Phantom Regiment 2016

[Cappybara]

Well, this past season was an interesting one for Phantom in that their show took a very different approach from what they did from 2011-2014. They experimented with a different, more light-hearted concept with somewhat of a lukewarm response. And an even worse one on DCP.

So what should they do now? Any ideas for what music they should attempt? Any themes that they should explore?

What about the staff? What kind of changes do you predict happening? (I ask this not to trash on the current staff, but more just to see what kind of changes they think will ACTUALLY be made).

Let's try to keep this thread as positive as possible this year!

Edited August 11, 2015 by Cappybara

[HornTeacher]

Well, since a foray into more lighter fare didn't apparently seem to appease many, I suggest they go the opposite direction with a show "Sibyl of the Rhine: The Music of Hildegard Von Bingen."

Edited August 11, 2015 by HornTeacher

[DrumManTx]

Like I've said, I think this team with the right music and theme from the coordinator could do wonders. They need a 2005 right now.

No more retreads please..............give us Phantom........with a twist. Some modern orchestral juxtaposed with some classical? Throw in a minimalist piece? Just something fresh while still being you!

Otherwise. Keep as many people there as necessary. They really need some consistency. Brass and percussion are fine, Kuhn did a great job in his 2nd year. Guard should be too? At least to my untrained eye.

I think they'll be fine. This years show came together pretty nicely in the end overall. If anything, seemed like they could handle some more. I think the future can be bright, just don't dwindle it from day 1 with the show choice.

[general_tsos_chicken2]

John Adams or Philip Glass would be cool. I just want to hear something I haven't heard before, not cliche classical pieces or other pieces they've played.

new brass arranger

Keep percussion arrangers, the writing was excellent!), but maybe someone with a reputation as caption head for the battery to keep them clean on the road

males in the guard! I know people will disagree, but I want to see some rifle tosses that get me out of my seat. I don't want to see hornline members dancing with the guard as the 'male' anymore, it's ineffective. Imagine what spartacus or faust would have been like without males! It seemed like a backwards move to me to go back to all female, although it worked great for juliet. At least let the decision be in the hands of the guard staff, NOT management. If it's from higher up, that's a problem.

most importantly, a coordinator who can put together a good show. Concept has seemed very 'bush league' the last few years.

They can move up quickly, I know it!

Edited August 11, 2015 by general_tsos_chicken2

[MikeD]

Janacek's "Sinfonietta".

Until they do this piece, the maloik placed on them will not be lifted.

[kdaddy]

Janacek's "Sinfonietta".

Until they do this piece, the maloik placed on them will not be lifted.

There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and MikeD's regular plea for Janacek. :)

[kdaddy]

A few thoughts about Phantom Regiment that I’ve been working on lately. Yes, I provide criticisms of 2015 (and a couple years previous), but I try to do it in light of what I think needs to be fixed in 2016. As you’ll see, I take a very selfish “entertain me only” view.

Let me first state again that I’m not hung up on the placement of the corps as I am “having a good feeling about how things are going.” Seeing Phantom Regiment on the 1993 PBS broadcast is one of the major reasons I follow drum corps today, and I’ve seen them in good and bad, placement-wise and “my feeling”-wise. What affects “my feeling”? Conceptual design, individual caption design, performance.

I’ve also stated in this forum that I have thought that Phantom Regiment is generally a fifth place corps. This was when Crown was surging, Cavies were top four, and Coats and SCV were competing to get into the top six. I may need to update that a little, but what I mean is that I think that talent will keep them competitive in the top six, but forces (whatever they might be) will hold back the competitive aspects of the corps (integration, sophistication to some extent). Occasionally, they’ll find a sweet spot (along with other corps maybe having an off-year – seasons don’t occur in a vacuum), and occasionally they’ll have an off year. But so long as I have that warm and fuzzy feeling, I’m perfectly content.

Why did I have a good feeling about some years? I thought there was an extreme amount of competence in all aspects of design in certain years: 93-97, 05-07 are a few examples. Look at the designers from 05-07. The brass arranger had previously only arranged for BAC a couple times. The percussion arranger came from a lower placing corps (and one that didn’t make finals the year before he came to Regiment). The guard designer either left or was not invited back to SCV. And the drill writer came from a less-than-stellar Scouts design (though he was highly competent elsewhere before that). And what happened? Excellence that may be achieved by this corps only every few years. Should we expect that year-in and year-out? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean they can’t put together a group in 2016 that gives me a good feeling, ######.

