dapperpoet
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Posts posted by dapperpoet
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You aren't going to hear an "L" sound in a domed stadium with shouts coming off the top rows. The crowd was not booing BD. No mass crowd at finals has ever done that. There were many, many people excited that Bluecoats placed 2nd, which they have never done before. BD winning DCI is pretty par for the course.
Obviously weren't there for the 2012 extravaganza when Crown fans booed BD loudly. I was.
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A great year for DCI- says a lot that my son aged out in '12 with BD and my favorite show this year was Blue Knights. Stands looked packed. BLOO was awesome- so glad this activity exists to continue to entertain and delight. Congratulations on a record that will not be broken for a looooong time.
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My argument is that the magnitude of pushing the kids can be amped up more. I'm not saying they're not pushing their kids. They should experiment with going much further. Further than the comfort zone of what you think is possible.
You don't have to make it insane. If you run a 5k, run a 7k or a 10k. You don't have to go up to the 20k right away, work up to it in LARGE chunks. The increment has to be uncomfortable.
So what you're saying is that the corps who is a lock to win the world championship and is undefeated just doesn't rise to your standards and isn't good enough? Frankly, as someone whose kid marched BD (and Spirit) I am astonished at the BD hate here- I guess I had just forgotten how the guardians of some supposed mythical standard of achievement are ready to spew forth the same old drivel: It's not hard enough, they don't march and play, blah blah blah. All of which is demonstrably untrue. But it doesn't matter what year it is, what the show is, or how well they're doing it, haters gonna hate.
Go Devils! Time for some Blue Smoke. But unless you perform a show featuring shapeshifting angels playing perfect triple tongue licks at 240, it won't be good enough. They should work up to that. Geesh.
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Even if he specifically didn't emphasize it in that manner (and I would like to believe he did), it definitely makes much more sense that way. James Earl Jones goes almost overboard with the emphasis...doesn't go completely over, but boy, does he toe the line!!!
My all time favorite is Adlai Stevenson. That prairie voice just sings, and he brings a gravity to it that no one else I have heard does.
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The narrator may have a good voice, but I disagree with some of the choices made on which lines, words to emphasize. From a rhetorical point of view, emphasizing "The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation" would carry a lot more impact that emphasizing "what we have done."
There certainly are enough examples to study: I have Gregory Peck, Adlai Stevenson, James Earl Jones, and Henry Fonda all doing Lincoln Portrait right here on the hard drive.
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Six years ago we sat high up in Atlanta. You were a high school sophomore. I said to you, “You know, you could do this next year.”
Since then and tonight there have been tens of thousands of miles, hundreds of rehearsals, football fields from California, to Minnesota to Boston to San Antonio. You played finals your first year two blocks from your house in Bloomington.
Tonight, after kissing your head and telling you how proud I am and how much I love you, I want to say that you have already done so much more than lots of those kids sitting through their senior years with you this fall at Auburn have done. You know how to keep your mouth shut and do what is necessary, not what you want to do all the time. You know how to work and work to get better when you knew from the first camp there was no chance of even being a finalist. You know how to finish a show at midnight, catch a few hours of bad sleep on a bus, and greet another morning and a 40 pound contra with a smile. Heat sirens in San Antonio. Crackers and pudding for supper. Rehearsal in pouring rain. The humidity of Monroe, Louisiana. You learned that sometimes it’s not the leaders of an organization that you kill yourself for, it’s the kid in the next bus seat.
Finally, tonight, you know excellence and being within touching distance of perfection. You know what it is to rise to the highest levels of an activity and be humble. And talk about getting better tomorrow. You know how to be in first place at semi-finals after an undefeated season and say to me, “Wow, that was a rough run tonight. Gotta get better tomorrow.”
Your first year at Spirit it was 110 degrees with the heat index. You were 16 and away from home for the first time. The lights in the gym would not turn off at night. The air conditioning in the school worked sporadically. You hurt your back. You had every reason to quit, but you didn’t. Every one of those beautiful tan faces of all the kids in all the corps tonight could tell a similar story. As you said, at sixteen, “There comes a time when some people stand up and some people quit. I didn’t quit.”
Many, many people never learn that lesson in a lifetime.
Please remember on the blue days to come (we all have them) that you are a champion, that you not only know what excellence is, you have achieved it. That you made yourself the incredible person you are because you tried to make each run through better, each performance the best.
