Last night and today I had the most relaxed New Year's I think I've ever had. All this down time has gotten me restless. Currently thinking that  I'm wanting to start another project with an announcement by January 1st, 2017. (Hopeful) When I get these urges I  always try to find quotes that inspire me to make that next step a reality. Here are some that I have found today:

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” Dr Suess

“If a man devotes himself to art, much evil is avoided that happens otherwise if one is idle.” Albrecht Durer

“Creativity takes courage.” Henri Matisse

“A Good artist has less time than ideas.” Martin Kippenberger

“Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing.” Georgia O’Keeffe

“Have no fear of perfection, you'll never reach it.” Salvador Dali

“There's no retirement for an artist, it's your way of living so there's no end to it.” Henry Moore

“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free” Michelangelo

“An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision.” James McNeill Whistler

“It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.” Henry David Thoreau

“The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize.” Robert Hughes

"If you always do what you always did - you'll always get what you always got." Unknown

TD

  Well I haven't updated my blog in forever. I'd like to say I will be more dilegent about updating it but I can't make any promises.

  2015 was a pretty big year for me. It has had many ups and downs. In a way I'm disapointed to see it go but I'm looking forward to another year. 

  In 2015 I have:
- hit my 10 year anniversary of being initiated into Phi Mu Alpha
- turned 30 years old
- taught from the box at Blue Devils during ensemble rehearsal for the first time
- taught the amazing Flowermound High School Band
- taught the amazing Blue Springs High School Band
- won my 4th DCI World Championship in my 6 years associated with the Blue Devils
- had the chance to get to meet so many amazing people in the pagentry arts
- had so many amazing design clients that give me the opportunity to do what I love for a living

 There are probably so many other amazing things that have happened to me that I can't even remember. So many amazing experiences that have helped mold me into the instructor, friend, and person that I am today. For that I thank every single one of you.

  I recently resigned my association with Louisiana Stars. It was a really difficult decision as I wasn't only the visual designer and supervisor, but also a cofounder. The only reason I did that was for myself. I was definitely stretching myself too thin and something had to give. I'm so proud of the progress the corps has made. In it's inaugural year the corps was 1st in visual performance (overall ranking at the conclusion of their season) and in the corps' 2nd year they were 1st in Visual Ensemble (overall ranking at the conclusion of their season). These accolades are definitely because of the world class visual staff that was there. I take little credit for that. Love those guys! Universal Melodies was my favorite show that I put together. I wish the corps the best going into the future. Who knows maybe one day I'll be "back home".

  I have made some decisions in my life recently that I think are for the better. People that know me closely know that I have been kind of a partier. I enjoy going out to get drinks with friends and enjoying each other's company.

  Over the past month I have had some health issues that have made me realize I need to take better care of myself. I have slowed down on the partying and drinking dramatically. These things were getting in the way of my craft. I had to make a choice: Do I want to party or do I want to take my career to the next level? Do I want to drink or do I want to be a better designer? In both instances I chose the latter. I can guarantee that my best work is all ahead of me.

  I do feel better not only physically but also mentally. I feel like I'm going into 2016 with a higher level of focus, more self-drive, more determination, and a recharged battery with a higher level of creativtity. I know what goals I want to accomplish. I have accomplished so much in my 20's but I'm definitely upping the ante for myself in my 30's. I have goals and I WILL achieve them. To quote the great Van Mathews; "Either get behind me, or get on the side of me. But don't get in front of me because I will run you over."

  I hope everyone has a great 2016! "On and ever upward, forward never backward."

TD

I'm extremely pleased to officially announce that I'll be the 2013 Drill Designer for Pacific Crest! I'm excited and honored to join a team of such great designers and instructors!!

http://www.pacific-crest.org/2012/12/tim-darbonne-2013-drill-designer/

Wow I can't believe it's been a year since I have posted a blog!!! I guess I kind of forget about this thing. Not only that but I guess I stay pretty busy!!

Where do I begin... Well Erath's indoor drumline came out of a 8 year dorment period. I worked ensemble and wrote the show for this small group of dedicated musicians. It was a pleasure. The group did really well for its first year back! They won all but one show and were class champions at the Gulfcoast Regional championships. Great job, guys!

Then I moved out to Concord for all days. It was a total BLAST to be back and continue to build the relationships that had rekindled last year after a 3 year hiatus from the corps. I can't believe that next summer will be my third year teaching the Blue Devils!! I still wake up every morning and pinch myself. The show this summer was absolutely incredible!! The members grew so much over the course of the summer. I remember feeling really worried about the season during the first few weeks of all days. Trust me when I say that these members came a long.... LONGGGG way. I can't wait to see what the design team has in store for next year!!!

Now it's band season.... for those in the south Louisiana area you won't want to miss Erath's show this year... some will love it and some will hate it. There won't be many inbetween. That's about all I will reveal about the show until it's debut.

The members at Erath have a much higher drive and hunger for excellence than they have the past few years. It's very refreshing to see that from this group again. I can't wait to see where these young people push themselves this year.

This year I took on a lot of work. I'm surviving and thriving under the pressure. I feel like I've learned so much over the past few years and I'm loving being able to put that knowledge to work in the form of my designs (as well as my teaching :)) I can't wait to finish this blog so I can get back to work! With that being said, it's time to open up Pyware!

I hope everyone effected by Hurricane Isaac stays safe!!

TD

Hey all!!!

  Wow it has been a long time since I updated my blog. I have been swamped. I guess that's a good thing, right??? I now have a few weeks to relax before indoor percussion design starts up. I'm really looking forward to working on a few new projects.

