Wed Afternoon -- NMA Concert Band

 Our concert band probably isn't the biggest band in Kansas City, nor is it the most famous.

But, in a certain way, it's the best; so good that people fly in from across the country just to play in it.

Conductor Ray Ascione herds the cats. 

It's a pay gig, though the compensation doesn't come in dollars. We're paid with the satisfaction that comes from sitting down with our shipmates and doing our very best to support each other. That's what you'd expect, and what you'd need, from this diverse group of full-time professionals and community concert band volunteers.

This is not to say that our first rehearsal was perfect. A band that plays together but once a year can take some time to settle into a comfortable groove. 

The payoff will come at our Friday-evening performance. It's always amazing to realize what we can accomplish in just a few days. We may not have much rehearsal, but we've got a lot of experience.   

Wednesday a.m.-- NMA Reunion is underway.

Passing hotel guests often ask how we can possibly play this early in the day. 

My answer is simple: "Haven't you ever heard the term 'Morning Colors?'"

Tuesday Night -- Reunion Prep

Storms have delayed fllights across the Midwest. Since Kansas City is the literal definition of "The Midwest," some of our friends haven't arrived yet.

But, loyal shipmates stand the watch, prepared to welcome our comerads with open arms.

Jim Heyward and Art Swanson aren't only Navy Band alumni; they toured the country as civilian musicians. 

Charlie Sweet tries to figure out whatever Doyle Church is trying to figure out.

Tuesday Afternoon II -- NMA Reunion Blog

I checked into the Kansas City Airport Hilton late yesterday afternoon. It was evening before I'd unpacked and cleaned up, so I headed downstairs to look around to see if anyone was here yet.

I didn't have to look for long.

Don Keller and Rany Martell discuss trumpet
mouthpieces. Some people find this sort of
discussion absolutely fascinating. These
people are called Don Keller and Randy Martell.

Tuesday Afternoon -- The NMA Reunion is open for business.

Stepanie Rowland and Deb Holl opened the registration room today, and MUs have been signing in throughout the afternoon. Since the reunion begins tomorrow morning, sensible MUs--yes, they do exist--arrive a day early to get settled in and shoot the breeze with each other before the craziness begins.

The NMA Reunion is a good kind of crazy. There's always something happening, a rehearsal, a jam session, a concert, dinner, cocktail hour. And. Of course, stories. (Every time I pass Jim Richards in a passageway, he's got another.)

Sun. 15JUN25 - The Daily Poop - And Away We Go

The car is packed, the computers unplugged, the medications swallowed; Jo and I are heading to the NMA reunion in Kansas City.

We've traveled to these annual affairs every year since 2006...

...and it really shows.

Sat. 14JUN25 - The Daily Poop - Who's in Charge Here?

I started my Navy career traveling the West Coast with a Navy show band, packing clothing, personal belongings and musical equipment for weeks at a time. I finished my career leading a Nay band around Asia by ship, airplane and bus. I've packed seabags, suitcases, and equipment; I've been responsible for the packing of seabags, suitcases and equipment by sixteen sailors. 

So why, I ask myself, is it so damn hard to pack the car for the trip to Kansas City? We're leaving tomorrow morning and are nowhere ready.

In part, it's a leadership problem. We're not lacking leadership; to the contrary, there's too much leadership. I am not the only person who believes he is in charge of loading the car. Another person also considers his- or her-self in charge of the operation. I've had my stuff organized and ready to go since yesterday afternoon. The other person still has open, half-full suitcases sprawling across the bed. 

I have prepared a packing list so each item may be stowed according to three criteria: Does it need to be removed from the car at the hotel we're staying at tonight? Can it remain in the hold until we reach our destination? Must it be accessible to driver and passengers during the journey? 

 The other person is still standing in front of mirrors deciding which top goes with which bottom.

Sorry, I just had to get this off my chest. I will now revert to my usual jolly self and ask this other person how I might assist him or her in his or her preparations. 

