Alligator vs. marshmallow

On our swamp tour, Mr. Shaw videotaped this gator chomping on a treat. Check it out!!!

Slideshow from Day 5

Enjoy this slideshow from Day 5, where we spent time checking out the French Quarter and some of the finest food and music the country has to offer.

We're back!!!

After a couple delays, finally got back to Oswego at 3:20. The cold hit most of us in the face, though it was nice to be home.


Be on the lookout for more pics later, and if u have any special photo treats from the trip, email me them and I'll get them in.
-Schoenbach
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Heading home

The jazz cruise was everything you would want in a final activity. Good food, great music, and a very relaxed atmosphere aboard a slice of history, a real steamboat.









We are 6ish hours from home, and the kids are sleeping in some very creative positions.

Look for a final posting with a slideshow from Fridays events later this afternoon.

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Location:Missouri

Steamboat Natchez

The students had fun kickin' it with some free time in the French Quarter, had some lunch, and bought a bunch of stuff they will never use again. :)


After that, we played on the wharf for people walking along the river. The performance was going along great...the best the band sounded all trip. That was until a woman on the steamboat started playing her steam organ and drowned us out during our second to last song. Ah well, it made for a good story:)
We are on the jazz cruise right now, and they have a fantastic jazz band!





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Walkin' and Swingin'

We had an hour walking tour of a few historic stops in the French Quarter, and some of the students got up close and personal with some street musicians.





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Location:Nola

Preservation Hall

We had a real highlight of the trip at 9AM...a clinic with some great musicians at Preservation Hall. Afterword, they put on an incredible performance, where they had everyone dancing and singing along.





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Location:Nola

Slideshow from Days 3 and 4

Enjoy this slideshow from days three and four. You'll see photos of the Audubon Zoo, New Orleans tour, Cajun dancing, swamp tour, and rock n' bowling!

The Cajun Electric Slide

The kids got a taste of some authentic Cajun food, and more importantly, Cajun music. A great band played tunes, while someone gave interested students dance lessons. The dance floor was full of people strutting their stuff, and a few Osweganites were welcomed to the stage to jam.






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Driving Tour

We are taking a tour of New Orleans on the bus, led by some expert tour guides. We got out and blew off some steam at City Park and at a famous cemetery.





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Location:Nola

The Panthers take the Zoo!!

The marching band had a performance at the Audobon Zoo today. We had to improvise a bit, as zoo regulations changed and now don't allow bands near the animals, but the music was very well-received.


We even had a crowd of kids following us, some of whom infiltrated the band and marched!



MVP awards went to Hannah O'Connor for playing two cymbal parts, and Ben Wooley, who showed why he is a future engineer by finagling a snare harness to work with the quads, and then built a snare harness out of a strap from a hat bag.


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Clinic at Loyola

We had a great one hour clinic with Loyola University conductor Dr. Hebert. He had the students laughing and thinking, not easy to do at 9am:)


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Bowling

We enjoyed some bowling and swing music at the Rock n' Bowl last night. Good times!


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Location:Nola

Born on the Bayou

Wow, what an experience. The scenery was amazing, we saw (and fed) a few gators, and even had a marshmallow fight on the river.






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A three hour tour

About to set off!!


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Rest stop

A few miles outside of Louisiana, we stopped for some food and threw the ball around.



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Location:Mississippi

On the road again

We got on the road 15 minutes early this morning. Hopefully you had a chance to look at the slideshow from yesterday:) I ate 15 hours ago and I'm still full...Memphis BBQ will be missed:( Robby will miss playing guitar at the Gibson factory.



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Location:Mississippi

Slideshow from Days 1 and 2

My apologies for not blogging the last few events...it was hard to take pictures. Here is what you missed. After our windy performance (which we found out will be shown on Elvis.com someday), we toured Graceland and saw more Elvis stuff then we knew could possibly exist. After we left, we went to Rendezvous, a world famous BBQ joint featured on the hit show "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives". All the pork, chicken, and ribs you could handle. You'll see pictures of these and events from the last few days below in slideshow format. Enjoy!!!!

Windy City?

We thought Chicago was the Windy City, but our performance here at Graceland was full of music and stands blowing all over the place. If you squint, you'll see the music on the ground and the 200 odd clothes pins we used.



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Stax Records

After finishing the walking tour of Memphis....



we had a great tour of Stax Records, where many hits like "Hold On', I'm Comin'" and our favorite marching band song "Tear the Roof Off the Sucka" were made.






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Touring Beale Street

We're walking and learning all about the musical history of Memphis. W.C. Handy, the father of the blues, is immortalized here.


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Location:Memphis

Great first day!!

The band had a great first day, culminating with a walk down Beale Street to hear some great live music and have some BBQ.



The band played for a small, but enthusiastic crowd, and even tried to pander to people on the street to get more attendance. At the New Daisy Theater, they played on the same stage as such famous acts as Nirvana and Bob Dylan.


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Daisy Theater

We arrived, unloaded, and are an hour away from performing at the Daisy Theater.



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Shoeless Schoenbach

We are almost an hour out of Memphis, and we stopped for a smidge. The next thing you know, Mr. Schoenbach's shoe ended up on the roof. Don't ask.


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Union Station

We stopped for lunch in St. Louis for an hour at the historic Union Station, a mall/food court.



There were Harry Potter props to pose with...


...and a Cardinals store, where Amanda's skin started to burn.


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Bus antics

We had an unforeseen stop on the way...Thomas, Ben, and Jack stayed busy by building a blanket fort.

Location:Somewhere on the interstate

Rest Stop

Was this a perfect place for a bunch if musicians to stop or what?






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Location:Funk's Grove

4:30 in the morning!!!!

The students had to report to school by 4:30 in the morning to check-in and load the bus. We leave at 6:00. Alex is not a morning person.


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Trip blog!!!!

This will be where we post pictures and events from our upcoming trip to Memphis and New Orleans...a cool way to help you keep up with the band!!!