Given the years that I have watched them, 1993 to present, what may have kept them in a fifth place average? For several different years, I thought it was the drill aspect of the visual program. 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009 – those were some (to me) abysmal seasons of drill. 1999-2001 weren’t great, but weren’t bad. So, I would argue that drill design would be one lagging area for the corps over the last 20 years (and constantly rewriting drill impacts other areas of scoring). Generally speaking, in years not heavily involving Tony Hall or Jamey Thompson, the drill has been weak. So, how does 2015 stack up? It’s not great, but it’s not that bad. Certainly no worse than par outside of a few particularly special years (93, 94, 05-07, 12). The drill doesn’t have to be flashy, but it needs to make sense (e.g., the opposite of 2002). As such, I see no reason to make a change at the drill writer spot, though I hope there are some lessons learned. With regard to tech staff, I’ve heard anecdotes about less-demanding visual tryouts in camps and less-effective manner of running rehearsals during the season. No idea as to the validity of those comments (but they come from people I trust), and if true, it would seem that visual instructional staff could be a concern worth looking at in 2016.

I can’t really say much about guard, other than I thought some guards in the 93-present history have been really effective: 93, 94, 96, 05-08, 11-12. In 2015, they seemed good to me, but they also generally lagged in scoring. Did they deserve 13th in semis? Probably not. Did they deserve 6th in finals? Probably not. But they’re probably somewhere in between, and that’s probably okay. Design-wise, my issue with the guard design is more of a programmatic issue. If the show in 2015 depicted a weekend visit by an American (supposedly Holly Golightly) to Paris, then I can see how it could relate to the American in Paris theme (though I didn’t like it at all and felt it lacked sophistication). However, if the American in Paris theme is indeed what was being represented, there was a big flaw in the ballad, in my opinion. I ended up liking the sunflower dresses and flags during Claire de Lune and thought they were pretty, however, how does that represent a weekend in Paris? The sunflowers were painted in Paris, but that’s it: you don’t see sunflowers in Paris, you can’t view those paintings in Paris art museums. To me, this is a flaw in design, and that’s something that should be fixed for 2016. It’s a general lack of sophistication relative to what’s going on in top corps.

Brass has always been a strength of the corps, not just performance but arranging. Many have lamented about the power built into the brass arrangements of late (an arranger issue). I have lamented how it takes the entire season for the brass line to really perform of late (perhaps a staff issue).

I can’t speak to percussion, other than I thought they would’ve rebounded a bit by now post-Rennick. My percussion friends have not been impressed with the Regiment’s use of electronics for years, so I hope that improves in 2016.

What years did I not have a good feeling? 1998, and 2013-2015. Drill rewrites plagued 1998, and that had an effect on other areas (e.g., you spend an hour re-re-re-learning drill, that’s an hour of time not spent elsewhere). I will never forgive 2013 Phantom Regiment for the witch. And 2014 never grabbed me, and I thought musical selections were weak.

Scuttlebutt is that the brass arranger and visual team won’t return next year. I have no way to substantiate that other than waiting to see if an announcement comes. To me, the larger issue lies in program conceptual design and music selections, then stems from there. I don’t like to see people get fired, especially after just one or two seasons. I wish I could say “hey, make me have a good feeling again,” and they respond.

What do I want to remain the same in 2016: I hope the members max out whatever they’re given and have a great time doing it.

[zachariaswmb]

A few thoughts about Phantom Regiment that Ive been working on lately. Yes, I provide criticisms of 2015 (and a couple years previous), but I try to do it in light of what I think needs to be fixed in 2016. As youll see, I take a very selfish entertain me only view.

Let me first state again that Im not hung up on the placement of the corps as I am having a good feeling about how things are going. Seeing Phantom Regiment on the 1993 PBS broadcast is one of the major reasons I follow drum corps today, and Ive seen them in good and bad, placement-wise and my feeling-wise. What affects my feeling? Conceptual design, individual caption design, performance.

Ive also stated in this forum that I have thought that Phantom Regiment is generally a fifth place corps. This was when Crown was surging, Cavies were top four, and Coats and SCV were competing to get into the top six. I may need to update that a little, but what I mean is that I think that talent will keep them competitive in the top six, but forces (whatever they might be) will hold back the competitive aspects of the corps (integration, sophistication to some extent). Occasionally, theyll find a sweet spot (along with other corps maybe having an off-year seasons dont occur in a vacuum), and occasionally theyll have an off year. But so long as I have that warm and fuzzy feeling, Im perfectly content.

