hrnguy500

Oh, that video is SPOT ON! I was at the Warrensburg show last year (2016) and noticed the amplification of the entire hornline. (Was sitting on Side 1 near the 30 yd line) Hearing the hornline through the speakers is really not an appealing sound. I want the natural acoustical properties of the brass instruments hit me right in the chest - not via the speakers. The video also comments on how you can hear something from a speaker right in front of you, yet the performers are 30 yards down the field. I recall looking all over for soloists and solis at that show because my ears couldn't acquire their true location. My ears tell me that the sound is right in front of me and yet my eyes tell me otherwise. 2017 Bluecoats ballad really grinds my gears. They play to the back corner, amplify it so that the hornline can still make a crescendo. "Look! We can still play loud even while facing backwards!" Ummm no, you are just cheating with the volume knob. How about you play backfield and figure out how to naturally sound just as loud as facing forward? ....plus playing to the back corner (empty stands) is one of the best moments for any hornline. Why muck it up with some volume knob? Bluecoats ballad would sound so much better if they just cut the mics out of it.

I am curious how corps create pitch bend sound fx (like the '14 Bluecoats did). Do they sample the hornline and then fiddle with it on Audacity or something? Do they time it out to fit their needs or is there someone on a keyboard that it controlling the speed and duration? I am trying to implement some sound effects with my band and I don't want to have to re-invent the wheel if I don't have to.

Well, my question still stands. What IF the Marine corps decided to go against their tradition? Would people be ###### off or would they accept it? Pretty sure it would be the latter.

Devils Advocate: How would you all feel if the U.S. Marine Drum and Bugle Corps came out in some sort of costume based on their show music?

I hate the trend towards costumes for the whole corps. Corps lose their fundamental identity by ditching traditional uniforms. SCV only has the star on their "costume", otherwise it doesn't portray any history/tradition of the corps. That is a shame considering it is their 50 year anniversary. No aussies for the corps?? That is a travesty and I'm not even an alumni of the corps! How are they going to handle age-outs and their green feathers? Are they still going to get a green feather? That would be nice but not as nice as being able to say "I marched with that feather in my aussie on finals night" And Madison is playing the game too??? I read a comment on FB from someone saying "those (unis) scream Madison scouts." REALLY? Far from it. Having an aussie/shako/hat is designed to eliminate your individuality within the corps. One of the alluring factors of drum corps is that the uniform adds about 5 years of age to the person in the uniform. So, a 17 year old kid looks more mature/intimidating. GE - when you take away the shako/aussies you are losing 4-10 inches in height on the members. The corps (not just SCV and Madison) start looking smaller, which is not what you should do on the football field. Remember Cavies uniforms from 90's-2000's? All of the accent parts were oversized so that they could be seen from the box and body moves popped. Watching the live broadcast the other night and most body moves loose that pop with all black uniforms. Thinking of their early power wedge set where the hornline pumps their arms out to their sides. That move, 10 years ago, would have been killer - with their old white gauntlets. Staff should design the show for the football field, not the gym floor. I would rather leave the costuming to the guard proper and leave the hornline/percussion in traditional uniforms. This pressure to change uniforms every year for every show is not a good business model. This is not WGI. And yes, I realize that the uniform controversy is not a new thing. Corps have been tweaking their uniforms for a good decade now.

The rumors are true! The Railmen are back to perform this summer for the 75th Anniversary since their founding. We have held a few camps already in preparation. We will be performing a sort of "Best of" rep. We are still hoping to gain some more members to fill out the hornline/drumline/guard. We are opening up membership to anyone and all ages. You do not have to be an alumni of the corps to participate. (I myself am not an alumni but have had a great time with the group so far). We have members ranging from their 60's to as young as 16. If you ever marched Railmen, we would love to have you join us. And if you live within a reasonable distance of Omaha and want to play again, let us know!!! Next Camp is April 26 and 27 at Midland University in Fremont Nebraska. We are planning on performing at the Omaha show this summer but more shows in the years to come. This is just a small step towards what we hope is an annual corps. Send me a message on here or find us on Facebook. Heck, we are even on youtube now.

Dude, it's the SAME guy. They totally opened an actual wormhole on the field.

Interesting concept. I had no idea this was ever done. I think that would put a different spin on finals night.

Crown has another neat drill move with the smallest bass drum orbiting one of the rolling bass drums. It's when she is playing the gock block. I think the drill is supposed to be representing an atom with an orbiting electron.

I seem to remember Bluecoats doing a toe first style with every step. Check em out. It looks like they are jazz walking the whole time.

That is awesome

To be technical, they modified the ending a couple times. The original ending was pretty bland to me. I knew it would change. The finals ending, with the worm hole, was freaking clever. Major GE in my books. However, I liked the ending they had at the end of July, going into the Atlanta regional. They still made the crown but they had that one guard girl just sprint down the field on that crunch chord. I REALLY thought that was cool. I also enjoyed seeing the guard run their ##### off. I'm sure they HATED rehearsing that part.

"VAN" Guard....such a clever set

Maybe if they had fewer towers that would have helped? Or shorter towers?

The towers were sloppy on finals night. It didn't seem to change their final placement. I actually thought SCV might over take them with those sloppy errors. There were some effective moments with the towers (color changes in particular) but overall I think they could have gotten away with not using them.

Railmen

I could probably say the same thing about your groups you teach. Give 'em a break. I saw Music City in Minneapolis this year and I found them very entertaining. In fact, I liked their musical selections better than some of the "big names". Were they at the same level as those other guys? No, but they entertained me. I went out of my way to find members of that corps and tell them that I enjoyed their show. What you may find entertaining may not be to someone else? With regards to the empty seating, yes, that is a problem! Marketing of the smaller corps is not enough. The current system focuses heavily on World Class Corps and even then it is directed at the "top 12". The spirit of competition is starting to hurt the program overall.

I support it. Kids that do drum corps can learn valuable leadership skills and musical skills that they can bring back to their own band. I would imagine there are lots of directors that don't give 2 craps about drum corps though. There are far too many directors out there that are in charge of marching bands that really hate marching band. Another reason to not support it is the time frame of the seasons. There are probably directors that don't want kids to miss out on band camps.

That blows. I really liked their show this year.

Lots of black cloaks, various sizing. Good for secret meetings, Halloween or storming the castle. For every 20 cloaks purchased you receive a complimentary triangle on a 6 foot pole.

Best post of the season

Bluecoats

I have always been curious what this would sound like. I think it would be super cool if there was a corps (like Troopers) who went the classic route every year. BUT I know it is super impractical because of cost and time to teach. I think I was lucky enough to hear Pioneer when they still used Bugles and I was blown away. They weren't even a full sized corps. Does anyone know if there are All Age or DCA groups that use bugles still? Perhaps we can still get a taste of the sweet nectar somewhere in the states.

This is just awesome. I love these kind of videos.

The overall talent of corps is much higher than a decade ago. I think anyone in the top 5 has potential to make a run at it next year.