brassEXPERT

What you mean to say is: "Really, Hop!? Alright!" I would say delaying the show in order to allow for more people to take their seats to watch Crown is quite the act of kindness. Especially from this guy...

These are the kind of observations you want to be making a week and a half out from finals. This point of the season is CRUCIAL when it comes to not achieving beyond the demand of the show. The judging panel tonight definitely sent a message with these scores, but it is important to remember that the individual judges have been relatively inconsistent all season with their opinions of who is winning in which captions.

Last call for reservation Bitter, party of 1

Because they aren't as good as the top 3. Both in terms of show design, and in terms of execution. The brass, percussion, and guard are all phenomenal this year, and definitely on par/better when compared to recent shows, but labeling something as "top 3 worthy" is only in reference to the state of the other competitors. They have no business beating Cadets, Crown, or BD. Each of the other three groups also have sections that are firing on all cylinders. SCV will break into the top three when they become comparable to the top 3, which for now, leaves them securely in 4th. Fantastic show though

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A few notes on your recap.... G7 proposal well represented, definitely need some work coming out of the reddish section, potentially some darker colors to convey better sadness. Kids really stepping it up, but whats left? Where do they go? How can they become better, sad performers..... It is just a game? What is left for us to teach in the last two weeks. -Hard work -Kids keep working hard -Push to end and work hard -Wake up in the morning and work hard Sometimes it feels that nobody is listening. Other times it feels as if people are listening. Very different days.... And so I sit here writing, reading reviews and preparing myself to be a better teacher for tomorrow. Where does Medea actually come into play?... If this is a reference to star leaving DCI, maybe cadets become brass theatre. That already exists..... Next Idea.... Music in Motion. Yes. Kids will have opportunity to continue learning to work hard. Yellow definitely describes, design team in favor. Must wake up and work hard tomorrow. Proud of team.... Blue devils show must also be reference to conspiracy. Poles represent years they have been in DCI. 100 poles. Genius. All 100 years of DCI. Can we beat them? Up to judges...... -Georg.....I mean -The brassEXPERT

I decided to stay for scores in 2011 in Atlanta instead of trying to beat the traffic. Never heard as much booing as I did that night when the scores were announced. Maybe the same effect happens for the 2nd or 3rd place corps this year? It most certainly should, anyways... Friendly post from your resident Expert

No. It really doesn't need a name change. Those events draw crowds that other events do not. Why try to knock one of the best things going for DCI right now? By no means am I trying to say that the champions thing is gold, but hell, it makes a lot of money. Isn't that the issue with keeping corps afloat these days? -expert Although, the comment about the 6 dominant corps...and the Cavaliers!!! was quite funny. They do that silly big 10 high step thing on the field anyways. Or whatever that is. I'm just the brassEXPERT and occasionally expert on other things when convenient.

I think everybody is neglecting to note that the difficulty of the show is irrelevant in the discussion unless you also discuss the amount of work put in to achieve said difficulty. I'm sorry, but the reason kids from other corps go to BD and claim they have significantly easier shows is because thats exactly what they have. The music is definitely of higher degrees of difficulty (for the most part), but nobody can seriously say that the a** beating you get at Cadets or Crown (or many other corps but using two popular examples) is comparable to the light rehearsal schedule and pampering that the BD members receive. Just look at the weight loss, or gain, of BD members versus the extreme weight loss of most other corps. BD decided to take a risk this year by having a show in the difficulty ball park of all of the other big boys, and they are paying for it by not adjusting their rehearsal philosophy. Take it for what it is. Maybe they come out on top and prove that rehearsing for four hours a day with difficulty on par with the other top groups will actually yield a championship. With that hornline, I think not. Until it happens on finals night, I stand by what I believe. I also have it on good authority that many, maybe all I can't remember, of the injured members are vets - translation: the people who are used to a different kind of show and summer. Thoughts are racing through your mind I'm sure, but we all know its hard to argue with the brassEXPERT

