FTNK

If the slide whistle has holes, as has been reported multiple times, then it is almost physically identical to a recorder, which is not a legal instrument. For the record, I think this illustrates why drum corps should be able to use any instruments they want.

Cavies drilled holes in a slide whistle, creating a de facto woodwind instrument. People are looking the other way. The string instrument is a hammered dulcimer of some type. I really think DCI needs to write its instrumentation rules based on the Hornbostel-Sachs instrument classification system; it's the most thorough, logical and and covers grey areas like this pretty well. In that system, the hammered dulcimer would be a chordophone, while all the other instruments in DCI (this year) would be aerophones, idiophones and membranophones. I think the rules should read (in part) something like "Only lip-percussion aerophones constructed of metal with forward facing bells, having no more than 3 valves (4 for bass voices), idiophones, and membranophones are legal." I feel like people have been looking the other way on this too. As someone noted, if the dulcimer is legal, so is a piano. So yea. This has been bothering me too, since I heard about it in June.

Anyone who says that the bottom-tier corps perform as strongly and at the same level as the top corps is wrong. Yes, better show design makes a difference, but the talent, stamina and performance level of the top corps is better all around right from the start. With top design staff and instructors the lower corps would make significant progress, but still would have a large talent gap. Capital Regiment had the same brass arranger and drill writer as The Cadets for a few years, and they made progress, but it still didn't make them equal. A lot of kids in Capital were in high school or were playing a secondary instrument; The Cadets have 80 music majors this year.

....early much?

I feel like it always looks awkward when The Cadets do body motions. The West Point jacket doesn't mesh with doing weird dance movements. Could be because I didn't like doing them myself...

I play bassoon so I'd have to learn a different instrument anyway, or I could re-teach myself clarinet...but since I already taught myself to play brass, marched, and aged out, it's kindof a moot point. Marching tuba was a lot more fun and satisfying than marching clarinet. Something about having that big horn on your shoulder...I wouldn't have nothin' else. So I'd probably learn brass anyway. PS: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

These are fantastic suggestions, though as you said BD already did the Bernard Hermann music from Hitchcock movies in 2000. Hey, you could email them to corps directors, wouldn't hurt. The Glass Dracular music doesn't do much for me though...I am in the process of looking for performances of these suggest pieces, love it when I can expand my horizons. Cavies + Bartok would be....WOW...but sadly they would probably never do it.

re: Idolizing Would anyone criticize him for idolizing BD or SCV or Cavies or God forbid, DCP's darlings, Madison, Bluecoats, PR and Crown? Nope. Wouldn't happen. But since it's The Cadets, he gets "don't idolize too much."

Yea, good point. I think Cadets could be back in the hunt for the title, though we'll know a lot more after tomorrow night and there's still time for plenty of drama. It ain't over 'til it's over, which is why I don't like to make vast sweeping projections in general. Mid-season to finals is an interesting time because some people peak and some people surge, leading so some major shakeups. I experienced this firsthand my rookie year; we (Cap Reg) beat Seattle by 2.5 points in SA, then proceeded to get whooped by them all up the East coast. We were down by almost 2.5 points, then pulled to .1 behind at Allentown, then .1 ahead in Hershey, and almost 2.5 ahead again at Indy and never looked back. All of this--over then under and back-- happened between July 10 and Semis on Aug. 6. Like I said, anything can happen.

Clarification: if Cadets design staff (or most of them) went to BD, BD's show would NOT have narration.

I can garauntee that if most of Cadets design staff (Aungst, Sacktig, Bocook) went to BD, there would be no narration in BD's show.

Someone's always going to be ###### off and think so-and-so robbed so-and-so.

Yea, the only thing in common was the show title and the ending drill. But that is a whale of a HS marching band.

That's the Cadets tuba section getting Wendy's from me after a show.

Just did 1996 PR. Man, what a great show, even though it was only 10:11 long! And with the "4th Ballet Suite" opening clocking in at 104 seconds, it has the longest continuous segment of marching and playing to date.

Cadets are over a point above Crown. I doubt Crown is going to leapfrog them in one day. Anything else is just wishful thinking. Man, Crown fans are getting as obnoxious as Bluecoats fans used to be.

Ehh...It's Spartacus, not A Clockwork Orange. hmmm....

I believe it's the same as 2006 as well.

They should've played William Tell. Seconding the Sundial!

Ah Holy Name back where they belong...

Like I said, this kind of analysis has many problems (like not rewarding body movement in Crown's ballad, not taking difficulty into account, etc.) so you can't read that much into it. For example, Star 1990 may have played on the march a lot, but they almost never marched anything near the complexity of the drill today. And taken as a whole, it would seem that fast tempos are much more common these days, and the maximum tempos are much higher these days. The last minute of Cadets 1993--constant marching and playing at a very fast tempo--and the cross to cross in 1991 Star are still incredibly impressive and hold up well. For the record, I find The Cavaliers shows to be put together from a total package standpoint and extremely effective.

I like how the DM is just like, "gotcha b!tch!"

Ok, here's the game. Name two years of a single corps that are relatively close chronologically (no comparing 1986 and 2003 Blue Devils, etc.) and placement-wise, pick which one is better, and GIVE REASONED EXPLANATIONS! Here goes: Who would win in a fight, 2005 Cadets or 2007 Cadets? I'd go with 2005. The show has so much subtly and creativity, and design-wise the middle two numbers are just about perfect. 2005 has a better drumline and colorguard. In terms of brass, '07 played with a ton of intensity but '05 is probably cleaner. Both were monsters performance-wise by finals but I'd give '05 the edge in talent. 2007 had more sustained fast tempos overall. Both were seriously ###### drum corps. 2003 or 2007 Phantom Regiment? Probably 2007; percussion section is much better in 2007 (both pit and battery), visual package is better, brass has a more mature sound most of the time. In terms of pure overall enjoyment, 2003 totally wins for me.