  Anywho, I am considering myself extremely blessed. I have had the opportunity to work with a number of great programs over the years. 2011 was definitely the best season yet. The year started off early working with Music City Drum Corps and then went right into moving up to Concord to teach The Blue Devils. Wow that  drum corps has come a long, LONG way. The corps grew a lot over the course of the summer. So proud of all of the members. Just today I was watching my 2007 Blue Devils behind the scenes dvd and I must say I'm in pure amazement at how far the Blue Devils have pushed the marching activity not only in show design but also in the level of excellence that members are now asked by their staff to achieve. The Blue Devils are definitely in a class all of their own in the marching world, hopefully my obvious bias doesn't way too much into my opinion of that :-p

  The fall season was another great experience. I was able to work with 2 bands and bring them both to higher levels of excellence. One of them went from 14th in the state the year before I started teaching to .2 of a point from 4th in the state this year and taking a grand champion status at a show, and beating a band 3 times it's size!!  It just goes to show that planning on the staff's part, and a commitment by the students to the staff's process can bring a band a long way in a short amount of time. The next step for this group is for the members to have a higher understanding of the commitment to having a higher level of excellence every single rep.... once that happens, you better watch out!!

  I'm really excited for the future as I already have 5 more bands from last year already interested in my designs!! I'm going to keep working on my craft and hopefully make 2012 a better season! Thanks for stopping by. I'll try to update my blog a little more often now!

Hey everyone,

   The last few weeks have been so slammed that I forced myself to take the weekend off. One of my best friends, Josh Bourque, and I took off to the Sherburne Wildlife Refuge to go hiking and relax. We had a blast. I'll upload some pics here soon. (hopefully!)

Also landed another drill writing job today. A GREAT program in Colorado. Looking forward to working with another great group of people.

Now that I took a few days off I have to hit drill writing for The Music City Drum Corps extra hard. I can't wait to go out for the April camp and teach with some great people.

Received my staff paperwork for The Blue Devils in the mail and returning that. Can't wait for move in's and be back at Mars for the first time in 5 years.

Not much else has been going on. Be expecting many updated blogs this summer and track the course of The Blue Devils and Music City.

TD

    Hey everyone. It's been way too long since I've updated. I've been absolutely swamped. Lets see what I have to update. I have the first 1:30 of Music City's show written. This music is so fun to write to! It'll definitely be a fun show to watch this summer. I can't wait to see it live!

    My cousin's website is now up. He has one solo book and one concert band piece currently on it. Check out www.neilsimonmusic.com. He is one of my main inspirations for what I'm doing today. He marched Upper Lead Soprano with Star of Indiana in 1986 and 1987. He was the soloist in the 1986 show during the "Close Encounters" section. Man that 1986 hornline could play! This is kind of a funny story but he was also my band director when I was in high school. So I really know about drum corps because of him. Looking back on the last 11 years (which has flown by) it all seems kind of stranger how my career has developed so quickly.

    What else is new? Not too much, actually. I've just been busy writing drill. Time to get back into the Insanity workout routine though. The summer will be here before I know it and I'd like to be in pretty decent shape before I move out to California.

    If anyone is feeling generous my favorite tv show is "How I Met Your Mother". If anyone would like to buy me the Season 1 - Season 6 DVDs feel free to hook a brotha' up! 

Tim

Wow I've been swamped!! Sorry I haven't had a chance to update. Last weekend I went up to the Music City Drum Corps camp in Tennessee.... man this corps is amazing. The staff is great and the members are SOOOO respectful. It was a real treat to meet tons of great people. It was a great weekend. Since then I've sat at my computer for a good while staring at Pyware and brainstorming about Music City's show.

Drill writing season is starting way earlier than last year (which is a great thing!!) but I'm already feeling the stressed up my job. I always get so caught up in work that I forget that sometime I need to have time for myself. This coming weekend I'm going to force myself to go out to a movie and relax after a week of hitting it hard. I'm also going to start back up with the Insanity workout. I've been feeling sluggish lately and I know not being as physically active isn't helping that situation.

For all my Louisiana friends have a safe and happy Mardi Gras season! Throw me somethin' mistah!!

Tim

This is going to be a busy week for me. I have a few more design projects on the verge of being signed up. ***Band Directors make sure you get booked up soon! I'm going to get back into the Insanity workout routine. Between getting caught up with work and being sick I haven't had much time to get any working out done for the past 3 weeks. I'll be driving up to Nashville at the end of the week for a Music City Drum Corps camp. On the way I'll be spending the night with a good friend from high school in Hattiesburgh, MS. We'll be able to catch up. I will get 10 hours of driving time (each way) to be able to think about the show, and my teaching future. I got to talking to some students from Texas and they miss me and it's making me want to move back up to Dallas and teach band there again. I guess I have some thinking to do and some decisions to make. I hope everyone has a good week!!

Tim

Hello all. First off TGIF!!! Time for another weekend of relaxing for most everyone. "Unfortunatly" for me my work never stops. I do get breaks from work though. Like this afternoon and evening for instance I'll be going out to dinner with a buddy from college and then going to the UL Lafayette baseball game. Season opener is tonight and it should be a good time!! Next weekend I'll be in Nashville at the Music City Drum and Bugle Corps camp in Nashville, TN. I'm really excited to meet everyone that's involved with the corps; everyone from volunteers, members, the design team, Keith Hall, Jordan Lalama, etc. I'm so excited to be a part this corps.

The real fun is going to start after that camp when I get to really let my creativity flow to the computer screen. I can't wait to see their show "Let's Dance" come to life. It'll definitely be a show you will want to catch this summer. Anyways, I hope everyone has a good weekend. Oh and Dakota says she wants a treat: