kcbari Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 I sat through all of quarter finals except for BD (I left before they came out...voting with my feet...I'm old and curmudgeonly, eh.) My review: The pit was loud. The synth players and bass amps worked well. Troopers, Madison, Vanguard and Crown created an emotional response in me, no one else did. Many shows sound so much alike that I fell asleep during a few top-12 performances. The kids are still as wonderful as always and I am in awe of their dedication, skill and efforts. The physical demands they are meeting are staggering. I'm sure that they will all carry wonderful memories forward for the rest of their lives. I want to have a long talk with the design teams (particularly the pit writers who feel that constant runs are the answer instead of allowing timbral clarity to exist every now and then...Cadets snares don't need accompaniment during a whaling section feature, etc. I spoke with the battery writer for a top 4 drumline who heartily agreed). I'm glad that a former student bought my ticket. I got to see Star United perform Friday night at the after-party and they were outstanding. I hope the activity can grow with new groups, members and fans. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasgroh Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 I sat through all of quarter finals except for BD (I left before they came out...voting with my feet...I'm old and curmudgeonly, eh.) My review: The pit was loud. The synth players and bass amps worked well. Troopers, Madison, Vanguard and Crown created an emotional response in me, no one else did. Many shows sound so much alike that I fell asleep during a few top-12 performances. The kids are still as wonderful as always and I am in awe of their dedication, skill and efforts. The physical demands they are meeting are staggering. I'm sure that they will all carry wonderful memories forward for the rest of their lives. I want to have a long talk with the design teams (particularly the pit writers who feel that constant runs are the answer instead of allowing timbral clarity to exist every now and then...Cadets snares don't need accompaniment during a whaling section feature, etc. I spoke with the battery writer for a top 4 drumline who heartily agreed). I'm glad that a former student bought my ticket. I got to see Star United perform Friday night at the after-party and they were outstanding. I hope the activity can grow with new groups, members and fans. Well, it *seems* like your heart's in the right place when you praise "The kids..." And then you walk out on The Blue Devils. And, of course, not spending your own money to support those same kids is exemplary...bravo. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcbari Posted August 10, 2013 Author Share Posted August 10, 2013 I like your website. Great pics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikespeed Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 1376169757[/url]' post='3308022']Well, it *seems* like your heart's in the right place when you praise "The kids..." And then you walk out on The Blue Devils. And, of course, not spending your own money to support those same kids is exemplary...bravo. Despite what some DCP-ers may think, nobody should be forced to spend their hard-earned money on "supporting those kids." This gentleman went and bought quarter finals tickets and some other tickets as well. Those aren't cheap. I consider that good support, and I think attacking him for not spending more or visiting your corps' souvie tent or whatever is pretty rude. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcbari Posted August 11, 2013 Author Share Posted August 11, 2013 No sweat on anyone's part. I've been going to shows since my brothers started marching in 1980 (and since I made my lone appearance in Finals as a performer); I've purchased a raft of various souvies over the years; I've helped sponsor kids in several corps, etc. Money (and not spending it on drum corps anymore) is just my way now of making my point of not being enamored of many of the directions the activity has chosen to explore. The former student who bought my ticket did so as a tribute to our time together many years ago (he has a doctorate in music now and--for some reason--credits me with helping him...). None of us are any more right or wrong than any other in expressing our opinions...after all: opinions are like noses; everyone has one and you only get to pick your own. (It makes my middle school band kids laugh...) Civil discourse is possible, and preferable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasgroh Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 No sweat on anyone's part. I've been going to shows since my brothers started marching in 1980 (and since I made my lone appearance in Finals as a performer); I've purchased a raft of various souvies over the years; I've helped sponsor kids in several corps, etc. Money (and not spending it on drum corps anymore) is just my way now of making my point of not being enamored of many of the directions the activity has chosen to explore. The former student who bought my ticket did so as a tribute to our time together many years ago (he has a doctorate in music now and--for some reason--credits me with helping him...). None of us are any more right or wrong than any other in expressing our opinions...after all: opinions are like noses; everyone has