Tad_MMA Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 I'm not picking. I'm just wondering why the battery still scores so low in comparison to the other captions. Yes, it took Thom Hannum into his 4th year with Garfield to get out of that low-scoring rut (despite two championships). Granted, Garfield (literally) reinvented marching percussion---and did it at 180 bpm. Back then, there was a separate GE Percussion caption which saved their rumps in '84. The staff has said that what really helped make the difference was Tom Aungst aging out and joining the staff in '85. Well, they're both doing CC, and the line still lags behind. Is Crown just not getting some of the same drummers that seem to run to SCV, BD, 'Coats, Cadets? Has writing/designing/marching changed since they shot "perfect" tens in 1987 at Garfield? The corps has been so beautiful to behold; it seems a shame that the drums can't catch up the the hornline... Drummers, inform us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumManTx Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 (edited) I think there has been improvement, I mean go back to 2012 and listen to that. It's just been very slow, and not finishing out the season as well as they start it in terms of momentum. I thought the feature in the front half of the show this previous year was VERY nice, rest of the show was just not at that level though. They're also not improving fast enough to keep up with the absolute monster 4 drumlines in front of them, and some lines behind them (see Blue Knights and Blue Stars for instance) are REALLY pushing as well. I don't think it's a talent problem at all, from what I can tell they attract very high level players. They seem to hit a rut around Southeastern and just don't get any cleaner from then on out. I have no viewing into how they rehearse, clean, ect., but something is just not happening the back stretch of the season. Early videos in 2015 indicated they were A) very excited about the drumline, and B) weren't afraid to showcase them in a LONG feature right off the bat. And they were very solid throughout the season, to me, until the last two or so weeks. I don't know if that's the techs or what, but if they want to be more competitive they just have to find a way to finish strong when it counts. Edited March 27, 2016 by DrumManTx 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 (edited) Last year they were .75 out of first, which was their closest in a few years. So it looks like they're slowly getting there. Edited March 28, 2016 by Ghost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tad_MMA Posted March 28, 2016 Author Share Posted March 28, 2016 Last year they were .75 out of first, which was there closest in a few years. So it looks like they're slowly getting there. 2009, they scored 19.5. Cadets had a bad fall and scored 18.5. Ironically, drums kept CC in 2nd. Was Hannum there in 2009? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 (edited) If Crown has a so so Percussion Line, it won't mean a hill of beans. They can still win themselves a DCI Title if they have a strong Guard and Visual program. On the other hand, if Crown has a first rate Percussion line ( even wins the Fred Sanford Award for Percussion ) it won't mean a hill of beans either if the Guard and or Visual is not top 3. Just ask SCV the last few years or The Cadets from last year about this. They know full well how limiting a strong drum line is on today's DCI judging sheets A strong.. top 2 ...Percussion line isn't worth a parradiddle didly squat if your Guard and/ or Visual Program is not one of the Top 3 that season. Edited March 28, 2016 by BRASSO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tad_MMA Posted March 28, 2016 Author Share Posted March 28, 2016 (edited) If Crown has a so so Percussion Line, it won't mean a hill of beans. They can still win themselves a DCI Title if they have a strong Guard and Visual program. On the other hand, if Crown has a first rate Percussion line ( even wins the Fred Sanford Award for Percussion ) it won't mean a hill of beans either if the Guard and or Visual is not top 3. Just ask SCV the last few years or The Cadets from last year about this. They know full well how limiting a strong drum line is on today's DCI judging sheets A strong.. top 2 ...Percussion line isn't worth a parradiddle didly squat if your Guard and/ or Visual Program is not one of the Top 3 that season. I get what you're saying. Crown won Quarters and Semis, unlike your examples. Remember, sloppy drumming can inflict itself onto GE. And Crown's Visual Analysis has been pi$$-poor after their DCI win (the only time since 2007 that somebody beat BD here). THAT affects GE, too. Last year's final recap: the two visual-strong GE judges + VA = 0.55 spread for BD over CC, who lost by 0.525. That's BEFORE percussion. Oh, your argument didn't hold up for 2008. BD won GE, Brass, Guard, Visual. They lost percussion. And lost DCI. Edited March 28, 2016 by Tad_MMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 (edited) Crown's program is improving - and pretty rapidly. If they build on last year they should be in great shape this year I agree with others that some of the "issue" is that we have 4 monster programs right now - SCV, BD, Cadets & Bluecoats, getting passed 1 or more of them is TOUGH Doesn't matter though - if they can cut the spread a bit more this year their other strong captions will keep them in the medal rounds most likely - with a real shot at winning #2 Edited March 28, 2016 by George Dixon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickhaltsforlife Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Believe Lee Beddis was there from 2007 to 2011. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffe77 Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 (edited) 2009, they scored 19.5. Cadets had a bad fall and scored 18.5. Ironically, drums kept CC in 2nd. Was Hannum there in 2009? I always thought Lee Beddis was taking the percussion program in the right direction and surprised when he and Crown parted ways. I mean they scored 19.6 in 2009, 0.2 pts from BD who was on fire that year. It just seems since he left they took a downward turn. Hopefully things are improving. :-) The Garfield Cadets err The Cadets had similar issues in the early 80's when they won 3 titles in the row. The percussion section placed 1983 - 5th, 1984 - 7th, and 1985 - 2nd (if it wasn't for the high Perc Ensemble score, they would have placed 4th). Sound familiar? So at the end of the day, what matters is how the whole picture comes together, if other areas of the show are very strong, it can make up for its weaknesses. The concern for Crown will be if the trend doesn't change. At least The Cadets under Thom Hannum (83-88) improved culminating with their perfect score in 1987. So we'll see. Edited March 28, 2016 by Jeffe77 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsfever Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 (edited) The difference at the top is marginal. Listen to Crown's drum line. They're darn good. No issues with talent. Underrated last year and will continue to factor in the disucussion with the best of them this year. Not concerned at all about the percussion. Edited March 28, 2016 by drumcorpsfever 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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