08/14/2026
Well… apparently I am in Facebook Group Jail until November 9. 😂
And before anyone asks:
No, I didn’t get into a fight.
No, I didn’t say something horrible.
No, I wasn’t carpet-bombing groups with spam.
I actually got to speak with a real human being at Meta today. Everything on my account shows that it is in good standing. There are no violations listed. There is nothing to appeal.
But an automated system has decided that I have been posting too much in groups.
The day in question?
I posted twice.
So… there’s that. 😂
But here’s the part I actually care about.
Over the last year, these groups have become one of the most important ways I connect with parents, educators, students, booster leaders, drum corps families, and people trying to navigate this wonderfully strange little world of music education.
And lately, especially, some of those conversations have become incredibly important.
Parents trying to understand what their kids are experiencing. Students trying to figure out what comes after the last note. Families navigating drum corps, marching band, senior year, auditions, alternates, disappointment, leadership, booster organizations, culture, conflict, and all of the complicated human stuff surrounding these programs we love.
I’m still here.
I just can’t come into the groups and find you right now.
And even more frustratingly, if you post something in one of those groups asking a question I could help with, I can’t jump into the comments and answer you.
So we’re going to adapt. Because I’m a fine arts kid.
You don’t spend your life learning how to perform through broken equipment, weather delays, missing people, rewritten drill, last-minute changes, and everything else this activity throws at you and suddenly quit because Facebook put up a roadblock.
We rewrite the drill.
For the next few months, I’m going to focus heavily on two places:
The SoundstageEDU page.
And my personal page right here.
You are absolutely welcome to follow both.
Actually, I’m going to ask you to.
And I’m going to ask one more thing from those of you who believe in what we’re building here.
Help me carry it.
When you see something that another parent needs, share it. When you hear an episode that answers a question you’ve seen someone struggling with, send it to them. When a video makes you think, “Somebody in my band parent group needs to hear this,” take it there.
Not because I need bigger numbers.
Because right now you can walk into some rooms that I can’t. And there are people in those rooms who need this information.
If you’re one of those people and somebody shared this post with you:
Hi. I’m Mike. Welcome.
Come find me here.
Follow the SoundstageEDU page. Follow my personal page. Comment. Send the question. Tell me what you’re dealing with.
Because Facebook may have temporarily changed where we have these conversations.
It doesn’t get to decide whether we have them.
So let’s make these two pages ridiculously big over the next few months.
Not for vanity.
For reach.
Let’s build a network big enough that when a parent needs help, a student needs someone to explain what they’re feeling, a booster leader doesn’t know what to do next, or an educator just needs to know somebody else understands…
someone in this community can say:
“I know where you need to go.”
Facebook changed the route.
Fine.
The mission didn’t change.
Let’s get to work.
— Mike
SoundstageEDU
Let’s raise the bar, together.
