mrshowfan

SCVfan: I agree with what you meant about the low brass sound that SCV usually has. They didnt put out that much sound yesterday and Gino really made them aware of that. Be that as it may, its still early, and I see them improving from a volume standpoint. Everyone tends to get more volume production throughout the season. I see now what you mean about cut and paste. Yes the music is not groundbreaking, but I think that the average fan will enjoy it like you say. I'm not too hip on the history of SCV's hornline sounding one way vs. another, I'll have to pull out some of the older CDs. Cheers!

Here's my take on what their show is like: (I was at SCV's performance on Sunday, and then Monday I saw BD during rehearsal) SCV- SCV's show I think will be something special. For the corps to have all their music and drill done before Memorial Day is a grand accomplishment. Kudos to the kids and the staff. Their visual, from what I saw is not squeaky clean but hey...its June 1st. I also didnt have a high view of the field. I dont think they used as much of the field as BD (I'll get to them later). They do have a signature move in the opener that makes an appearance then at reappears at the end of the opener. (That move reminds me of the collapsing T in 99) Anyways...Their hornline is strong. Upper choir is putting out more sound than the lower choir right now. You can tell Gino is a great teacher. He expects nothing less than what he demands from the hornline. I.E. They did make some nice musical shaping progress during their rehearsal. The music I dont think sounds "cut and paste", but thats just my opinion. The opener starts with the main theme in the low brass then goes in to trumpet solo's for a brief moment. After that, they are out of the gates and marching at a brisk 180 tempo. After the opener, they have the ballad which is quite nice and lyrical. Then, the closer starts with a trumpet trio (possibly quartet), and then moves to the quick tempo again and that stays throughout till the end of the closer. I think the entire book is quite musical and has a nice flow to it. I believe there will be a story told by the guard. Drumline sounds good, and throws down some nice beats, especially in the closer. The snares sounded really good. But I'm a lowly horn player & I could be totally wrong. Again, it wasnt super clean, but you could tell that the drummers were diggin' their parts. Guard was good too. I cant wait to see the guard outfits. Also, I'm not too sure they are at the same level as BD's guard but its hard to compare so early in the season. My final thought: I expect this show to be a very crowd pleasing show. On par with the late 80's shows. ** Sidenote: I will also add I was extremely impressed with their rehearsal ettiquette. They are intense and very professional. BD- I know that BD did their CD project in the morning and I missed that. I wish I could have sat and listened. BD's show will be special as well just in a different way. I can only comment on what I saw for their afternoon rehearsal, and today BD only did a full run through of their opener. I dont know what the overall progress stands but I imagine they are at least half way to 3/4 through their show with their drill. I got to rehearsal at about 2:30pm and they were doing visual; rehearsing their ballad. After this the drumline took the field and the hornline warmed up off near the end zone. Then the drumline and hornline did some coordination together on the opener. From what I saw, the feet look good for this time in the season. Their marching technique is very nice from person to person. The hornline sounds full and balanced. No choir is overpowering the other. The drill looks good. At the begining of the show they utilize just about the entire field. The drumline starts all on the back sideline, and the hornline is broken up into blocks across the field. The drill in the opener is very BD. (I dont mean to make that sound good or bad, BD definately has their own style of drill) During the opener there is a cool zipper move the hornline does. The music is definately more percussive than SCV. Lots of horn hits and some wicked fast horn line runs are scattered throughout their opener. Their guard looked good B) . They were throwing up some high tosses with the rifles during that fast horn lick. Thats going to be a good GE moment. And the drumline seemed tight. (I wish I could tell you more about the drumline, but my knowledge is limited with all things drum). My final thought: As always, BD will be clean and super tight. I really think that their visual will be their strong point this year, not taking anything away from the hornline. We all know that BD always puts out monster hornlines. ** Sidenote: BD's trumpet soloists are very good. Their sound is very mature and they can sure wail. Double G's are solid and there was one double C that one of the soloists plays (At least I think it was a double C). They get a chance to showcase their talent in the opener. Well, thats my take on the shows. Out of the two shows and what I've seen so far, I'd say I like SCV's show this year. Just my preference. Last year I really liked BD's show. Then again, there are a bunch of other corps out there. I cant wait to hear about the east and the midwest corps. How about some early season Memorial weekend reviews?

