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DITD

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Everything posted by DITD

  1. Insightful takes from you, as always. When Mass premiered, it was highly anticipated from the guy who gave us West Side Story. Some critics slammed the work, not only for the blasphemous destruction of the chalice and remarking how easily things get broken, but also accusing Bernstein of grotesque narcissism in the composition of the entire work, which could be argued on both sides. I found that interesting.
  2. I think it's crazy cool and unique to have a corps director that interactive with dcp fans. Thanks Hop, for being that guy.
  3. It's okay, neither are most of us on here. haha
  4. Hard to compete with the 83 Z Pull- I think for that moment in time even interstellar gravity was frozen!
  5. I'm pretty sure this is it. Honestly, this year seems to be a vintage Cadets come home type of season. If we can keep up the momentum, and then strike a Z, I think the crowd would have their back.
  6. When news broke in the winter that they were using a vocal ensemble, I wasn't sure how to feel since Dci and vocals have had a storied past, especially with the Cadets! Not only to I agree with you, but I'm reminded of what innovation is in that programming them was a HUGE risk. Now the reward!
  7. Hop said the other day that the team was happy with the direction of 90% of the program, and they had to make sure the closer addition they're adding in finished this show- not finish a different show. Intriguing! Of course he wasn't going to let on what they're actually going to do. Just implied that the stained glass prop staging in the back has something to do with it. Hoping they hit a homerun this tag. It will come at just the right time in addition to cleaning, small tweaks, etc.
  8. This. I don't know about you guys, but before the season and up to the premier, I had friends who were already counting them out. Some of them were pleasantly surprised as they've been able to see the show, and the rest are wrestling with the growing reality that this is a different corps than they thought it would be. It's simply inspiring.
  9. Hop had a live FB post today saying they're teaching the new ending now and it's going in around 7/15. He referenced how they would teach new material and sit on it for weeks back when Zingali was there, which I always enjoy hearing those references. Reminds me of when he would speak to us at night!
  10. 3 tickets available to Dci Atlanta Regional (Southeastern Championship) Location is Section 115- right off of the 50 yardline, side 2. Seats 2,3,4 (1 seat off of the aisle). Buyer must be willing to buy all 3. I am arriving in Atlanta tomorrow evening. I will be in the Centennial Park area tomorrow evening, and then at the Dome on Saturday afternoon. $300 for all 3! Please call or text: (727) 224-8421
  11. I can tell you, when we were directed to play again instead of leave. . .it was what every member of the corps wanted. As a crowd, you all willed that to happen. It was one of those moments that a performer could not turn down. A true connection!
  12. Exhilarating. If I'm a fan, that's the beefy encore I'd want to see. FHNSAB
  13. I actually thought the premise was that even if our current audience "stays put," financially the landscape of Dci is not sustainable. That's how I took it. And looking at the cost of stadium rental, gas prices, and rising tour fees, I could see how that could be accurate. It stinks because there are great fans! But I don't know that even the greatest of fans every year contribution can equate to the rising cost of keeping the activity going season after season.
  14. I was also at the Orlando show and actually thought the use of mics was very well received. It might've been the younger generation, but there was audible screaming and clapping on the high sustains. I made a mental note it because I was expecting the consensus to be an awkward reception. While I have not heard a formal explanation, musically it would make sense to mic up a soloist to open up arranging possibilities. At triple forte, there's not much one or two soloists can do (in a contrapuntal sense) to balance unless the form of the piece facilitated in such a way. Not to mention this would not be practical for the player's chops on a day to day basis. I'm not saying that this is 'better' than the acoustic days! Just that if I'm a brass arranger, I'd appreciate the possibility of having one more trick to employ.
  15. Michael, between your insight on this and NakedEye's Orlando show review, these might be the two most profound things I've ever read on Dcp.
  16. Very insightful. As a present day instructor in the high school marching band trenches, I can tell you that kids are different than even when I was in school in the 90's. Asking them to commit to 2 rehearsal days a week, plus a Friday football game, and a Saturday competition- what my peers and I used to call "life"- is a stretch. Many would rather "have a life," or get a job (which equates to a car and pocket change), or "enjoy their senior year" than commit to one activity that offers fun via life metaphors. Granted, show design is trending differently than the "golden years." But I believe the above post contributes profoundly and heavily to the drop from 45,000 at finals in the early 80's to the 17ish thousand that were at Indy last year. I also appreciate how Wallace, and others here, admit that WW would change the activity forever, but that is only intended to be 'a possible' solution to this conundrum that we face. When listening to the OP's link on MRT, it's not that a flute or clarinet would replace the stenciled 72 member brass hornline, but would function to supplement (by adding another bus +55).
