5thbassman

In cavies show the following just happened in sequence: 1: bass five went down hard and lost his Aussie 2: horn player picks it up and holds onto it for a minute 3: he passes it to a snare player, who doesn’t know what to do with it 4: snare drummer finally tosses it 5: drumline kneels. 6: Aussie is picked up and passed over to bass five one person at a time 7: bass 5: wtf? Ok thanks posted from the DrumScorps app

We have two finals tickets in the middle of 641, looking for something in 140 if anyone wants to trade and go up to the top! We were originally looking for 3 but only need 2 now. Old post: I am looking for a group of 3 tickets for finals, if I find them, I’ll sell the two I have in 641 row 18. Let me know if you’re selling or interesting in buying. Or both! Will pay and charge cost.

Price was wrong! Only $79

Message me to arrange. Asking original price, $129 (double checking that)

Yeah I'm gonna say no. BD's finals performance was a considerable improvement over their previous two performances. They fought to make it happen. Your system would make it very difficult for anyone to ever make a well deserved leap in finals. Crown was awesome, and I loved their show! However, they weren't the best corps on Saturday. That's what matters.

Well if anyone wants finals tickets. BUY. RIGHT. NOW. Just went on, and as was rumored, great tickets were just made available!

Well I guess I'll join in on this party... me too, we'll pay for 2 please! Might have to watch lot all day and sneak into a tunnel to hear scores... or make a duplicate uniform... hmmmmm

http://www.dci.org/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=210133434&DB_OEM_ID=33500

No!! I'm shocked with the general vibe I'm getting from others. I thought this show ROCKED. That said, I come from the percussion side of things, and it was very heavily equipped in that area. Lots of groove. In other news, I saw the Cavaliers live feed the other day. This show was at least 90 seconds longer than it was a couple days ago. Lots of new material. They feel a little behind schedule... but I bet they take this show way up from where it is now. Plus camera missed a couple major GE tricks tonight. There's more there than what we saw tonight. (Applies to all corps)

^ *hint hint* web show.

Back on the topic of the TV broadcast... In my opinion... DCI really has no business putting finals on TV. You don't televise an event to get exposure. You televise an event because you already have a huge audience and you want to make money by selling advertising. Business wise, it's simply a bad investment. If DCI wanted to make strides towards something like that again, we'd need to start small. Right now, we really don't have a unified source of drum corps action. We all get our fix by going to shows and paying ungodly amounts of money on DVDs and subscriptions. What could really do us some good, is if we could partner up with a production company to create a show for the web. Not some dumbed-down version for everyone: A show for drum corps fans. Using Drum Corps vocabulary. The closest thing we have is the field pass. 2014's most viewed podcast had fewer listens than most local DCI shows. The last podcast of the season? 571 plays. Part of the reasoning there, is now we have no idea when one will come out. Any other reason? perhaps the lack of visual stimuli? We like to watch this stuff... with our eyes. Think about it. Barely anyone buys DCI cds.... we all want to watch the drill and guard work... not to mention all those pretty soloist close ups (brought to you in part by, Tom Blair)... Anyway, I just think instead of figuring out new ways to make money on the content that we're already buying (subscriptions, finals night online, live tickets, Theater events, Blue Rays - all selling the same corps performances), maybe take a look at what else have to offer. DCI: You have a bunch of experts gathering all over the country every night of the summer talking about the nitty-gritty details of each corps as they improve. You have directors with complicated strategies, techs with game plans, designers with secrets. You have all of that - and no format to me to go watch it-thus giving you a product to sell to your sponsors. Let me restate this: Percussion judge A has a bug juicy opinion about CORPS 1's battery book... but I will never hear it. I'll close with this before I get out of hand: We're a giant community with a common love of this magical activity... and most of the time, we have nothing to do about it. (hence the proud few of us find ourselves on DCP talking about twitter and making the same coming-year prediction jokes we have for years) Thoughts?

