Ten Minute Warmup News
TMW has finally recorded our first cd. If all goes well, we plan to introduce it our April 4th concert at the Box Factory for the Arts in St. Joseph, Michigan. We will soon be providing a discography and purchase information.
When we aren't playing with TMW, you can catch us playing with some other cool folks. Mark plays occasionally in Michiana either solo or with "Mark Ficks and some dudes". He leads worship for Overflow Church in Benton Harbor . Roger, who also does some solo work, plays with the worship band ConneXion at Forest Chapel Methodist in Forest Park, Ohio and with Crosspoint at Northminster Presbyterian in Cincinnati. Bill is now working in Vincennes with the Wabash Sound. Pete plays with Crosspoint at least once a month as well. Roger and Emma recently performed a concert with the acoustic/vocal group "Sidenote" featuring Willie Spencer and Shawn Chacra. They are planning more adventures.
Roger, Janis, Emma and Peter toured Turkey, (yes, I said Turkey) . The UC Criminal Justice Division were guests of the Turkish National Police. In addition to some amazing adventures, they also brought back a beautiful copper Darkuba drum for TMW. Emma has managed to study in England and visit Norway, Wales and China this past year.
Scott was recently honored at the 2009 USPTA Tennis Professional of the Year for Wisconsin. Mark received the same award for Michigan last year. Scott has also recieved the United States Tennis Professional Association's Faye Tooley Award for service to the tennis profession. We are all proud of them both for these well deserved honors.
TMW has been honored to play some amazing benefit gigs. We were the closing act for the Katrina Hurricane Benefit in Niles, the Niles and Vincennes Relay for Life and last fall Pat Johnson joined us as we played for a unit of Army Reservist from Cincinnati who left for an 18 month tour in Afghanistan the next morning. We recently learned that unit has returned home safe and sound. All of them. This past summer we joined Scott Marshal for a great evening for the Council on Aging. Roger and Emma's recent concert with Sidenote benefited the Forest Chapel PB&J Youth Mission.
We entertained the folks at the Krasl Art Fair and the Venetian Festival on the St. Joseph River in Michigan. Both events, which hosts over 100,000 guests feature great music, art, shows, crafts and food. We also had the honor of playing for the 633rd Battalian of the U.S. Army Reserve in Wilmington, Ohio. Though we all had to slosh through some bad weather, it was an awesome event and we performed for about 700 of our fighting men and women.
Roger has rocked on a four state tour with the Crosspoint Worship Band. The tour included eight concerts, eight days, eight cities and 1800 miles. Check out the cool photos.
Emma is now retiring from her head tennis coaching duties at her alma mater, Finneytown High School. . She will be attending law school in the fall of 2009. She is currently completing her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Cincinnati where she also earned a BS in Criminal Justice. She studied Criminal Justice at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, England in the fall of 2006. While she was there, she hooked up with a worship band across the pond and played at the Edge Hilll Christian Union. Peter is currently working on his undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice at UC as well.
Scott is the Director of Tennis at the WRC/Moorland Park Tennis Club in New Berlin, Wisconsin. If he doesn't freeze to death, he still plans to chop his Ibanez bass, “Falluja” out of the ice and play with us when possible. Mark is the tennis director at SouthShore Athletic Club in St. Joseph, Mi.
Roger will make his fifth consecutive solo engagement for the TASS/Teaching Academic Survival Skills Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida this spring at the Hilton.
Professor Janis' book on the Ohio court system has been published and is now officially in the U.S. Library of Congress. Her latest work, a series of casebook studies on litigation have now been published. She and Roger have co-wrote the criminal section.