BonesMan

its not a bad thing, I actually think its good, I just see the last finals spot coming from either of those two corps (depending on how well Boston comes out) Colby Dempsey Crossmen '99 Contra Magic of Orlando '02 Support Staff

Hello all, I finally got to a computer here in Viginia, right here in the Drivers room I thought I would give you my prespective of all the corps I have seen so far Div III Teal Sound Teal is a nice Corps, I have talked to some of the kids and they are very happy to be a part of this experience. Thier show is the music of the Dave Matthews Band. This corps strenth is definatly its drumline. They dont throw a million note, but they groove. The hornline is in the right direction, they have a great fundemental sound when standing still which sort of gets lost when moving. I am not digging the end, becuase the corps is standing still and three guard members are doing ad lib stuff while the rest of the guard is sitting down. I am going to assume that it is a work in progress. I think this corps will be a strong Div III finalist. Div II Magic of Orlando Well I am not going to give a full review because I am biased. I really think this corps can run with the big boys. This show is written very smart, and although the music is not familliar to the average listener, I think in general it is more entertaining than Crown and Spirit. It will be an ineresting Friday night Div I Kiwannis Kavaliers This corps is not bad, but I just dont think of drum corps when I watch them. They remind me more of a college marching band. The Hornline sound is big, but there is little clarity because of no blend. The Drumline is Big 10 Sn, 6 Tn, 5 Bs, 5 Cy. The parts are written under the capability of this line I think. Visually they are bad, They do not show fundemental marching technique, and the drill is extremely poorly written. It makes the corps look undisciplined, along with the fact that they dont wear hats. But all this dosent matter because the kids are having fun. Sprit This is going to be a show that will take me all summer to get into. Everything is fundamentally there as in hornline sound drumline clarity and visually clean for this time of year, but the show get me going at the beginning and then makes me lose interest about 2 min into it. It took to the third time I saw them to actually watch the whole show without my mind wondering off. This corps reminds me of Glassmen with the direction of their show design. This corps is good enough to make finals, but they are swapping places with Crown every day. Carolina Crown I really like this show. The hornline can play, and the music is cool, another smartly designed show. I really dont like the guard uniforms because the color detracts away from how good they are. I want to watch this show a few more times to take it all in. Crossmen As a Crossmen alum, I was excited to see them. When I actually did see them I wanted to see them again and again. I love this show, I love the new sparkly silver sashe on the uniform, this hornline has some sound. I think overall this show is alot better than BD from a design standpoint. There are alot of hard drill moves, but the drill dosent look over their heads. I think this show can beat BD Blue Devils The have a great hornline a great drumline and a great guard, but unfortunatly that dosent win championships any more, you also have to have great show design. The drill does absolutly nothing and the Contra sections in never intergrated into the drill. They park and blow for a good 1:30 of the show. I picked BD to win this year, and I am not sure if they are going to be top 4. The Cadets I was wrong about my predictions about the Cadets, they took those major staff changes without blinking an eye. The show has power, impact, fun and some decent drill. This show reminds me alot of '95 but thats what I like about it. The guard is AWSOME!!!! and so is the Drumline. I think there is going to be drill added at the end, becuase the Cadets would never end the show with the last 120 or so counts standing still. It will be a dog fight between them and Cavies for the title The Cavaliers This corps blows me away. The hornline sound is probably one of the best I have ever heard, and the drill like always is amazing. I think they create the drill and the music at the same time because this show is intergrated so well. Every nuance is there. The show is loaded with GE, and it is a crowd pleaser. I believe Cavies will have an undefeated year well thats my take on who I have seen so far. I am looking forward to seeing more corps as the summer progresses. I think I have a pretty good understanding of placement in the top 8 but I cant really predict 9-15 until I have seen Boston. I will try and report again next time I can get to a computer Colby Dempsey Crossmen '99 Contra Magic of Orlando '02 Support Staff