we're practicing our patooties off and getting ready for the Southwestern Classic on the 23. More info and updates later . . . unless I get lazy.

John Martin
Corps Director

The Washington DC Scandals and Tim Jackson are currently under investigation for events leading to such a large margin of victory over the Jackson Flares. Stay tuned for more info.


Ha ha ha ha ha

For Immediate Release:

Staff member Tim Jackson's has responded to the recent publicity. At the stadium in Alton, IL, holding tonight's "Alton's Drum and Brass Review" DCI competition, he gave a few quick words at an organized press release. He spoke "I just can't stop, [I am] addicted to the shin dig. Cop top he says I'm gonna win big."

The media crowd was speechless. None of them knew what he was talking about. The press is still trying to decide what, if anything, this had to do with the recent allegations brough forth on the DC Scandals' Payola at Toledo, OH. After his brief statement, Jackson immediately left the stage on center field and proceeded to crab-step all the way to the end zone and proceeded to march through the stadium's ground-level entrance tunnel.

Okay, Flares fans, on the 23rd we've got the annual GM workshop/clinic/whatever you want to call it. The Fivesters are already offering quite a bit, but the Flares decided to go more specific. We're not giving out much in the quantity area, but I will personally guarantee the quality to be top-notch.

Snare Line - "You Call THAT Traditional Grip!?" More of an interactive stop for the drummers. We'll have our snares, and the techs personally check out your traditional grip and give you some pointers on fixing it, or give you a pat on the back if it's fine. Depending on the number of people, we may even be able to give a few minutes of one-on-one work with you.

Tenor Line - "Smooth Like Buttah" They'll show you ropes as far as sweeps go. If you're a beginner, this probably would be more of a place to oggle as the more advanced folks work on and learn about the art of drum-to-drum diddles.

Bass Line - "Just A Groove Thing" These guys couldn't come up with any ideas, so they're basically going to sit around with whoever shows up and come up with some sweet beats. Who knows, maybe they can throw together a cadence of two while they're there.

Front Ensemble - "We Don't Need No Stinkin' Amps" The small pit that we have this year will be answering any questions you have, and putting up a fairly impressive argument against amplification. We want them to show you guys how to be as loud as they need to be while keeping balance with the rest of the corps and making it look easy, but you may have to nag them to stop playing with their "toys" as the affectionately call their instruments.

Sopranos - "So You Wanna Be A Screamer?" This will mostly be a lecture by the firsts in the beginning, but anyone who brings along their own trumpet will get to work on the art of hitting the supersonic notes (also included is a guide on how to make it look like you're about to blow a vein in your forehead without actually doing so).

Mellophones - "Running With Runs" These guys wanted to show off as much as the sops, so we're letting them teach not only the art of speedy marching, but how to play lightning fast runs while doing it. Thanks to a few connections, we'll be teaching all those interested a section of drill and music from Star Of Indiana's 1991 championship performance in which their mellos ran in a circle while playing some of the cleanest, fast runs in the history of drum corps.

Baritones - "Annoying The Director" Honestly these guys were as lazy as the basses as far as ideas, but they're gonna hold down the brass basics for the corps. One of the firsts may even get up enough energy to teach the visitors how to project well for playing solos (since baritone solos are historically a little hard to hear).

Contras - "Blow 'Em Away" This will be useful for any brass player, but it's specifically centered on teaching Contra and/or Sousaphone players how to blast while staying in tune and keeping a good sound and tone (a lost quality in many good tuba players around the country).

Guard - "Lords Of The Dance" These folks are basically gonna have a small party-like atmosphere as they teach visitors basic dance techniques, flag-twirling, and how to relax. We're not sure exactly how much they're going to get done, but you're welcome to see for yourself.

Staff - "We're Not Doing Anything" No really, we're not doing anything, so don't come looking for us. We don't get much time (other than the middle of the night) when the kids aren't all running around and distracting us, so we're sitting on our butts while all this goes on. If there's an emergency, or you want autographs, feel free to knock on the closest door or window of the staff bus though.

