Jothcra

For those with concerns about Center Parc Stadium / DCI Southeast: The area surrounding the stadium is rapidly being developed, with multiple student and luxury housing developments going up in the past few years. There's street-level retail and restaurants now, with a new Publix going in next year and basically continual construction and streetscape improvements. https://summerhillatl.com/ https://reporternewspapers.net/2021/07/01/rediscovering-summerhill-community-is-undergoing-a-dramatic-renaissance-after-decades-of-being-ignored/ I'll avoid getting into the politics of gentrification since this isn't the place, but the bottom line is that this area is massively different from what it was when any of you would have last visited for a Braves game in 2016. The stadium itself has undergone a lot of improvements. And while it's true there's much to be done still, the field is excellent artificial turf, there's good sight lines from the entire home side (if a bit low in the 100-level), there's ample concourse space, and there's plenty of room for lot activities. Listed "capacity" is in the neighborhood of 24,000-25,000, but that's a figure for the lower bowl. Close off the visitors sideline + end zones and open the 400 level, and the figure is likely still about the same. Big images below, so I hid them to avoid taking up a ton of forum space. Click the "spoiler" to expand.

Around 5-6pm in mid summer, the majority of the home side is shaded. The 400 level is very tall and casts a big shadow over the rest of the stands. The field truly is brutal mid-afternoon though. Definitely wouldn't be a great place for an all day contest but a smaller one starting around 5 or 6 would be great.

Georgia State University bought Turner Field and just finished phase one of converting it to a football stadium with brand new FieldTurf. For a drum corps show, this stadium could easily hold 12-15k in good viewing locations for the front of the field. Listed phase one capacity is 25k but that doesn't include the upper deck seats. Actual physical capacity right now is in the neighborhood of 35k, 40k if you include the "orphaned" upper and mid deck seats behind the visitors sideline. The picture below shows the lower and middle bowls. The stadium has nearly 50 premium suites (about half of which would be ideal for a drum corps show) and a premium hospitality space in the north endzone. A video/tv booth has been constructed in the suite level right on the 50 yard line. GSU's marching band annually has a sizable contingent of members marching in DCI/DCA. The marching band director was a soloist with the Cadets in the late 90s and regularly judges DCI shows across the country. This stadium hosted the 1996 Olympic Games and countless baseball games between 1997-2016. Not to mention over 6,000 parking spaces in the immediate vicinity with excellent vehicle access...

Euphony corps return for DCPI Season 27! --- Corps Name: Euphony Empire Corps Location: Atlanta, GA Class: World --- Corps Name: Euphony Vanguard Corps Location: Atlanta, GA Class: Open --- Corps Name: Euphony Cadets Corps Location: Atlanta, GA Class: A

Euphony corps return for season 27! Corps name: Euphony Empire Director: Jothcra Division: World Class Hometown: Atlanta, GA Corps name: Euphony Vanguard Director: Jothcra Division: Open Class Hometown: Atlanta, GA Corps name: Euphony Cadets Director: Jothcra Division: A Class Hometown: Atlanta, GA

The Atlanta show featured 27 corps and 7 soundsport teams this past year. That many people marching on a really nicely maintained grass field (in Bobby Dodd Stadium at GT) only a month before the start of college football seems like a BIG stretch to me. The parking situation in midtown has also changed significantly since 1984. There is very, very, very little room for truck parking/staging around BDS now, and even less parking for spectators. There would have to be a significant reworking of the schedule or slate of performing corps to accommodate the event there. If MBS isn't done, I could perhaps see a heavily modified Atlanta event occurring at GT or UGA with only World Class corps. This past season featured a joint DCI Open/DCA show earlier in July. Maybe they modify the slate to include World Class on Saturday at one site, and Open/DCA on Friday at another. Of course, I'd much rather see the mega-event in one place on one day. But time will tell.

Yes, Alliance and Quest share equipment, staff, and other resources. Their percussion is ALWAYS excellent.