Why did I have a good feeling about some years? I thought there was an extreme amount of competence in all aspects of design in certain years: 93-97, 05-07 are a few examples. Look at the designers from 05-07. The brass arranger had previously only arranged for BAC a couple times. The percussion arranger came from a lower placing corps (and one that didnt make finals the year before he came to Regiment). The guard designer either left or was not invited back to SCV. And the drill writer came from a less-than-stellar Scouts design (though he was highly competent elsewhere before that). And what happened? Excellence that may be achieved by this corps only every few years. Should we expect that year-in and year-out? Probably not. But that doesnt mean they cant put together a group in 2016 that gives me a good feeling, ######.

Given the years that I have watched them, 1993 to present, what may have kept them in a fifth place average? For several different years, I thought it was the drill aspect of the visual program. 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009 those were some (to me) abysmal seasons of drill. 1999-2001 werent great, but werent bad. So, I would argue that drill design would be one lagging area for the corps over the last 20 years (and constantly rewriting drill impacts other areas of scoring). Generally speaking, in years not heavily involving Tony Hall or Jamey Thompson, the drill has been weak. So, how does 2015 stack up? Its not great, but its not that bad. Certainly no worse than par outside of a few particularly special years (93, 94, 05-07, 12). The drill doesnt have to be flashy, but it needs to make sense (e.g., the opposite of 2002). As such, I see no reason to make a change at the drill writer spot, though I hope there are some lessons learned. With regard to tech staff, Ive heard anecdotes about less-demanding visual tryouts in camps and less-effective manner of running rehearsals during the season. No idea as to the validity of those comments (but they come from people I trust), and if true, it would seem that visual instructional staff could be a concern worth looking at in 2016.

I cant really say much about guard, other than I thought some guards in the 93-present history have been really effective: 93, 94, 96, 05-08, 11-12. In 2015, they seemed good to me, but they also generally lagged in scoring. Did they deserve 13th in semis? Probably not. Did they deserve 6th in finals? Probably not. But theyre probably somewhere in between, and thats probably okay. Design-wise, my issue with the guard design is more of a programmatic issue. If the show in 2015 depicted a weekend visit by an American (supposedly Holly Golightly) to Paris, then I can see how it could relate to the American in Paris theme (though I didnt like it at all and felt it lacked sophistication). However, if the American in Paris theme is indeed what was being represented, there was a big flaw in the ballad, in my opinion. I ended up liking the sunflower dresses and flags during Claire de Lune and thought they were pretty, however, how does that represent a weekend in Paris? The sunflowers were painted in Paris, but thats it: you dont see sunflowers in Paris, you cant view those paintings in Paris art museums. To me, this is a flaw in design, and thats something that should be fixed for 2016. Its a general lack of sophistication relative to whats going on in top corps.

Brass has always been a strength of the corps, not just performance but arranging. Many have lamented about the power built into the brass arrangements of late (an arranger issue). I have lamented how it takes the entire season for the brass line to really perform of late (perhaps a staff issue).

I cant speak to percussion, other than I thought they wouldve rebounded a bit by now post-Rennick. My percussion friends have not been impressed with the Regiments use of electronics for years, so I hope that improves in 2016.

What years did I not have a good feeling? 1998, and 2013-2015. Drill rewrites plagued 1998, and that had an effect on other areas (e.g., you spend an hour re-re-re-learning drill, thats an hour of time not spent elsewhere). I will never forgive 2013 Phantom Regiment for the witch. And 2014 never grabbed me, and I thought musical selections were weak.

Scuttlebutt is that the brass arranger and visual team wont return next year. I have no way to substantiate that other than waiting to see if an announcement comes. To me, the larger issue lies in program conceptual design and music selections, then stems from there. I dont like to see people get fired, especially after just one or two seasons. I wish I could say hey, make me have a good feeling again, and they respond.

What do I want to remain the same in 2016: I hope the members max out whatever theyre given and have a great time doing it.

Tons of interesting thoughts here, and a lot to digest. Thanks for sharing! I wonder who they might be thinking of bringing on, if they do get rid of Hill.

[kdaddy]

Tons of interesting thoughts here, and a lot to digest. Thanks for sharing! I wonder who they might be thinking of bringing on, if they do get rid of Hill.

Many thanks - it's been a work in progress over a couple weeks (hence rambling and wandering).

[Lead]

Ditch the Jupiter axes and go to the new Kanstul line.