Coulda Been There

Here's the first mention I've seen of the Marching Royal Dukes' participation in the New Year festivities in Dublin. I was signed up for the trip until I decided to... M O R E »

Marching Band Schedule: 2003

September ritual in the Schuster household used to be the Firefighter's Convention in Wildwood. That came to an end three years ago, when I came to school and had other... M O R E »

Nothing Better

Dr. Rooney's daily email featured a special message today: NO BAND TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! ENJOY A LONG WEEKEND!!!! Thank you, Dr. Rooney. I most definitely will.... M O R E »

It Just Won't Die

In the time since I have made my peace with the story that won't die, I have met face to face with Dr. Rooney. In the meeting, he explicitly asked... M O R E »

Apologies All Around

People make mistakes. That's life. What matters, however, is not that people do make mistakes, but how they handle them. Some ignore their mistakes, or hope that they'll fix themselves.... M O R E »

I Didn't Lose My Spine

If you've been watching the site, you may have noticed that the number of comments on the most popular post this site has ever seen has dropped by one. I... M O R E »

Surveying the Aftermath

What can I say besides "Wow?" A guy steps away from his computer for a day and his humble website gets the most traffic in its history. I never thought... M O R E »

Sheep! Sheep! Sheep! Sheep!

Andy Urben brought an inflatable sheep to marching band last week for no particular reason at all. Dubbed "Florence the Rally Sheep," she quickly became the section mascot. What follows... M O R E »

A Day of Band

We were on a school bus today for about two hours, making a round trip to Woodstock, VA, to help them celebrate their 250th anniversary. We performed at a High... M O R E »

I'm Only Happy When it Rains

The MRDs' scheduled performance at Broadway High School tonight has been cancelled due to inclement weather. I love the rain.... M O R E »

Ooh, Mysterious!

Dr. Rooney dropped a hint as to what we can expect next week in his email today. WE WILL BE MAKING A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT NEXT WEEK, WHICH YOU WILL FIND... M O R E »

Trombone Porn

In the style of Furniture Porn comes the worst idea to come out of the Marching Royal Dukes since Russian Christmas Music: Trombone Porn!... M O R E »

Turning it Around

The football game tonight was among the best I have ever witnessed since I came to JMU. The Dukes defeated UNH in 20-14 dramatic fashion to move to 1-1 on... M O R E »

I Really DO Love Marching Band

Every time I get completely fed up with Marching Band, I wind up walking away amazed and even more proud that I am a member of the Marching Royal Dukes.... M O R E »

Needs Work

Marching band this week has been nothing less than insane. After a week of sectionals due to rain, we were charged this week with learning an entirely new show in... M O R E »

What A Start: 0-1

Tonight began the season of the JMU Dukes, against the Pirates of Hampton. We scored first, but they scored the rest until the fourth quarter, leading 31-7. The Dukes made... M O R E »

Band Camp: The Conclusion

We were treated to two inspirational speeches today at the final rehearsal of band camp. The first was by football Head Coach Mickey Matthews. As he does every year, he... M O R E »

Six Thirty

The MRDs have now put two entire songs on the field, playing and marching. Our first show is Friday night, and our first football game isn't until next Saturday. So... M O R E »

Back Into Old Habits

The Marching Royal Dukes put together their first drill of the year tonight. We have not yet finished putting music with the moves, but it should be accomplished by lunchtime... M O R E »

Shows Take Shape

I'm starting to have a pretty good idea of what the first two shows of our season will look like. The first is hardcore Star Wars themed, with Star Wars... M O R E »

Band Hell

This morning saw the Marching Royal Dukes spend two and a half hours marching on Hillside field. It's times like this that I wish I had stayed consistent with my... M O R E »

Photographs

Scanned some professional photos of the MRDs performing in the Thanksgiving Parade last year, but they're copyrighted, so I can't post them. Sorry.... M O R E »