Tonight's show featured the Southern Knights (Birmingham AL), Cincinnati Tradition (Cincinnati OH), ALLIANCE (Atlanta, GA), and Atlanta CV (Atlanta GA). Hiram High School is a nice venue for a drum corps show with excellent artificial turf field, good lighting, and a decent amount of seating with good elevation. With a smaller slate of corps than usual, I wasn't expecting that great of a turnout but a good amount of fans showed up and cheered enthusiastically for every corps. Up first: Southern Knights (20 brass, 10 battery, 7 pit, 4 guard, 1DM) presenting their 2016 program "Quest For The Crown" In their first year of field competition, SK made a splash at several DCI shows in Alabama with some impressive numbers. It's a shame DCA chose not to allow the Knights to formally compete. These guys mean business and would be right in the running for a Class A title this year. The show is full of lots of great solo, small ensemble, and full ensemble playing. If you like the classic G bugle sound, you owe it to yourself to check these guys out next season. Seriously. They will become a force to be reckoned with in DCA South. Highlights: The drum major comes onto the field for some very nice solo soprano playing during the ballad, and the very competent horn section is headlined by some strong contrabasses and a few superstar mellos. Percussion is very good, especially in the corps' first season with a full drumline. First in Class A competition: Cincinnati Tradition (23 brass, 12 battery, 7 pit, 6 guard, 2DM) presenting their 2016 program "Invictus" CT comes out this year with a much more modern production than they have in the past, and it's a great move for them. Their production is inspired by the indomitable human spirit and features some lovely solo moments and powerful impacts. Like SK, these guys are on a line of G bugles. This year, however, they slap you in the face with that classic old-school power, well outplaying their size and very much improved over years past. It's wonderful to see this corps continue on an upward trend. A few recent departures in Class A left room at the top of the class for a new champion to emerge, but Tradition doesn't seem to need the favor to achieve new levels of success this year. Going into Championships, the folks from Cincinnati are seeded first in Class A. Highlights: A much improved hornline from years past anchors this corps, but all sections are achieving new levels of success. Next in Open Class: ALLIANCE (28 brass, 22 battery, 12 pit, 15? guard, 2DM) presenting their 2016 program "Spirit Animals" I'm glad ALLIANCE seems to be here again to stay. Traditionally they are a much younger corps than others in DCA, and they tend to program more like a DCI corps. This year's show is based around two recent pop tunes and makes use of a sizable amount of sampling from them as well as some animal-related sound effects and electronic instruments, but it's tastefully done and very fitting with the theme. Because of their affiliation with WGI percussion powerhouse Atlanta Quest, their drumline is always the corps' strong suit, but don't count the brass or guard out. Since their return to the field in 2014, all sections have showed marked improvement each year and it seems like this production makes good use of each caption. There is a great moment in the ballad (themed around the spirit of the eagle) where each guard member does some work with two swing flags made to look like wings. One guard member is positioned behind the brass soloist, creating a very nice effect. Highlights: BARITONES!! I want some of what they're feeding these kids. The rest of the hornline are no slouches, but the level of demand and achievement seen from the barieuphs is very impressive. Definitely the best section in the hornline, by far. It might have something to do with the fact that well over a third of the hornline is either on baritone or euphonium, but their presence, power, and technical skill is a huge part of why ALLIANCE should contend for a finalist spot in Rochester. Finally, our host corps: Atlanta CV (52 brass, 24 battery, 18 pit(!!!!), 24 guard, 2DM) presenting their 2016 program "Rhythmos: Life in Motion" The level of excellence CV has achieved in the past 4 seasons is unreal. The rise of the percussion section alone is noteworthy. Nobody fields a pit with 18 members, especially not in DCA. The percussion team at CV makes use of every single set of hands in the pit with some incredible layering and depth of composition in the percussion book. It truly is on an entirely different level from any other front ensemble I've seen, including many upper-echelon DCI groups. But enough about the percussion - there's so much more about CV that deserves mentioning. The guard has always been strong, but they continue to impress this year. Beautiful choreography and writing throughout. There's one flag moment in the closer that is simply breathtaking. The horns and drums are laying down a really tasty layered passage when out of nowhere behind the musicians, a huge unison high flag toss comes up overhead. And let's not forget about the horns. CV brass recently partnered with System Blue and they new horns have changed the tone color and presence of the hornline in a great way. The line sounds much more mellow on the new horns overall, but the biggest beneficiaries are the low brass. The new horns seem to speak much better than the old King line and it really helps the line project with a more blended and present sound. Great solists throughout the production and a fresh, easily relateable theme make this a must-see performance. Going into Championships, CV is seeded 5th with a 91.55 (the corps' highest regular season score EVER and higher than their Finals score in 2013 when they placed 6th). They are less than 4 points out of 1st, and less than 1 point out of 3rd. Expect CV to make some waves at finals this year. Highlights: The production this year is great. Accessible music, inspiring theming, and wonderful contributions from all captions. Final thoughts: Missed seeing Carolina Gold at this show as they competed up north this weekend. ALLIANCE was sitting around 60 members for most of early season and could have very well stayed below 65 to compete in Class A this year and be a very solid pick for a class champion, but it's good to see them grow and get back into Open again. Results: Open 1st: Atlanta CV, 91.55 Open 2nd: ALLIANCE, 82.10 A 1st: Cincinnati Tradition: 77.40

