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FTNK

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Everything posted by FTNK

  1. Quartertone trumpet solo would be epic--Don Ellis did some stuff with quarter tones. Quartertone flugelhorn!
  2. In no particular order... 1985 Cadets: The 1984 show was great; the 1985 show was another level in terms of complexity and sophistication. A great hornline that played with both power and subtly. The fast drill in the end of Jeremiah and Candide really set the standard for the future of the activity from a visual standpoint, building on the shows before it. Fantastic performance level of a show that was truly ahead of its time (in a good way). 1975 Madison Scouts: The definitive 70s drum corps IMHO. Full of attitude, and with some of the greatest solo work ever. Madison at their very best: Powerful, confident, and full of showmanship. 1999 Blue Devils: Just as 1975 Scouts is Madison at their best, I feel the 99 BD corps and show is Blue Devils at their best. A great show performed at the highest level--and with tons of swagger. Every section has this killer attitude and achieves with engaging work. The color guard is out of this world, and the ballad is truly great. 1996 Phantom Regiment: This has to be one of the most determined performances of all time. The amount of emotion that oozes through this show, even on video 12 years later, is epic. Of course, the fantastic music of Shostakovich helps that. Great, great hornline. This show is like a force of nature: building momentum (especially in the 3+ minute introductory statement) and just deliberately, methodically reaching a climax. 2004 Cavaliers: The best of a long string expertly crafted shows, this show combines the trademark visual fireworks, subtly and musicality of the Cavaliers since 2000 with a program that is entertaining and exciting. This show is permeated with exciting and clever moments, and like the other shows on this list, is performed at the highest level by all sections. 1993 Star of Indiana: What can I say about what is probably the most talked-about show of all time? A landmark of total corps integration; the hornline's staging and innovative body movement blends with the guard, the subtly of the brass approach blends so well with the percussion. Truly daring programming performed by one of the all-time great corps. The hornline combines fantastic power with amazing blend and sophistication. 2005 Cadets: I think the word "talented" is overused in general and especially in the context of drum corps. That said, this could be the most talented corps The Cadets have ever had. The show has so much creativity and interest, and the corps absolutely sold the show. The "Liquid" movement is a phenomenal display of control, power, and athleticism from start to finish. The ballad is simply the best-designed ballad ever. Performance level doesn't get any higher than this. What are your top shows, and why?
  3. Has anyone ever attempted to produce a with a corps hornline? From reading about how it is constructed, it would be possible but would require a great amount of discipline from each player to play the dynamics perfectly and disguise they attacks/releases to produce a seamless texture. It would be a neat effect and a great display of ensemble balance and blend. I can see it being used in a show like Cadets 05/06 or 2008 Blue Devils.
  4. I am as far from an expert on percussion as you can get but based on their bios/resumes this seems like a good pickup.
  5. Chad Pence, who is the tuba tech at Cadets and has worked with Crown, Boston and was caption head for Cap Reg in 2004, marched Star 93 and was in Brass Theater before aging out with Cadets in 1998.
  6. Bernstein show could go either way. If it's WSS and Candide all over again, no thanks. If it's Symphony No. 2 and some really awesome other stuff (perhaps with parts of more recognizable works interwoven) it could be awesome.
  7. 2000 SCV--Bartok's 1st Piano Concerto. Has a corps show ever inspired me to rent a movie? Spartacus.
  8. Cool website. Just hope the show isn't a total rehash.
  9. There is a thread already for debating whether CR should be coming back: http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums/inde...ment%27s+return I request that this thread be limited (within reason) to the merits of the new staff. I mean, you can talk about the challenges that CR faces coming back, but I don't want it to get hijacked into a "Should CR be coming back?" thread and devolve into a nasty argument. Not calling anyone out, or saying that that is not a conversation worth having, just requesting.
  10. CR's class is still undetermined. Mods can do what they like.
  11. http://capitalregiment.org/CR%20Yearly%20Staff%20.asp Discuss.
  12. Every song ever written does not have brass things in it.
  13. Ok, so it's basically a laser theremin-sythesizer. Could they have picked lamer-looking people (or lamer music) for the commercial?
  14. HA! Amused. Though I honestly think a corps should tackle a show of nothing but atonal and 12-tone pieces. would be pretty freaking cool on the field. Entertainment!