In person I thought it was very clear that this was the initiation/induction ceremony (thus the new guard unis)

I also expected a rough run from Akron. What I saw at the theater was bad.. for them. But that's all. They've got room to improve, but the show's cool. If we can see/hear the problems, so can they. They'll figure it out. :)

Agreed. Every single cheer from the crowd is like a drop of gas fueling that performance adrenalin. Performing for a silent crowd is very draining.

the earth just shook... and I'm hundreds of miles away. What did SCV DO???

Sounds like a great show. Looking forward to hearing about SCV too!

At first, this will be a challenge. Particularly the bigger, more competitive schools. You'll have much better luck with the smaller schools. They have talented kids too. A lot of the big BOA bands in my region don't allow kids to do drum corps. It's not that they specifically are restricted from "DCI", but they are not allowed to be in marching band if they are not at summer band camp. There's probably a similar situation here. Rehearsal time collides with theirs and such. But like I said, (some) smaller schools tend to be more interested in their students doing extra activities. As far as schools flooring their own ensemble, I'd seek out young directors with nothing better to do. The old guys who've made it to the top aren't usually interested in trying new things. Start at the bottom and work your way up. Besides, if you start with too many high-end groups, the younger groups won't be interested because they won't be as competitive. You have a chance to offer smaller bands trophies. World championship trophies. If you build it, they will come. Good luck.

I see what you're saying. And now that you put it that way, the more music-based side of things being emphasized definitely helps me. You're right in predicting that rules will get amended, but one way to secure your vision might be to make visuals secondary in the scoring system. For example: Music Effect: 30% Music Execution: 30% Visual Effect: 20% Visual Execution: 20% Doing that might pull ensembles toward more musical programs while still letting them be creative. Music would make up 60% of the score, but the visual score requires them to keep up by still producing a visual product. So if group A was really going after your vision for this activity focusing on music, and B was trying to pull off towards marching band style, you might a score like this: (example based on a 90% score for the group's emphasis and a 70% score for the other caption) Group A Music: 54... Visual: 30... Total: 84... Group B Music: 42... Visual: 36... Total: 78... Group B would have to adjust their approach to be competitive. Then it doesn't really matter what gets banned or allowed. If you keep a scoring system in place with your priorities in mind, those will be the priorities on the minds of directors.

I don't have much experience as far as indoor marching brass goes, but I have a hesitation about your approach. It seems like you have a very specific vision for where you want this to go. However I'm not sure that specific vision is appealing to all the different programs out there. For all I know, DCI does not require a specific ratio from brass to percussion to guard. The ensembles themselves seem to find a good balance. If right off the bat you'd make it a rule to make the ensembles conform to a specific sound, I don't think it will go far. Start broad, let different ensembles try different things. Give the judges the responsibility of keeping the quality high. What if an ensemble wanted a marching snare soloist for a performance of Bolero? Or a guard duet to tell a story (without loosing musicians to acting responsibilities)? Or a piano soloist? Imagine if every ensemble came in and performed something musically thrilling, visually stunning, AND had something different to offer. For instance, So and So High School in Scholastic A is known for crazy fast wind players and cool visuals, while So and So Community College is known for face-melting brass and clean beats. But I guess that's not what you're going for. This really is just my first reaction, but I'd fear your vision would just turn into concert band on the move, and what's the appeal? Kids who have done marching band all fall are doing concert band... those two activities alone cover everything this activity seems to offer. ... OR... maybe go the opposite way. (I do love new ideas and why not dream a little?) As I think about what would be different about the activity, it kind of makes me wonder what COULD be different? What if it wasn't even strictly marching? What if you gave this ensemble the floor, and said, "The rules are, you must perform this much time of music, and present ______) Involve drama departments? Even Choirs. More or less, we're getting into the realm of "Competitive Musical Production" lending the activity to infinite creativity. I know that I'm just throwing out crazy ideas that are probably of no value to you, but my point is, if you're going to do something, why not do something big, something new? Well, now that I have strayed away to a distant land to which nobody will follow, I think I'll end by just saying this. How will this change people? (educate, build up, inspire) If you have an answer to that question, I figure you're on the right track...