Vote Frank Mullen for Human of the Year.

  

 

 

    

Fri., 13JUN25 - The Daily Poop - Packing

THUR 12JUN25 -- The Daily Poop with The New Frank Mullen.

SUN 15JUN25 AM -- Dep. Aledo, IL

SUN 15JUN25 PM -- Arr. Osceola, IA

MON 16JUN25 AM -- Dep. Osceola, IA

MON 16JUN25 PM -- Arr. Kansas City, MO

TUE 17JUN25 -- Prep for reunion.

WED 18JUN25 AM thru SAT, 21JUN25 PM -- NMA Reunion

SUN 22JUN25 AM -- Dep. Kansas City, MO

SUN 22JUN25 PM -- Arr. Ottumwa, IA

MON 23JUN25 AM -- Dep. Ottumwa, IA

MON 23JUN25 PM -- Arr. Aledo, IL

For God's sake, you'd think this was a three-month cruise involving 120 performances in seven countries, hot-racking with the bosuns and eating on the fly. Fact is, my wife and I are just driving 360 miles to a comfortable hotel where my shipmates and I will shoot the breeze, sit in on jam sessions, rehearse for a few days and put on a few concerts.

------------

This year's Frank Mullen at the reunion will be the New Frank Mullen. The difference between the New Frank Mullen and the Old Frank Mullen, is that the New Frank Mullen's clothes fit. 

The New Frank Mullen doesn't weigh in at the same low poundage the Old Frank Mullen brought to his first reunion in 2006. The weight gain has not been outlandish, but that steady accumulation, ounce by ounce, year after year, has added up to the undeniable fact that the New Frank Mullen does not fit in the Old Frank Mullen's wardrobe. The New Frank Mullen wishes he'd realized this a few years ago and apologizes to all those upon whom he has inflicted his unfortunate visage.

Out with the old and in with the new. The New Frank Mullen has outfitted himself for 2025. Yes, the New Frank Mullen is still a fashion-free slob, but he's a fashion-free slob whose clothes fit.

It's amazing what 45 minutes in Walmart can do.

 

WED 11JUN25 - The Daily Poop - First Edition

After every NMA reunion, it always seems like an eternity will pass before we meet again. But eternity always passes quickly. Now, to my shock, I find myself packing and prepping for the 2025 NMA reunion, which begins a week from today.

Every year since 2008, I've published The Daily Poop during the run-up to the reunion. It provides a way to stay in touch with shipmates, to promote the NMA, and—frankly speaking—to drum up a bit of anticipation at a time when we already have more than enough anticipation to go around. The Daily Poop is published here at my blog, NavyLyres, and is also crossposted to Facebook. 

I'll keep up The Daily Poop until early next week, when I'll switch to the traditional NMA Reunion Live-blog coverage. This is our 30th anniversary, so I expect a lively party awaits us in Kansas City. 

So, if you can't come to the reunion this year, a quick check here or at Facebook will provide a taste of our reunion goings-on. 

---------------------------------------------------

I wish I looked as good
as the AI version of me.

My journey to Kansas City will be the first road trip in my new car—well, it was new in December, but I still haven't figured out all the bells, whistles, and electronic shenanigans that come with cars nowadays.

The only gadgetry I truly understand is Siriusly Sinatra. The car came with a few free months of SiriusXM, which streams Sinatra into my soul every time I press the car's start button. Frank is often joined by other crooners and jazz singers, but the Main Attraction is the Voice. Naturally, I've continued the subscription. Let's face it—everything goes better with Sinatra.

SiriusXM provides other channels, and one afternoon, I sampled them. There's a sixties channel, a jazz channel, a comedy channel, and probably a channel for everything you could possibly want.

But if you have any sense of taste, you don’t want them. You want Sinatra.

I'm a lucky guy—but not as lucky as my wife. Jo gets to ride to Kansas City with two Franks.

