scalenesofar

I'm not sure about all of the solos Chip had, but I know he did "When A Man Loves A Woman" in 1992. As a former jazz student of his at JSU, I can only imagine how happy he is to be working with Blue Devils this year. Congrats, Chip!

I honestly think it is a feasible scenario, considering two things: (1) I know the kid and he's never been anything but classy, polite, and honest and (2) said lab was at JSU, and while the relationship between the corps and the university has essentially dissolved, there are a fair amount folks with ties to Spirit still at the university. The are only a few computers in the music lab, and people do forget to log out of forums often. As an alumnus of JSU, I have experienced this first hand numerous times both with DCP and the forum of the Marching Southerners. I'm not saying anyone's right or wrong, I'm just giving my two cents. As for the show, I'm really looking forward to see it. I wasn't on board with the idea of it at first glance, after thinking about, I have confidence that the corps has the ability to move in a positive direction.

I know you already mentioned him, but I cannot give enough praise for Dr. Chip Crotts. In addition to teaching a very good trumpet studio at JSU, he is also Director of Jazz Studies. Since his arrival at JSU in '02, he, along with saxophonist Mace Hibbard and bassist Marc Miller, have transformed the jazz studies program into one of the best in the southeast, with three big bands and several combos. It was something I was very proud to be a part of for five years. I learned a lot from Chip, and was very excited to see him work with the Regiment this summer. He is a true professional and treats his students as the same. I was thrilled that I got to spend my last days as a JSU student recording an album and playing at the famed Ona's Music Room in Birmingham.

I figured as much, it was just funny to see.

I don't know if it's supposed to be a joke or if something is wrong with one of the contras, but ... why is there a sousaphone on this clip? It really hurt my heart to see a sousaphone anywhere near a drum corps. I really hope it was just them trying to be funny, otherwise it makes me very sad. :p

Stranger things have happened in front of Mason Hall.

I'm just happy that this announcement has been made because the rumors have been flying around Jacksonville the past few weeks. From the get go, these moves seem best for the corps and the university.

The guy on the Spirit poster is crashing at my place right now. We had a bit of fun with him about it. :) They're all pretty great, but I voted for Vanguard.

Not only have I said this would be a great idea on here before, but I actually wrote a first draft of a horn book for such a thing last summer. removed media offer - TS

Has anyone else noticed that Pioneer is now at least 2 points higher than their quarterfinals score last year? Here's hoping they break 75 next week! I was surprised by how much I enjoy their show this year. It's just a testament to how great of a year this is, top to bottom.

It is in interesting to note that Blue Stars' wide 1.05 spread over Spirit was the result of one judge. (Before I proceed in this analysis, I'm going to take the time to mention that despite my local bias to Spirit, I am a fan of the Blue Stars. This is not an attack on anyone, just food for thought.) In the GE captions, Blue Stars had a .3 advantage. Add in visual, where Spirit had the upper hand by .4, and that put Spirit ahead by .1. This means that Blue Stars beat Spirit by 1.15 in music, while their former largest victory over Spirit in music captions was by .3 (in Wichita). Spirit had the upper hand in percussion by .5. Divide that by 2 and get .25, putting Spirit's margin of victory to .35. Here's where it happens. Since there was no brass judge, music ensemble was doubled, thus given the caption its worth at face value. The odd thing is that the judge was the same Dale Barnett that put Blue Stars in 7th in Broken Arrow (which was completely bogus). They were .7 behind Spirit, who was in 5th in the caption. This time, Blue Stars won the caption in the rain-shortened show and were a healthy 1.4 ahead of Spirit in it. Like I said, because there was no brass judge, this was the exact value of the caption, as it was not divided by 2. Because of this, Spirit's .35 lead fell to a 1.05 victory for the Blue Stars. I believe the Blue Stars' music ensemble score was a little high (maybe compensation for placing them in last the previous show?), but I'm not sure what to think about Spirit's score. I'm not saying the Blue Stars shouldn't have won at all. I think on any given night, either of these corps could beat each other. (Parity in DCI? Heck yes!) I just think without a brass score and with that interesting judging in the music ensemble caption, the battle between these two corps won't be over until the end. Whoever wins between this two, I won't be mad. They have quality shows and quality programs.

