recketscience

I moved to Athens, GA this weekend and got to go to Spirit's show and Tell session on Sunday. I could not believe it. They were fantastic and there was a super cool and relaxed vibe at camp. Heard that Freddy Martin did a session with the corps. That must have been pretty sweet. I didn't get to see them last year, though almost auditioned. Was happy for them getting back in. One of the staff members, I don remember his name, think it is Matt, did a good job or filling us in to more details of their Sin City show. Each movement they played seemed to go right with what he described. The group sounds fantastic and LOUD!, of course we were in a cafetorium so that helped with volume. GREAT soloist and small brass ensemble. Some trumpets with high chops for sure. I loved the arrangements. The jazz stuff is really gonna be sweet and the ballad is beautiful. Lots of groove, the kind you would expect with what was described as some highroller taking on the Vegas strip and owning it big time. I have some friends who will be marching there and they seem super happy. I wish them the best of luck and can't imagine this not being another great year for them. PS For the people highly confused about what we woodwind players can bring to the table, I am typing this while looking at my DCI world championship ring, me, a clarinet player that picked up a trumpet for the first time year and a half ago. Oh, and I am aging out this year paying lead trumpet with my corps because I CAN!

Pioneer: This small corps started the show at a level that caught the crowd's attention. I had heard they were small and was concerned that the quality may not be there. Though only marching 20 brass, they played well and showed a decent level of communication. The percussion were most often too loud, but they out number the brass players, so balance would of course be difficult. The warm afternoon seemed to wear on their endurance as the last few minutes were at a level that was not as strong as the previous part of their show. Have a great rest of your summer, Pioneer. Mandarins: This corps has a well rounded corps and got the audience's attention right off of the bat. The show's theme was not all that clear, though there did seem to be an evident corps wide approach to their performance style. I enjoyed the silk designs and there was some good volume at times, though quality suffered a bit at those moments. Spirit of Atlanta:When they entered the field you knew that this corps was taking itself seriously. I was eager to see just how serious. At the end of the first bar the crowd was already hooked and wanting more. The end of the opening statement brought a standing ovation by some and a huge ovation by all. They sound great! look great! And have an amazing, fun, competitive show. I was enthralled from beginning to end. The crowd at it up. All section are on fire and the energy level was clearly that of a DCI finalist. Cannot wait to see them again in Gadsden and Atlanta. Thought they should have been above Blue Stars and close to Blue Knights. Keep bringing that level Spirit. I can only imagine how fun this show must be to perform. Glassmen: Like many who posted on DCP, I was curious to see who would win between Spirit and Glassmen and how close the scores would be. It was not close in my opinion. The 1.6 gap should have been bigger. Glassmen are also good and had several well coordinated moments. I felt that their percussion and Spirit's were very similar, though I preferred Spirit's approach to musicality. Glassmen have more visual dirt and the show concept is very unclear and I hate to say it, almost comical. The guard is good but not as good as the last few years. The brass line is weak and struggled with tone and intonation. Though I would like to see them do well, there just seems too much to overcome at this point. The Elvis tune seems out of place. BlueStars:The stage and ramps did not bother me from a room to move around stand point, but having people transfer onto and off of them seemed too pedestrian. Their percussion and brass are quite excellent. The brass were quite loud at times. The color guard has some very strong moments. I kept trying to get the concept, but never quite got it. Maybe that is the problem with show titles and all of the winter hype. Everyone has expectations and sometimes they are just not met. Regardless, it did see a show about marching and playing and not so much the Bourne trilogy. There seemed a lot dirtier than I would think they would be for this time of year. Blue Knights: I really liked this corps. They are playing great music and doing so confidently. I am not sure I like the rock out to Grainger visual stuff. The guard is good and I loved the silks. They were pretty clean and carried the theme well through out the show. I don't know what else to say other than I certainly enjoyed it. Phantom Regiment: This corps performed beautifully. What a great, rich brass sound. The guard is extremely convincing and at time just breath taking. The whole corps is already super clean. I thought the pecussion played quite well, though I did not always care for the front ensemble parts. As others have mentioned, the beginning of Elsa's is odd. I am curious to see if they will change it after the Atlanta regional. Crown: I like the show concept and love that they are taking somewhat of a risk with the theme and source material. Nothing against Blue Stars, but the percussion do not compare to the quality of Crown's. Some very tasty parts and playing were a highlight for me. The keyboard performer was great and added a lot to the show. The guard is entertaining but had a few rough spots. The brass sound awesome as always. I do wish the corps opened up a little more and let the nature of the rock idiom come through. I am sure it is a fear of someone thinking they are playing with a bad sound. With a brass section that good, they should be able to clearly shift sounds when called for by the moment or musical style. A fantastic corps. I thought they should have won. BD: This corps really sounds great and like no other. From a performance stand point, the bras numbers make sense to me. I enjoyed the musical selections and hope this is a sign of a trend to more accessible music from this perennial favorite. The guard, drums, and marching technique are so impressive and seem effortless. I am excited to see them again. I do have a problem with the demand. Not that running and playing is the only way to create effect, but they stand a lot, and often do not play on the move. It will be interesting to see if DCI gives the nod to BD's cool laid back approach or Cadet's OMG I cannot believe they just did that approach, and yes, Cavaliers falling somewhere between the two styles.

