Spinastick
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Posts posted by Spinastick
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On 8/31/2023 at 5:26 PM, Triple Forte said:
Why don’t they do a history of jazz ? Feature styles of jazz from Louisiana, Missouri, New York , Chicago etc…
Because "variety" is one of many markers towards achieving a decent G. E. music score, and although jazz is BDs hallmark, they always work in a wide range of styles,moods, and textures into their musical programming. I feel like trying to cram various jazz styles into the show as to adhere to a thematic concept would actually limit their ability to present the same scope of contrasting sounds that they are usually able to achieve.
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18 hours ago, OldSnareDrummer said:
I don't know why I don't follow bands much. I should. They look like drum corps, sound like drum corps, have all of the pageantry and precision of drum corps minus much of the scandals and controversy of drum corps (from what little I do know anyway).
Some things I do not know about competitive bands that maybe someone can fill me in on.
Where do they get all these kids? My high school had 2500 students we'd be lucky to get 40-50 even remotely interested in band and marching band was the lowlife of the HS music world. Do they rehearse one show or do they have football game type shows and competitive shows? Are the staffs for these super large bands as large as corps? Where do they come from? All volunteer?
Most of the top marching bands in the country share the same talent pool for design and instructional staff with drum corps. Often staff members recruit their high school students to eventually march the corp they teacher during the summer. Which is extremely beneficial to have new members joining with a familiarity of technique, and fundamental exercises before the summer even begins.
My highschool had around 2500 students, but well over 200 in band and guard. Those numbers definitely made us the most dominant group on campus. Band and guard was the "it" thing to do. We had a great band director (who actually was the founder of a drum corp from back in the 80s), and a ton of really supportive and dedicated parents. Our design and caption heads were paid staff members funded by our parent booster organization, and the techs were volunteers.
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Would love to hear Blue Devils perform Pat Metheny's "Have You Heard". It has the rhythmic intrigue and variett their music scores are known, stays true to their jazz roots. See an awesome live performance of this tune at the link below.
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I'll be able to give an opinion later in the summer. Too early to tell.
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Really rooting for these guys and it looks like they are off to a GREAT start!!! I don't feel like the program needs huge rewrites. Just clean, clean, clean!
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"Don't like it? Figure out what's next."...sums it up perfectly! Innovation is rewarded.
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You need to write some type of blog for DCI! What a great analysis. I love that you didn't use it as a soapbox to completely bash someones style choices either. Just good balanced opinion.
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I can hear and make it out when it's in english, but i don't speak French, just wondering what i'm missing..................
I love it too! I couldn't even tell you exactly why it works so well, but that's the genius of the BD design staff. It would be kinda neat to know exactly is being said. Pretty awesome though that it's that effective without even knowing the translation.
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Am I the only person, who it's more than apparent to, that their is no "narration" in BD's show? It's simply sound effect. It helps to create mood, and color, texture. Your not supposed to focus in on the words. It's like a movie playing in the background. I will say their were certain parts where the "narration" becomes more important than other times. And the soundboard adjust to those moments. I'm sure that will be even further refined as the season goes on.
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Excited to see SCV live and also Logan. I hope I can hear the narrator for SCV's show when I see them live. It's hard to make out his words on Fan Network.
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Thanks to fan network I've been able to view the regional shows. Who do you like? Here's my early plug for Light Brigade, good to see them back!!
Irving
Fan of the Arts
I enjoyed Light Brigade, they have some excellent points in their show.
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This has really nothing to do with the Fan Network....it has to do with WGI taking a stand and basically saying that simulating an execution style killing is not an acceptable choice for an activity that is primarily performed in High School gymnasiums across the country. I have the highest respect for every individual that is currently creating shows for all of us to enjoy. Sometimes, we get ahead of ourselves and need a little reality check. The bottom line is this.....if the execution that is portrayed in their show was part of a movie, the movie would be given an R Rating, which means that most of our activity could not go see it without parental consent. We just witnessed yet another horrific school shooting this week. Do we really want to see even a fake killing in our activity? And yes I know they are not "really" killing someone. They don't "really" kill people in movies either. And yes I know it's history. Union HS 1988 is powerful and somewhat disturbing, but no one died!!