  15. Quoted for truth. Most corps had lost their cymbal lines long before pit amplification. When was the last time Cavies, BD or PR marched a plate line? For Cadets, it was 1992.
  16. If you watch the Fan Network video from Madison this year you can hear Cadets' "Appalachian Spring" warmup off in the distance during BK's silence-filled opening section.
  17. I don't see them doing things similar to what drum corps do, so this argument doesn't really make a lot of sense. The Ohio State band is all brass and percussion, but that doesn't make drum corps "weak sisters" to them.
  18. I'm pretty sure every World Class corps out there uses note names and such. I can see back in the old days when members weren't exactly musically literate that things were taught by rote and "middle finger, such and such partial" would be the most effective way to indicate what to play, but every corps I know of has written out parts and warmups that are memorized, and you can do that exactly the same on woodwinds as brass. Most warmups are just a sequence that is repeated down a half step until you get to the next partial then back up. When they had G bugles and kids weren't used to what the sounding pitches on the horns were, it could make more sense but with Bbs I've never heard someone say "go to your middle finger note on this partial" or whatever. Never seen these hand signs you speak of either. Now, it might not make sense to warm up/teach the woodwinds the same way, because a lot of the exercises are centered around lip slurs and making sure you have the same quality and richness of sound and flexibility with 2nd and 3rd valves down as you do with just 2nd valve down, and that just doesn't apply the same way with woodwinds. It would be interesting to see how corps handled it; the brass caption head running all the winds, or a separate woodwind caption head/tech (if it was a smaller section like just adding 16 saxes like I proposed before) deal with them and have them join up at ensemble? Who would be in charge of the overall wind sound, would the brass caption head be, or would they collaborate, or would there be a "wind caption head" that both answered to? I'd imagine each would have their own way.
  19. The Dies Irae chant theme is one of the most used musical phrases around. Berlioz' Symphony Fantastique (5th movement) is one of the most famous and oft-quoted uses. Sondheim's Sweeney Todd uses it as the main melodic material in "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" (or the instrumental opening credits in the movie) and it is all over the musical (consider the subject matter). That's what's in BD's 2008 show--the Sweeney Todd opening statement is used many times (with some modification) in the opener. Another big Dies Irae quote is in The Cadets' show; in the closer, when the corps is doing those rapidly rotating small blocks while sliding left to right as seen from the stands (this is where someone fell bad at San Antonio, and never failed to make me nervous as hell). That also makes sense; Vesuvius is, after all, about a whole city being covered in superheated ash, literal hell on Earth. Though in the final version of the show it's after the big "happiness revelation".... And yea, the Dies Irae from Verdi's Requiem is ######. -Musicologist.
  20. Hey, drum corps fans like LOUD. Bagpipes are really freakin' loud.
  21. I'm approaching this in a similar way to Bruckner8. I was just thinking this today. Heard the sax studio at my school playing some ensemble pieces and it sounded really good. What if you had, say, 64 brass (which was the standard for a long time) and 16 saxophones. Now you would pretty much limited to altos and tenors, since bari saxes would likely be too awkward to march DCI-level drill with. Maybe you could have some soprano saxes too, but I think the best bet would be to split it 8 each on altos and tenors or maybe 6 altos, 10 tenors. Anyway, in the top corps, the majority of this saxophone section would be Music Ed. and even performance majors. 16 talented, experienced performers blending together and working hard all summer, adding the unique sound of their instrument to that of the brass line? Yes plz. That would add some really cool stuff to some jazz charts. Another thing I imagine is a corps (let's say The Cadets, because it's what springs to mind) flying around, doing their thing, and there's a single piccolo part riding on top of the musical texture, sometimes blending with the brass and sometimes being featured, adding just that little bit of something to the sound. You wouldn't be able to hear the piccolo over the hornline all the time--certainly not at the FFF impacts, but if you arranged it right and had one stud player (lot of competition for that one spot) it would work and be pretty cool. Like anything else, it would be not what you do but how you do it. If arrangers just had the woodwinds covered up by the brass most of the show and the stand in a block and play very fast scales to show off technique every once in a while (which I see a lot of BOA bands/arrangers do -- not a huge fan of hornlines standing and playing technical passages just to show technique in DCI either) then it would be less worthwhile.
  22. Sad to say, but I don't respect every organization in DCI, for various reasons. The Blue Stars organization is one that I have a LOT of respect for. I know someone who marched their first season of corps there this last year and he absolutely had a great experience.
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