BaritoneBamBam

That's like the guy who came to the audition for this year playing Godfather and another kid with Elsa's Procession. They weren't auditioning for Phantom or Blue Devils.

1) SCV 2) Cadets 3) Phantom 4) BD I still abide that 2003 Cadets is the cleanest 3rd place show ever.

That is my exact love for hornlines who can do something like that. Playing is fine, marching is fine, two doable things for any division 1 drum corps. Now where does my admiration kick in? Marching AND Playing. I don't mean to offend anyone, I think that the Cavaliers in 2006 are great, they had a good sound, great technique, but out of the top corps out there, they had their horns down the most. Many moving lines were played standing still. All, which is totally fine, just something I don't acknowledge as much as corps who are risking motion and music simultaneously. 2002 and 2006 Cavaliers had amazing hornlines, I know, but after watching the videos, I feel that the top 6 other corps challenged more finger dexterity and motion simultaneously more. This is not to say who I thought should have won high brass or anything. For me, I just admire great multitasking. Anyway... 1993 and 1990 Star impress me for that very reason. My jaw was on the floor for the dual and simultaneous demands that were placed on these members from top to bottom. They were doing crazy drill yes... they were playing crazy runs yes... but wow they were doing that throughout the entire show. 1993 Cadets, tenor and snare features were completely on the move while other corps today won't dare to play that except standing still.

Good Points, I would disagree with you here and there. I wouldn't say "wouldn't stand a chance against The Cavaliers of Today" for the Brass Statement. Yes the Cavaliers are very clean, yes they sound great, but in 2002 and 2006 when they won high brass, they didn't exactly leave 2nd and 3rd place brasslines in the dust. So I think it's a bit of an exaggeration on that. In today's guard sheets, spatial movement of the guard receives a good amount of credit. Star of Indiana's guard was good, but they did not move their location and spin at the same time like the Cadets did back in 1993. Plus, Star's guard did not do as many unison tosses or feature weapons, which are considered standards of today. Though they had poles, they again did not feature them as greatly in the show.

This is not an absolute case though. Look at what Zingali did with Visual Design. There was a shift into the whole abstract and non total symmetrical drill once that precedent was shattered by Garfield in the mid 80s. Now look at the creativity that ensued because the boundaries for design were expanded. Not to say that the shows before weren't creative, but you can definitely see explosions of a new style once something unseen has been added.

is this the same kid who got interviewed last year?

Beyond underwear, beyond the t-shirts, beyond the shorts... NOTHING is nastier than dirty socks.

It's definitely on my top 5 list. Absolutely fantastic, I melt to the Simple Gifts melody every time.

Or the first weekend camp. For many no one is used to working that hard.

:sshh: :sshh: :sshh: :sshh:

I like this list. My favorite Phantom Regiment show 1st place. Gotta love Faust.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I need to stop taking these ridiculous classes... Whew! I would just type and .... go back and question what I was on. Disregard me as much as you please, do yourself a favor. Some of you probably have for 100% of my posts haha. I probably I don't know what I'm talking about 90% of the time.

Haha I don't even know what I'm talking about. I just came off doing a crazy 25 page report, my brain is fried. Ignore me :P

Sure, either way, but it's just what I hear. Volume wise I though there were some flares as though some mellophone's were bringing out their parts out as if they were carried away. Sure. Again I don't have any validity to my statements so I can't really say much to that. I'm not a judge but don't get me wrong I've heard spatial orchestration and regional musical focal points many many many times, so I'm not really copying any terms here. They're just commonly used when people talk about design. All it means is "where you're playing from". I'd appreciate you not trying to make this a personal discussion. I don't know very much about that hornline, I thought the Baritone line was great, again I didn't march the corps, I only saw them 3-4 times live, so again whatever I say really doesn't really have that much validity. I'm just saying things here. You know things about this topic way better than I do, so I'd probably take your word over mine at any second. :P But I can say that the Bluecoats didn't explore as much as the other corps of Madison's newly enclosed stadium. Crown with their back field little feature pointed at corner of the stadium to resonate their sound diagonally. Phantom Regiment with their Ave Maria and Mahler Material stretched their entire sound from end zone to zone. The Cadets started their opener from left and right responses way back in the field after turning around from playing backfield. There wasn't as much of this with the Bluecoats. Oh and, The Music GE judge doesn't have to really "turn his head" but his focus can move from points to points. 2003 Cadets' Malaguena with the Trumpet and Tenor Feature is a great example. I just stated that the Bluecoats often were straightforward and direct, right in front of the box.

