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dutoutcatch

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Posts posted by dutoutcatch

  1. In my high school marching band, all the girls have some type of wording for the same phrase on their myspaces and facebooks and whatnot. They all say "obviously all I've done for the past four years is throw a metal pole in the air with my BFFLS".

    They make the activity seem really dumb and pointless, describing in such a way. None of them want to march in a drum corps.

    For all of you hard-corps, serious colorguard guys and girls, do you ever describe the activity in such a way? I would hope it would be put more, how should I say, eloquently than "spinning a metal pole in the air".

    Compare and contrast the differences in describing the activity to normal people through the standard high-school marching band kid, or the serious drum corps marcher.

    While it's probably a different intent... Yeah, I've said that before. When I'm explaining it to other people, it really depends on who it is and how interested they actually are. Just like the drum corps activity in general. If it's a band kid, then they're more likely to understand as long as you make sure they realize that it's "more intense." If it's someone completely outside of these activities who really doesn't have a clue and isn't that interested, I might say I'm in the colorguard for a drum corps... It's kind of like marching band except harder and all summer, and I spin flag and dance to the music.

    Anyway, just how I view it. Just thought I'd post because I thought it was funny because I've probably said the words, "I throw a metal pole in the air." :thumbup:

  2. While I agree that harming horns is not okay, I do think that retreat has loosened up a bit in recent years. While our corps proper stands at rest or attention when scores are being announced, the colorguard has been able to choose poses every so often. For the past two years we have also been seated at retreat, which shows that we don't take it incredibly seriously. In my corps, we're also allowed to have our cameras as long as we're not being super-distracting.

    Also - I know of a few Div1 corps who throw candy and have other similar traditions.. It's not something completely new, and definitely not something that is specific to Div 2/3 or younger corps.

    That being said, I'd be upset too if my corps' horn was dented by a piece of candy too. It's completely understandable and I'm just trying to provide some more perspective..

  3. Some food for thought...

    I'm pretty sure the Spartans play on G. I think they have a pretty full hornline, and they've got quite a few gold medals and brass awards ... but I'd say not all is wrong for corps with G. Maybe there won't be a "death" of G horns if they become Div1 afterall. Likewise, I doubt that the Spartans would have a last place hornline regardless of what key their horns are in. Just my opinion.

    And also, on the subject of mixing Bb and G.. Jersey Surf has played with the Bridgemen Alumni corps a lot in the past few years, with Surf on Bb and the Bridgemen on their old G horns. Ends up with a LOT of power and volume.

  4. I've sat in the front of the bus for the past 2 summer. It has been fantastic, especially in '06 when our flag tech drove the guard bus. Soo much fun. Way too much noise in the back of the bus, plus I enjoy rolling off the bus with my sleeping bag and a backpack and being asleep while other kids are just walking into the gym. It's also a huge advantage that the extra seat behind the driver is available, and we also had Staff seats on our buses in Cali this year.. they all emptied out which made changing in and out of uniform easier. Allll about the front of the bus :)

  5. Why not. It would have corps focus more on executing their tosses. Remember the incredible perfection attained by the 27th Lancers guard in the late '70s and early '80s? What's wrong with expecting that from the best drum corps in the world?

    Corps still focus on execution - probably more than you're giving them credit.. I doubt any instructor or judge blow off bad catches or drops, as they do affect the colorguard score. Half of the guard points come from achievement, which would include catching well. The other half is content, and the top color guards of today have a lot of that. I'm definitely not arguing that the great color guards of the 70s and 80s didn't execute amazingly well, but add 6 rotations and ballet jumps underneath tosses and things might be a little different. I love watching some of the top guards of today, like Crown and Phantom Regiment, because they are not only solid as far as technique and uniformity is concerned, but also move incredibly well, while constantly performing. IMO, it wouldn't be fair to use the same scoring.. both the scoring and the performances have evolved.

  6. Guard? A lot of guard members don't play instruments or have any musical background yet put their entire summers into this activity. I know members who don't just watch the guard during shows, and have favorite shows based on the musical aspects rather than the CG. I've also shown non-musical friends certain shows, and like someone else already said, the drill today is very impressive and enjoyable to those without a musical background.

  7. Out of curiosity, does Surf have anybody new on the brass or percussion staff this year? I've heard that they got some ECJ visual techs but does anyone know if they got anybody new for one of the music captions?

    According to Surf's website, some new names are found in Vis and Perc staff.

  8. Mix of what I think will happen and what I want to happen:

    1. Phantom Regiment

    2. Cadets

    3. Cavaliers

    4. Blue Devils

    5. Bluecoats

    6. SCV

    7. Crown

    8. Boston

    9. Madison

    10. Glassmen

    11. Blue Knights

    12. Crossmen

    I think the last 3 spots of finals will be really competitive between:

    BK, Glassmen, Spirit, Crossmen, Colts, and Blue Stars.

    I think Bones will make the push and get back in, but I'd love if it wasn't at Spirit's expense.

  9. So much fun! I loved reading that. There were soo many more "tango couples" throughout the season, but most of them didn't last past the summer, of course. The sops were so hesitant at first - the staff always had us "pulling the passion out of them," but it ended up working - especially for the lucky trumpets in the article, right? :P Some of the weapons were partners with girls but regardless we all always had so much fun rehearsing the drum break, especially with all the different changes we added to the tango throughout the season. Thanks for putting the article up!

  10. Academy will break it first. They have many championships in div 2. There final score was higher then several in the top 12.

    2006 was Academy's first year going to Championships, so they only have one championship in Div2. They have a lot going for them, and not to say that it's not possible that Academy will break into finals in the near future, or even this year.. but scoring between the divisions can't really be compared.

  11. As a guard girl, I love winterguard. I don't have much to compare it to, but the different types of body and equipment work are all parts of the reasons why I love it. I love watching too.. Right now there are guards from every class in WGI and regional circuits that amaze me. I guess it's just what you come expecting to see and like.

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