Not giving up on this one. I've been looking for the finals patch (finalist) for some time now. If anyone wants to sell theirs, or has an extra, let me know. I'll pay top dollar. Its the only patch I dont have in my collection. I never went to banquet so never received it. Every time I check ebay, they only have the regular Madison patch, not the finalist patch. Let me know if you can help out slyfulgencio@hotmail.com

Well, yesterday I didnt have much to do, so I thought I'd check out SCV's rehearsal. I was really excited to see what all the Scherezade buzz is about. I must say its going to be a great show. I got at the school at about 1 and was just in time for drill. The drill at least what I saw is very fast (180 ish-opener) and will definately be exciting. I didnt have a good view of the drill since there were no stands. So I sat at field level for visual rehearsal. Horns were for the majority were without their instruments, while percussion played their parts when moving. There was a great ammount of cleaning done. It is uncertain to me if they were marching the opener or the closer. Nonetheless, it was exciting to watch. I was very impressed with the rehearsal ettiqute. It was straight buisness. Not too much in the way of humor or relaxation throughout rehearsal. At about 5:30 they broke for dinner, so I went to grab some fast food. After dinner, I arrived to see the hornline warming up. I counted approx. 20 bari's, 8 contras, 12 mellos and 20 sops. I'm assuming that there were maybe four or five missing people. I must say that Gino is intense at rehearsing the group. He expects nothing less than perfection. The group did a lot of slurring and pedal tone exercises. Also they closed with that nice choral ballad that they had posted on their web page. After this 30-45 minute warm up they broke into sectionals. I stayed with the sops and watched them rehearse. I think I counted about half or so as returning vets. They worked on shaping, dynamics and double tounging. Its a fairly technical book for the sops, especially with all the little musical treats in the music. Sectionals lasted for about 90 minutes. Also, baritones sounded really loud. I was with the sops but could hear the bari's really well off in the distance. After sectionals they had brass ensemble. They took each piece and rehearsed it by section until they had completed the song, then they performed the entire song. The first piece starts off loud. It has some tempo changes in it and a drum break down. The drum break is really cool. Its more of a modern beat and oddly fits with the piece. By the end of the first piece the tempo is 190. The second tune is slower and definately has a lot of melodic shaping to it. Definately loud. The final piece they didnt have much time to rehearse so they just ran it. There are some sweet little mello runs in the closer and the tempo again is rather quick. Its bound to be a really competative show. The brass sound is really well developed. Last year, I thought their high end sounded a but shrill, but the blend is very nice this year. There is a trumpet trio in there somewhere. Also a very nice bari solo. I was really impressed with their sticking to the tempo, only a handfull of times were they off tempo. For the most part they were right with the metronome. In addition I must say the drum major is tight. He definately knows his stuff, and is a natural leader. Throughout the day, he was solid. Very professional !!. Well thats about all I have to say. They wrapped up rehearsal a little after 10 and then went back to the gym. I then took off. It seems to me that they are (and I can only speak from my experience) at least mid June level right now. The music is great. The drill from what I could tell was good, but I dont know how far along they are with their other two pieces on the field. Anyways, lets hope for some video from SCV on their webpage soon!

Got my white Bates Lites. Great shoes. Better than the ones we switched to in 98. 99 we switched back to Bates. Still have my Aussie hat, my gauntlets, my citation cord and my gloves. Good times!

Oops! I meant overall placement. They actually won high brass in 93. I dont remember ever seeing them that low in the brass caption.

BD in 5th? They havent been that low since 93. They are always in the top 3. I was truely a fan on Phantom last year, and hope they build on their fabulous sound this comming year. I really thought they were louder, but not cleaner than BD early when they were in CA last season

Agreed. I remember our vis tech. who marched 88 tell us flat out that they didnt have a great sop line that year.

I didnt mean to call you POP. I noticed that you used the term in the sentence "He just about dropped the nice cold POP I gave him. ", which usually is a midwest or east coast term. No harm was intended.

1st place: Madison Scouts "Lemon Squeeze" shirt. (I only bust it out for special occasions) Runner up: my Velvet Knights shirt from the 80s One that I wish I wasnt outbid on: 27th Lancers shirt on ebay

Ooops! I meant to say they should have won outright in brass. Sorry. I CAN see how they didnt place higher in visual in 95. But it was exciting show from begining to end. No doubt about that. Also, I'll correct my spelling errors. I drank too many Sierra Nevada (Bigfoot Ale's) last night. I should also mention that the DVD has all audio shows from 1974 to 2003 In addition there are 4 extra audio shows from 1960, 1962, 1971, and 1973 Not bad for roughly $30

