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ironlips

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Everything posted by ironlips

  1. I used to chide my colleagues when they proposed what I considered preposterous and overblown titles for their shows. I felt they often were promising "The History of the Universe in all its Complexity" or "The Bible-meets-The Koran-at-Buddha's House Party"...all in 11 minutes. Now I'm not so sure it can't be done, in a way at least. A well-chosen and edited segment from "Atomic" might just serve as a portion of such a show. Adams has always been interesting, particularly in the rhythm sphere. Percussionists love him, and with good reason. Melodically, well...let's just say he's no Puccini. Still, he's a pro and I'd much prefer to hear music from folks like J.A. than the sophomoric attempts of many of the lesser-gifted and inexperienced who dare to write "original" music for Drum Corps, just because they have a degree from West Jock Strap College of (Mostly) Fine Arts. All composers have a "tell". For Bach it's I, IV, V. For Lenny, the tri-tone leap. Adams seems to be determined to broker a harmonic friendship between F# and G natural. (Check the first movement of his "Atomic Symphony", derived from the opera's overture.) In the hands of a top "Drum Corps" arranger (read, "orchestrator") this source material could serve well as a show segment. Whether that particular audience's ears are ready...we won't know until someone yells "Bombs Away!"
  2. "...being held liable for sins committed before they were even born" Actually, this is the point of the suit. Whether the "current" entity is liable will be determined before any action can proceed.
  3. Of course, this applies to SCV right now and is probably effecting recruiting.
  4. Maybe we should try this out in Color Guard first. That's where the real scary shows are.
  5. That's what I meant about retreats sometimes being more entertaining than the shows.
  6. Thanks for the compliment! Maybe I can expand this into "Fear and Loathing in Drum Corps".
  7. The very first DCA Championship contest was held in 1965 in Milford, CT. "Full Retreats" were a given then at almost every show, featuring the appropriate bugle call at the beginning, played by one of the soprano players from a competing corps, all color guards, drum majors and their entire corps. Normally, the host corps would play all the others on, each unit marching through the gate, across the field, ending downstage arranged left to right near the front sideline. Caption and placement awards would be announced and each unit would parade across the front playing their signature song as all others came to attention and their respective guards dipped silks in salute. Sometimes this was more entertaining than some of the performances. The DCA officials wished to up the ante for Finals and hatched a plan for all corps to set up at the back sideline, moving forward together playing the last 16 bars of "Stars and Stripes". Reading, Hurcs, Skyliners, Yankee Rebels, Interstatesmen and Pittsburgh Rockets were an impressive mass of color. There was a roll-off. They all stepped off. We in the audience held our collective breath... The first few notes were massive and (mostly) together. What followed can only be described as a bad LSD trip. Only the Bucs and Rebels seemed to have had a nodding acquaintance with the actual arrangement. Everyone else appeared to be searching for things like tempo and key. As the monster lurched closer, even the participants came to realize what an abomination was being created. Some, like the Skyliners, doubled down, adding random bugle calls, screams and rim shots...then, mercifully it ended, not exactly in unison. We were stunned. The guy next to me, looking off into space, said, "Man. That s#*t was psychedelic!" ...It was a monumental understatement.
  8. "...or is it about winning the competition? " This, of course, was the central idea. There's really nothing wrong with that. But the notion that there's only one winner and everyone else is a failure is absurd. The awareness of the inherent value of the quest is also sine qua non.
  9. I agree this would be appropriate, but it's unrealistic. No competitor will allot the time to learn it unless it was required for participation, and even then it would be approached with something less than enthusiasm. Frankly, I think a massed playing of anything would add a good coda to the season. Auld Lang Syne would be suitable, on several levels, for instance. The fact remains, however, that there would be no Drum Corps were it not for American service veterans. I am one of those (You're welcome, though I was "invited" to serve.) but I feel no particular urge to foist patriotism on my fellow man. It certainly wouldn't hurt for DCI Finalists to give a brief nod to "Finding Their Roots" by devoting 45 seconds to acknowledging their origins, especially with the National Headquarters of the American Legion only a few blocks away from the Oil Can.
  10. In a very real sense, Tracy is Joni's musical daughter. As the great Louis Armstrong once remarked, "All music is folk music", and the best of it conveys profound meaning. Well done in both instances here.
  11. This is a perfect example of how a color guard, dance team or other performance group can serve to educate its audience. It goes far beyond the "score-able" athleticism, precision movement and equipment handling required of a competing unit. It's what can make color guard an art, something which conveys point of view. My hat is off to them. They are honoring the American women of the "Greatest Generation", and irrespective of how the numbers ultimately turn out for them, they have already succeeded.
  12. Ya gotta love Rosie the Riveter! Which guard is that?
  13. That's true, and the corps still must feed and house them. Few are sleeping on gym floors.
  14. There are a lot of moving parts here, the most important of which are recruitment and staff. I hope they make it, and Garfield, too.
  15. It might take two rabbits, and one would have to be as tenacious as that little devil from Monty Python.
  16. Much as we love "Gloom and Doom" around here, and not that I have any inside information, but I wouldn't write them off just yet.
  17. Things are escalating and the temperature is rising here. We all know where this leads. I recommend holding fire. FD (former SGT E5 tank commander, 142nd Armor Div.)
  18. I think it's necessary to understand the landscape. This is one of the most densely populated and affluent zones in the San Francisco Bay Area. There is no scarcity of gamblers of all types, Bingoites included. Days (or evenings) of the week will matter much less than the size of the pots, I think. That said, Bingo itself is declining overall, even as corps operating expenses increase. To generate sufficient funds, it will be necessary to diversify income sources, as their neighbors to the north have been doing for years.
  19. Reminiscent of the old proverb about apples and trees, and the necessity for all such honorary organizations to provide some benefit to the community at large.
  20. Careful. We've all heard of glass houses, and here's a "Mid-West Side Story": https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/11/27/minneapolis-close-homeless-camp There are bigger problems in this world than one on-the-skids, mismanaged non-profit in the wealthiest suburb in America.
  21. And that's why you are held in such high esteem here.
  22. A sweet thought. I am trying to recall the last time any DCI program designer prioritized this. I do admire your idealism.
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