Someone Throw Me A Bone Please!!!!!!

Wow, is it that freekin hard to get you guys to throw me a bone?????-- I have been e-mailing different brigades, posting on the AC and Franklin web site, and have gotten a total of 3 replies concerning a unit to fall in with as a fifer and my son as a drummer for the Franklin event. One pointed me to a Confederate group, but we are Federal, and another gave me some info that pointed me to a group that allows women in the ranks and the last just wanted to tell me how great he is next to JC and a lot of jiberish. I am going to try again.
I am 42 years old and have been re-enacting since the mud march of 82 at Gettysburg. I have been a member of the Mudsills, Holmes brigade, 23rd NY,7th Kentucky and now currently with the 1st Colorado Infantry. I have dug trenches, cut trees for breastworks and helped the artillary tug their freekin pieces up slopes at Ft.Benjamin Harrison. 20 mile marches in Kansas accross the plains, and a number of other memorable events when I could get away in Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia, Mossouri, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Nebraska. I did my time on "Gettysburg" and "The blue and the Grey"(if anyone remembers that movie). I made my own uniforms before a lot of you were born when people use to give me the cold shoulder because I didn't look like Jarnigan.
No I am not trying to give anyone a resume but I don't know if any of you easterners realize how difficult it can be to do this hobby when even a trip to Kansas City is a 12 hour drive.(I'm in Coloado so that would be heading east)Last I remember when we drove to Stones River it was about 26 hours strait.(And yes I have heard about airplanes) My point is that I can't go around the corner and hook up with three different units like some of you can so co-operation is essential.
I have served as a rifleman up until now even though I have been playing fife for years. The only fife and drum corp I know of near here (10 hours) has women in the ranks and that is a no-no. So I asked and have been asking for 4 months to find a unit that would work with us long distance to get ready for Franklin. DOES ANYONE HAVE A CONTACT THAT THEY COULD THROW MY WAY BECAUSE TIME IS RUNNING OUT??????????????. Even you boys that are brain dead and didn't even realize their was such a thing as field music or what its purpose is probably have some kind of contacts to throw my way. Being a good musician takes a little more preparation than shoulder arms, right shoulder shift and order arms.(no I'm not trying to make light of Battalion drill) Come on give me some credit. I am even trying to stay positive after having to encounter the pre- dawn cornfield scenerio at Antienam 2 years ago when battalions of Federals and Confederates blazed away for 20 minutes with no casualties 20 yards from each other with muskets "at the balistic."Come to think of it, maybe that is why I don't want to be a rifleman anymore. Or could it be the guy that was complaining that the guy in front of him had a non period marking on his musket and how wrong that was but failed to notice that he himself is 200 lbs over and 20 years older than the average CW soldier he is so proudly trying to portray. Did I mention he was complaining about these markings on the musket to a lady in the ranks? Go figure. On second thought what is the use. Forget it I think I have had my fill.

Jay Hollenbeck

"Go figure. On second thought what is the use. Forget it I think I have had my fill"

Ahem, I know I have.

Seriously, and with all due respect and complete sincerity...you're coming in really hot, and that can scare folks. I'd recommend a less confrontational approach. Have you tried a simple post on the NSA bulletin board? Something like "experienced field musician from Colorado seeking a federal unit at Franklin?"

NSA bulletin board

Cordially,

[paulcalloway]

Contact Dom Dal Bello.

[MoFed]

Mr. Hollenbeck,

The Holmes and 1st Colorado are attending Franklin as part of the Western Brigade. I don't know who you have contacted, but if you e-mail me I will forward our most recent issue of the Dispatch and put you in touch with the appropriate parties. If you can't e-mail me through this site, go to the Officers/NCO link on the Holmes Brigade website at http://www.holmesbrigade.freeservers.com/

Charles D. Hoskins
Dispatch Editor
Holmes Brigade, USV, Inc.

[HOG.EYE.MAN]

Jay,

I like Paul's advice..... If you're falling in with the AoP, then get in contact with Dom. I'm not 100% sure, but Andrew Endsley may be coming out with a few musicians to play in this Brigade.