Well, that's all for the announcements right now. We're hoping Golden Corral will be nice like they were last year and provide food, but we'll have to see how good GM is at begging folks. Until then, thanks and goodnight.

John Martin
Corps Director

PS: Almost forgot . . . "And may God have mercy on our souls as we await the announcement of the Emerald Regiment's activities. You know that's gonna be a doosie."

In the midst of all the activity taking place at this time (investigations, preparations for clinics, practice, and performances), we almost had a tragedy within the corps. Though our GE scores (as well as other music related scores) have fluxuated around the same area - sometimes going up, sometimes down - for the past few days, the guard has been noticeably lower. After the drastic drop in the guard caption tonight, we decided to get an explanation.

Our search into the matter discovered that half of the guard had moderate cases of food poisoning. Though we did get a good laugh out of hearing one of the field judges' tapes (the excerpt sounds a little like, "Nice footwork, mellophones, but watch the spacing next to those bari . . . HOLY S**T! Look at that! That guard chick just blew chunks all over the bell of that contra! I can't believe that she just . . . oh wait, trumpets, watch that form . . . . "), this wasn't worth our girls getting sick. Everyone ate from the same food tonight, so we can only conclude that the food poisoning came after the plates were made up. That means there is a saboteur somewhere out there that dislikes the guard.

We have our suspicions . . . that's right, the only man in DCI who could possibly have done it. If he can single-handedly run a drum corps, and march in another corps, it's obviously not a problem to be in two (or even more) places at once. Tim Jackson, we've got our eyes on you . . . .

Yeah, we're still here, and doing stuff. We're all kinda lacking in the sleep department. More updates to comasdf;aoighaeiorhgtsrtkbnsfbgbnaktebnaeog;rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

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Well, the end is in sight. Tomorrow is Finals night. We're all getting ready to go out and leave our proverbial all on the field. We've made steady increases in scores while in Foxboro, and we're satisfied with how we've done this season. After losing a lot of last year's members to other summer activities in the Jackson County area, the younger corps we fielded this year has done well. Through thick and thin, drumline's getting imprisoned for alcohol (and then their going through their subsequent rehabilitation), suspicion of scandals, great shows, bad days, and everything that summer tour always has to offer, the corps has stuck together. They have truly become stars, even if they don't make win the championship. We made Finals our first two years of existance, top three our first year, and after tomorrow night, we'll see what else we can add to the list of accomplishments this corps has . . . umm, accomplished.

Good luck to everyone tomorrow at Finals, and to quote one of our first sopranos, "Don't quit! Something wonderful may happen!" We'll see you on the field tomorrow night, and be prepared for a night of great music, and passion like there has not been all season (even though Kama Sutra's guard won't be involved).

Goodnight, and good luck,

John Martin
Director, The Jackson Flares
2004 Div III Champions/Division I Runners Up
2005 TBA

"Guys, we got eighth freakin' place! I can't believe it! All this practice and what can we say?! That's right, there are only 7 drum corps in the world that are better than us! We freakin' rock!"
- Jackson Flares Contra, Adam Spencer "A.S.S." Smith

The Flares came out of Finals with an 8th place finish. We're psyched, we've been in finals every year of our small existance, and we're going to become a top twelve powerhouse if it's the last thing we do. The stress is gone, and we're happy with our placing. Not much to say except . . . the staff is turning a blind eye if any corps members wish to "celebrate" tonight, just as long as you have a staff member actually participating with you. No one tell your parents though.

If you're a parent of a Flare, we are having wholesome fun with Kool-aid and movies . . . nothing more. No really, ask any of the corps members and staff, they'll all say the same thing. And not because we told them to either . . . .

Shutting up now,

John Martin
Director, The Jackson Flares
2004 Div III Champions/Div I Runners up
2005 Div I 8th place

Side note: Josh and the guys, thanks for another great season. I can't wait for next year. Congrats to all the folks who finished in the top twelve, and Go Carolina Crown! 7th place . . . w00t!

Audition information about the 2006 Jackson Flares to come in a few days . . . stay tuned.

John Martin
Director, The Jackson Flares