Geneva

I can empathize with this. Let me preface my comments by saying that I have not seen Madison's or Cavalier's shows this year, but from what I have been reading in performance reviews and observing in the caption sheets, and the mp3 clips which I have heard of Madison, it does seem that Madison has been marginalized because of weak visuals/guard. The sheets should be organized so that a corps is not "double-dipped" in poor build ups by a capton which should be more of an augmentation to the central focus (the musical show). This is my point of view as a musician and I know that I will probably get flamed for it by those with a more visuals and guard orientation. It sounds like there are many out there that feel that despite Madison's obvious weak performance in guard/visuals, they are being scored much lower than the overall package would seem to justify. Madison's quest for a more conventional drum corps performance plus poor performance in visuals is threatening to keep them out of finals. This is difficult for me to accept in light of the strength of their musical performance. The message that will be sent out by this...that the sheets do not allow for much credit for the strong performance of a conventional drum corps show is not healthy for the activity as a whole. These shows are good, too, but in a different type of way and should not be marginalized by the sheets. I am not saying that a show with visuals deficiencies should still be in contention for the highest scores, but neither should it receive such low scores if the musical performance is strong.

Well done! I enjoyed your insights.

Brent, well worded review! I think you are right on about what makes the Cadets show tick. I can't wait to see Phantom's show. It sounds like my kind of performance!

Nice review, Bobby! I enjoyed your family's observations as well. At least you were able to get your family to come to the show. Mine still thinks it's something weird Dad did as a kid that he can't get over :( . Well, I can still hope for some creative family bliss at Madison! :D

Hi Rick, I should have added the disclaimer that I am not a percussionist. Just an overall "in the stands" impression. :)

Hi Mike, Yes, it is a different world now than the drum corps that we grew up with. These division one "survivors" can pretty much pick and choose the talent level and composition of their corps. That is something we only dreamed about. The result is a much higher average level of musicianship. The top players in our day probably stacked up well against those in today's corps, but the difference is the quality of the players on the inner parts. No "dead wood" in these corps! It gives them the ability to learn and change music and drill more quickly than in our day. Having said that, don't expect that 60 horns now has the same type of impact that 60 horns of 30 years ago would have had (if there were any lines that big). The playing philosophy is different now with ffff meaning a different level of intensity especially for the baritones and contras. The result is a more consistent sound quality, but less of the wild (and sometimes raw) sounds which used to give us chills.