To my knowledge, many DCA corps are also DCI associate members. Alliance, Atlanta CV, and Carolina Gold all compete at the DCI Southeastern regional in Atlanta every year. I'm sure there are others in the north that do this as well. Corps doing this have to pass a DCI evaluation similar to emerging corps and compete using DCA judging sheets that are filled out by the event's DCI judges. It sometimes leads to some interesting (read: hilariously low) scores because the judges sometimes don't understand the DCA sheets and the differences in judging criteria.

I believe Atlanta CV is still looking to sell their 2014 Dynasty battery (9/5/5). Email director@atlantacv.org

Hey folks, here's a quick and dirty review of my opinions from the action in Rockmart, Georgia tonight. I took several pictures but unfortunately the lighting played games with my phone's camera and most of them were bad. I've included a couple that were usable. Atlanta CV Alumni Ensemble (exhibition): Atlanta, GA - 9 brass, 1 conductor Brand new this year, the CV Alumni Ensemble consists of several early CV alumni who have kept up their playing. They presented the national anthem at tonight's show. There was talk floating around CV of starting an alumni corps and I believe this is the first step towards that goal. Southern Knights (exhibition): Birmingham, AL - 14 brass, 3 percussion The Southern Knights return for their 3rd and final show of 2015. Just like in Woodstock, the brass was electric and gave us a nice sizzling g bugle sound. New for this performance was a fantastic wailing contrabass solo featuring Joe Murphy, widely-acclaimed tuba soloist and brass caption head of the corps. These folks will surely be a hit in the Class A scene next season. Cincinnati Tradition (Class A): Cincinnati, OH - 14 brass, 12 battery, 6 pit, ~10 guard, 1 DM The drumline really stole the show here. They are very obviously the strongest section in the corps and they play a very prominent role in this show. I'm a horn guy so I don't understand the intricacies of marching percussion, but there were several moments (especially from the bass line) that made a very good impression on me. There were some strong moments in the show design with the guard split into two groups, each spinning a different flag in keeping with Tradition's 2-sided show theme. At the same time, the horn drill looked quite odd. The drill certainly wasn't doing the horns any favors, with the small line being spread across nearly 40 yards of field space at some points. It was a little puzzling to watch the corps be so separated during big ensemble moments. I feel as if the hornline could have achieved a higher level of excellence in ensemble playing if their drill would have kept them close together. The last moments of the show displayed a nice full ensemble moment where the horns finally gave us a big sound the rest of the show was missing. IMO, field coverage should not take precedence over setting musicians up for a good listening environment. The line gelled well in close quarters and I wish they had more moments like that. ALLIANCE (Class A): Atlanta, GA - 23 brass, 18 battery, 8 pit, ?? guard, 1 DM + 1 conductor I said in my last review that I really enjoyed the brass. I'll say it again because they play very well. There is some very, very excellent brass writing and execution going on in this drum corps and it's impressive what they do with their small hornline. Of course, being ALLIANCE the drumline is also excellent. Again, I know very little about drumming but they were the clear winner in Class A percussion tonight and I would expect to be a serious contender for the Class A percussion title at championships. This is an excellent line taught by some of the best in the area, and the corps' connection to the Atlanta Quest organization does them a lot of favors as well. During the course of the show, a tenor player lost his shako and I nervously watched at least 5 brass players kick it around before a guard member scooped it up at the end of a movement. Fortunately no one was injured. Brand new for this run, the horns and drums have a new sash that they flipped open towards the end of the production to expose a bright red color to contrast with the icy blue that dominates the visual scheme for most of the show (picture above). Overall, this is a well-programmed show that should be in the running for a Class A title come championship weekend. Tonight's score puts them several points behind the current Class A leader but all that could change when they go head to head. Carolina Gold (Open Class): Greensboro, NC - 28 brass, 21 battery, 11 pit, huge (~30) guard, 1 DM + 1 conductor Gold continued their upswing tonight with a noticeably improved show over DCA Woodstock. The corps came out sans plumes due to an impending thunderstorm. Additionally, the drums have received a new light blue wrap to better fit the wintry theme of the show. The comments I previously made about the hornline were rendered invalid tonight - the horns did a much improved job of projecting and playing confidently, although there were a few noticeable instances of phasing that occurred at several points in the show. Gold's drum major's passion is very evident in his conducting and he is a joy to watch. The guard is massive and dominates the field. As I noted in my last review, they are probably Gold's strong suit as they have been for several years. Very excellent guard work and design throughout this show. Atlanta CV (Open Class): Atlanta, GA - 48 brass, 18 battery, 15 pit, ~30 guard, 2 DM + 2 conductor Homer bias aside, CV truly looked and sounded like they were in a class of their own tonight. Many members and alumni believe this could be the best CV ever and I'd have to agree with them. This is the most well-designed and executed show I personally have ever seen from them. This show is just chock full of GE moments. A notable improvement and enhancement since the last show is new printed eye graphics on the shutter props - these rotate like vertical blinds throughout the show from closed eyes to open eyes, and sometimes at an angle to let the viewer see through the prop to the field behind. Although the timing of the changes is not solid yet, it's an impressive effect that builds anticipation for the impact moments that follow in the seconds after. The brass playing is really, really excellent in this show. If you saw CV live last year, you have an idea of the quality of the hornline that wore the green, red, and black in 2014 and took 4th place in brass during championships. This line is many, many steps ahead of that one. There are loads of high-energy impact moments and section features, good solo work, and very clever horn writing. The whole show is a musical treat and there's lots of stuff to recognize from drum corps in years past. Further carrying the "eyeconic" throwback theme, some guard members don shakos during a feature moment and do a short routine similar to what the guards of the "good old days" would have done. This show score puts CV in 5th place in Open Class. The 4-7 race is very close right now and it's anyone's game, but I believe this show has the potential to give CV their first ever 5th (or even 4th) place finals finish. The Rocketeers (Exhibition): Huntsville, AL - 10 brass, 1 percussion, 1 conductor Tonight's show was a standstill version of their Soundsport program I got to see at DCI Atlanta. It's a fun show with a lot of easily recognizable music and some playful work with props throughout. They play well and present a very crowd-friendly and entertaining show. I hope they can attract enough members to become a full-fledged competing corps in the near future. DCA South can definitely use some more friendly faces. Wouldn't it be great to have a southern division with 6 competing corps next summer?

