MikeRapp
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Everything posted by MikeRapp
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1. Bloo 2. Boston 3. BD 4. Crown 5. Mandarins 6. Cadets 7. Cavaliers 8. Phantom
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A tribute to George Zingali (video)
MikeRapp replied to MikeRapp's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
I just love his statement about the art becoming him. A true artist. Having worked in the music business for so many years, I can relate to this experience. There comes a moment in which the emotional experience of the art becomes the experience. It’s no longer the mechanics or the how, it’s the feeling. Wanting others to experience that feeling with you is what makes art what it is, at its best. This is why I can watch certain dci shows over and over again and still get emotional. I work in big tech now and it’s common for people to talk flippantly about design being taken over by AI. The implication is that art is nothing more than a series of things that make another thing. But can machines feel? Can they cry? Can they cheer? Can they be excited? Motivated? The joy of experience is what made George who he was and it’s why his work was so powerful and influential. -
Many of you may have seen this. All I can say is, I envy those of you who got to experience the energy and creative commitment that George gave to his members and the activity.
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The "Music Corps Should Do" thread
MikeRapp replied to Lance's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Daft Punk. -
Listening to drum corps in everyday life
MikeRapp replied to Orwellian Wiress's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
I would if the music was available on streaming platforms. Just looked for Session 44 on Spotify and Apple last night, nothing. -
Blue Devils in the Details 2023
MikeRapp replied to DWW11's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
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This show still goes down as one of my all time favorites. That ballad—wow. And washing machine. What a show!
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1. Mandarins 2. Bloo
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I believe someone said BD was over 80.
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I’d suggest that is pretty normal. The last time I saw a DCI-wide spreadsheet of member experience, the order of finish was almost lock step with most to least. Including age outs. In many ways it’s really not a fair fight. The corps at the bottom of the top 12 are not playing with the same deck as the top six. I don’t care what your design philosophy, training regiment, or teaching approach is—you ain’t beating the top six with a corps dominated by high schoolers.
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How many age outs did Bloo have this year?
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Not sure that’s true. Vast majority of BD MMs come from established corps, and are near or at age out. I read that around 75 of the BD members this year aged out. Let’s be honest here, BD has way way more qualified auditioners than they can sign. They have the luxury of picking not just the best and most experienced MMS—but also those that fit their method of teaching and performance. Their guard is professional level ability.
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Right but my suspicion is that this method of design only works when half your corps is age outs, and almost all coming from other established corps. I would like to know how many other corps don’t use a dot chart, and whether BDB and BDC also do not use dot charts.
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The question I would like asked of the BD design leads is, does your design and teaching method only work well because you consistently march the most experienced corps in DCI? Does BdB and BdC use the same methodology?
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Would love to see SCV do Phantom of the Opera for the third time but with modern sound and props.
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Yeah but… Compare show designs today to show designs using the tick system. They literally don’t compare. The creativity and general excellence is off the charts now. Literally. The theory of the tick system is one thing; the unintended outcomes are something entirely different.
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Mandarins are pretty in your face, but their production is insane.
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Yeah the difference(s) between 1 and everyone else need to be acknowledged. It’s not “just” design IMO. Bluecoats was not my favorite this year but I can’t imagine design being their “problem,” if they have one. If anything the predictability of BD design is the thing that makes them hard to beat, as they keep honing their ideas over and over again with the same sensibility to details. Bluecoats have their “tropes” but they tend to steer away from predictability rather than toward it.
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I actually was asking in light of the possibility of their full time signed instructors deciding to go elsewhere in 2024.
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Blue Devils in the Details 2023
MikeRapp replied to DWW11's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
BD has their “tropes.” Like them or not. But to imply their shows are technically uninteresting and/or simplistic is truly absurd. -
Blue Devils in the Details 2023
MikeRapp replied to DWW11's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Nevermore! -
Carolina Crown 2023
MikeRapp replied to MadisonBandMan1's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
That score is made for DCI. Mellows would line up for blocks! -
Way Too Early DCI 2024 Discussion
MikeRapp replied to IllianaLancerContra's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
You don’t have to attend shows or subscribe to Flo. -
I just tend to conclude it’s not just instruction. It’s having a corps of so called 5-star recruits who have already toiled away at other corps, who understand what it means and takes to have a corps-wide visual performance. A few other corps are close to beating them, but the differences just cannot be overcome without a truly insane show a la Babylon or Down Side Up.