"Music Under the Stars" Hornell, NY July 11, 2002 Well, it was my first field competition of the season. Time to repay you all for some great reviews! PRE-SHOW NOTES: It was a beautiful evening in upstate NY with blue skies and a few wispy high clouds, temperatures in the mid-70's and low humidity with a cool light breeze. Perfect weather for the corps to get down to some serious performing! We learned as the show opened that the new astroturf field at Hornell High School had just been laid down as of 10 AM and the show had nearly been cancelled due to concerns that the field would not be ready. The crowd pretty much packed the bleachers of this small stadium (? 3,000-4,000). This was a very user friendly show in that I purchased the non-reserved $12 seat as the gates opened one hour before show time and was able to walk right up to a high 50 yard line seat next to friends. Parking was easy and this show was only 50 minutes from my doorstep. You couldn't ask for more except that I had unsuccessfully petitioned my 10 year old son to accompany me...and I'm paying for this kid's drum lessons which he loves. Go figure! CORPS and SCORES: Division II 1) Magic of Orlando..........................83.80 2) Patriots of Rochester, NY.............73.30 Division I 1) Cadets of Bergen County................……....88.85 2) Crossmen, Philadelphia.....................……..83.40 3) Boston Crusaders.............................……...82.30 4) Spirit of JSU, Jackson, Alabama...........….76.30 5) Kiwanis Kavaliers, Kitchener, Ontario..….67.25 COMMENTS (in order of appearance) MAGIC OF ORLANDO Drum line 6 snares 4 Quads 5 Bass 8 pit 60 horns They produce rich sonorous sounds playing symphonic band style music which is nice but not very accessible. Drill patterns move slowly and their overall style is very controlled and homogenized. A very low impact show for 60 horns. I found it interesting that their eight or so lead sopranos could survive balance-wise against a horn line of this size. In my marching days, I was in a line of 54 with 12 leads and we had all we could do to avoid being buried by our baritone line. I guess this just points to the fact that bari lines go for a different sound now (broader and less projected). Aside fom their finale they generated little fire. I guess I'm showing my age in that I feel cheated unless a corps generates some good solid impact points in their show a couple times a minute. PATRIOTS Smallest corps of the night by a considerable margin. 26 Horns 6 snares 4 quads 5 bass 8 pit Considering their size, the horn line sound was decent. They had some phasing and intonation problems in their opener. Second tune had some pretty, rich harmonious sounds at the end. Like Magic, I found their music to be inaccessible symphonic style stuff plus they were challenged by small size. Drum line was reasonably tight, but the rudimental density of their parts was low. KIWANIS KAVALIERS 10 snares 6 Quads 11 pit Horns mid 50's This corps takes the concept of concealing eye gaze to enhance military bearing to the extreme. They wear skull caps which cover their eyes with a fabric which they can see through, but is opaque to the audience...outside, indeed! The crowd responded well to them. There was drama and directionality to their music which was comprised of familiar pieces inspired by the superheroes in a show entitled The Hall of Justice (Batman, Spiderman, Flash Gordon, Superman). There was some nice high soprano work and visual interest with many pass-throughs in the drill. The walking bass line from their 9 contras who were kneeling in the Flash Gordon piece was nice. Overall this was a good performance with some outstanding moments. SPIRIT 7 snares 4 Quads 4 Bass 11 pit 62 Horns They came off the line and immediately grabbed your attention by hurling one of their red velvet clad guard members up into the air! I found the red color accent provided by their guard set against the light blue of the musical ensemble to be eye pleasing. This horn line had more impact than any of the prior lines. Their music had much more momentum with a sense of direction to it which reached out to the viewer. You felt like the music was moving towards an identifiable climax point. Interestingly, there was original material added to the David Holsinger composition (Easter Symphony, 3rd Movement). There were some nice ensemble sounds from the sopranos and some dense rudimental work by their drum line. I enjoyed the “sound-bending” effect which the horn line created by horn waving maneuvers during sustained chords. They seem well positioned to become a finalist this year. Welcome back, Spirit! CROSSMEN 9 snares 4 Quads 5 Bass 4 Cymbals 9 pit 60 horns They start from a very spread position on the field with drum line to the left and the horns in a tight block to the right. This all converges toward the center with pulsating rhythmic lines executed well by the sopranos as the guard shines with some very energized dance moves at a high cadence during “Heat of the Day”. This opener really cooks! The second number “A Candle in the Window” features a rich sounding soprano solo. “Strawberry Soup” also was very well performed and the crowd really seemed to dig on this resulting in a rousing standing ovation at the conclusion of their show. I think they have a good shot at top six this year. BOSTON CRUSADERS 8 snares 5 quads 5 bass 11 pit 63 horns They present a very nice on field appearance with their rather dark, but very sharp cadet style uniforms (harking back to old Boston) sparked by the reflectorized buckle on their cross stripes. They are well set off by the white and gold uniforms of the guard. I am amazed at the resiliency of this organization in metamorphosing from the drum corps’ drum corps of the 60’s into a state of the art drum corps of the 21st century. They open with a very demanding arrangement of Appalachian Spring featuring some bounding effervescence from the guard. This sets off well against their next show segment which features some nice big band sounds. I really liked the musical content of Boston’s show. I felt it was the most demanding on the field tonight. If they can clean it a little more, they have the potential to go places at DCI championships. CADETS 9 snares 6 Quads 4 Bass 12 pit 64 horns They present an interesting opening appearance with the traditional cadet style uniforms on the playing members and 1940’s street garb on the guard keying on their theme of “An American Revival”. This show is one of the most accessible out there. There is a lot of energy and fast cadence work. The drum line presents some chops with dense well-executed rudimental work. What amazes me is how well they sell what could have been a very shallow, gooey flag waving type of performance (they actually recite the Pledge of Allegiance) into a really joyous and fun presentation. The strength of their performance is the key. They really push all the right buttons and the audience was totally involved. There was some wild swing dancing by the guard (and horn players, too). The on field strip by the male portion of the guard with a very choreographed donning of military uniforms was unlike anything I have ever seen on a drum corps field! The panache with which they pull this off and create a successful effect is another sign that this is a performance in which the total is greater than the sum of the individual parts. I am sorry that I cannot comment on their recent program changes which I understand they have been putting in place, since this was my first viewing of them. Judging from their past years performance history, Cavaliers had better watch their back sides. This corps is a strong finisher. The crowd totally loved their performance tonight. The show concluded with a drum majors only retreat by 9:51, a very efficiently run night of drum corps for which the show sponsors should be commended. The crowd left with good tastes in their mouths after the Cadets victory performance in which they stormed the sidelines during Boogy Woogy Bugle Boy. Hope to see you all at Madison! :)

I second the Centorino and Pero nominations! Jim Centorino's triple tonguing and screaming solo in "Conquest" with the Boston Crusaders in 1970 is an all-time drum corps classic of top horn work. The leads in my corps always would try to emulate it at practices! Joey Pero with Rochester's Empire Statesmen has amazing facility on the instrument. Listening to him, you become convinced that any note he desires to play is present on his horn. I had the pleasure of hearing him at DCA individuals and The St. Joe's Classic this April. I think that screaming soprano solo work together with rudimental drumming are the unique hallmarks of the drum corps craft!