. 

  

More Rooms at the Hotel!

 

There IS Such a Thing as a Free Breakfast!

Late-breaking good news for attendees at the

30th-Anniversary Reunion of the Navy Musicians Association

Kansas City Airport Hilton Hotel

Kansas City, MO

June 18-21, 2025

Our Reunion Coordinator, Carl Gerhard, continues working with the Kansas City Airport Hilton Hotel to provide the best deal for the NMA and its members. 

Carl is also negotiating a discount on the hotel's parking fees. We'll get that information to you as soon as we can.

Will I Know Anyone at the Reunion?

Old friends? You're looking for old friends, huh? I got some old friends for you right here, pal.

  

Old friends? You're looking for old friends, huh?
I got some old friends for you right here, pal. 

 

As happens so often during the springtime, social media scuttlebutt is turning toward the NMA reunion. Who's going? I'm going. Are you going? I heard Jimmy is going!

This year's event--Kansas City, MO, June 18-21--is accessible to a whole raft of MUs we don't often see at our Virginia Beach reunions, so we're hearing from folks who've never been to a reunion. Many wonder, "If I go, will I know anyone"?

I wondered, too, as I carried the suitcase from my car to the hotel at my first reunion in 2006. Here's how it worked out:

I figured I'd hardly know anybody. I'd only been in the Navy for a few hitches, so I didn't have 20 or 30 years' worth of acquaintances in my address book.

But, at the door to the hotel, I ran into Kim Holl, with whom I'd been stationed with twice at the school--once when he was an MU2 in the Intermediate Course, and again when, as an MUC, he pinned on my chief's anchors.

I got in line at the check-in desk and found myself standing behind Doyle Church, my LPO from my first unit.

Carrying my luggage to the elevator, I ran into Charlie Sweet, who'd led my first show band.

Just as I was unlocking the door to my room, a voice hollered down the hall, "Where the hell is Mullen--I heard the S.O.B is here!" It was John Hanson, an old S.O.M. pal.

Sure, your mileage may vary. Those who served full careers will likely know more attendees, and one-hitchers will know fewer. But, broadly, the folks you run into at MMA reunions fall into four separate categories:

• People you know. This is what you hope for. Nowadays, with social media and various forms of electronic communication, it's easier than ever to find out what your shipmates are planning. (Pro tip: when contacting an old shipmate, instead of asking if he's going to the reunion, tell him you're going. With this, you've just convinced a newcomer that he'll know someone at the reunion!)
• People you knew in the Navy, but not well. You arrived at a band, and met a clarinet player who shipped out within a month. Just as your tour was ending, a new guitar player checked in. You all have much in common, but never really had a chance to talk. Until now.
• People you never met, but heard about. In the small world of Navy music, stories routinely fly around the fleet. Everyone in your first band told stories about people from previous bands. After a few years, you were telling such stories, too. NMA reunions offer the opportunity to finally meet the stars of these stories. (I say this like it's a good thing, but keep in mind that, from someone else's point of view, you may be the star of some stories. Oh, how often I have wished I could travel back in time and alter my behavior just a tad. When NMA members gather in the lounge for conviviality, the beverages are cold, but the stories are hot.) 
• Friends You're Meeting for the First Time. You probably won't realize it immediately, but NMA reunions don't just serve to rekindle old relationships; they spark new ones, too.  

Despite all that rah-rah I told you about all the shipmates I ran into at my first reunion, they amounted to only a fraction of the MUs in attendance. No matter how many or few old friends you encounter at a reunion, most people will be strangers--when you first meet, that is. As days pass and you talk with them about the bands you were in, mutual friends, good times and bad times, these strangers turn into shipmates. After only a few reunions, I found myself looking forward to meeting up every year with MUs I hadn't known in the Navy.

So, if you're thinking about joining us for the first time, I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about who you'll know. Walk in the hotel, find the Registration Room, sign in, and join the party.