I love you Thomas.(Thomas has since graduated from Auburn, and has just this week accepted a job as an elementary music teacher in Texas)
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im certain this is some sort of hazing in every ensemble be it college or drum corps. I know that we had skits to perform as freshmen where i went to college. There was some off color commentary made, but nothing was forced or mandatory. And any commentary was at our own discretion. again, we werent forced to say or do anything. there was no "you have to do this" crap being fed to us. I had similar experiences in every corps i marched. Again, nothing was ever forced or made to be mandatory for acceptance. But there's a point where stuff goes to far. I will say that college kids marching in underwear at their own discretion, and not being forced to do it (meaning this was not mandatory for acceptance by any means) is one thing. But when a staff member is standing there, that becomes an automatic dismissal in my book for the staff. If the staff didn't take notice of students and put their best interest first, then there's something wrong. If something is brought up to the staff about being uncomfortable, and the staff does nothing, then again, there needs to be a step in by the university.
No, it's not true. I marched four years for Ray Cramer at Indiana and nothing like this ever happened. It wouldn't have been tolerated for a second.
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I can't, of course, speak to anything going on in the OSU band in 2014. What I can say is, when I marched at Indiana we met up with the Buckeyes in Chicago in 1980- both bands were staying downtown (we were at the Drake, they were somewhere close by). They were coming back from Madison and we had just marched at Northwestern. We ran into some of them at a restaurant and they had wet hair. We asked them what was going on and they said that it was part of the hazing process- they had ketchup and mustard and chocolate syrup poured in their hair and had been forced to ride in the bathrooms of the coaches from Columbus to Madison because they were freshmen. I was appalled, at Indiana, people went out of their way to help you- we wanted everyone to make the band and have a good time. On visits to Columbus to march, we found a very anti-woman vibe. They were demonstrably proud to have kept women out of their band for as long as they did, and they let it be known that if they could "drive out the b####es" (their words) they would. So no, this news surprises me not at all.
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Saw BK for the first time in Houston. Not ashamed to say the show made me weep openly. I hope their artistry is rewarded.
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park bark run park bark run plot bark
Come on really? You must not be watching the same show as everybody else.
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I've always liked Crown (I was not happy with some of their fans when BD won in my son's age-out show and they loudly booed) but I was in Houston last night seeing my first DCI show in two years. I have never seen a crowd so un-responsive, or a Crown show that was such a mess and so flat. It's an off year for them. Oh the other hand, I was blown away by BK- I can count on one hand the number of times a DCI show has caused me to weep openly because it was so beautiful- Cadets '87, Crown '05, Phantom '08, and now this BK show. It's messy, but it's a beautiful concept front the uniforms to the graphics to the vocals. Wow. Best BK show I've ever seen. BD is head and shoulders above everyone who was there last night and I think will be undefeated when it's all said and done. Cavvies are back in the mix after wandering into the swamp which makes me incredibly happy.
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Just like your previously mis-targeted post. You and others need to understand that this is NOT about BD at all......it's about those that feel disenfranchised by outcomes that differ from their personal taste and how they process those outcomes. B3 is animated, I've been there, but I have long realized that most of you on DCP (with similar dislikes) are comfortable in your collective misery. Your bluster changes nothing, least of all the scores, and drum corps will re-emerge in 2014 with the same hope and quality it has always had from the beginning.
There we go.
A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
(blame Billy Shakespeare for the reference, not me)
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Boo this...
Complain about your little experience in the stands... I mean after all... You should get what you want, when you want it right? There is NEVER anything subtle or positive going on behind the scenes... The only actual HUMANS in Drum Corps are the MM's of the corps that are NOT BD... So who cares what the MM's in BD think and feel? Well I do! I mean read it for yourself!
(From the BD Alum (Closed FB Page)
XXX XXXX just wrote a meaningful post with regard to the impact that the Blue Devils' performance ethic and acumen have on fans that we may, or may not, ever know about. With that thought in mind, I thought I'd share this story, of which I believe most of you may have never heard.
In 1994, the Corps was approached by the parents of a young, 14 year-old trombone player from Hopkinsville, Kentucky. He was an avid Blue Devils fan, but tragically lost his life in a car accident, far too young. In response, his parents, who knew of his "significant" adoration for the Blue Devils, buried him in his Blue Devils Hornline T-Shirt.