Fantasia is a fantastic color guard and I am sure their creative team will come up with an even more powerful setting for their ending. Sometimes, what we don't see is way more powerful than what we do. Good luck to all of the teams this weekend!!
Well the sad part is that people did die tragically in the Holocaust. I've seen much more graphic pictures in high school history class as we learned about the Holocaust. Please come back to reality and stop pretending that children are being protected from some XXX movie. There is nothing that is distasteful about the show. Not every winterguard performance needs to be a Disney song. Variety in subject matter is what can make going to a show interesting. If you can't handle that maybe the marching arts is the wrong place for you.
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I've seen the show, and the only purpose that this "controversy" serves is to hype a mediocre show. I think most people will be quite let down after seeing it. It's all rifle, that is poorly executed and choreography that seems more appropriate for open class than world class. Fantasia is building off the success of their rifle toss/exchange sequence, which is probably the only exciting part of the show. The dancing/movement is nonexistent. I do enjoy the staging though. As far as they way they create the story of the show, it comes off a bit cheesy when I'm sure their intent was to be a bit artsy.
There is nothing offensive about the show. It is all done in good taste. There is no reason why it shouldn't be viewed on the Fan Network. It almost seems like Fantasia might be thinking their show is a lot more than what it is, which is a show that I see not in the top 5 but probably somewhere between 7th to 10th place at WGI. I'm totally rubbed the wrong way with this stunt regarding the Fans Network. Don't take yourself so seriously Fantasia.
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I'd trust a judge over anyone here on DCP. Also, just because BD's show might be easier (which I think you can only say that as far as drill goes) doesn't mean that they're not as talented as the rest.
I know a lot of you don't like repeat winners, but get over it. BD is one of the most mature corps out there, and that's why I believe they do so well. That, and they have the staff who knows how to win.
Something that I feel a lot of drum corp fans might fail to understand is that BD abandoned a "drill" based visual book some years ago. I would venture to say back in the early 90s. Their visual approach is much more about staging. Just because someone is not doing drill doesn't mean that they don't have a superb visual book. The lack of "drill" is one of the things that sets BD apart from other corps. It's became part of their corp identity. I like for corps to use a good mixture of both drill and staging options to come up with a visual package. Some years BD can be a little lite when it comes to drill, but once again it sets them apart.
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Ya I just listened to the field pass. My initial take...
The designer couldn't even describe in depth what they are doing other than running around and getting out of hell.
The performer stating that she feels like "visual clutter" is correct. I've said this since the first time I saw them. It seems she hasn't bought into the show concept either.
Wouldn't be surprised if we see them drop to 8th this weekend.
Think I'll go watch Ballet for Martha on Fan Network... Now that's SCV!
Ballet for Martha was very well done. It makes me smile.
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I don't think they will. Visually, they're top notch - it's a joy to watch. Musically, not so much. (Though I must disclaim that I don't don't don't like their music choices this year, so take that with a grain of salt.)
Mike
What particulars do you like about Cadets visually this season?
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DCI is primarily a Visual medium, visual activity. The judging captions are more skewed to the visual and guard more than the brass and percussion. Corps that win ( or advance over other Corps throughout the rankings ) need to have something new and fresh in the Visual area. Cadets have this in spades this year. Cavs always do. BD still has this too. Crown is the only Corps that is taking a leap into a rarely done music genre for DCI Corps ( Rock ) and so their show is a very real darkhorse here because of this rather new twist as well. Corps like Bluecoats, SCV, Phantom, and the others unfortunately have no shot this year no matter how well they execute their show as they don't have the Visual show to catapult them to the top over these just mentioned. I think in the end it'll be between The Cadevaliers and Crown for all the marbles on Finals Night.... and if nudged for my hunch right now, I'd say The Cadets just might be the Corps to pull it off.
