Hrothgar15

Yeah, I've heard about that, just wondering if they added any more. Also, does anyone know if the hornline/percussion is playing during the dialog, or is it completely silent?

I have no problem with either of the singing parts, just the speaking parts. Unnecessary, in my opinion, makes the show a lot worse than it could be. (But with 20+ years of complete masterpieces of shows, I can let a few "just pretty good" ones slide by every once in a while.) So whoever saw the show...which portions are actually spoken, and for how long?

This is driving me crazy...I KNOW I've heard a corps do this piece before. It's on the tip of my tongue, I just can't figure it out. Anyone?

Ehhh...I love Phantom's show. It's very...poignant.

I did this last year and it really helped, and I'm doing it again this year: for all corps that will be at the next show you're seeing, listen to the APD (if applicable)...a lot. I mean like 15+ full listens a lot. I find that if I've completely memorized a show I can enjoy it on a COMPLETELY different level seeing live, than I would seeing it for the first time. After all, I've never really liked any DCI show on the first watch or listen...it takes about 5 or 6 full viewings to get me to that point. Drum corps shows are like fine wine...get better with age. If I know exactly what I can expect and not be surprised, I can enjoy the show a whole lot more. Basically, I'm going to see shows I already know inside and out...except live. Needless to say, I've been listening to Cadets and Phantom like crazy. Anyone else in this same boat? Oh, and this is pretty much why I firmly believe shows shouldn't be designed JUST to entertain a crowd on a single night but also to entertain millions of people for years to come.

Maedhros doesn't care for a Cavaliers show I absolutely LOVE? What is this world coming to? (Er actually Maedhros, what do you think of Cavies '89-'91? My favorite shows by them by far!)

Seeing as I'm 17...sure. :P

I can name about 50 off the top of my head, but OK. Shows should not designed for a single night but for FOREVER. Star 1987, anyone? The pink elephant takes away nothing from the show because when you've come down do it, you've got respectable, well-written, entertaining, melodic music: two great circus marches, a Khatchaturian classic, the Ritual Fire Dance, and a beautiful original ballad. And besides, where did I say I was against corps members dressing in costume? Hmmm...right off the top of my head. No corps has yet to tackle Johann de Meij's Lord of the Rings. How about Gandalf as the opener, with its opening fanfare and majestic chords, leading into the fast-paced, frantic main theme, the haunting slow melody, and the glorious repreise...then a short interlude using Lothlorien featuring a mellophone soloist, onto the slow section from the Hobbits as a beautiful ballad, segue into a low-brass-heavy Journey in the Dark featuring a percussion feature, than finish it off the rest of Hobbits leading into a huge, glorious company front with the chorale, and the show ends with quaint, dissipating notes of the original to represent the end of the novel. No amplification. No sound board. No voice. No actors. No characters. No set, just creative guard outfits with appropriate props (swords anyone?). Just straight drum corps.Sound good?

Please don't turn this topic into a flamefest...OK? :P

I noiced this issue while listening to 1983 Garfield...what are some of those weird pit instruments they use for sound effects? Starting around 6:42 in the finals recording...first we've got the typica "wheooo" whistle, then a duck quack, then a bird tweet, then a door creaking, then a "ooooop" sound, and then a "hhhuuhhhhh" sound (it seriously sounds like someone inhaling)...what instruments were used to produce these sounds and where I can see pictures of them?

Uhhh...why? I say this with no disrespect to the Crossmen organization, but there is absolutely no way that this show, no matter how well it may be performed finals night, will ever become a classic. If it were a purely a musical and visual performance, than yes, it would have a good chance. I'm sorry, but any show that features "My Humps," let alone the rest of this cheese, cannot ever dream of being considered a classic show. Why, Crossmen, why? The show designers are cheating these kids out of glory. It's REALLY not that hard to design a drum corps show: 1. Decide on a theme or an idea the show is to convey 2. Pick three or four pieces from either the wind-band, jazz, or classical genres, one of which is preferrably a ballad (original music, if done correctly and MUSICALLY, will also work to convey the theme)...and added percussion feature is strongly encouraged 3. Design drill that fits to the music What's going on here? I'm stumped. I'm just...confused. Why are you doing this to the kids? Look at it this way. Let's take a show I consider classic, a masterpiece, Blue Devils 1988. What do I do with this show? 1. Watch the finals performance on DVD. 2. Blast the audio portion from my computer speakers or iPod. 3. Blast the show from my car with the windows down. 4. Use it to get people hooked on drum corps. 5. Hum along to the show. 6. Realize that the show is timeless and, if possible, realize that if every Blue Devils show were like this, I'd be a happy man. How would this work with the 2006 edition of the Crossmen? 1 would work, of course. If I chose 2, I would be forced to listen to a man's voice, amplified in volume, being blasted into my ears, when I clearly sat down to listen to a musical program. Imagine 3...with the Blue Devils example, I'll be at a stoplight and their huge sound in the last number is just roaring away with some loud, fat, jazz, and sop soloists come in and start playing some crazy licks. Guy in the car next to me thinks, "Wow, that's amazing." Crossmen example: I'm at a stoplight, and a man yells (amplified, no less), "FOR THE HOTTEST SINGLES IN YOUR AREA!!!!!" and all the sudden a loud BRASS ENSEMBLE begins to play. Man's reaction: "WTF?" Number 4? Yeah right. Convince a football playing jock that drum corps is not lame and is actually an amazing activity with incredibly talented performers that perform a masterful musical and visual program unlike any other and produce a final product that is simply awe-inspiring...with THAT. Number 5? How, exactly, does one hum along to a VOICED RADIO ADVERTISEMENT? Number 6 I won't even go into...I'll let you guys imagine that yourselves. I mean, when I'm more confident that a band in BOA will go out onto the field with a classy, tasteful, purely musical program than I am with a corps in DCI, something is wrong. Hopefully everyone's getting this "speaking throughout the show" crap out of their system early so they'll realize what they're doing and get back to doing things right so I can enjoy DCI for the next 70 years or so. I leave you with this. Imagine this: Rimsky-Korsakov's "Russian Easter Festival Overture." Now imagine this, you're enjoying a live performance of the piece, and during the clarinet solo around 3 minutes in (against the descending lines in the flute and harp representing the falling snowflakes), a little girl walks up to the microphone and exclaims (in a fake Russian accent, and very loudly I might add), "BRRR Mom! It's a-so cold! Let's-a get to the church quickly before-a we freeze!" It would COMPLETELY destroy ANY form of INTEGRITY or CLASS the piece once HAD. Just IMAGINE that situation. And that's exactly what vocals are doing to drum corps.