Additionally, they sent a picture of Ryan (Ryan XXXXXXX XXXX was his name) to Dave Gibbs, and simply asked that his picture be carried onto the field during Finals retreat by a member of the Corps. To my great honor, Dave asked me to do so during a Corps meeting just prior to leaving Mars for tour that year. I believed, and the Baritone line that year agreed, that we were "obligated" to live up to Ryan's memory and expectations, and carry his picture on the field with us during every performance that season. Eventually, we decided to keep up the tradition for several years, in honor of the "fans" who's voices we may not hear, but are ever present and speak to the value others place in our performance and its perceived impact.
I had the honor of carrying Ryan's picture onto the field, tucked away in my uniform, during every performance, retreat, and victory concert during the 1994-1995 seasons, until I aged out. Following that, his picture was passed on to the stellar Blue Devil Baritone/Euphonium players who followed me. Although I've personally lost track of this tradition, I'm absolutely certain that the Corps' absolute dedication to performance excellence, and the meaningfulness extracted by both the fans we know and don't know, continues to this very day - and will into the far future.
Sorry about being a little wordy, but glad to share the memory.
Redacted so that people will not be embarrassed...
What a wonderful story. Michael Boo tells a similar story of BD's directors thinking of him in a time of need. I'm richer for knowing about this.
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the outcry of inacessible shows really didn't take off until the 90s when wind ensemble literature started beocming more and more prevalent, as well as visual started to dominate the activity. yes youhad some of it before, but not at the levels seen 20 years ago and continuing.
Look, I like a lot of the stuff I see now. But I'm more vested in the activity than many people sitting in the stands. Remember, DCI is targeting kids before us old ####ers.....and when you hear kids making fun of what they see and hear, then youhave issues.
Dude:
I like the stuff you write (not that I agree with most of it, but I love passion) and you're clearly invested in the activity. But making an argument that says "I know more than most people in the stands" and "a few kids near me did this so everyone feels this way" is not the way to get me to agree with you.
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Ha! I grant that in their much smaller, less relevant, and rapidly shrinking world, they have had the most competitive success. :thumbup:/>
Because drum corps was only really relevant when you marched, and because few corps mean a diluted talent pool of the best performers. Wait. That's just the opposite, isn't it?
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Best way to make a point is simply do not go to the shows and then DCI will get the hint... oh wait that hasn't worked either
I am not buying the "activity needed to evolve and change line of crap"... Does the same argument mean that instead of goal posts on a football field there should be basketball goals and instead of basketball goals a court should have soccer nets....... you get my point...the judging criteria should've stayed the same and made it about playing great music and marching.
It is amazing to me, and I'm sure it has a great deal to do with the fact that I never marched drum corps, that a HUGE percentage of posts on DCP have exactly one theme: "Why did anything ever have to change? Why don't they just do it the way they did back in________________ when I marched?" Really? At what point? One valve g bugles? Two? Marching tympani? Glockenspiels?
It's better. The shows are better. The music is better. The kids are both more athletic and more musical. They come from better feeder programs (high school marching bands). Tell me any corps from 1973 or 1985, using the same sheets they did then, who would be competitive with intonation, musicianship, cleanness, demand, of a top 10 corps in 2013. I love the old stuff too, but to say the activity should not have evolved has been empirically disproven.
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if you like, I'll type in bigger letters.......
DCI is first and foremost a business. From the paying fans viewpoint, it's entertainment. Yes entertainment can wildly vary. But for 6 years now, there has been, with one corps in particular, but even with other corps, angst over what is considered entertaining. So for every successful artist out there, there are thousands of artists not making a dime.
so DCI, which is the corps, need to decide...are they art, or entertainment?
I can tell you which one will keep making money.
See how stupid I am? See here, all along, through observing my son grow and change, I thought the purpose of drum corps was to educate, promote the growth of its members and to encourage excellence. Just money making, huh? Okay.
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So, the question that is rattling around in my pea brain is whether drum corps is the right "canvas" for the misunderstood artists to be doing their work on?
Gibbs and Company (the G7) see the great importance of providing a product that people will pay to see--and not just some people, but a LOT of people. That's their goal. Therefore, one could make the argument that the designers MUST have the lowest common denominator related to fans in mind when designing a show. Who is Mr. and Mrs. Drum Corps? What is the general demographic that pays for seats? And, how do we expand that demographic?
I would contend that the masses don't browse this forum or research the backstory to shows. I would bet you on it.
So...what does that say about Gibbs and Company? They won't let the Scouts, Crusaders, et al play their little G7 game, but he counts on other corps to produce shows that are popular and "low brow" to put hineys in the seats so they can do their "art" (and yes, I'm saying "art" with my butt cheeks clenched and using my british accent). Because, I would surmise (pretty confidently) that if you have all the corps at any given show performing what BD puts on the field that the attendance at said show would plummet the following year.