I just ordered the Taste of Madison DVD. Great DVD. I marched in 97 and 99 so I dont have much to say about those Couple things about the DVD: '75 There was a young bari player who seemed to be about 16 yrs old. How old was he? Rifles were bad #####!!! Tambourine was sweet. I wish more pit players could play the tambourine like that. '83 Were there Velvet gauntlets that year? The backwards march? Was the heel up part of the backwards march? If so when was that modified? I love the DM conducting at the end of Strawberry Soup? Sweet! Wondering if if the bari player at 11:00 minutes is the same bari player in '88 that plays the duet in the slower section of the show. What was the ratio of french horns and mellos? '88 Wow! High High Step!! Interval Control High Toes Individ. Technique! Cant get much better than that! Visual ticks, I couldnt find any! '95 Should have won high brass outright Interval Control not as good as as 88. '97 Wave set used to be pretty hard to set There used to be 6 tenors. During the drum break, there was cool drill that the cameras didnt catch. '99 First time I've seen the show in about 5 years. Nice show. (patting self on back).

Pop?....must be from the midwest or east coast. Also let your buddy know that: 1.) Electronics are now optional 2.) Div 1 corps can now have up to 135 members 3.) Membership fees are a little higher since the "old times".

Had a Getzen (trumpet) for about 10 yrs. Still plays great. I think we paid about $500 in 93 for a 700 model. The only thing that I really dont like about it is, that the third vavle catch uses a plastic device to keep the 3rd valve slide from slipping off. It breaks, but Getzen has always sent me a replacement (only needed 3 so far) every time. Also I used a Deg in Madison, got a nice sound, but I cant compare it to Kanstul because I've never played on a Kanstul. I can say for sure that on the DEG the A flat / G sharp was always a fracky note. Tuning was hard at times, but thats what made all bugles challenging.

Wondering if anyone has used sound reflectors at gigs? I'm wondering if they are worth the purchase. I just got myself a nice K&K clip on microphone and am wondering if there was a setup where I can use a sound reflector and a clip on mic at the same time. Most of the time sound reflectors go on a stand up microphone (not clip on), kinda like those in a recording studio. Any advice on setup or any info on sound reflectors in general? Thanks

Heres something that I came across that seems like usefull info http://trumpet.dana.edu/misc/voil.html

do you know where I can find some of this??? This place appears to have some Alisyn oil: http://www.hamilton-musical-repairs.com/Brass.php Or you could just do a google search.

How bout this one? http://www.sdsystems.com/ Its under LCM 77

I tend to move around when I am playing (especially if there are people dancing at a gig), which affects the level of sound that the mic picks up. I just want something that will stay on and I wont have to worry about drunks messing up a mic on a stand.

I saw that picture of the BD alumni recording and it got me thinking about trumpet mics. I know in the recording they were using large (directional?) mics. But... I am looking for a clip on mic for my horn. Does anyone have any experiences with trumpet clip on mics? Suggestions, advice? Let me know if you have any ideas.

Oh man that sounds sweet. A ton of BD superstars recording awesome tunes. I wish I was a fly on the wall at that rehearsal. I am trying to imagine what it sounded like. The only thing I can imagine comparing it to is Future Corps.

Off hand I would say SCV. It seems that Gino does some amazing things with the hornlines he has worked with. I dont know how he does it, but I'll be attending some of SCV's rehearsals to witness the master class. Hey swtrojan, does John Hardwick still teach at the Americano's? I know he was there in '02.

Ed. Good words of advice. I think when I used Al Cass, I did oil my valves every time or every other time I played the horn. When I use Alisyn, they never feel like they need oil. But then again, I dont play my horn as often. And I wash the horn out every 3 or 4 months. So I will agree with you on that. Better safe than sorry when it comes to oiling your valves. And yes, my screen name is in reference to the show, Mr. Show

I was a firm buyer of Al Cass, and do buy it when I can not find my favorite brand: Alysyn. I got it for about a buck because I worked at a music repair store. I rarely have to oil my valves, maybe once every two or three months. I am a looking at it right now and on the back it says: USE SPARINGLY (only use a few drops) Manufactured by: Aerospace Lubricants, Inc Columbus Oh. I dont know if they make it anymore, but its my fav. I did use blue juice, but my valves got a bit stickier. It could have been because I didnt wash my valves inbetween the switch over from Al Cass to Blue Juice (or Pro-Oil)

Whats the difference between alto sopranos and flugels? Bore size?