Swing House Makes its Debut!

Greetings! A lot has happened since the last post. Following Swing House's debut at the Penns Grove Jazz Fest, the group took the stage for the first time in front of an audience of its peers at the Dixie Stinger on April 4th. To say that Swing House was a pleasant surprise would be an understatement! Following an extraordinary expression of interest from drum corps colleagues and acquaintances, this new, alternative brass and percussion ensemble was born in November, 2008. Established in Penns Grove, New Jersey (centrally located with respect to its membership), a capable and enthusiastic staff engaged world class composer-arranger-instructor Larry Kerchner to establish the theme and mold the product. What a sound, and what a product! Swing House featured three Kerchner originals ("Bloogle Blues," "The House of Swing," and "Jazzmerelda") and three jazz, and jazz fusion classics (“Fever,” “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life,” and “Birdland").

What is so unique about Swing House? The sound. Kerchner’s compositions set the bar VERY high and at the standard of the best big bands in the Jazz, Fusion, and Swing genres. Members are from many eras, including competitive DCI and DCA drum corps. But there are also brass players from high school and college. The instrumentation is mixed: G Bugles, Bb Trumpets and Baritones, F Mellophones, BBb and CC Tubas - and even a Trombone. No discrimination here! Percussion is provided by the inimitable John Rozum, who breaks out during “Birdland” and treats the audience to a breathtaking journey. There is clear commonality between John Rozum, Buddy Rich, Max Roach, Gene Krupa and the range of extraordinary percussionists. Add to this the solo work of Soprano screamers George Headley, Curt Hawkins and Joe Silverstein, plus Kay Rasmussen (Tuba) and Bob Gaff (Baritone), and you begin to understand the audience response to Swing House. A member of Swing House showed me his text message list following the performance, “Where are you playing next? I’ll go ANYWHERE to hear you again!” … “AWESOME. You folks are amazing.” Yes, people in the audience were so impressed that they were texting for further performance information. OUTSTANDING job, Swing House! Can’t wait to see you at the Harrisburg, PA Serenade (April 18th) and the Elverson, PA Spring Preview (May 9th). Keep up the amazing work!

Another day, another tune, another gig, more members...

Friday, December 5th marked another banner day for Swing House as the group welcomed new members in lower, middle and upper brass sections. What a sound! Couple this with the addition of the amazing free-lance jazz drummer John Rozum (left) and you can easily image where Swing House is heading! John has performed with big bands and combos throughout the northeast US. He has been playing and teaching professionally for 39 years. Many of his students have joined the ranks of top DCA and DCI drum and bugle corps through the years. John has also been involved in studio recordings, has performed with the Reading Pops, and was the percussionist for over 40 musicals. John has also backed up such celebrities as Helen O’Connell, Dick Shawn, Phyllis Mcguire, Jack Carter, Myron Floren, Al Cohn (Woody Herman), Richie Cole, (Buddy Rich), Johnny Petillo (from the Duprees) and the Day Brothers, to name just a few. He has performed and adjudicated with former members of the Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson, Glenn Miller, Harry James and Tommy Dorsey orchestras as well as Jim Snidero, Chris Vadala, Dave llama, Dennis DiBlasio, Dave Stahl, Matt Neiss, Bob Curnow and Larry Kerchner.

On Friday night Swing House completed its fourth number, "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" plus added Rozum's outstanding percussion to "The House of Swing," "Fever," and "Bloogle Blues." Swing House will clearly be ready to punctuate the Jazz Festival with a world-class performance on March 14th.   Further, a second performance has been added to the growing schedule: The Dixie Stinger! The Yankee Rebels'  "Stinger" is one of the most popular and successful alumni drum corps events each year.  The lineup is always terrific, the auditorium fills to capacity, the food is great and it is typically the drum corps season opener for many.   Swing House is sure to be a crowd pleaser with its unique and upbeat form of brass and percussion.

Swing House's schedule through the "Stinger" is as follows (rehearsals, unless otherwise indicated): Dec 19th, Jan 9th and 23rd;  Feb 6th, 20th and 27th; Mar 13th, 14th (Jazz Festival), 27th; April 4th (Dixie Stinger). While the ranks are growing, there is still room for more.  So please stop by Penns Grove High School, 334 Harding Hwy, Carneys Point, NJ 08069 on rehearsal nights.  Come on in, and Swing House will do the rest!

Best regards,

  

Swing House Fever!

Swing House concluded its second rehearsal on November 14, 2008, with swelling ranks, three tunes and growing enthusiasm. We completed Larry Kerchner's amazing arrangement of Davenport and Cooley's "Fever," plus Kerchner's original "Bloogle Blues." Adding these to our signature piece, "The House of Swing" - another Kerchner original - will surely prepare us to hit the ground running for the 2009 performance season.

Following a couple of weeks off that included Thanksgiving (I hope everyone had a terrific holiday), I have GREAT news! Swing House has been invited to perform as a special guest at the Penns Grove High School Jazz Festival on March 14, 2009. In preparation for this debut performance, the rehearsal schedule has been modified slightly:

December 5th, 19th; January 9th, 23rd; February 6th, 20th and 27th; March 13th ("night-before"), 14th (Jazz Festival), 20th.

We are finalizing details for our second performance, which will take place in early April. Watch this blog and the web site (http://www.swinghouse.org/) for particulars.

This Friday, December 5th, we will begin integrating percussion and will continue to expand the repertoire with "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" This number has been a very popular ballad over the years -for drum corps, jazz ensembles and more. For a sample featuring Chris Botti and Sting, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSMuthk9XBU.