Oh. :P

GAS, INSURANCE

It's much more complicated than that. But you get the idea, there are several examples that are wrought throughout the years. Finals night 2004 Blue Devils vs 2004 Cavaliers vs 2004 Cadets check their finals scores out... This is DCI here and drops are considered flukes if only one to around a maximum three drops. Anymore would most likely tell the judge, there is some very odd bad technique or bad showmanship that are getting their fingers and hands lazy to catch those tosses. It shouldn't be that complicated of a subject, since no one likes seeing drops. Judge, Staff, or Fan, they just look bad.

Over Expositions on some Mello Parts - seemed to me that they were voiced as moving middle line, but sometimes I feel that they were overplayed in some areas as if the players get a little carried away with bringing them out. Specifically for the APD 8:00 ish and 10:38. *I have to give that Baritone Section my compliments for a superb control of the instrument. What a unified line. Spatial Orchestrations - Commonly referred to by judges as where you can explore sounds from different parts of the field (Blue Devils and especially the Cadets are masters of this really complicated design of both visual and musical cooperation). I felt that the Bluecoats didn't explore the full advantages of the new stadium as well as the corps around them. A lot of the sounds were aimed in the center for most part of the show. Personally, I love it when someone might be playing in the far corner of the field to attract my attention. Music GE judges love it when their head turns to a specific section that isn't directly in front of them. But this is always up to people's and designer's taste.

Apart from USSBA which is by far the largest and most lucrative marching arts circuit, there is no money especially with the bad economy these days to begin any new grouping for a new circuit. It's just not feasible. Drum Corps have a hard time making it through one summer now, starting a new circuit by itself without foundation or ground is foolhardy and too risky of financial failure.

Brasswise, 2005 Phantom Regiment had one of the most ambitious and risky horn books out there in terms of stylistic approaches. It's a very enjoyable show to listen to... It reminds me a lot of Tom and Jerry.

Dropping will cause the Judge to gain attention. Dropping is one thing, dropping consistently is automatically taken as dropping due to bad technique and bad posture. There are drops which are considered "flukes" and there are drops which are considered because of poor control. The latter is the one that does not receive as much credit.

2006 Bluecoats, good show, I loved a lot of the features. Particularly the trumpet and percussion feature. It had a very nice and enjoyable ballad. I felt as an audience member, that the corps had an amazing summer and were very close to each other. Maybe that was the intended effect? If not, I certainly got their point across with the whole, bonding and connection motif. Brass wise, I thought they did a great job as well, sometimes there are little over expositions of the high brass over powering the alto voices and visa versa. I felt some of the backfield material was great but weren't exactly close enough to the back sideline to project and explore as much spatial orchestration that the Stadium Provides. Other wise, the book was written quite well, though I felt that again, the spatial orchestration of where each horn player is kind of took parts of the show away. Visually, there's some great stuff in there, some of the connected elastic band stuff makes the air a little more fun. Other than that I've got a little peeve about the marching, I didn't think it was the best. Of the top six, I didn't think they had the best upper body control, especially comparing them to the other corps before and after them. Overall, I think it was a fun show executed quite well. Though in terms of design, there's not as much to say comparing them with Santa Clara Vanguard and the Cadets. I feel as though they can explore some more complex ideas besides something as general as the abstract concept of "connection". Santa Clara Vanguard ups their general theme to "constant motion", which is a bit more complex than the Bluecoats' while the Cadets are ramped with hundreds of themes from top to bottom. In that little 4th to 6th Category, Bluecoats were refreshing with a more solid concept but I felt that with their newfound rise to the top, they can do much more in terms of complexity. In sum, a fun and enjoyable show.

Anyway, I love this show regardless of execution or placement. What a fantastic and emotional show. The best visual effect and musical showmanship of 2006, excellently crafted and very classy. Great uniforms, great colors, great horn book, and great percussion. In Sum, by far my Favorite Phantom Regiment show ever and possibly one of my top 5 favorite shows of all time.

I really hope they remix The Firebird, some fashion that The Cadets remixed Malaguena.

I'll send you quarterfinals APD and you'll know what I'm talking about.