Steve Knob

So glad for Tim! Can't say enough about him as a teacher and motivator. Learned more from him is 2 seasons than most of my college education class, etc.

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Having been on the judging panel in Orlando in 2008 where Crown topped Cadets for the first time, I heard it then, and I still hear it now - Crown displays more MUSICALITY than everyone else. Technically they are just as good (and better) then anybody else, but it's the musicality displayed by EVERY member of the hornline that is the difference. It's both written into the charts by the staff and performed by the members. The percussion writing is also of a very high musical caliber, which helps the entire ensemble, something that many groups don't get anymore. I walked down the Trumpet line (about 24 as I remember) and was astounded by the quality of sound and unified approach to music displayed by ALL of them. Simply head and shoulders above anyone else that year. The best brass playing on the field I judged in 10 years, period. IMHO (but I did get to put a number down that night, so I, and many of the other judges, felt pretty strongly about our opinions that night)

As some others have said; GREAT news, but PLEASE no Maleguena or Strawberry Soup. Love them, but there's SOOOO much more cool Kenton and Ellis out there. Also, I'd have to ask for a NO on Fanfare. (see my signature)

Night Wish and Porphyry

Outside (hopefully) As much as I love Maleguena, Appalachian Spring, Phantom of the Opera, Danny Boy, In the Stone, Shostakovich 5, etc., etc., etc., etc............ I really like it when somebody finds a new composer, or a new piece by an "old" composer and brings that to us. The marching arts have barely scratched the surface of all the great music out there. There are numerous threads on here with lists and lists of music and composers/groups that haven't, or have rarely, ever been played. Why a marching group would choose something that has already been done before (especially if done well) is beyond me. Why invite the comparison? If you really like piece A by composer XYZ, and it's already been done, find another piece by him instead of playing A again. EVERY single "cool" piece that has been used by the marching arts was "new" and had never been done at some point. Somebody had to find it "outside". Why have so many "designers" (most are now just imitators) stopped doing this? Gustav Holst wrote a lot more music than The Planets, and the Stan Kenton Orchestra played a lot more than Maleguena and Malaga. PLEASE go find something new!

There are numerous bands across America that do shows at this level. The entire "popular"/Hollywood/TV/public perception of HS marching bands as stupid/nerdy/etc. is so totally removed from reality that people as surprised when they see a HS band do a program like this. I know, I've been writing them for 30+ years. Just look from the better band programs from PA, MA, KY, GA, OH, TX, CA, etc. There are HS band programs operating at this level in just about every state in the country, and they are not the exception. AND you ought to go hear their concert bands too. Want to hear where all the really cool new music is being done? Go to a good HS or college band concert. As a former HS band director for over 25 years, I'm just fed up with the public's (and unfortunately some posters on DCP) perception of what HS bands are actually like. /rant off

Doesn't tell you what effect "is" (might need to check with Bill Clinton), but this was the best piece of judging advice I ever got. "Bad effect is easy to talk about, good effect is very difficult to put into words". Explain, with measureable and quantifiable details, what caused you to get goose bumps the last time you did. My poor stab- Effect is a combination of what you are seeing and hearing, mixed with what ever former knowledge and experiences you have had. (This applies to all works of art, not just drum corps) Hence, it is completely different things to different people.

Did it with my HS marching band. What a great show! Soundtrack to the Last Starfighter by Craig Safan.

Stop complaining about how it used to be and enjoy how it is now.

I'd like to see a regional open class with 4-5 regional championships with NO thought of going to finals, unless the corps thought they were ready to move into national open. Let smaller groups be regional corps again, and if they build a stable, long-term organization, then they can move on. The SoundSport thing is a step in the right direction, but I'd like to see a place for full-field corps too. Something that people don't remember/know is BITD when there were hundreds of corps in the US and Canada, many of them didn't go to finals, and everybody was ok with that. As to show design, I'd just like groups to actually play what they say they are playing, not something made of tiny snippets glued together with "impact" moments and drum solos. No "inspired by" or "in homage to" stuff. If you say you are playing "XYZ in F# minor", then actually play "XYZ in F# minor". Key of horns, electronics, voice overs, and all that stuff is not the problem. As someone in our activity one told me, "Play great, march in step, and if you throw it up in the air, catch it". Quality of execution and quality of product, that is what makes drum corps drum corps.

I was at one of their only 5 or 6 shows that summer! I think we all laughed until we cried at the announcement. Thing was (sorry for the bad pun, but I had to go there), they weren't too bad, just small. Anyone ever have to watch the DM early in the season as he held the last note of what ever you had on the field out until the gun went off? When Carmex was only available in the midwest? Having marched in Schaumberg Guardsmen, the KFC commercial was either an embarrassment (the flute "player" added by some tv production idiot. She was actually a guard girl) or a point of pride. In 79, we still had boxes of KFC plactic forks and spoons.

Pretty much nailed my list!

Not sure which is more impressive, the piece or the playing! On the Shoulders of Giants, by Peter Graham Paris Brassband

In reference to 73 Argonne, I'll add 79 Guardsmen, specifically Fanfare (for the New) and Tiger of San Pedro. Fanfare is the hardest thing I ever played on the field. Syncopation, multiple lines running through each other, then the entire horn line in strict vertical unison, articulations (especially all the double tonguing, not watered from the original like some other renditions), tuning, timing, etc. - it was just plain hard. Sondra Opie heard us and came over to the hornline just shaking her head, and told us how wonderful we were - high praise from one of a select few who just about invented the modern drum corps hornline. Tiger was just about as hard for most of the same reasons, especially the style. Granted we were mostly standing still, but as hard as it is to get 13 winds and a rhythm section of 4 to swing and play tight sitting down, imagine 64 brass and a “rhythm” section of 32, standing outside. We didn’t do either tune justice until about the middle of July, but when they came together, it was magical. On the brass GE tape from finals, all the judge could do was say a loud “wow” on every unison horn hit. If you listened to the originals of these tunes, you’d also be struck by how true our arrangements were to them. Other than a repeated section or solo section here or there, they are the entire tune, as recorded (as best we could with 2 valve plumbing experiments) - something I really miss with today’s arrangements. A big part of our success that year was due to out two music caption heads – Tim Salzman and Jim Campbell, who IMHO still don’t get the credit they deserve for what they did with us. It was a magical summer.