It's not easy getting good answers from those clowns you talked to in the past.

Good luck,

Aaron Schwieterman
Former Mudsill member 1995-2000

Mr. Hollenbeck,
I think you should cool down. Your list of accomplishments is impressive but irrellevant; the only thing a corps is going to care about is your musical ability (which I assume you no doubt have). I admire you for making authentic reenactments so far away. I would, but for me it would be several days to get to one (except for Army of the Pacific events). I think you are going to be hard pressed to find a western corps that is men only. The reason is because out west there is to fife & drum tradition, and there are very few players. F&D is so poorly known out here that I routinely get questions about what my fife is. So most corps out here when given the choice between another good musician and strict authenticity, will choose the former. I would rather have a all men (or ideally, young men & teenagers{you complain about others being to old & fat, but you're well over the average age for a musician!}) corps myself, but with the size of the corps as it is (five regular antendees), I'll gladly accept any good musician who steps foward.

As to a solution to your problem, there is a list of fife and drum corps nationwide at:
http://www.fifedrum.org/links.shtml You'll have to sort through it to find the Civil War corps, though.

I know that Alex Kuhn of Camp Chase , and Eric P. Emde of the
125th OVI Tiger Band frequent this forum, maybe one of their corps is going or they know one that is. Mr. Calloway's suggestion of Dom Dal Bello (Army of the Pacifichttp://www.firstfederaldivision.com/index.html ) is a good one, but I don't know what their corps is; contact him to find out.

Lastly, lighten up! No one likes a grumpy musician. It kills your playing.

-Pvt. Andrew Plett
Oregon Fife & Drum Corps

[HOG.EYE.MAN]

I think you are going to be hard pressed to find a western corps that is men only.

Andrew,

Not if he's falling in with the AoP and hooks up with Andrew Endsley.

[DougCooper]

One word: Dom

contact him at armyofthepacific@yahoo.com

recommend title the e-mail: Musician for Franklin

no women in the AoP, just soldiers

K Bartsch, yes I have but maybe will try again. Thanks,
Jay Hollenbeck

I guess alot of this went over your head. It wasn't suppose to be a list of accomplishments. I am kind of new to A-C and just wanted to let folks know that I am not a dufas, or depending on your perspective, I am a dufas but I have been around for a little while. It by no means should be called impressive.

Yes, I am aware that I am too old for the average musician. After all I have been playing CW before you were in diapers. I think I bought my first "kepi" when I was about 8 years old. I think I had one of those wooden toy guns that suposedly would shoot a cork ball when you put a cap under the hammer too. ( never worked) Again I guess you missed the point of the post. And PLEASE, I did not tell you about my kepi and toy gun to impress you.

If you want to for-go authenticity to be able to play with girls that is up to you. I have passed up that oportunity in my own back yard. Just keep this in mind: one morning in the pre dawn hours as you wake and are preparing to play reveli, you decide to relieve yourself in the bushes when all of a sudden you look up and to your surprise who you thought was a pard turns out to be a pardett on her way back from the girls room with the most discusted look on her face because ,yes, you were exposed. Oh My God!! Later that day as you're on your way to the nearby county lock up for indecent exposure or worse yet when you are getting chewed out by your Captain, who looks and screaches remarkably like Hillary Clinton, you say to yourself "Wow, so this is what it was like to be a soldier in the CW.
I do apprieciate the links you gave me to try. Thank you.
Jay Hollenbeck

Jay, I realize that you are new to this forum (4/04) but if you have been reading it since then, you should realize a couple of things.

1) Many posts go unanswered. Either people can't help or don't want to. No one is promised an answer to any question here.

2) We tend to try to stay on topic in our threads here. As a moderator, it is my job to push people back on topic. Consider this a push.

3) You have asked your question again. You have received some links and contact info to work on. Please do so and I wish you luck. But this post is WAY OFF TOPIC of Civil War Music and doesn't belong on the forum anywhere. I am closing this thread as its highest level of usefullness has been reached. - Mike Chapman