Old School was thrilled to be invited yet again to sing and coach at the Harmony College East school! It was held at Salisbury University. OS's very first performance was on this stage and the first show with Kipp on tenor was this very stage as well! We felt quite at home up there.
On Thursday night Jack and Beast arrived to start coaching early Friday morning. Kipp and Joe had commitments that made it necessary to arrive Friday at noon. However, severe thunderstorms swept through the country late Thursday night causing major delays. Kipp and Joe left late and ended up sitting in the Philly airport for about 5 hours! We felt bad that we could not be there to coaching and "pay back" a bit of the great support we have received from MAD.
On Saturday, OS was coached by big D Flinn yet again, Bob Mucha and Ron Knickerbocker (1974 champs the Regents). We had a FANTASTIC day and a lot of great work. We left pumped and ready for Anaheim....which is only a week away!
The Saturday night show came and we did a pretty good job considering we had been singing all day long. A bit tired but we had a great time! Joe's wife Gayle drove down and we were able to spend some time with her Saturday night.
After the show, we were up LATE LATE LATE talking, visiting and singing with all our friends in the courtyard...oh and yes, there was beer available as well!
OS was happy to take part in the Valleyaire's chapter show at Clay High School in South Bend Indiana. Before the show we had an excellent dinner at Villa Macri which our host / friend Scott Kitsmiller picked. VERY nice place! We also had the pleasure of sharing dinner AND the stage with Overture, an excellent quartet from the Sweet Adeline's.
Kipp's wife Kim and Beast's daughter Heather joined us for the weekend to make it somewhat of a family event! It was great to have them there with us!
The show was a Phantom of the Opera theme and it went very well. The crowd was EXCELLENT! Kipp and Joe C got to reunite with old friend Craig Pollard. Craig hosted Joe and Kipp in the Interstate Rivals when they sang his chapter show in Michigan.....about 150 years ago. Craig brought his wife Jill and his sons to the show as well.......it was great to see them once again!
After the show and glow we retreated to Tom Schneider's house....as they do every year! Tom hosted a great party (as he does each year) and we had a chance to sing a few there, along with Overture and various other combos!
Sunday morning found us eating at IHOP which was indeed a hop away from the awesome Hyatt Place hotel we stayed in....LOVED that hotel! After breakfast, we had a GREAT coaching session with our main man George Gipp. Before we started to rehearse we had a teary moment when Joe C called our good friend Tommy Spirito (Four Rascals / Boston Common). Tom had lost his wife Pat this week and we sang Tomorrow Is Promised To No One to him over speaker phone. His tearful thank you made the rest of us a bit teary eyed as well. Tommy is a great singer, great friend and a great man. We love ya Tommy!
Leaving the session we were pumped and ready to get to contest in Anaheim, we all headed home.