The BEST part about the prediction threads is the members that watch them like hawks to make sure their team is: A - In first place Someone is terribly offended and has to write a counter post as in - A HA! You fool! Look where I just put YOUR first place team in MY prediction! B - Not forgotten How could you forget _______!!!!! Are you out of your mind???? What blasphemy! You should never be allowed to post a prediction ever again! C - In the top 12 Good lord! Are you serious? You put ______ in top 12 and not _______????? Someone call the police! D - Represented to the fullest level. Don't count ________ out this year. They are the strongest I have ever seen them. Ever. Like in the entire world they are so good I am going to remind you three posts from now. No really I'm waiting. GO TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well. Here goes my prediction, since it is the correct one of course. 1-Crown (they were once in the top 3 with the rock star show at Minn....Says it all rightttttt there) 2-Cadets (only because their show is lightyears better than BD, but they don't have the crown performance yet) 3-BD (they are an average at best BD corps right now, probably won't be peeling paint with that hornline come Minn) 4-SCV (if anyone has them higher they are dreaming, if anyone has them lower they obviously don't pay attention to judging in the history of the activity) 5-Coats (i just see them beating phantom) 6-Phantom (inconsistency is the name of the game) 7-Cavies 8-Madison 9-Boston 10-Knights 11-Spirit 12-Stars Oh my good golly gosh please dont give me a minus rating for this!!!!!!!! With humor and love The EXPERT

And thus, the long hiatus was over. Folks, thank you for welcoming me back with open arms. I can see the shimmers of hope in all of your faces knowing that the expert has returned to solve quarrels and lay down the law. With that brief introduction, it is time to look at a few points that have made this season interesting. Crown is winning the west - Yes. Congratulations Crown. You won the month of June, and are winning 4 days into July. Does anyone remember the time the Bluecoats were scoring higher than BD? Wait a minute. This has a familiar ring to it. Let me put my finger on it......AHA! The Cadets of 2011! The Cadets won the west coast as well! Only to lose every regional until finals week. This is only to point out that anything can happen from this point forward, and the point gap means absolutely nothing. BD is still in it, Cadets are definitely in it, and Crown is putting their best foot forward to prove they belong as well. Lets examine championship qualities about each show - Crown. Successfully running away with the "Spirit of BOA" award for 2013. The only reason their show isn't being laughed off the field like some shows in the past five or six years by other "talking" corps is because their execution in the drill and music is incredibly high. Credit must be given where credit is due. Their brass are playing at an extremely high level, and they have yet to break the surface of their music in terms of clarity. The brass book is difficult, and they are still working through both the hardest parts of the show with minimal or now movement, and the parts in which the visual demand is high but the musical demand is lower. In other words, when it is hard, they still need to work on that stuff. Not a bad place to be for July 4th. The ultimate question is, will the talent that they have be able to get it clean by finals night, or will the judging community decide that the show is unworthy of a world championship? My guess is they will clean up quite well. San Antonio will be a good indicator. For some reason though, I cannot get behind their percussion section, and still believe their feet will drag them down. The costume or footy PJs or whatever the hell those things are definitely help with visual G.E. but they do a number to expose their inconsistent technique. Verdict - contender! Cadets. What a bizarre way to respond to the Christmas show. It is so good to see classic shows taking place in the midst of crazy electronics and vocals and such. It is especially good to see other corps taking their turns with vocal mistakes and the Cadets keeping their mouths closed for once! Vanguard and Cadets both have a classic show design that is propelling them to be my favorite of the year. That said, the difficulty of the show is not where it has been in previous years. The new hornline configuration, which I can't remember exact numbers but I know they are up and down players in some sections for a 76 line, has them sounding better than they have in years. Honestly, they have as much of a chance to win brass this year as crown does with the way they are blowing. Side note - HOLY CRAP the mellophones are loud and strong. The music GE will be heavily contested as well. I dont think there is any way they would run away with a title, nor come close to sweeping captions with the heavy amount of talent and quality design in the top groups, but they're definitely in it. It is nice to see the corps performing well, but I am curious if the level of difficult may come as a detriment to their championship pursuit. Verdict - contender! Blue Devils. What a bizarre. What a, well... This show is most certainly one we will remember for a long time. Whether or not it is because it was innovative and unique, or because it is one o fthe worst BD shows I have ever seen, eh. I can't decide on July 4th. Anyways - the show presents a problem opposite the Cadets. It is too hard for them!!!! Or so it seems at this point in the season. The actual show is difficult in addition to the physical challenges (which are not overly difficult for the program as a whole, but there are many moments of individual section difficulty in visual features) with the issues of staging and moving of the poles. The hornline doesn't sound like they have a grasp of the music, and most of that is being pulled from the fact that the trumpet section is one of the weakest they have had in years. There are moments in the show that the section sounds so crass, that I would not believe they were in the top 5 if I wasn't watching the BD uniforms on the performers. The soloist sound great, the overall hornline still has moments of greatness, but besides those moments, there is a definite immature sound to the line. I wonder if the talent pool was just weaker in general after last year's age out class. The percussion is still killing it, as is the guard for the most part, but I can't see this show taking a championship, or at least not when there are two monsters right next to it. It will all come down to if BD can clean up the dirt, of which there is more because their show is a lot more difficult than sitting in chairs and marching at 80 the whole time (sorry, sorry - they marched at 235 at an 8to5 for like 10 seconds that year!). Verdict - maybe a contender? I think it comes down to Crown and Cadets in the end, with BD riding third for the last two or three weeks of the season by a very close margin. I am stupid excited for when all three corps meet for the first time, and the country finds out exactly where the real competition lies. Although the shows are a little out of character for each corps, well maybe not BD, the distinct identity of each group still remains. Remember of course, that you are absolutely entitled to your own opinions, but in the end I am always and forever - the EXPERT

