chaos001 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) I agree their 2003 line sounded great, and they were my favorite horn line that year. But in recent years they have had the good core sound, but haven't been impressed with intonation and sometimes uncharacteristic sounds coming from the line. Yeah, you'll catch that in any brass line in world class, I just felt like Cavies were suffering with consistency a lot more than the corps around them. I will give you that the last two years there has been some major improvements. But they still have some work to do to get up to the performance level of BD, Crown, and Cadets. I think their books could be more challenging also. However, when they changed arrangers the books became more demanding immediately. I think that was in 09? Of course they are still a good place to go march. I know they are teaching good things. I just think they need to demand more out of the brass performance. And I will never like their marching technique. I just can't. It goes against everything I have ever been taught about marching. But I do respect that it works. And I feel like some years it has been really clean (2002, 2006) where the technique actually looks decent. But I feel like it varies way to much person to person to really look clean. I mean I drool over BD and their technique. LIke you said, I respect your opinion, I just disagree. Oh and I barely remember posting that anyway... I was having a good time that night... and somehow ended up on DCP... haha. Drunk Corps Posting Thousands and thousands since 2002. Edited February 22, 2012 by chaos001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc oldtimer Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Hilarious as usual Mike. "I don't drink f*&%in Merlot!!!" Paul Giamatti - Sideways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I have heard (I don't know if it's true or not) that members who make mistakes during fundamentals are taken to a special fundamental block and drilled very hard. More like a punishment, than extra assistance. I guess it's a form of motivation, just not the form I would like to be involved in. Can anyone confirm this? Well, I HAVE seen a staff member walking around with a quarter-inch Black and Decker drill, so you may be right. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Well, I HAVE seen a staff member walking around with a quarter-inch Black and Decker drill, so you may be right. That was a nail gun, Mike; and it was paired with a Taser. And chronic offenders wake up in a tub of ice with a kidney missing. It's very good motivation. And lest anyone mistakes my comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranintothedoor Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Well, I HAVE seen a staff member walking around with a quarter-inch Black and Decker drill, so you may be right. Ha! I had considered having one of those at my band's rehearsals next year... If someone doesn't have their drill book, I hand them the B&D drill and say, "March with this." Counter-productive, maybe. Hilarious, yes. Kudos to X-men for doing it first! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Ha! I had considered having one of those at my band's rehearsals next year... If someone doesn't have their drill book, I hand them the B&D drill and say, "March with this." Counter-productive, maybe. Hilarious, yes. Kudos to X-men for doing it first! And hope you're never in a serious auto accident when they're the first on the scene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranintothedoor Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 And hope you're never in a serious auto accident when they're the first on the scene. ... and one of my old bass drummers is now an EMT in town! Nooooo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crowncontramom Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) One thing that not been discussed much is that even within a single corps, the "atmosphere" (for lack of a better word) may differ from year to year. Most years everything clicks and most of the members have an "amazing, wouldn't miss it for a million dollars" experience. Some years just don't seem quite so positive. And it doesn't seem to necessarily correlate with the corps' finals placement that year. 2010 seemed that way, to me, for a lot of the kids in Crown. Expectations seemed to be so high- as much from the members themselves as from anywhere else, and a lot of the kids just seemed to be uptight and not having as much fun as normal. 2011 seemed to be the polar opposite. The atmosphere was truly amazing. So someone auditioning in 2010 may have gotten a totally different impression of Crown than somebody auditioning in 2011. To the OP, if it's possible, attend camps at BOTH Crown and Cavies. In a couple of camps, you should get a pretty good picture of how things work and what the atmosphere is at each corps. You will also get a pretty good idea of whether you have a chance of getting a spot. And even if you don't happen to be a prodigy, sometimes you get a spot because the staff sees the POTENTIAL in you. My son auditioned for Crown for 2006, when he was 15. He turned 16 right before they went on tour. He aged out this past summer after marching his 6th season. He would probably be the first person to tell you that he was NOT a prodigy. I think the staff saw the gleam in his eye, saw how great his desire was to march Crown, and saw how willing he was to work hard to improve. Best of luck to you! Above all, march SOMEWHERE ! Edited February 25, 2012 by Crowncontramom 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrownBaritone Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 I have heard (I don't know if it's true or not) that members who make mistakes during fundamentals are taken to a special fundamental block and drilled very hard. More like a punishment, than extra assistance. I guess it's a form of motivation, just not the form I would like to be involved in. Can anyone confirm this? Yes, those were "Firkus Blocks" as I recall, because they were run by Ben Firkus. Last summer was my first summer at Crown, we really only had one of them and it wasn't even that bad (though he was taking it easy). We had to work on some marching stuff so we got in a huge block and did as he said. People who ticked had to run laps, while the rest of us kept doing the drill. 2009 and 2010, from what people who were there tell me, were MUCH worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 To the OP, if it's possible, attend camps at BOTH Crown and Cavies. In a couple of camps, you should get a pretty good picture of how things work and what the atmosphere is at each corps. This is just a question and nothing more than a question; so you DCP hound dogs who cry foul all the time please try to not pounce: Are you suggesting that the OP, who is from Georgia, purchase rather expensive flights to two Cavalier Camps and two Crown camps withing the span of eight weeks to check out the atmospheres when he could merely drive to two Spirit Camps for a lot, and I mean a lot less money? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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