Rehearsals begin formally at 7:30PM at Penns Grove High School (334 Harding Hwy, Carneys Point, NJ 08069) but please feel free to arrive at 7:00PM to warm up, consult with music director Larry Kerchner and for informal collaboration with your section.

See you Friday night! Bring a friend or acquaintance: Swing House has room for more!

With warm regards,

Swing House Pioneers Make History!

November 7th 2008 marked an outstanding beginning for Swing House! New horizons in brass and percussion were manifested in a full contingent, completing an original number by Larry Kerchner, "The House of Swing" and making a substantial dent in his very hip arrangement of "Fever." I was privileged to solo the four measure intro to "The House of Swing" on tuba - or should I say tuba-cum-upright bass! If you have any experience with Kerchner's lower brass parts, you know that the tuba/contra parts rival nimble finger work of the best jazz double (upright) bass players. What a pleasure! All the way home I could hear the echo of the final fff chord of "House" permeating the halls and hollows of Penns Grove High School.

Swing House is indeed born! We have solid membership numbers, amazing talent, original music and a unique sound. We have a home at Penns Grove High School, we have bookings through 2009 and we have a solid management organization. Who could ask for more?

Last night the capable group of pioneers that is Swing House mustered early in the band room. You could feel the excitement from our group of seasoned drum corps enthusiasts from across the ages. There were Caballeros, Bushwackers, Golden Knights, Blue Rocks, Yankee Rebels, Skyliners, Cadets and more. As we proceeded through "The House of Swing," you could close your eyes and imagine a big brass swing band, as professional as they get. But the instruments were mostly G-bugles of the more recent drum corps era, with a smattering or trumpets and tubas.

In forming Swing House, we consciously decided that we would honor or drum corps heritage while experiencing something novel and innovative. Swing House is not an alumni corps, is not a mini corps and is not a competing corps. We are mostly drum corps folks who have been (are) all of the above but wish to expand our horizons. Common also is the experience of learning from Larry Kerchner. A world-class, professional musician with credentials and accolades too numerous to mention here, Larry has roots in drum corps and a keen passion to further transform and redefine the genre. He did it years ago with Blue Rock, Star of Indiana and the Bridgemen, to name a few; he has done it more recently in the alumni corps scene with Cabs, Yankee Rebels and Bridgemen , and in the mini corps movement with champions Mass Brass and Golden Eagles; and now he continues with Swing House. We are indeed the fortunate benefactors of Larry's genius and enthusiasm!

Our next rehearsal is on Friday, November 14, 2008 at Penns Grove High School. You will find all the details at http://www.swinghouse.org/. If you would like to be added to our email list, send a note to our email address, which you can also find on the web site.

Again, a GREAT, HISTORIC START! See you next Friday at PGHS!

Swing House, Inc. is born!

Greetings, and welcome to the Swing House blog!

"What is Swing House," I hear you cry? Following an extraordinary expression of interest from drum corps colleagues and other acquaintances over the past eight months, we are introducing a new, alternative brass and percussion ensemble with a great name, a convenient home, a capable and enthusiastic staff and a world class composer/arranger who will serve as instructor.

Swing House, Inc. has its origins in the alumni drum and bugle corps movement that began in the 1980s. Members are experienced brass and percussion musicians, many of whom started playing and marching somewhere between 1940 and 1970. We have continued to hone our skills through alumni drum corps, amateur and professional ensembles, community or school bands and orchestras, and more. Some are professional musicians while others are amateurs who simply enjoy the craft. Together we share deep passions around brass and percussion entertainment and now wish to take them to new and exciting realms.

Swing House rehearsals are held at Penns Grove High School, 334 Harding Highway, Carney’s Point, NJ 08069, conveniently located off of Interstate 295, and near the NJ Turnpike approach. We’re starting BIG, with back-to-back rehearsals on Friday, November 7th and Friday November 14th, 2008, at 7:00 PM. All you have to do is show up and Swing House will take it from there!

Swing House will entertain at many alumni drum corps stage shows, civic events and other novel engagements through 2009 and beyond. A schedule is evolving that will ensure members a consistent pace to produce a quality product – one that will turn heads and put us on the map!

Swing House, Inc. is committed to cultivating an atmosphere of professional musicianship with an up-beat, unique musical genre fostered by the amazing original works of Larry Kerchner. Our membership to date represents over 700 aggregate years of experience in all forms of brass and percussion entertainment, with ages ranging from teens through octogenarians.

Please join us for our first two rehearsals – November 7th and November 14th – to play, learn, listen, or just find out what Swing House is all about. Further details can be obtained from our web site, http://www.swinghouse.org/. From the south, take I-95N, cross the Delaware Memorial Bridge, continue onto I-295N, and take Exit 4 to Hwy 48 West (Harding Highway). Penns Grove High School is on the left. From the north, take I-295S, take Exit 4 to Hwy 48 West (Harding Highway). Penns Grove High School is on the left. For your convenience, an interactive Google Map is included on our web site.

If you live in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York and beyond, and if you have a passion for the craft, then join us on November 7th at 7PM to begin the exciting new journey that is Swing House, Inc. Wanna play? Swing House is the place! Don’t knock, just c’mon in!

In future posts we'll tell you of our progress, discuss why we do this in more detail and talk about our musical style, arrangements and our adventures. Stop back soon, and feel free to comment.

Warm regards,
Gary