St. Joe's Classic IX, Saturday April 27 I was there as a spectator. For those of you who couldn't make the show, here are a few notes... It was a fun night of preseason drum corps at Kodak Park's Theater on the Ridge. I enjoyed the Steel City Ambassadors. They were a blast from the past. I felt like I had been transported back to the 60's! (for better or worse?) The Crusaders music is being done by Donnie Allen with Steve Cooley. They are doing "Adventures in the key of S - the music of Arturo Sandoval". They had about 36 horns and sounded just fine with the power of Latin jazz. St. Joe's, they had about 60 horns including former Appleknockers Ken Petersen, Mike Brown, and Paul Gneiss. They performed an entertaining show which included a moving tribute piece to the late Ed Cozzolino, "One Hand, One Heart". In my opinion, the Empire Statesmen were the on corps of the night. Lead by David Bruni, who is a show of his own, they wowed the crowd with sparkling horn work from their 44 bugle line capped by the DCA soprano individuals champion, Joey Pero. You have to hear this dude to believe what he does on the horn! It makes you feel the need to go home and practice! Their drum line is top notch, too. The Syracuse Brigadiers are 60+ horns strong with a huge, tight drum line including a very active and large mallet section. Their music is complex and demanding and they are loaded with talent from top to bottom...truely one of the best senior corps ever. However, tonight their performance seemed strangely uninspired. They put on a good, but very business-like performance. Perhaps the dfficulty level kept them from playing with more abandon?? I am sure by the time summer is here, they will be something to behold. The grand finale, ah yes! As the call was put out for all former drum corps members to join in, I headed down to the stage to join the 200+ horn players (the soprano in the green T shirt at the left end of the contra line) http://www.mightystjoes.com/images/Classic...randFinale2.htm as we played Auld Lang Syne while uniformed representatives of the many defunct upstate drum corps were individually announced and came to stage front and center. The Appleknockers got a big hand as legendary pre DCA soprano soloist Ken Petersen marched in donned in the full regalia of the white, green, and red of Winnek Post of the 1940's! What a sight! If anyone knows if there was a video made of this ceremony, let me know!! We closed out with Donny Allen's stirring arrangement of God Bless America. The excitement in his eyes as he conducted us was priceless. Man, what a sound!! I felt like the last chord lifted me off my feet. It was a real out of body experience! Many thanks to the St. Joe's Alumni corps organizers for putting this event together. It certainly warmed the hearts of many drum corps fans from the hibernation of the northeastern winter!

Here is the word on G vs. B flat straight from the Madison inside. Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 15:19:04 -0600 From: "Kent Shook" <shook@madison-corps.org> | Block Hi Geoff, Thanks for your note! In addition to our stance on electronics, we will be using G bugles for as long as G bugles are manufactured. It sounds like DEG will be making them for the foreseeable future. Thanks, Kent webmaster@madison-corps.org

Also check out the repeating contra sixteenth note rhythmic figure in Purple Lancers' 1974 "Power to the People". This part required flexibility, a nimble tongue, and breathe control. I was always glad that part was not written for us sopranos! 8^)

I used a Schilke 13A4A playing lead my last year in corps. After years of Bach 7C, the Schilke was quite a relief...the upper register was like a flame thrower! I found the rim to be much more comfortable than a Bach, but the drawback was the precision of my attacks would suffer when I got fatigued and started using more pressure. I think for anyone with thick lips that the A cup may be a little too shallow. I have also played on a Schilke 15B which I find gives a fuller sound and a Vacchiano 3E which is a good lead piece with a less extreme rim and cup than the 13A4A. Now I have come full circle back to the 7C which I find helps me to blend in better with the concert band, that I now play with, since the sound is less piercing. The old rim comfort issue no longer seems to be a problem, but that may have something to do with changing my embouchre and is another story... (8-]

I heard them at Syracuse DCA minicorps...the sopranos burned the place down!!

Sure there were dynamics...loud, louder, and RFL (really obscenely loud)!

I second the Madison nomination! They defined impact in the mid 70's. Geoff :o)