Posted 5/28/26 2:37 pm
Norm Ramil
Rando thought here, but I’m just grateful it’s summer, and I hope you all are thriving as we head into the last weekend of May (how’s that possible???).
Besides the usual music editing, content-crafting, and clinic-managing, today I also broke out the ole’ podcast gear. This morning I recorded an episode with the one and only Maddy Vercelli! She had some fantastic insights into the mental side of dance and her national championship experience, along with the some thought-provoking observations about the relationship between pom and contemporary / lyrical. I’ll try to have that up on Spotify by tomorrow.
That will be the 131st episode of the 8CA Podcast. Catch up on 6 years of episodes (well, on and off, LOL) over on Spotify.
• It’s a new phase in the 8CA podcast! Longtime co-host Coach Paige Hollendonner will be stepping back, but she’ll be on every 2 or 3 episodes. P Holly has been nothing less than an essential part of 8CA’s social media and content growth, and I’m so grateful to have her willing to stay onboard this crazy 8CA bus!
• If you didn’t pick it up from past episodes, Paige would record via phone on Friday mornings parked in her car before going in to work. I mean…dedication! It’s a big commitment and I’m so proud of what we’ve been able to produce over the past 2+ years.
• TFN, I’ll have a rotating set of co-hosts, and sometimes I’ll be riding solo. I’m thinking: shorter, more often…let me know if that works for y’all. Plus: new intro music!
• In other dance world personnel moves, a big welcome goes out to the new Warren Devilettes coaching staff!
• I’m happy to see that this legacy program has its open positions filled. I can’t think of another Illinois high school where the former poms coach now occupies an admin slot in the athletic department (shoutout to Assistant A.D. Sarah Stepek, who guided the Devilettes program through many outstanding seasons in the ‘00s and ‘10s).
• Ear worm for the day — and usually I’d prefer to highlight something you can actually use in a routine. This one just has too many NSFW (well, school) lines, but maybe you can make it work for stretches and warmups. Just opt for the clean version — which, honestly, is a lot more interesting to listen to for how they skillfully find smooth ways to cut out the explicit language. The producers used classic vinyl spin effects to mask out the bad words, but they do it in a super musical way…you’ll have to listen to really get it. Tempo = 87 BPM.
• “My Last” goes back to a more melodic era in hip hop, and was a huge hit on R&B radio in the summer of 2011. Some Top 40 / CHR (contemporary hit radio) stations may have spun it, too.
• Have to shoutout the West Aurora Dance Team for a fun uptick in their social media presence lately. Besides marching on Memorial Day, the team’s focus this week has been their spring band camp where they nail down the initial material for fall halftime work — sidelines, marching, pre-game. Team name: The Hawkettes!
• Who needs a phone alarm when you’ve got your…entire team???
• That’s the Peoria-area Morton, btw. The snooze button’s not really in option in this situation. But I’m awarding bonus points to the team for the confetti! AND for the stick figure team drawing.