• Introduction
• 2004-2005 Hockey Recaps - Looking Forward
• Reunion Weekend ('0s & '5s) Planning!
• Freakout! Recap
• Life Updates
• Pep Band Stories
• From the Managers
• Final Notes

2004-2005 Hockey Recaps - Looking Forward

What a roller coaster this past season was. Every time things started to look promising for the men's squad, they'd find some new way to lose. I think the best thing that can be said is that the season's over and it's time to look towards next year. Preliminary schedules are floating around and there's a lot to look forward to. One of the highlights of the year are the first ever conference match ups against Quinnipiac, who will be replacing Vermont as the Catamounts are moving to Hockey East. Early indications are that Quinnipiac will be our "guest" for Black Friday, with either Union or Brown for Freakout!

On the other side of the locker room, the women's hockey team finished their final season in Division III with a 21-6-0 record overall and a 17-2-0 record in the ECAC East, placing second in the conference. Despite being ineligible for the NCAA tournament, the Engineers participated in the ECAC tournament, falling in the championship game to Manhattanville 4-1. The 21 victories was a school record for the ladies. Next season RPI plays in Division I as an Independent before joining the ECACHL in 2006-2007 season.

Reunion Weekend ('0s & '5s) Planning!

So the summer's almost here and that means it's almost time for Reunion Weekend. This year includes classes that end in zero and five - which for the first time includes myself! Yup, the class of 2000 has their first reunion this year.

We'll be continuing the tradition of Pub Night on the Saturday or Reunion Weekend (June 11th). The gathering will start at 6:30pm in the Clubhouse Pub. Afterwards, we'll head downstairs to the Games room where Chris'll be looking to make up for some of the worst pool ever played from last year's event.

Also in continuing with tradition, we're going to be holding a "no skill required" street hockey game earlier in the day. The time and location have yet to be determined, but expect that the game will be on campus either late morning or early afternoon. Skates are not necessary and if you don't have a stick just let us know and we'll be happy to grab a spare.

The deadline to RSVP for Reunion Weekend is June 8th. Also, if you are interested in participating in the Reunion Weekend events sponsored by the Alumni House, you can go to http://www.alumni.rpi.edu/si/reunion/reunion.html for the complete schedule and online registration.

Freakout! Recap

You know, one of these years the team is going to give me a heart attack with wins like that. Quite probably the best final 10 seconds of a Freakout in a long time. What a way to make our CSTV debut. Plus, they put microphones on the band! How cool is that?

This year's freakout was a success thanks in no small part to the efforts of the Corbisiero's for their help in putting on the Lasagna Dinner along with the help of Brenden Conte and Sarah Bennett for hosting an outstanding after-party. Another highlight of the weekend was the presentation of the new podium. Add that to a bigger alumni showing than last year and I'd say it was one hell of a Freakout!

Pictures and video from this year's events can be found here. If anyone else has pictures they'd like to share, please send them our way.

Life Updates

This quarter we were lucky enough to get an update from one of our former drummers - Eric Maiwald '87.

Eric writes to us from Maryland where he lives with his wife, Kay, and two boys (Steffan - almost 14 and Joel - almost 11). In addition to working as an information technology analyst with Burton Group (specializing in information security), Eric lives on a small farm whose residents include 2 dogs, 5 cats, 4 rabbits, 8 chickens, and (currently as two of them just kidded) 7 goats. Sounds like horses may be in the future as well.

New job, kid, or house? Good news, bad news, whatever. If you want to share it, we'll post it (well, ok, so we have some standards but you get the idea). Help us keep alumni in touch by sharing your life updates. Simply e-mail them to us at pepband@azhrei.net.

Pep Band Stories

This quarter we're happy to bring you even more Pep Band Stories. Our first story comes from one of our "older" conductors - "Daddy" Ray Kim

You can title this story "Daddy Ray Gets REALLY Old!"

First, a little background for the benefit of those of you who don't know me: I came to RPI as a part-time grad student in Spring '94. I was in my late twenties and working a full-time job. After going to a few hockey games and catching the Pep Band bug again (I played with the marching and pep bands as an undergrad at Syracuse), I joined Pep Band, and the rest, as they say, is history. (You know you're a band geek when you become a legend in more than one pep band!)

Anyway, as a grad student who was a few years removed from his undergrad days, I was -- shall we say -- on the higher end of the Pep Band's average age scale. This was not more evident than the '96-97 season, the year I was conductor. It was during this season that I hit a milestone -- the dreaded THREE-OH! (Of course, as I write this, that doesn't seem so old now!)

The Saturday following my big day (my actual birthday was mid-week), we had a home game against (I think it was) Union. As conductor, I was the first one to show up at West Hall for rehearsal that morning. I unlocked the door to the band room -- and was greeted by streams of black crepe paper and a large banner on the blackboard that read: "LOOK WHO'S 30!" The next thing I knew, I found myself walking out of the room sighing and shaking my head.