I'm not telling anybody what to do about anything. I'm also not calling anyone ignorant or being insistent that you share my view of the work. I'm tremendously ignorant about the politics of the ins and outs of DCI. My son marched SofA, Boston, and Devils. Having aged out, he's on Crossmen's staff. All very different takes on what it means to be a DCI member and fan, and I have enjoyed every minute of it.
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wrong. an excellent argument for my favorite Cesario line of all time.....shows with faux intelligencia built into them. Shows trying to be deep for the sake of being deep, that in the end confuse people.
I've been to the symphony many times. I know they put in the stuff about why the composer wrote it and what inspired him.....but many people just don't give a ####. They don't have the time. A ton of reasons. It's not just shallowness or ignorance.
but your response is the kind of elitism that is hurting drum corps.
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While lots of great art in history was indeed hated at first, the vast majority of things that were hated were actually terrible after all, and have been forgotten. Point being that the fact that a lot of people dislike something is not evidence of its greatness.
Of course. But not evidence that it isn't great either. From my favorite American thinker, Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance": "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. — 'Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.' — Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood."
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No, an argument for clarity. Clarity is to be prized, and it is difficult to attain. It's why writing a short letter is more difficult than writing a long one.
Clarity is not shallow. Communication that is clear is deeply refined. Audiences -- either the one person reading your letter, or the 10,000 people in the stands -- want it, and will reward it. Not because they are simpletons, but because you (the perfromer(s)) will have succeeded making a connection with the other. Which is the whole point of communication.
GRRR....Clear to whom? For what level should a show be written? First graders? Doctoral students in music history? Somewhere in between? Looking at the paintings in the Louvre, does it help to know the context in which the painting was made, the symbolism in the painting, what came before, or after the painting, what impact it had in the its own time and what impact it has had historically? What other paintings were done by the same artist? Or should one just think about what is the "clearest" picture, the easiest to understand? Liking the pretty picture of the sunflowers is fine, understanding the context, impact and meaning of Van Gogh's work is a different experience altogether. Of course, audience members can choose the former, and that's just fine. Each to his or her own- I prefer art that educates, teaches, challenges norms, and moves the medium forward. If you don't, you expect different things from a drum corps show than I do, which, again is just fine. Doesn't make you or me more right.
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exactly! See, when I sit down to watch a football game, I don't research the stats of the 3rd string receiver on 3rd and long situations on windy days on grass. I sit down to watch a football game.
When I go to a drum corps show, I don't want to have to sit down and read articles or watch online videos to get the super deep hidden meaning as to they the poles on the field are being used now before being sold to strip clubs around northern California.
I judge....and man, you have to make it crystal clear. And If I don't know what I'm seeing, I will ask questions in case I get again...but I also advise people " you may hear this question wek after week" if it's something not clear.
Well, most fans don't get to see shows live more than maybe 2/3 times anymore. I'd love to know from DCI the number of people that buy tickets to more than one show. I'm sure the number is a lot smaller than they want advertised. So you've got to make it clear from day one.
An eloquent argument for shallowness and ignorance.
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Time to get back on topic which is, ha, ha, if BD wins and goes to play a victory run, do the fans bring SCV onto the field and mass with them behind the barricades while Vanguard reenact Les Miserables?
Now THAT would be some revolutionary art.
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So, that means that because people were arguing in the seats, it was hated when it came out? Most of the info that has come out in the last 100 years has disproven a lot of those riot and hatred towards the ballet
Okay, let's say I agree with you completely. It doesn't change the fact that opinions about the work varied, or that it has always been thus when people made revolutionary art.
Blue Knights 2014 - "That One Second"
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted · Edited by dapperpoet
Yes, this. My wife, a month before I saw BK in Houston, had her last radiation treatment after four chemo treatments. I found the lump last December, and within a few days she was in the first of two surgeries. Been a very long year so far. But, she is in complete remission.
I was there with my beautiful son, having driven from Alabama to Houston to make some job connections for him, and it was the first show we'd seen together since I stood on the turf at Lucas Oil and wrapped my arms around him after he (and several others) :) had just won the world championship. When Thomas first marched DCI for Spirit, I bought him the book about a summer's tour by BK.
So, needless to say I dissolved when the started flipping the graphics over- an incredibly moving show. Those kids should know that I've been watching DCI for 40 years and was never moved as much.
Thanks for, as the kids say, being real.
Me too.