"Bands of America" "Wizards of Winter - A Tribute to WGI" "D2 Mighty Ducks" - Oregon Crusaders? multi corps series. RED - BAC WHITE - Phantom BLUE - Devils ADAM - Cavaliers EVE - SCV THING 1 - Colts THING 2 - BAC and one show I'd probably love seeing... Zombieland.

Any theories on the show concept? Creative speculation is all I seek.

last year I started a new indoor group at the high school I worked with. Long story short, I learned a lot, and they won their state championship. I can honestly say that being able to create ANY sound for transitions, and give a unique fullness of the ensemble gave us an edge. I also wrote our show (music and visual). But this isn't an ad for my services. While I'm absolutely up for doing gigs, I thought I'd see if anyone had any questions about sound effects, using synth parts, contest rules regarding electronics, whatever. So if you have a question, post it. If I don't know the answer I'm sure someone else does. Helpful tips: Triggers for samples: cheaper: $400 dollars - Roland 404. This sampler does the trick at the push of a button. The buttons don't sense velocity so you will always have the same volume for sampling. It can load pages and pages of samples. The samples can even be quite lengthy (great for marching band pre-shows). It's also got lots of features like built-in beats that you can mix. I've used the techno beats as a metronome for front ensemble warm ups and it really helps create a unique vibe, get the kids into the music (communication/ movement) and it's fun. Just don't blast it too loud or the other groups will hate you. Now, if you've got the money: $700 - Go with the Yamaha DTX sampler. This thing is an actual instrument. So many features. It's what the cavies (and everyone else) use. The pads are big. You can set them to be hit with a stick, or to be more sensitive if the synth player just taps them. You can put a sequence of samples on one pad (fitting more on to one page). Check it out. Actual samples: I use logic pro to make/mix samples. For instance, if you're doing a dub step sequence, Logic can make a decent "wubwub" effect using the ES2 synth. You can just record the different "wub"s and put them all on different pads. I use sound effects as transitions all the time. Reverse thunder, mechanical sounds, voice overs... it really gives flow to a show. Try making something original. It's really embarrassing to have an effect that everyone has heard in Garage Band. Record something, add reverb, add distortion, or even automate EQ settings. The point is: play around with it. Writing the whole book. I really suggest having everything in mind when writing a book. Often in indoor and especially marching band, percussion writers have no idea what sound effects are coming in. My feeling is this. If you know that there's going to be a crazy electric sound effect, you're going to write something that feels right on top of that. Synth parts REALLY beef up sound. USE the bass register!!! In marching band, synth bass parts can make a band sound louder, bigger, but most importantly... more solid. You know what I mean. You hear that other group go on before you and it just sounds like the sound is thicker, with a stronger foundation. In a front ensemble, the same goes for mallet parts. Try doubling a low pizz. string to a marimba part an octave or two lower. (best if it's not too fast) That's just what comes to mind, but as I said. Ask away, plenty of knowledge here, I'm sure.

Wow. I must be a total idiot to not know everything about finals week. Finally. Thank you!

Going up to finals for the 5th time. I've always heard about corps hosting events like reunions, and some stuff where fans are welcome. What all is there to do before and after competition this week in Indy? (nothing wrong with mentioning that which requires an ID) Leaving tomorrow morning. See you on the road!! happy Finals Week!!!!

What I predict : BD, Crown, Cadets, Phantom, SCV, Bluecoats, Cavaliers, Boston, Scouts, and so on.. What I hope/wish : Crown, BD, Phantom, Cadets, SCV, Bluecoats, Scouts, Cavaliers, Boston, and so on...