bgreen

Track and Field is on TV providing background noise as I type this review tonight. The reason I mention this is because it makes me realize why most sporting events are so great. See, most of them provide a clear winner at each meet, game, or match with the rare exception of sports such as boxing, gymnastics, and diving. Each of these sports requires a judge that is an expert in that sport to access what was witnessed and executed. Drum corps is similar to these sports in that it has professional judges that rate and therefore rank execution and performances of groups. I would like to say upfront that I do not fall in the category of expert. In fact, I’m just a guy who primarily likes drums so I wouldn’t take these comments too serious. Again, my review is heavy on drums and a great percussion performance will sway me more so than someone who takes a more general view. With that said, here we go: The professionals saw it this way. 1. CorpsVets, 2. Alliance, and 3. Music City Legend. Here’s how I saw it: 3. Corpsvets (6 snares, 5 basses, 2 tenors) My first impressions were that I really liked the plumes and the guard’s outfits. At the start I saw the battery in the rear and I think it would be nice to see them featured a bit more. The percussion book is simple and the tunes chosen by the corps were lacking in energy with some being downright boring to me. The sopranos where amazing including an awesome sop solo….the sops stole the show. The guard members were the class of all guards tonight…and it wasn’t even close! They executed amazingly on rifles/flags/sabers-you name it. They were dressed for success and they delivered the goods! The guard combined artistry and athleticism throughout the show. The battery was overpowered by the always dominant horns and this should be expected based upon their field placement. The battery’s marching approaching their solo needs work and the solo was inexcusably dirty this late in the season. The drill was the weakest design of the night with regard to the top 3 corps. It forced no demands on the members and I feel that they could do so much more. There just wasn’t any energy from anyone one other that the guard tonight unless you count the musicality of the hornline. But even so, the tunes weren’t inspiring to me. The snareline delivered a great ending but confirmed that they were the worst line of the top three as they played going into the retreat. However, the CV Bassline was not just good, but great. 2. Music City Legend (6 snares, 5 basses, 3 tenors) My first impression was that I loved their uniforms. Even though I think Alliance’s line was the class battery of the night I must say that at times it was very apparent especially during various phrases that MCL was very clean. Their line played with very nice control and maybe even had the best stick heights of the night. As a line, the battery moved very well as a unit. However, the degree of difficulty goes to Alliance as they moved more like a DCI line than a DCA line. The tenor solo was lame and I feel it should be reconsidered. The brass made a statement tonight…at least I heard it. It went like this, “We are the best horn line in DCA South”. Very powerful brass! Drill, while more challenging than CV, it just didn’t stack up to Alliance. I must say that there is some serious young talent in that snare line. Not sure, but I think the MCL battery executed the toughest book. There was a sweet change of sticks that sounded great musically. Did I say that hornline was awesome? Well, doesn’t hurt to say it again. The sop solo gave me chills. I only got two chills tonight: from the sop solo by MCL and from Alliance’s battery solo. The guard just had no energy and to be fair I don’t think they physically are in shape to do much more than they did tonight. If the guard could give MCL a bit more, I would have likely had them in first place tonight but to be frank – they were the worst guard of the night in my opinion. They were dressed to convey the musical message but the dog just didn’t hunt. Late in the program, the drums just disappeared. However, they cleanly played some difficult phrases when they did play. Honorable mention to the snare solo while marching off on the track. Possibly worst bass line. Tenors just didn’t stack up to snareline. 1. Alliance (7 snares, 6 basses, 5 cymbals, 4 tenors) My first impression was picked up during the warmup. The car was cranked and that battery announced that they were the big boys in town. I even think a saw a chip on the shoulder of the members. Can we say bad ### on this website? The opening statement was a kick in the teeth as I wasn’t aware that they were interested in informing me that they were not only the reigning class A champions but also the best drum corps in DCA South. Now before I lay too much praise I must point out a few problems that I saw: first, there was an AWFUL musical tear early in the program. Second, the footwork by just about EVERYONE on the field during the ballad was terrible. Other than those two issues all I can say is WOW. The drill was amazing and challenging and I found myself getting tired just watching it. It was amazing. This organization was the only one that I saw present 3 units (drums/horns/guard) when considered together that made a compelling case for being the best of the night. The drum line is hot. While MCL’s snareline technically may have been better the tenors of Alliance slams the door and sealed the deal. I mean, they are really hot. They were DCIish HOT. And to my surprise, the horns were not to be an afterthough and hit some notes that raised the roof a bit. While I think MCL’s horns where the best of the night, I really had Alliance and CV’s horns tied for second place. The horns delivered the goods just as CV’s did. The guards, while not as impressive as CV’s to me, was very good. Hat’s off to the drill writer. I had this drill first, MCL’s second, and CV’s third. Only one pit tonight was musical and accented the music – this was Alliance. The tenor and horns duets were perfect. The flash and visuals of the battery, the indoor elements in the battery drill while others lines are stuck marching side by side almost the entire night, the attitude of the battery. WOW. Great job! DCA South will be heard from at finals. I wish all of these groups the best as they head north soon. Go get em CV, Alliance, and MCL! Bernard Green Jr. Former CorpsVets Snare C.R.E.A.M. Percussion Staff