I was greeted outside West Hall by Mike Brown and Amy Van Epps (both of whom were wearing all black and big grins). My conversation with Mike went something like this:

Mike: "Hi, Ray."
Me: (reserved silence)
Mike: "How's it going, Ray?"
Me: (more silence)
Mike: "Something wrong, Ray?"
Me: "Oh, nawwwwwww . . . "

I don't remember much about rehearsal that morning, but I do remember the discussions (threats?) about what they were going to do for me at the game that night. Some of the suggestions included having my name announced over the PA, running the "LOOK WHO'S 30" banner (instead of the traditional RPI flag) around the Fieldhouse after each goal, and making me sit in the penalty box during the game. Fortunately, none of it came to pass. I left (escaped?) the game thinking to myself, "phew, I'm safe."

Yeah, right. So I thought.

It had become tradition for some of us to go to the Pub after home games. Thinking that it was just another post-game night, I asked a few people if they were going, and they said yes. So I proceeded over to the Union and upstairs to the Pub. I sat there drinking a beer and reading a newspaper. After about twenty minutes, Amy was the first person to show up. I asked where Mike was, and she said he wasn't feeling well. (Mike didn't look too hot during the game, and I fell for the ruse -- although at this point, I didn't know it yet.)

In any case, Amy and I conversed for a while longer until I looked at the door -- and saw Mike coming in. My immediate reaction was, "what are you doing here? I thought you were sick." The next thing I knew, Mike was going behind the bar and opening the refrigerator, from which he pulled out a very large box containing a very large cake! Following Mike through the door was the rest of the Pep Band! The next thing I knew, "Happy Birthday" was being sung to me by all the patrons in a crowded bar.

I gotta admit, sometimes it's nice to be loved! I wore a smile all the way home. (And even after doling out slices of cake to my neighbors, I still had cake left over!)

Thanks for sharing that one Ray. Just remember we're already planning your 40th!

Now, I figured I'd add a story of my own to the mix for this quarter. The challenge of course was picking just one to tell - and making sure it was close to PG-13. My story comes from the Colgate/Cornell road trip my junior year (97-98). We're on the bus back to Troy and I'm hanging out with a freshman that would one day become manager. The band stops at this grocery store (A Grand Union I think) in the middle of no where so people can stop and get snacks and the like. So she and I go in to forage.

People should also keep in mind that it's the holiday season (I have this image of Cornell's manager in a santa hat). So of course every store has their own holiday items on sale. At the registers, on top of an end-cap, are these snowmen dolls. Nice, happy "Frosty-the-Snowman" clones with bright red rosy cheeks. Underneath said snowmen is a big sign - and to this day I wish I had asked for a copy of it - that says:

"Snowball the Snowman! $12.99"

Suffice it to say that when we get back to the bus, she's got a confused look on her face and the "Three Musketeers" are wondering why Chris is laughing so hard.

If you've got a favorite story or memory from your time with the Pep Band you'd like to share, please e-mail us at pepband@azhrei.net and we'll include it in the next edition of the Pep Band Alumni Newsletter.

From The Managers

Hello Alumni,

The pep band recently held elections and decided that Neil Havlak and AJ Macey would make good managers. We decided that since this was our first "From the Managers Column" that we'd introduce ourselves.

Hi, I'm A.J. Macey. I am one of the new managers of the RPI Pep Band. I grew up in Troy, NY and have always enjoyed watching the hockey games. I play the Tenor Sax in the pep band but have played the Alto and Bari as well. In High School I played football, threw shot put and discus for the Track and Field team, and bowled. I enjoy being part of the pep band and I will try to make it as enjoyable for everyone else and the community.

Hi, my name is Neil Havlak and I'll be taking over as manager for the next couple of semesters. A little about myself, I'll be a junior Aero-Meche in the coming semester. As a member of the band I play the trumpet. I'm really excited about all the prospects awaiting the band next year. AJ and I have our work cut out for us in the recruiting department. However, there have been some good ideas brought to our attention, it should be an exciting year.

It's still early yet, so we're not entirely sure of our schedule for the coming year. However, we will be sure to let you know when we decide on which student orientations and hockey road trips we'll be attending.

-Neil and AJ

Final Notes

Wow, that's a lot of stuff. Some quick points and a recap:

• Reunion Weekend is approaching. Make sure to RSVP before June 8th!
• RPI Pep Band Alumni (and Friends) is considering putting together a road trip. If you think this sounds like a cool idea - let us know, and tell us if you think we should bring instruments.
• Old and new members alike should check out the Pep Band message board (http://rpipepbandalumni.org/BB/) and the Pep Band LiveJournal Community (http://www.livejournal.com/community/rpi_pep_band/).
• Have some news about yourself you'd like to share with the rest of us? Or maybe a story from your time with the band? E-mail us a Life Update or Pep Band Story for next quarter's newsletter.
• Congratulations to the new Pep Band officers. Welcome to the list!
• Congratulations also go out to this year's seniors! Hope you're enjoying your last few days as students.
• We're still on the lookout for old pep band things. Past newsletters, photos, memorabilia, whatever. If you've got anything like that please share it with the rest of us! We'd love to see it.
• If you have not already done so, please add your information to the Member Information Database. Let us know who you are!