one and you only get to pick your own. (It makes my middle school band kids laugh...) Civil discourse is possible, and preferable. ...well, crap...once in awhile I get to squeekin' and kinda get ahead of myself. Prolly shoulda held my tongue, so to speak, 'cuz you sound like a good dude. So, sorry fot the bad vibes...but you still shoulda given that magnificent BD show a chance...heh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcbari Posted August 12, 2013 Author Share Posted August 12, 2013 No sweat. I just am stuck in terms of some of my opinions related to drum corps now compared to what I used to see/do... I just worry about what I see as a direction in the activity that seems to be more about designer ego (look at what I can do!!) than what the kids can do in terms of relating to the audience. I cannot credit something that is supposed to be art when it only elicits appreciation in me (and many in the audience) instead of a creating visceral reaction to the creation of emotion in the moment (you don't even remember when you stood up screaming). The music of Webern and Schoenberg may be great from a compositional standpoint, but no one I know gets teared up while listening to tone-row music. I always tell my kids that art is in the heart, not the head...having to appreciate a show for its design qualities and the quality of the performance instead of how it moves me as a human is just antithetical to my memory of shows like 81 SCV, 82 BD, 86 BD, 86 SCV, 86 Cavies, 88 SCV, 89 PR, 89 Cadets, 90 Star, 95 Scouts, et al... I'll never take away anything from the passion of the performers for what they do (and how well they do it), but I do have concerns about the type of product they are given to sell. When someone with several drum titles to their name (and some other quite high-end staff members of corps with championship titles to their credit as well) agrees with me, I may not be alone . It doesn't make me any more right, but it does make me wonder if some higher-up folks in the activity are blinded by their own cleverness. Shew...if my bosses ever knew I could write BS like this, they'd take away my band classes and try to make me do curriculum stuff... Be well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rd&10 Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Sorry, but I can't take your posts seriously unless you use simple, basic language so everyone can understand it instead of vernacular designed to impress your fellow posters (writers ego) No sweat. I just am stuck in terms of some of my opinions related to drum corps now compared to what I used to see/do... I just worry about what I see as a direction in the activity that seems to be more about designer ego (look at what I can do!!) than what the kids can do in terms of relating to the audience. I cannot credit something that is supposed to be art when it only elicits appreciation in me (and many in the audience) instead of a creating visceral reaction to the creation of emotion in the moment (you don't even remember when you stood up screaming). The music of Webern and Schoenberg may be great from a compositional standpoint, but no one I know gets teared up while listening to tone-row music. I always tell my kids that art is in the heart, not the head...having to appreciate a show for its design qualities and the quality of the performance instead of how it moves me as a human is just antithetical to my memory of shows like 81 SCV, 82 BD, 86 BD, 86 SCV, 86 Cavies, 88 SCV, 89 PR, 89 Cadets, 90 Star, 95 Scouts, et al... I'll never take away anything from the passion of the performers for what they do (and how well they do it), but I do have concerns about the type of product they are given to sell. When someone with several drum titles to their name (and some other quite high-end staff members of corps with championship titles to their credit as well) agrees with me, I may not be alone . It doesn't make me any more right, but it does make me wonder if some higher-up folks in the activity are blinded by their own cleverness. Shew...if my bosses ever knew I could write BS like this, they'd take away my band classes and try to make me do curriculum stuff... Be well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcbari Posted August 12, 2013 Author Share Posted August 12, 2013 Move on, casual reader; nothing to gain here. I'm not doing it to impress. I do enjoy polite discourse and I do enjoy trying to have conversations on a higher level than the rhetoric-based drivel we get from talk-news programs. As a teacher (band director), I speak and write this way to help raise my students' awareness of the possibilities of our language and the importance of being able to communicate their ideas with precision (and the ability of someone from a poor background to get through college for free with merit-based scholarships, not income-based grants...important to the kids in the area in which I teach). My band students regularly show improvement in their ACT-related tests, etc. I've had as many as 12 students from the same band earn their doctorate degree in various fields. Good enough reasons for me to do what I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rd&10 Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 For such a a self-proclaimed master educator you seemingly do not comprehend the word "irony'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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