  17. As a first year member in 2001 at the Cadets, I did not pay $2,800. I paid $1,700. That was an "early bird" set as a deadline in the winter. Normal was $1,900.
  18. What a cool topic, Boo! I thought most of the corps had accessible programming this year. That said, my answer is BD- "Say a little Prayer". . .the baritone solo, trumpet solo. . .I've been whistling it daily. Ironically, I was in Atlanta and thought Cadets should've won, then got back to my hotel room and was whistling those solos from BD's show and laughed to myself. In Indy, I was glad Cadets were in front, but was still whistling those phrases in my hotel room! Great stuff. . .
  19. For Cadets-BD, I thought the same thing. Especially with Al Chez (former Cadet, Crossmen brass staff)wearing the hat. Interestingly, CBC-BD had the same .5 spread at Allentown with Cadets on top. That was with John Bell and Richard Saucedo (former Cavies horn book writer).
  20. Cool topic someone had mentioned in another thread. Said it "could be the greatest top 4 battle in Dci history." And of course you'd have to accept certain components of the assertion: Mainly that Cavies, CC, CBC, and BD are truly in contention with each other. What are some other years in Dci history where there have been more than 2 corps clustered at the top? I remembered being at the Atlanta regional in 2007 and thinking that several corps were close, but not necessarily for just 1st place either. This season's adjudication trend of "any given team on any given night" is at least giving us good conversational fodder!
  21. Fair enough. The journey of fine arts shows that when the boundaries of creating get pushed to the threshold, they trend back to what is comfortable. My professor used to relate this to the double helix of a DNA strand. It will be intriguing to see how the activity accommodates and reacts to the assimilation of electronics. In time, I think it will either be balanced tastefully or phased out as the double helix once again reboots itself. My take on it is that in understanding the grand scheme of why they are making these choices (though I don't necessarily agree), it helps me to appreciate. I'm making the 8 hour drive from Tampa, FL to ATL and psyched. Hopefully you'll find enjoyment in the performances. Some of these teams are just incredible!
  22. It is Cadets challenge for the remainder of the season- to be clean enough to look like a champion. In 2009, I thought Crown and Cadets had fabulous shows. I was there at Finals. . .and even though they performed with great energy and the program was loved by the fans (an accomplished in and of itself!). . .they just didn't look the part of a champion like Devils. Field Marching. . .Music performance. . .solid spinning and drumming. . . This is what I enjoy about the concept of competition. How good can you get in the limited time you have? Oh to be a member in a corps today must be a thrill!
  23. Nice observation, Tekk! And yes, I'm anticipating the same. I know these two teams have at least one more meeting going into ATL. Love it!
  24. I understand your sentiment. I started watching drum corps in high school in the mid 90's, and to me, the style of design and corps identity that was going on at that time will always be "it" in my heart! But like so many art forms in the humanities (if you'll humor me to classify drum corps as such), it will not stay the same. From medieval times to baroque, baroque to classical, classical to romantic, romantic to neoclassical, neoclassical to contemporary, contemporary to dodecaphony, 12 tone to computer music (ack!), and finally arriving at our current genre of wind band composition (summarized), music has come a long way! And it hasn't been with out its growing pains. Think Stravinsky riots - "Rite of Spring." Listeners weren't on board. If only there were discussion forums around then and what would be posted! The reason I include drum corps with that of music's journey, painting, sculpture, and theater is because it is still created. The best minds of our activity a viewing the canvass of a drum corps show in an aesthetic capacity. They are looking to push the boundaries of what is acceptable in the chances that something beautiful can be realized! Now along the way, they will certainly upset those who don't want to see change. But this is why new ideas are getting passed, and it's bigger than just George Hopkins. It's not that they want to ruin an already great thing, but have the opportunity to discover and create. Synthesizers are still being figured out. How to achieve balance and tasteful blend is not quite there yet. But arrangers like the added color palate! Notice how some show designers tried out voice over for a few years. . .just to try it! It is all but gone from the activity now. Things will be introduced----improved----if they don't pass the trial----phased out. UNTIL yet another corps or designer has what "they think" is a fresh take on voice over, and will try again. I know you don't want it to move this way. I love my 1995 Dci Finals VHS tapes. But as artists = drill designers, music arrangers, & program coordinators. . .it will not stay the same as En Fuego, The Planets, an American Quintet, Birdland, etc. This is drum corps civil revolt to "Stravinsky's Rite of Spring!"
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