From looking at the sheets it appears that equal numbers are given to both visual and musical elements. I don't study sheets with a fine tooth comb, so please point out how DCI is primarily visual. I've actually heard quite the opposite if your talking about in just picking a show to win period. Many people I've chatted with over their years would say DCI is more music based when it comes to picking a winning show. I would personally say that I feel that DCI in the past few years has been good at staying true to their sheets and the groups with the best total package have came on top in the last few years.
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Wait. What?
Crown is doing a college marching band show (see Western Carolina from last year). They are doing a fantastic job at it and it is very entertaining, but not a lot of new territory there. The fact that their show does not have a lot of risk or depth is why they will probably not win, because they perform VERY well.
Cadets are not doing ANYTHING new this year. The most innovative thing they are doing is the two uniforms on the field, which was done by the 1987 Skyryders. Still a great show, but nothing new from them.
BD is copying the formulas that they have used the last few years. 2010, very innovative. Tons of Risk. 2011 is derivative. Also, they stand around while playing A LOT. Not a lot of risk when you stand stand still and play as much as they do.
Cavaliers do have similar looking drill every year because it is Michael Gaines. He has a certain personality and style as does Leon May, Jeff Sacktig, Jay Murphey, Myron Rosander, & Pete Weber (among others). This year The cavaliers are doing lots of things that have never been done before and that is why they are getting rewarded even when they get outperformed.
Anyways, as far as the topic is concerned, I don't think Debbie has anything against The Cavaliers. She does slam a few groups from time to time. I have heard Crown folks and maybe even some cadets folks talk about how she HATES them, so it is not exclusive to one corps. Honestly, I think people go after some judges and talk about their biases on here too much. Are there some weak judges out there? Yes, but I don't think judges go into shows purposely wanting to screw over one specific team. If they do, they don't last long.
Now with all of that being said, I think she is fairly unpleasant as an adjudicator. Her demeanor and her tapes come across as harsh to lots of groups, so I can see why she gets labeled the way she does, even if it is not entirely accurate.
What innovations do you see in Cavalier's show this season? Are they musical, visual, or both? Please describe specific moments where these moments happen.
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Wow. BD isnt even close to Cavaliers in visual design (or Cadets for that matter). Thats a laughable score.
I would love to hear more about why you feel BD's visual design is not "close" to Cavaliers or Cadets. This is not a loaded question, I'm am genuinely interested to hear your opinion. I'm trying to find out what makes a good visual package to the average drum corp fan and am no way trying to bait you into an argument. (I find way too many "impassioned" post in this forum).
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Good to know we have are priorities in line here...
Dear kids, all that matters in the arts is whether you win or lose. Who cares that most of your audience doesn't appreciate you, we are winning.
I think you might have missed what he or she was trying to say with that.
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Here are a few of mine- (favorite music in a show)
'92 Cavies
'01 Cadets
'03 Phantom
'09 SCV
Probably so many I am forgetting-
Sorry if this topic has been done, which I'm sure it has...............
Blue Devils '94 "My Spanish Heart". Pure on madness in all the sections. The brass was screaming, the drumline was tight and rhythmic, and the pit added tons of color and texture along with some crazy ### runs!
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THEY should have scored higher.. Im mad!!! They should have made finals without question
I'm in total agreement with you. I couldn't believe they didn't make finals compared to some of the shows that did.
Real ideas for sustainability & revenue
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted
Not to be contrary, but literally everything you listed already exist in multiple corps as a source of revenue. The majority of corps in DCI are decades old, and if you can name it they have tried it as a way to generate funds. Non-profit organizations are somewhat limited in their ability to bring in cash, and there exist a maximum amount that is unlikely to be surpassed for revenue. Market cost for the essential supplies and services needed to operate a drum corp, have surpassed the feasible max revenue a corp can realistically generate each year. Individual corps and the activity as a whole needs to find a way to mitigate cost to survive.