Now, I'm quite content with Spirit's score, (I jumped up and down a little, I'm not gonna lie) but I'm not sure they should've beaten the Stars by that much. Both had solid shows tonight.

It might have a lot to do with Blue Stars catching fire too. From what I saw from the comofrt of my own computer, they were really turning it on in San Antonio.

That is easily the craziest recap I've ever seen. And I love it!

Now that's a fine sounding band! In case you've never heard the Southerners, I will do my duty as a proud JSU student to spread the organization I am proud to call my family. http://www.marchingsoutherners.org/media This has every show from the Bodiford years (1995-present) as well as a few traditional things. The only thing could find on youtube was the 2006 show and a bunch of 20-J hi-jinks.

The Colts have drawn my attention the past couple years with pretty good shows, but they absolutely blew me away in Atlanta. I wouldn't be surprised if their placement was in the single digits come Finals. Granted, that's wishful thinking but I can pretty much say that they are a lock for the big Saturday show. Of course, I must admit I've become a bit biased. One of my best friends is marching there this summer after a couple years of coming really close to marching and not being able to, usually due to financial reasons. Go Colts, and (as I yelled in Atlanta) give it hell, Ben! JSU folks have plenty to be proud of this summer! :)

Unfortunately, it's CDT. Give it another hour.

I'm almost certain I recognize that to be from McEachern High School in Powder Springs, GA. I just checked to see if they were there this past weekend, and they were, so there you go.

There certainly have been some classy posts lately, haven't there? I think the Academy not doing a full tour right now is the best thing for them so they can appropriately grow in a financial respect so they can be a force in the long term. I think they're being very smart and they're building a great thing. Yeah, I still haven't seen them, but I absolutely adore what I've heard. Sheridan and Pilafian's brass arrangements are like nothing I've ever heard. I had the opportunity to share the APD of their 2007 program with two of my friends last night (tuba players that love those two guys) and after hearing it, they very seriously seriously looked at me and said, "I think I know where we're going to march next year." Best of luck to the Academy this season. You definitely have some fans in the Southeast and you haven't even been here yet!

Scores should be up any minute. When I left the stadium, Spirit's drumline was playing and the drum majors were going on the field.

I knew that BD, Cavies, and Cadets would be close, but .125 from 1st to 3rd? Good God! I'm all the more excited for Atlanta tomorrow!

I saw that movie in Douglasville, GA a couple days ago and the crowd went nuts for that trailer. I was amazed and pleased that it was happening. Some guy even yelled out, "Let's hear it for Crown!" and many of people (myself included) yelled out "Yeah Crown!" It was so awesome.

This will be the first head to head for all three. Blue Stars and Crossmen have met three times, Spirit and Blue Stars have met twice, and Spirit and Crossmen have yet to compete against each other (which is weird). Here are some unnecessary numbers. Blue Stars vs. Crossmen June 24 - Belding, MI: Crossmen - 67.950, Blue Stars - 67.400 June 25 - Erie, PA: Crossmen - 69.050, Blue Stars - 68.050 July 8 - Allentown, PA: Blue Stars - 73.800, Crossmen -72.775 Blue Stars vs. Spirit June 28 - Evansville, IN: Blue Stars - 73.350, Spirit - 71.000 July 9 - Warrenton, VA: Spirit - 75.200, Blue Stars - 74.400 The recent competitive edge goes to Spirit, but the way this season is going who knows what could happen. While it would be a shame for Spirit to not advance in Atlanta, I really wouldn't be too upset because I love what I've heard from Blue Stars this year and have always loved Bones. I say Spirit takes the last spot by a half point or so, propelled by their music scores. In Warrenton, despite being two points behind the Colts, they beat them in all three music captions.

Woo! Go Spirit and Colts!

Wow. Blue Stars have the 12th seed by .05. I can't wait for Atlanta! It's going to sad to not see one of these corps (Blue Stars or Spirit) in the evening show. But who knows, the way this season's going anything can happen.