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Don't know if this is on topic, but there were times when I marched as if my feet were made of concrete.

Boston Crusaders announce the return of Ellis Hampton as Percussion Caption Head/Designer. Boston Crusaders announce David Clemmer and Patrick Erwin as 2015 Brass Caption Managers.

Goosebumps watching this promotional video for 2015!! Music in 2014 was awesome! http://www.youtube.com/user/DubuqueColtsMedia

You mean you don't know "Climb Very Mountain?" Those were Hammerstein's original lyrics, but no one could read his handwriting. Just kidding..."Climb Very Mountain" is proof that we should always proofread before we post.

It would make sense that the trustees of Bernstein's legacy would want composer's intentions followed since this was important to Bernstein as a conductor of other composers. Whether his recorded music reflects this is another matter that has nothing to do with drum corps. I worked at a record store (LP's, cassettes, and something we thought would probably not catch on, the CD) to earn extra Christmas money while in college. I recommended a Bernstein recording to a customer and another customer let me know I was an uncouth, uneducated brute.

That's why I like to arrange pre-1922 composers.

It simply comes down to Bernstein's estate not wanting a cut and paste arrangement that is very common in a lot of shows. They want to make sure the pieces do not lose what they are. Madison used music from On the Town in 2011, and Bernstein's music has been given permission recently, but again, they want to make sure that you don't get 30 seconds of this, then 15 seconds of that, etc. I contacted Boosey and Hawkes for a score I am working on of a Copland piece, and the cannot grant me permission until the transcription is complete and performances are set-up. Just people making sure that the original intent of major works are not being bastardized. Not to say that the Cadets would do that, but that is the intention of the publishing and rights holders.

Was that meant to be "Climb Every Mountain?"

Amen to all of this. I'll never forget the first time I saw Garfield in '85, staring glassy-eyed with my mouth half open wondering "What the #### was THAT?"

@FloridaSun..I do all the Maryland recruiting since I live up here. @Jeff..No, we haven't. Since so many of the ACCs bands are from PA or NJ, most of the band kids would be outside our target area. We were going to do Chapters at South Hagerstown, but the band I teach has a show that day in Annapolis.

Phantom 2010: Probably some of the most beautiful music ever played on the football field slightly hampered by intonation issues. One of my favorite shows overall though! The resolution in the closer was amazing.

I always liked the phrase : do you get a paycheck to teach? No? Then shut up and hit your dot for a change"

it's just bad netiquette. if you care why, see this old reply to the same question. fwiw no one bothers complaining anymore on dcp. mod's just don't care.

They were playing. I hoped for more sound as well, but I know for certain they did all play.

I mean, why do people flip their lids when threads are brought back from the trashbin of archives? It's far better than starting a whole new identical thread about the exact same topic. ON TOPIC - I think timpani is essential to drum corps. It just gives the sound that particular gravitas, that POWER, that I so love about the late-80s early-90s shows. It's the intersection of drumming and musicality (not to say that untuned percussion isn't musical) - but it has something that bass marimbas and electric basses don't have when it comes to pit low end. Also, cymbal lines. What is the deal with those being out of fashion? Okay, they're sometimes unnecessary (like 90s Star, for instance) but if a corps is playing jazz or Latin music, or powerful pieces (e.g. SCV 1987) they're essential!!!

Boston threw it out their last summer and maybe it wasn't as competitive as they had hoped, but, I thought the show was intriguing and I like risk taking corps. They learned a lot I'm sure and will take the experience of last summer into account when designing the 2015 program, what the judges are willing to appreciate and what they won't. I'll take that over a vanilla show that's under a given corps abilities.

Absurdity aside, Cadets don't need to keep doing Bernstein. They identify well with Bernstein. I'd rather them visit composers they haven't visited before. Either way, you did agree you wanted Cadets to perform Mass AGAIN so your argument is getting a little discombobulated. This year would be good for them if they keep this show concept (I think, and hope). Utilizing the same composers no matter what pieces haven't been played before would just keep them in their comfort zone.

I don't love it like the 5th finale, but Shostakovich's 10th has been up there since I heard Regiment do it in Madison in 02 (well, 2nd movement anyway). I'll go back and check out Blue Knights and Boston, but Regiment certainly didn't take it at this Dudamel tempo -- it's a pretty crazy tempo. I'm excited they're doing the 4th movement, too -- I don't believe any drum corps has tried that (please correct me). His 20 trumpets 40 guard yadda yadda stuff was just rambling of ideas, he did not say they've decided on the breakdown of the corps. He did discuss F horns a little, I think, and said he'd bet at this point that any props they have will be stationary. He hasn't discussed uniforms, colors, what kinds of props, and anything about how the show will flow between the 2nd and 4th movements and Jay's original material. He understands some may think it's "X" because of their 10 DCI championships (and 10 national titles before that?), but that's not really on their minds. In the end, he says at this point to expect a fast show with no narration. IMO as a Cadet homer, they do best (competitively and with audiences) when they march and play to impress (i.e., fast and complicated stuff). They also do best when there isn't much of a theme -- they're better when "what's this about" is pretty vague and open to interpretation. There are exceptions, certainly, but this could be the kind of show most of us want to see them do.