I mean this... I can't seem to find that anywhere in "Thunder and Blazes"...was it just an original motif I guess?

No...

This man speaks the truth! I'd like to see ANYONE refute that. Go ahead, the topic's all yours. :P

Come on, the yell was GREAT 2003-2005...keep it up.

Holy CRAP that's amazing! Of course, the mellophone solo comes from the chromatic low-brass run in the second strain: becomes this in the ballad: Brilliant! Can't figure out where the part in the ballad after that comes from...anyone know? And I thought this was some well-known piece...MAJOR props to the arranger! It just sounds so much like a real piece of music the way it is constructed so well...original music that sounds like an established piece...hints to today's corps arrangers, anyone?

I know this probably belongs in historical but...what was the ballad Star played in their 1987 circus show? I know there are portions based on "Thunder and Blazes" which was their closer, but does it have a name? GREAT ballad, beautiful piece of music...awesome mello soloist too.

Hello? Are you kidding? This is a standard feature of nearly EVERY drum corps ballad (except Star's little interludes, but those serve a different purpose)...a well written drum corps ballad will have a climactic chord toward the end, it's as simple as that. So I assume you don't like the ballads in Cadets '85, '89, '91, '92, '93, '95, '97, '98, '99, '01, or '05, or SCV's ballads in '92, '99 , '00, '03, or '04...the list goes on...each of those balalds have that SAME EXACT FEATURE.

Oh God. The Cavaliers have the total package this year...and this is coming from a recording I watched five minutes ago! Music? Check. And this time, there's MELODY. Always a plus. Drill? Are you kidding? Best drill since...2003? BY FAR. And the freakin' BALLAD...best ballad since '92's Peterloo Overture, and I'm serious. It's haunting. It's delicious. I love it. Can they win? I can see it. This show <i>is</i> the Cavies. And I only get to see them live twice...but I'm telling you guys. They're back.

But the dialog...

That said, if I'm blasting amplified conversations between performers...how lame is that? I honestly cannot wait for to see the Cadets this year, but if they ruin the musical aspect of their show with constant talking, I'll have to pass. In 1995 they communicated characters' stories without them talking. Any reason they can't do that again this year? Please, don't use a crutch and take the easy way out. So to whoever's seen them...how bad is it, really? Is it cheesy? Does it detract? I really want to like this show...

Ugh...talking during the show? No thanks. I mean I guess it's OK if it's not cheesy. I'd prefer music, but that's just me...remember in '95 when the Cadets told a story and had characters, but they communicated without words? In fact, when I first heard the show without seeing the visual, I had no idea any of this was going on, which is how it should be. Any reason why they can't settle on that now so they don't ruin the musical portion of the show? George Hopkins' e-mail address, anyone? ^0^ But really, how is the dialog? I assume the Alice character is in the pit when she speaks it...or maybe some sort of portable mic?

I CAN'T WAAAAAAAAIT TO SEE THIS SHOW THIS FRIDAY!!!!! Err, sorry. I LOVE the music from what I've heard and hearing their show live will probably be the most enjoyable thing I do this year so far. Last year, when they hit that first huge impact in Liquid, I was in another freakin' world. I remember thinking, This is why instruments were invented. And I was completely serious. So George, few questions. 1. How does the singing at the beginning sound? Tasteful, or obstrusive nad inappropriate? 2. How does the voice in the ballad sound? From the latest recordings, it seems to blend perfectly. 3. How are the props? Don't spoil too much...but, do they work? 4. Drill? Thanks in advance.

Four-peat? I think so. Last year, this year, their 2007 Philip Sparke tenth-anniversary Dance Movements show, and their 2008 first championship 25th-anniversary "Cadets Medley" show. One can only hope...

...and, on the football field just feet away from you, you're watching kids go out onto the field and bring you to your feet. Now that the season has officially started...what is the best memory (or memories) you have of attending a DCI event?