Leland

Cadets 91; exposed, difficult, and they pulled it off. Not many good Cadets contra lines, but that was one.

:D I might have to come by with Kirk sometime to see how it's going.

Back in college, we used to joke about the dangers of having math/engineering majors teaching & writing drill... "No, no no -- you guys are making a curve based on y = (x+2)^(n/?)! It's supposed to be shaped like y = (x+1)^(n/?)... take it back, do it again." B) I wonder when I'll ever get to see the show. Does it get videotaped? (edit - the "?" in the equations are supposed to be pi, but the board's font doesn't seem to have it.. doesn't make much mathematical sense either, but it looks fancy.. lol)

I set mine for "Off". I don't like trying to screw around with the tonal balance that they worked all summer to achieve. If I could add custom EQ curves for each pair of headphones and for my car, then I'd do that instead.

When you've been a low brass player from the beginning, never "formally" learning another instrument, yet can convincingly fake your way through the March in the Holst band suite on snare drum in a community band rehearsal. I'll think of more, I'm sure...

That's the problem, though -- the opportunity for higher placement should be available for everyone. Corps should be able to compete no matter what, and without having to worry about the consequences of placing higher. It should be simply "the better corps places higher", not "the better corps places higher and suddenly has to choose to gamble on getting enough cash and members together to compete in a new division for a season that doesn't start for another nine months". It blew my mind when I found out that DCI was doing this.

Bob Stanke (is that how he spelled it?), drum tech & Dr. Beat carrier, whispering, "Watch this...", then sneaking up right behind Brad Benson... *CANK* CANK* *CANK* Brad: "Holy...!!"

That's true, because through a good chunk of the season, execution usually matters more than design. Judges will say, "Well, that will be really nice once you get it clean, but I can't give you credit yet..." Once the Cavaliers got a handle on what they were doing, that was it.

Wow, talk about a fixer-upper... Hmmm........................ If you still have this in October, we may have to talk. (can't believe I'm considering adding another contra to my small stable!)

BD's show wasn't nearly as complete of a package as Cavaliers in '95. Cavaliers' only way to lose was to be dirty enough for someone else to pass them up. BD's repeat of Day Danse wasn't helping them at all. One more week in '99 would've given BD the chance to clean up even better (especially the big blocks) and maybe not have an off night at Finals. BD had the title but let it slip; SCV, coming out of the chute with both barrels, still could only tie (Blue Shades, IMO, was a mistake; they were too square to do it justice). Great show, but gee whiz, that Cadets hornline -- especially the mellos -- was one of the most out-of-tune I've ever heard in the top 6. Star dropped because they were too dry, too cold and emotionless, and because they covered up the corps with a giant screen. Cadets didn't win because they couldn't play. Again, the Cavaliers had the complete package that year. Some people have said that '89 Cadets would have been able to win if they could have cleaned it up. SCV and Phantom were REALLY good that year, and I don't think anyone could've touched either of them -- but that Cadets show was really, really slick, with a lot of stuff that didn't show up in other corps for at least five more years. If they had more time to clean, and maybe with better talent in the drums, they might've been a lot closer than 5th. You have to have both outstanding execution and total show design to guarantee a win. No "Wtf are they doing NOW?" moments, no slight ensemble errors. It's the years where nobody has a flawlessly designed show when things get interesting.

Plus, we don't want to show up the young'ins... ;)

Who wants to bet that they'll go back to matched in 2015?

3rd place hornline in '88 -- in Open Class Quarterfinals. I was walking around to the back side of Arrowhead Stadium just as they were starting, and when I heard them play, I thought, "Holy ####... WHO is this?" I stopped walking and watched their show from the railing. They weren't necessarily loud, but clarity & intonation were unbelievable.

Bb vs. G -- for me, G. Better blend, not so bright, fatter sop sound and deeper contra sound. Anyway, about brands, in the hornlines I've heard in person... 2-valve G: King, with Olds close behind. 3-valve G: Kanstul. Bb/F: King, easily. They've gotten the best voice-to-voice blend so far; so good, actually, that I almost think that I'm hearing a G hornline if the players are doing well enough (this year's Crown hornline, for example). Kanstul's really close to them. Yamaha and Dynasty still have problems in breaking apart badly at their limits. Gino's hornlines just blow right past them, and BD & Cavaliers stay on the safe & clean side, becoming quieter in the process (sorry, but that's true; decibel-for-decibel, BD has been softer since 2000). The question should be -- who makes the most consistent brasswinds? Consistency, having similar intonation & response tendencies from once specimen to the next, is very helpful in getting a hornline to play as an ensemble.

During preseason: "Pirate stuff? What the... are they serious? God, I hope it doesn't suck..." During the first two thirds: "Cool, this is pretty darn cool. Check out that wave move.." From the swordfight to the end: [beavis voice]"Yeah-yeah-yeah... that ROCKS!... yeah-yeah-rrrrRRRR" The guy with the pit stains has an eye patch & bandanna, doesn't he? Oh yeah -- I liked how the pit was climbing halfway up their keyboards for the last five cymbal crashes. I asked Bobby in Rome, NY, if he found that he was working harder as DM than he did as a bass drummer (he was bottom bass with us through '94 and went to Scouts on 4th bass after that), and he said, "Oh god yeah..."

Let 'em park in the pit. Why? They really may not be able to march anymore, and many of these drills are pretty darn fast these days. And, if the corps wants to risk any hits in GE or in the Demand subcations by parking a soloist, let them do so.

Star will be back in 2008.

As has been mentioned, II/III should be allowed to compete in Quarters directly, or at least if they place high enough overall at II/III Finals. They should not be required to move to Div. I if they place high enough, though. This is another dumb reason to have II/III Finals at the very end of the week. There's no opportunity for the kids to progress through a few more shows. Bring it back to Tuesday in the same stadium to make things simpler for everyone involved. Frankly, I'm glad that I'm not marching II/III these days. It was difficult enough to feel respected fifteen years ago, but these days it seems pretty ####ty.

I've heard that the '88 hornline had several plugs, maybe up to eleven -- but none in the contras. I might be thinking of the '89 line, though. That would skew the balance a bit. Madison 1990 had seven contras, too.

Nope. When that was first brought up, somebody took Kanstul's price lists for their Bb/F and G marching brasses and compared the costs of a full hornline. The Bb prices were quite a bit more expensive.

Ah, but not yet... If they're actually willing to develop weatherproof woodwinds, what better place to do so than the drum corps field? The other problem is, I really don't see that happening. Besides, BOA Grand Nationals (and other band contests) is held in a dome anyway. One of my big beefs with both amps & woodwinds is that they're not weatherproof at all. Brasses can only be damaged by hail, and drums do degrade when they get wet, but electronics short out and woodwinds turn to crap. However, that didn't stop the BoD from voting amps into DCI, either.

After all that, this is what certain people are going to hear (remember the Far Side cartoon about "what dogs hear" vs. "what cats hear"?) -- You know it'll happen, too. Some corps director is going to purposely misquote a whole lot of us and say that everyone loves woodwinds.

It IS selfish, because it's MY freakin' wallet that I'm gonna vote with. No woodwinds. No synthesized sounds. I already hate amplification enough (enough to walk away from a corps performance this year).

Welcome to DCP -- some of the jerks here do exactly that.

The one thing they're looking for more than anything else is how easily you can be taught. You can come in there with godlike chops, but if you give them an arrogant attitude, don't listen to instruction, or just aren't flexible enough to quickly implement their instructions, they won't want to spend every waking hour with you on tour.