Of course I can't see anything definitive this early. I'm simply sharing my opinion on the announcement at this point of the year. As is literally everyone else in this thread. No crystal ball here, just discussion on a discussion forum. That said, my comparison to Side X Side was meant to be a good thing. I'd argue with you regarding it being a 'tame' show, but I'm sure you'd agree that it was the most technically proficient musical outing the Cadets have fielded in years. Take the towers out of the mix, and it's pretty #### clean visually too. With the feeling that this year's concept is Sacktig's idea/baby, coupled with some faster tempos and the talent they've been attracting lately, I think/hope/have-the-opinion-at-this-stage-of-the-game that this will be some vintage Cadets. Probably nothing earth-shatteringly unique. But a return to form that most fans of Cadets hope for.

Why? Side by Side is by far the best thing the Cadets have put out musically since 07 in my opinion. 2013 WAS a masterclass in performance and musical writing.

I think that would be the VK version.

From Wikipedia - Do You Hear What I Hear?" is a Christmas song written in October 1962, with lyrics by Noël Regney and music by Gloria Shayne Baker.[1] The pair, married at the time, wrote it as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis.[2] It has sold tens of millions of copies and has been covered by hundreds of artists.[2] Regney was inspired to write the lyrics "Said the night wind to the little lamb, 'Do you see what I see?'" and "Pray for peace, people everywhere" after watching babies being pushed in strollers on the sidewalks of New York City.[1] Shayne stated in an interview years later that neither could personally perform the entire song at the time they wrote it because of the emotions surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis.[1] "Our little song broke us up. You must realize there was a threat of nuclear war at the time."[1] Yeah...pretty trite

Only know of Rikers Island from "mentions" on Law & Order *thunk... thunk" Only "interesting" visitors we had on City Island was the year before the cops shut down the "green smoke" parties on the other side of the bridge overpass. Once in a while someone would be standing there with a real vacant look on their face. We'd just point to the tunnel and tell 'em "Think you want THAT side.." wink wink, nudge, nudge, say no more <$1 to Monty Python>

One of the most famous blacktop rehearsal spots in NYC were the parking lots at Randall's Island ... just off the exit of the Triboro (RFK) bridge that connects the Bronx with Queens and Manhattan ... on any given Friday night, there would be up to five corps rehearsing at various times ... corps like St. Rita's, Minisink, NY Lancers, Knickerbockers, Wanderers and, of course, the Skyliners ... I think even Sun and St. Ignatius showed up a few times ... all the other corps would "do their thing" and then Sky would take "the field" around 11:00 pm or so for their drill run-throughs ... the other corps would break out their lawn chairs, Styrofoam coolers (which were purchased new each weekend), blankets, whatever and we had a built in audience ... it was great and very festive ... the hotdog vendor there retired and moved back to Puerto Rico a rich man! ... we would rehearse until about 2:00 am ... trek over to Johnson's Bar in Union City ... board the bus to wherever we were going at dawn ... and off we went to the next show ... it was a wonderful atmosphere, a wonderful life and I'd do it all again in a heartbeat ... maybe Fallon will chime in about the time Bucky's car got "borrowed" one night (piece of sh|t that it was) ... visitors from Rikers and Wards Island were regular ... special times ... wild ... but harmless ... musta a been a NY ting ... :-)

Or... at the infamous hangars at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, NY. Where it was always chilly. We would leave NJ on a mild spring day for rehearsal there... with our winter coats, hats, gloves, etc. LOL

Same here. Many an evening/day spent doing drill in a parking lot at Hofstra University on Long Island!!!

The 2013 props were a pretty good idea in concept...except they ended up looking like bumper cars as they moved them around the field.

I don't always consider props a distraction. But when I do, it's for the reasons you mentioned. Stay minimalist, my friends.

..and I don't see BD as being that new either.... Especially if one looks to Winter Guard or even Marching Band. Sorry, excellence in performance is where it's at for them too. Otherwise, it's borrow from WGI or Cirque, which people go gaga over...

How? Because one was visual and GE excess that messed up a solid show, and the other was musical, and was an absence of playing? You've made your stance against the Bluecoats show this year very clear, but I would appreciate you elaborating on how not having the percussion play during the ballad was a poor decision.

August??? Heck, this show choice might change 10 times by the end of December!!!

With the Cadets' announcement of their show, Hopkins finally fulfills his dream and makes Garfield the "X"-men.

I wish the Cadets would do Bernstein's Mass again. That's a perfect fit.

oh hey happy bday Ben!

Just about any show is fine with me. As always, they'll perform it at a high level. HOWEVER..... the amount of spoken word MUST be cut down to the bone, if not missing altogether!

PR 2004... that book is NUTS! Runs happening over totally different runs on syncopated rhythms. So much fun to listen to. Very talented hornline!

Do yourself a big favor and go farther back than the last few years....Star of Indiana 1991 comes to mind right off..the mello book specifically.Keep in mind that a complicated book is far more than just "ramming notes." You also have to consider how the various parts weave together. 88 BD has some of those moments as well. Playing as many notes as fast as you can is difficult...but it's not necessarily complicated....the 2 terms are actually very different.

is make sure the snare is securely attached

The tick system was still used in 1983, and the drills after still would have been possible...they just would have scored about 4 points lower. :P

Fixed. :P

87 is indeed a visual masterpiece. Put me in the small camp of people who don't care much for the 84 program. Now, 1985, THERE'S a friggin masterpiece.