Dr. Evil

Looking forward to seeing all the mini-corps performing this year at I&E. The musical books I have read about sound great and with the talent out there, this will be a special year for the competing mini-corps and all the fans at I&E. Hope to see many new mini-corps springing up all over the country, I'd be happy to host a mini-corps show in Las Vegas in the summer of 2012 as an incentive.

Featuring Roland Garceau (Blue Devils, Brigs, many more..) Matt Winans (Cadets, Boston Crusaders, Empire Statesmen) and Steve Vaughn (2011 Phantom Regiment Euphonium soloist)

Can't wait to attend my 9th DCA Championship. Very exciting times for drum corps and the marching arts. Looking forward to meeting as many people as I can and of course, hoping you all enjoy the "Edge of the Empire" Friday night. Viva

Edo 1. Show Concept The show concept is based on the conceptual story of two warring clans in the feudal Japanese time period of Edo (1603 to 1868). The island was ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate and divided into fiefdoms for local governance. There was constant warring and jostling that broke out into numerous land wars between the various Diamio’s armies. In 1707 however, a dramatic event swept the island as Mount Fuji erupted and “spewed cinders and ash which fell like rain”. This ushered in the Meiji Restoration period and the end of feudalism, the enacting of sweeping imperial reforms and the first significant contact with the western world that Japan had to that date. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo_period 2. Show Design The show would begin with the movement of two distinct field units marching in block formations in opposition. The opening movement and its musical strains would be designed to convey the element of unresolved conflict. Curvilinear forms would then be presented to tell the visual story of two armies locked in mortal struggle. The second movement in the show would then isolate individual performers and performance ensembles to further define the story of two warring clans and their struggles as individuals in conflict. Continual resonance and movement from the music and visual ensembles would provide the undercurrent of war as a backdrop to these individual stories. The third movement would be percussive and explosive as Mt. Fuji erupted visually and symbolically through dance interpretation, percussion features and the visual representation of the mountain itself. The final and concluding movement would show that the struggles of man are inconsequential to the force of nature herself and that only harmony and unity can overcome nature. Block formations swept aside by interpretive lava flows and key show characters succumbing to the lava as they perish. Sweeping aside the very core of feudal society and absolute military rule, Mt. Fuji itself signaled the turn of Japanese society back towards imperial rule and the opening of it borders to the outside world. The final movements conclusion would resonate with unison and harmonious tone as if to convey Japan’s new found peace with itself as a nation and a people. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historic_erup...s_of_Mount_Fuji 3. Musical envelope The corps has historically performed the show theme of combining dissociated musical elements from various styles, genre and period under a unifying envelope of techno or jazz flavorings. The 2009 show would seek to unify the show’s musical elements with respect to the visual interpretation of feudal Japan. The unique evolution of Japanese music after the Meiji restoration has evolved into a dominant force in contemporary electronic music. Japanese composers and performance groups dominate the computer gaming industry with work on titles such as the Final Fantasy series or the Resident Evil series. I believe a combination of selections from the same genre and style would unify the musical package delivered by the corps as well as provide a framework of design for the visual staff to interpret. Specific keying of the music can be accomplished to suggest traditional Japanese hemitonic pentatonic minor scales, thus simulating the classical Edo period in music. Enhancing the musical envelope would be the instrumentation of the front ensemble to include traditional Japanese instruments such as the Taiko, Shoko and Tsuri-daiko. While individual song selection is important it should fit into the overall context of the performance and provide a musical canvas for the visual presentation of the show concept. A structured theme encompassing a proven combination of musical selections from Dvorak’s “New World Symphony” or Holst’s “The Planets” would drive this collaborative design set musically and stylistically as well as being crowd recognizable. Interpreting these works as if scoring for the Edo period in Japan would give the performance an extraordinary ability to cross multiple styles and periods of music as the corps prefers but would retain the original context of the music as a unified selection, interpreted from the standpoint of a different style and period. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiko 4. Staging The show’s visual design elements would work in coordination between each section to drive visual interpretation and story evolution. The horn line would tell the story of two warring armies engaged in struggle on the battlefield. From the first movement we see block arrays of two opposing forces maneuvering against each other to gain strategic advantage before the attack. The guard and drums perform in multiple static “camp” locations where they are preparing for battle, they represent the archers, lancers, and cavalry. As the horn line maneuvers and plays against each other, quick movements designed to confuse and frighten the opposing force are met with equally brilliant counter movements from the opposing block. Two drum majors play the role of warring Generals commanding their armies against each other. As the first musical movement of the show builds to its ultimate conclusion, the attack itself, the drums and guard join in the two unit’s formation signifying the final battle preparations before the charge into harms way. The second musical movement explodes into a frenzied assault of two armies into each other’s ranks. Two large rotating blocks of performers collide into each other and rotate inside each other as the battle wages onward. Small groups of performers, soloists and ensembles break from the waging battle and perform vignette stories of individual combat, victory and death. The guard retreats with the drums behind a slowly rising prop of Mt. Fuji in the backfield as the second movement comes to its frantic conclusion. The third musical movement is percussive and driven by the drums and visual performers. Mt. Fuji erupts with a concussive roar of field drums as they first play behind the prop and then as they pour out as searing rivers of lava, newly costumed guard members are interspersed between drums as they all race towards the two armies locked in struggle. The battle is forgotten as the two armies join in common struggle against the forces of nature themselves. Warrior helps warrior to escape the flows that snake through the ranks of troops and old wars are forgotten as they fight to survive. As the movement ends and the fourth musical movement begins, a new spirit of national unity and pride erupts as the armies unite under the new Emperor and the Meiji restoration begins to the ending strains of extremely loud music and the new Emperor walking through his loyal army towards the front podium on the 50 yard line while surrounded by his elite personal guards. He concludes the performance on the podium and unified the land in the shows final climactic ending. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_Restoration 5. Visual envelope The 2009 show will require a full uniform change for the corps to include incorporating some very non-traditional equipment and costuming. The basic uniform for the musical performers would be black bibbers and black marching shoes. A black long sleeve wicking tee shirt would be the top of the uniform and provide a backdrop for the costuming elements. Each horn player and drummer would wear an armored chest plate (Do), armored forearm guards (Kote), armored thigh bibbing (Haidate) and an armored samurai style helmet (Kabuto). The uniform would be completed with black sunglasses to maintain the trademark brand of the Renegades organization. Material science advances have developed a product that combines a thin layer of soft foam to the back of a flexible metallic looking plastic. This can be ordered in strips and fashioned together just as armor was made in the Edo period. At one camp, each member would sit with a pattern and cut strips of plastic bands. With hole punches they would then make the joining holes on each strip. The strips are then woven together with nylon twine instead of horsehair as was originally used. A four-hour block could be used to complete the entire uniform construction for the musical performers. To simulate the Samurai style helmet (kabuto) without adding dramatic weight, a traditional construction hardhat type helmet would be used. Fastening armor strips on the back would form the neck guard (Shikoro) and a large decorative symbol (Datemono) would be placed on the front depending on the army affiliation of the performer. The plastic strips should be dark and metallic in look, extremely light weight even as a full set of armor and not restrict movement of any performer beyond what is reasonable. A dark gray color may be better suited to convey the idea of armor rather than black. Interwoven into each members armor would be either signifying color for their army affiliation, one could be red, the other yellow for easy identification. The drum line would be costumed in very similar uniforms with the exception of forearm armor if it interfered with their performance. A costume change would be required between the second and third movements as the field percussion line was behind the Mt. Fuji prop. Orange and red over bibs would be placed on the drummers by the guard as they prepared to stream out from behind the prop in their portrayal of lava tearing through the ranks of battling horns. The guard would require multiple costume changes as it portrayed fighters in preparation for battle in the first movement, fighters locked in close combat in the second movement, lava incinerating unlucky warriors in the third movement and the Emperors elite personal guard in the final movement. http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/katchu/katchu.html

Isn't it though?

Yesterday was a memorable day for myself as a Renegade and a father. Not only did I get to perform the most difficult and intense show of my drum corps career, but I also got to watch my son perform in his very first Drum Corps show. Renegade Doug Peterson and I both have sons in the Blue Devils C corps horn line. Nothing could have been a more touching fathers day present than to see your boy march his first show. Now to address the issue... Stones will be cast, insults hurled, names called… but at the end of the day, Drum Corps continues on with or without these negative people. Renegades are doing something about the future of the art form, not knocking it down as some choose to do. You can love us or you can hate us. You can pick apart our show or you can marvel at its genius. You have a million options to choose regarding your feelings about the Renegades. The only thing you can’t do is stop us…. Mike Andrews Renegades Soprano and BDC Dad ^0^