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Rocketman

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Everything posted by Rocketman

  1. Unfortunately, the sad reality is, BD will likely break 90, possibly 91 with the other 3 corps a point or more behind, leaving a potential gap of 5 points or more between 4th and Regiment at 5th. It's just what we have all come to expect from DCI!
  2. My problem with the closer (pre-changes) was, (IMO) it started, kinda resolved, then started again and it felt disjointed and abrupt. But what do I know? I would like it to be more of a start and build all they way through to a glorious ending, WITHOUT a drum break in the middle!
  3. Difficult? Yes, Musical? That's a hard no. Especially when playing with the brass. To the untrained ear (me) a lot of the percussion writing is as described, cram in as many notes as possible without regard for what the brass is playing. IF it takes away from the brass, it's annoying. I must confess that I do find Paul Renics writing to be most tasteful and generally not over written when playing with the brass.
  4. YES! Most of todays percussion books (IMO) appear to be an exercise in "how many notes can we possibly squeeze into this show" as opposed to let's write a book that is musical. I find the lack of musicality in todays percussion writing to be very disappointing.
  5. Not sure I buy this. My main issue is, we get 30 maybe 45 seconds possibly even up to a minute of brass playing then we turn it over to the percussion which, to me, causes the piece to become segmented and uncoordinated. Your ballad argument isn't valid either as on far too many occasions, the brass is playing a beautiful ballad while the percussion is jamming away to see how many notes they can play. It totally ruins the moment. It seems that percussion writing is competing with, not complementing, the brass writing. THAT is the WGI influence on full display.
  6. Agreed. I like WGI. I just don't like that it has infected DCI. If I were a brass player today, I'd be a little miffed that my brass playing expertise has taken a backseat to things unrelated to my ability to play said instrument. I have to wonder what the 2026 alumni corps production will look like.
  7. Well then, get your lazy butts down on the field like the 'good old days' and risk getting trampled. As far as the number of percussion breaks goes, I for one find them to be a distraction more than a compliment. It seems (to this dino) percussion breaks are used as a time for the brass players to, 1. move props 2. emote 3. bug stomp 4. whatever. I'd rather hear a musical phrase carried out than interrupted by percussion. (I did say I was a dino, didn't I?)
  8. Not unexpected. It's a BD world and occasionally someone else gets to play in it. 🤔
  9. Someone please help me with the percussion caption. I get 'achievement' (how well you play) content is where I'm struggling to understand. I believe it means they don't think what you're playing is that difficult, correct? It certainly sounds difficult. But if it isn't that difficult, why is the achievement score low too? Are they really saying 'you're not playing anything hard, and you're not doing a very good job of it either'? BTW, the end of the show (IMO) seems to just happen out of nowhere. There isn't enough of a build into it.
  10. To the experts who claim the 'leg cape' on Regiment makes things look muddy, BD has had very similar leg capes in the past, but I never heard anyone complain about them. So, what gives? Remember, it's the first friggin show, ease up!
  11. 1979 Iron Cross 12.05 1980 Iron Cross 14.05 At least they improved the following year!
  12. Yelp! Guess I should chime in. The corps had to become more modern or be considered a dinosaur. Tradition is great, but it won't attract the top talent needed to become or remain competitive. I am assuming that there will be narration and way more use of electronics as that is the going trend in the activity. I personally don't care for narration as it often comes at the expense of brass playing, same with electronics (keytars, etc). My fear is this, Coats are notorious for pushing the envelope, not always to my liking, but they push it. It seems that any corps that does so is immediately 'pushed' by the community (judges). Fortunately, they are not at the show tonight in fact, it's interesting that you almost have the last six placing corps at last years finals (missing Manadarins). In 2022 at the premier show, you had corps that placed in the 2019 finals at 2, 5, 6, 8, 11 & 12. It is interesting that Coats aren't coming out until July 2nd. Do it Regiment!
  13. Wha? There's politics in drum corps? Surely not!
  14. I'm so glad I marched in the mid to late 70's. $100 a year dues. Practically no fund raising. It was a much simpler time to be in corps.
  15. Does anyone have videos of the guard shows for those years?
  16. Perhaps this should be re-titled, "What Does / Did Drum Corps Mean To You". Unfortunately, "DCI" (the organization) means some good, but a lot of bad!
  17. Perhaps it is time to evaluate all the associated costs of running a corps and determine what areas can be scaled back, (uniforms, props, electronics, etc). If this can happen to SCV, it can happen to anyone. The preservation of corps, regardless of how one may feel about the direction the activity has gone, should be the preeminent concern. I wish the Vanguard all the success in the world and hope the members find temporary homes for 2023.
  18. I have no 'inside' knowledge, I just know what is rewarded and that is NOT what they have offered for going on a decade now. Of course, reward in this case being a show capable of competing for a championship. Yes, the activity is a competition, there are winners and losers, as an alum, I'm a little tired of not seeing them battle for a title. It is disheartening to see corps such as Bluecoats setting the standard and advancing the activity. Now, don't take this for liking everything they do, but I have to admit they push the envelope. Something PR hasn't done in an awfully long time. Dare I say 1993? A strong, competitive, PR is good for the activity, or are we satisfied with them being the Pioneer of the top 12. The corps everyone likes but doesn't consider a threat.
  19. Disagree. There have been several nice ballads played in recent years, even by our beloved PR. Since they don't seem to want to 'play the game', they might as well at least be entertaining.
  20. A ballad for 2023, I don't care what the rest of the show is. Just for Gods sake do not over write the percussion parts. If fact, don't have any percussion parts, just keyboard and no electronic goo.
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