Purplepower42

We use these in my college band. I marched a regular horn mouthpiece with an adapter in high school, so it was a bit of a change for me. At first, I hated it. By the end of band camp, I liked it. Horn mouthpieces, like horns, are highly temperamental. You need your chops placed on it just so. The Kerchners are slightly more forgiving. They're also easier on the chops, which is nice for a long football game day (or, I imagine, weeks of all days). I did find, as someone who always enjoyed lower horn parts, that it limited my lower range even more than the mellophone itself did. But it expanded my upper range much more easily, too. So...compromise, I suppose.

Seeing the shows in the theaters was a bit of a letdown for me, almost. The wind killed everything, which is really a bit sad. But between the mikes picking up the wind and the guards being told not to toss (Bluecoats were absolutely KILLING me with that!), it was just hard to watch. Suddenly I was very grateful for the fact that the show I'm going to is in a dome. That said: Blue Devils seemed really scattered. And HIDEOUS. I'm sorry, but those new uniforms aren't doing it for me. And the colors of the hornline/drumline and guard didn't contrast enough (on the video screen, anyway) for some of the visual effects they're trying to pull off. Cavaliers made me really happy. I initially thought the 'XY' concept was going to be cheesy, but man did I feel bad for thinking that. That is visually one hell of a show, and it's not even done yet! Unfortunately one of the things I most enjoyed (a more balanced, less trumpet heavy sound) will probably go away as the season progresses and the members gain some extra endurance/chops etc. Bluecoats' guard, unfortunately, distracted me from the corps, and I really can't remember much other than that I did enjoy it. Their guard, however, should be pretty good once they're allowed to toss. I just couldn't deal with them hitting what was obviously prep for a toss and then standing there and switching their hands. And I get why they were doing it, but nobody likes to be teased, you know? Crown was fun, but that's about all I got out of it. Also, as a Phantom girl, their Var. XVIII disappointed me a bit. Maybe they'll tweak that and make me happier with it later on in the season. The Cadets were almost depressing to me. I really, really enjoyed their show last night. They've got a great book visually, and I liked the multi color/dual uniform effect. But I worry that when I see them live, they'll have buried the show under a voiceover track. Phantom's brass has potential, but they weren't up to standards set last night. They'll get there, I'm sure, and man does that show have potential. They have that whole "pretty" thing going in a year where everyone else is in your face in some way or another. Sometimes, you just need to sit back and absorb a pretty, enjoyable show with good music and a clean, elegant guard. SCV's concept confused me a bit. And the dissonance in the music, I think, needs more confidence behind it. When you've got dissonance like that all you can do is lean into it and embrace it, and once they start doing that fully, that hornline should be mindblowing. Blue Stars is, quite frankly, a corps I've always found a tad forgettable, and last night was really no difference. It's quality, and they'll be a competitor later in the season for a finals spot...but I don't necessarily see them in the same class as these other 7 corps. All my .02, as someone who's got no qualifications to speak of.

I watched Open class finals and retreat this morning...as per usual when they shut a site down, the Fan Network kicked me off of the site. Now on the Fan Network home page, it says that tonight's webcast begins at 6:50 EST. Why aren't we starting until 2/3s of the way through SW finals? NEVERMIND. I went back on...and now it says 4:50 ET. Much better :)

Maybe I don't get West Johnston (Open)'s show. But to me, it just seemed classic West - they do an outstanding job of tossing and catching, and they've got some amazing tricks, but the choreography that connects the tricks and the tosses seems a bit fluffy. Maybe my standards are too high or I'm missing something, though. On a more positive note, I was at the Richmond regional this weekend, and I really enjoyed Light Brigade's show, as well as Impact. Impact really impressed me with how musical their work was. That show was a pleasure to watch and listen to. I also liked Croatan. As always, they spin and dance beautifully.

16 were actually promoted [there was a tie for 15th in SA semis last year between Kell and Clayton] 5 made semi-finals [Pope, Crestview, Wakefield Maroon, Clayton, and Hinsdale Central] 2 made finals [Pope and Crestview] Sorry to be picky, I just wanted to eliminate potential confusion before the arguments got heated up :)

I loved SCV!!! It was one of just a handful of shows [and I watched at least 50 of the 60 guards that went on on Saturday] where i felt the energy through the feed without having seen it live first. And I felt like I could've liked Aimachi if I had been able to see the performers better [they blended into the floor a LOT], and if the feed hadn't been so focused on baton. I've got friends who spin baton and respect that it's difficult....but these are guard championships, not majorettes, and I paid all my money to watch people spin "real" equipment, you know? I also really enjoyed Corona, but again with the busy floor. All I can hope is that the performers were easier to discern from the floors live...

Wind's version of "Don't Stop Believin'" is "Don't Stop Believin' (Acoustic Soul Remix)" by The Hitmaker [i was surprised by the artist too] but yeah...we're in their circuit too, and my friends and I spent the first six weeks of the season looking for that...it's on iTunes :)

My guess is that that was a local Senior guard.

In reference to BD's perfect 20 in visual ensemble tonight, I'll say something that was said numerous times after Fantasia's 99.50 IW finals score at WGI Worlds this year. The major purpose of scores is not the ratings but the -rankings-. What is more important to be taken from this is the spread between BD and Cavies...so it's incredibly possible that the visual ensemble judges started off giving whatever number they gave and gave it "too high," locking themselves in by the top ranked corps. With visual ensemble scores the way they were, the 20 doesn't mean BD was "perfect," just that they were .3 better than Cavies.

I know that Wakefield Maroon (SA) and Wakefield Independent (IA) had their floor crew in tuxes (yay concert attire!) Friday night. There's only four of them, though, so it may not have been noticeable. I wasn't in Dayton so I'm not sure what anyone else did.

South Brunswick at Trumbull was absolutely beautiful!! And not only their spinning, but I was in love with their costumes. (On a side note: is that Croatan's floor from last year? Anyone know on that, because I thought it looked familiar). And I've seen West Johnston locally, they're looking good too. Could be interesting!

CHECK THIS OUT the video quality is a bit poor, but this is Assembly Line Winterguard. It's a senior guard, and they have people of all skill levels and ages, and they always put out a great show. LOVE seeing them at local shows!!! So it's not world class. But it's still amazing :-)

Green Hope HS (SA Semifinalist 2007) all ran through a door and out the gym at the end of the show and they came back in to help and were never penalized (as far as I know). But I only ever saw them at local shows, they may have worked it differently at WGI shows (but I doubt it).

www.goodsearch.com is a great website. As long as your guard/band program is a non-profit, you can set up an account there and every time people find your account and search it, you earn money. It's not a lot, but it does help.

I have nothing *against* them, but we had a four count strap flourish this winter done by four girls, and I think between the four of us we went through seven straps! Not fun!!