After last night's show, this was easy for me, SOA.

Great job hosting the show Martin! Cavaliers: Easily the winner tonight Great GE overall Best brass of the night Super Color Guard Cool guard uniforms Contender Some moments very clean already Finish the show Bluecoats: Third in my opinion Show a little hard to follow Visual issues Solid brass Some drill seems misplaced Good Guard Drum line OK Up the GE and Visual Blue Stars: I would have had second easily GE strong March well Solid Brass and Guard Drums had some great moments Have not seen everyone, but chance to move up Have a professional look and attitude Not sold on stage in middle of field Spirit of Atlanta: Caught us all off guard, WOW! preferred over Bluecoats by far Great show concept with good coordination Loud Brass, great solos Guard carries theme extremely well Love Love the perc writing (some electronic issues tonight I am guessing) Cool drill, end needs umph Easily Finalist potential Clean the drill Teal Sound: Pretty well done Guard is better Brass and drums maybe better than 2010 Not a fan of some timbres Not sure of the flow of ideas A good corps with potential Finish the show Music City: A bigger group Bigger, more mature sound Look forward to seeing full show

I am really shocked that my initial, and first ever post created enough problems to shut the thread down. I certainly did not want to upset anyone or want anyone to mention specific corps, that is why I didn't. I am so sorry if I offended anyone. Both corps have great pasts and I am sure many nice and successful past and present members and staff. I did not intend to take anything away from them. I will admit to being naive and very new to all of this. I guess there are so many drum corps related unsaid rules and dynamics that I don' know about that are different than band. I do have a lot of experience auditioning, including at large organizations with big audition turn outs, so my reactions were based on that. For all the great advice and support thanks so much. I will take all of the advice in. I have decide to try a second corps, and as many of posters said, I will probably get my answer then. For anyone reading this new thread, I think there is a lot of sincere and good advice given previously. Follow your heart and make a decision based on fact and personal experience. Good luck to everyone auditioning this season. I hope to meet alot of great performers this summer no matter what corps I march with.

I auditioned at a top eight (G8 I guess. Still not sure what that all means) corps the weekend before Thanksgiving. I was asked to return and was given the highest auditions score available from a 3 tiered system, but not guaranteed a spot. Though I have been in awe of this corps for three years and have waited until my freshman year in college to audition, I was extremely disappointed in the overall experience. I have friends who auditioned at the same corps last year and had similar experiences. Not everyone in my group of friends last year and this year have the same talents levels, but I think they all deserve to have a great experience. Some were told immediately after playing that they could go home, but with no refund. Go home? We drove seven hours. All of us thought we could meet and interact with vets, but that seemed taboo. Though I got to play exercises and ensemble skill building stuff, I did not find there to be any real sense of education or explanation for it all that would add to my current knowledge of brass playing. The staff seemed to not smile much or want to get to know anything about you. I tried to walk up to vets and staff to simply say Hi and show I wasn't shy or scared, but felt very put-off. There were no hype moments about the corps, the process, the activity. Though I have dismissed past comments and DCP posts about people having a similar experience as being about them not making a corps and looking for negatives, I see that it can be true. I cannot imagine for one second being in that environment or any like it all season. I have decided to audition at a corps that is only a three drive for us. This corps used to be a finalist, but is not currently. They seem to be moving up and there seems to be a lot of good changes going on. I have friends from college that march there that seem to absolutely love it. They guarantee that my experience will be 180 degrees different than the one I had two weeks ago. I want to leave drum corps a better player and performer. I want to have fun. I want to meet great people my age and staff members that will spend at least a little time getting to know me. I want to learn how to do all of this so I can be a better band director when I graduate college. Making finals or being on a special tour with the top corps seems cool, but not if the rest of the stuff is high pressure win or nothing, or is in an atmosphere that puts the things that are important to me way down on the priority list. The deal with leaving right after you play for no refund unfortunately seemed like taking money and not caring what you get for your dollar. Someone on the thread about composers who wont let their music be used mentioned that drum corps was a music education activity. That seemed to totally not be the case where I auditioned two weeks ago. My first days in high school band and college were great. I guess I just expected an even better more professional experience than those. So my questions are, do I give corps A another chance in two weeks regardless of my experience this weekend? Am I being dishonest by auditioning at a new corps, making them think they are my first choice? Any other advice anyone have? thanks a bunch