fyeahkennorman-blog

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How do I become a Normanite? ;)

You grow a boss mullet, that’s how!

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In 1969 I was fresh out of The Army and back trying to learn how to arrange for drum corps brass.  Ken was out and teaching and arranging for Anaheim Kingsmen.  First time I saw him was when he was sitting on the back of the equipment truck with a soprano bugle in one hand and a hacksaw in the other.  I asked if anybody knew what "that guy" was doing.  Then I heard the name Ken Norman.   Of course I recognized the name right off.  That night there was a party at the place where percussionist Gerry Kearby and I lived.  Ken comes in with some Kingsmen buddies of mine.  Party was in full swing, as it were, but ...almost like in slow motion... I see Ken circle the room and end up over by my piano and picking through some charts I was butchering.  I was so intimidated by him looking at my stuff that I had to suppress the urge to go over and take the stuff out of his hand and, well, burn it so he couldn't see it.   Fast forward to 2006.  Ken is out and working with Kingsmen Alumni Corps.  I got to play the debut right next to him.  Less intimidation but no less respect.   Later I got to meet Dan Fornero, A-list Los Angeles trumpet player at a Big Phat Band gig because Ken told me he'd be standing right next to another player I taught in the 1971 Lynwood Diplomats Jr. Corps, a guy named Wayne Bergeron.    Thanks, Boss, for all the stuff you have done for me personally in music and I'm honored to be one of the numbers of guys you've spent more time with than was ever called for.  (BTW: Mr. Dan Fornero dedicated his solo CD from last year, "Not So Old School", to Mr. Ken Norman.) 

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Kilties 1975 - Auld Lang Syne

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Good morning Normanites! I'm off to U of I's competition this morning to recruit for Pioneer, so have some Belle City Brassworks.

Also, anyone interested in playing summer band corps? I'll be hanging out with The Hat today, we're the ones to talk to! 

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Ken Norman. Not sure what's going on but Ken Norman.

Photo credit Charlie Groh.

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Hey there Normanites!

Just a quick update: admin here just returned from tour and should be updating more frequently. Anyone in the drum corps community who has Norman stories or photos/video (mid-70's Kilties encouraged), please submit or drop us an ask! Stay mullety.

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How long do you typically keep your mullet?

Just long enough to blow in the breeze coming from a retro hornline.

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When there is a combination of brass playing major ninth chords and free food, Ken Norman will be there.

Jason Scott Ladd, ASCAP member, Facebook

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A personal story about Ken Norman

When I marched with Pioneer in 2011, I had a vague idea of who Norman was. I'd seen him at our rehearsal site in 2010 talking with my then-caption head and his acquaintance, Donny Allen. So I was a bit surprised to see his name on the top of a piece of sheet music for Climb Every Mountain, a mass piece for the Small Drum Corps Association show (which was sprung on us last minute).

At the show, our hornline and our current caption head struggled through the piece, trying to get it memorized before the show in about two hours. We were holed away in a tiny classroom somewhere in the far reaches of the school the show was being held in, but somehow Ken was in the building and somehow he heard our rehearsal and decided to pop in.

And in he came, in the middle of our caption head talking us through the middle section of the piece, with a big grin and a "I heard some wrong notes, mind if I take the hornline through this piece?" The caption head had no clue who he was, but stepped back and let him conduct us one time through.

After a very old-school conducted run of the piece, he smiled, satisfied and left.

Our caption head turned to the door, then to us. "... who WAS that?"

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More retro Norman photos: here, on the left in sunglasses and the start of a mullet, is Ken, on staff and warming up the 1967 Kilties hornline before their Shriners Championship performance in Toronto. Really digging the orange and green buses in the back. (photo from racinekiltiealumni.org)

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Front and center: Ken Norman, in glasses and playing the French Horn bugle. This is his age-out year, 1964, with the Kilties. (photo from racinekiltiealumni.org)

I must say I am disappointed by the lack of mullet.

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The Glassmen have officially announced their rumored financial trouble. If you have anything to spare at all, please lend a hand. We saw several corps fold this summer and it would be a great shame to see one like Glassmen go away as well. Don’t let it happen. Anything you could give would mean so much to me and everyone associated with Glassmen. Please

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Hey, guys, so a few of you know that I’ve been all over Pioneer and raising money for us, but… we’re not the only DCI corps that needs help. The Glassmen, a top 12 corps, are in need of cash too, and they’re actually in a tougher spot than we are: without another $300,000, they may not be able to field a corps this season. 

This is a major deal. Drum corps organizations are wonderful, and everyone I know who’s marched has grown so much as a person through their performance experience.  With the activity dying, we risk losing a great activity for our youth and a part of our history.

Even if you’re not a fan of the G-men, or even if you don’t know about or follow drum and bugle corps, please donate to this group and help save the activity! 

The donation link is at the bottom of the page. They’re tax deductible, too

Also, if you can’t donate, PLEASE repost for those who can!

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It just came to my attention that Ken also directed and arranged for beauty pageants. Bugler Hall of Fame says the only thing he hasn't done is opera, but... who knows.

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Supplemental to previous...

Just putting this out there for anyone that may be interested to spread the word....

Pioneer Drum and Bugle Corps will be holding a satellite audition camp the weekend of December 14th-16th at North Stokes High School in Danbury, NC. The camp is open to all sections. Camp begins Friday night at 8pm through 3pm Sunday. This camp is also available for those in the Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and anywhere else close NC.  The purpose of this camp is to extend recruiting efforts outside of the Midwest.  The cost of the is $60.00 and it will cover Food, Housing, and Instruction for the weekend.  For more information, please feel free to contact me at pioneerhornline@gmail.com, facebook, or visit our website atwww.pioneer-corps.org. Hope to see many of you look into this!

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Not Ken Norman related, but anyone who's interested in marching in drum corps this season should watch!

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Stockholm Crusaders 1974, arranged by the man, the mullet himself! Nothing like some old school drum corps.