I grew up in the early to mid 80's playing snare for 4 years on the silver dot heads (ahh yes...the joys of a new silver dot head on your drum....) at a then very competitive high school in the S.E. US that had heavy percussion ties to JSU (where Spirit is based these days). However, before that we learned to play on drum pads that had absolutely very little rebound in the late 70's. I consider that adjustment akin to the adjustment I faced when I played snare with the CorpsVets during the 2004 season after taking many years off from drumming. The first time I touched the drum it almost felt "electronic" the way my stick jumped off the kevlar head...the rebound was surprising and new to me. I literally spent minutes pondering the hardness of the surface. I mean, I used to play on desk tops and other wooden surfaces but to think that drumming would be like that one day was amazing. Clearly, it took some adjusting to get used to as well as some reconsideration regarding when to rebound and when to not. Playing softly under control is a bigger challenge on the Kevlar. Kevlar forces the conditioning of a new set of muscles and associated muscle memory. Now, on my personal drum I play a black max head on my Pearl that allows for more feel than kevlar in my humble opinion. I think it's the perfect compromise. Regarding the sound and the differences of the kevlar vs mylar heads, I find myself in the minority with old heads because I do like the sound of the kevlar heads because they give a better illusion of unison than the mylar. Cleaning on the mylar heads vs the kevlar isn't a fair comparision because ears that are used to hearing the thin, high, crisp kevlar will be biased against the fatter and lower sound of mylar. Furthermore, clearly the transition from Mylar to Kevlar is easier than vice-versa. The kevlar-only player would be forced to definitely stroke individual notes and I'm uncertain if the kevlar-only player are used to such. For example, I hear much more three stroke rolls in "sixes" whereas these used to be straight sticked with synopated accents throughout the patterns. Kids now get 6's for the price of 2 where they USED to cost fair market value! Even when straight sticked on kevlar, rebound technique comes into play due to the surface so they'd cost 3 strokes rather than 6. Frankly, I think playing snare on the kevlar is somewhat damaging to someone musically...the feel...touch...is not quite there. The sense of muscianship is replaced by a sense of mechanics. Doesn't feel like a musical intrument...more like a machine. But before the old heads declare victory, the kevlar players of today are cranking out some insane notes and doing so obviously due to their equipment. This is one of the best articles that I've read regarding this subject. Hats off to the author for touching upon something so drastic that drum practice pads have changed in response to this issue. In all honesty, the difference is so large that I consider them being two distinct instruments that require a different skill-set to really master. Bernard Green

The physics of the left turn in traditional grip warrents the tilt and yes, it is easier to play that way on a tilted drum. I've done both and speak from experience. Logic dictates that those who want even snares accross the line should be proponents of matched grip. Personally, I don't like match grip because the angles don't look as nice as with traditional grip. Let's not overlook the dirty secret though - which is that snares use their ability to play traditional grip as yet another brick in their monument called, "I can play better than you". :sshh: Blue Knights have done the same thing as well...