Looks like a question for the Expert! As has already been stated, DCI WC and OC corps are always looking for talented contra players. Simply by being able to play your horn at an acceptable level, being in some sort of good shape, and having the right attitude will put you ahead of at least 50% of the people that show up to an audition at ANY corps. Even the top 5 corps receive their fair share of overweight and under-developed tuba players that simply can't make the cut, but get spots by sticking with the corps through the winter season. If you are looking for proof, watch any finals video and look at the tuba section - you'll find your one or two that look a little bit "chunkier" than the rest. The biggest difference between the tuba players that can obvious hang, and those that shouldn't be able to but make it anyways, comes with the sound and articulation abilities of the individual, in my opinion. Many of the warmup or technique programs of DCI corps involve a heavy amount of fast articulation exercises in order to match the articulation style of the ensemble. If you can really fill up the horn, play with a good sound at upper dynamic levels, and retain your sense of style, you will make it for sure. Just some words of advice, but if you would like even more specific information on preparing for the audition with materials beyond those that the corps will supply you, PM me and I can give you some exercises. Best of luck, and enjoy your experience auditioning no matter what the result is at the end of the weekend. Sincerely, the brassEXPERT

I agree with these uniform selections for the most part. I think that BD would be my five choice though, and Cadets and Academy over Bloo for sure. I think that is a uniform that you either love or hate with no in between. Personally, I think it looks like a glam cop outfit. NOT the uniform expert

Consistency is only good when the staff is good as well. Consistency with a bad staff will just mean a consistently bad product! Nothing against Vanguard, because I do respect the history of the organization and their mark in DCI, but their brass program this season was far inferior to years past. I thoroughly enjoyed the sound quality of the 2009 line, and have since felt the quality diminish, ending in what I thought was a brass travesty last year. Over the course of the season, I felt as if the overall quality of the line improved, although basic fundamental horn line skills such as tuning and articulations fell to the wayside. You stated earlier that you heard SCV warming up in the lot and were very impressed. My only response is that any drum corps can sound great standing still in the parking lot. I too, have come to love the sound of different horn lines based on what they sound like in the lot, but the true championship caliber lines retain that sound when they go to the field (i.e. Carolina Crown, BD, The Cadets). I too heard Vanguard in the parking lot this season, and thought that they still sounded far less mature than any of the top 5 lines, so much that I would agree with the 11th place mark on prelims. A poor line with a challenging book does not win titles or championships. One of the things that turned me away from the show this season was the fact that the brass never quite made the performance level high enough to match the complexity of the book. I think they will not make this mistake again with a first year staff. The Bloo staff will do well with SCV. It will definitely take some transition time, but the effects COULD be as immediate as those seen with Scott. Although the judges are not always correct, and it may often seem as if their personal feelings get in the way of placements, I think that this year was judged accurately come championship week. My only complaint overall was that I thought phantom and crown could have been even closer, maybe even with phantom coming in fourth place instead. Just remember, my new DCP friend, I AM the expert. PS - You are obviously very passionate about this issue, so much that you made a DCP account to defend it. Seems like you either wear special SCV underwear, or you are/ aspire to be a member of their horn line. Just calling it as is Mr. KR

This would not have been an issue had the Blue Stars stayed away from the Jupiter horns. Just as it seems corps get more successful competitively, the horns seem to drive it away if not the first, than within some small amount of years. Phantom Regiment were the world champions just a few short years ago, until the horn switched caused them to drop significantly. As the brassEXPERT, I know all too well that the jupiter horns are sub-par, especially when trying to compete with system blue and the yamaha crew. No need to argue. I Am theEXPERT