The scores for these 3 corps at DCI Atlanta were (in my opinion) unfairly low. This show places them in a much better and more accurate position within the DCA standings. Now that I'm home, I can sit down and compose my thoughts. Here's some more detailed reviews. If I had a solid idea of numbers, I gave them to you but I didn't go out of my way to get exact counts: Exhibition: Southern Knights - Birmingham, Alabama (1 conductor, 13 horns, 3 perc) Brand new this year, Southern Knights is the brainchild of John Hoekstra, who many of you will remember as a featured soloist with Atlanta CV for several years. The group is performing standstill exhibitions this year and will have one more appearance at the DCA South Championships on August 22nd in Atlanta CV's hometown of Rockmart, Georgia. Their ensemble consists of 4 sopranos (yes, they're using G bugles!), 4 mellophones, 3 baritones, 1 euphonium, and 1 contrabass along with a set player, snare drummer, and another percussionist alternating between tenors and bass drum. Their program was entitled "Quest". They opened with a few warmup chorales, displaying some very good ensemble blending. They then moved on into their show charts, and they can play! We got a taste of what promises to be a quality hornline in the years to come with some true power behind it. Percussion is solid and blended well with the small but powerful hornline. They will continue to develop in the coming years, and hopefully become a consistent quality player in DCA South. I've been told the goal is to field a DCA Class A corps next summer. Open Class: Carolina Gold - Greensboro, North Carolina (1 DM, 29 horns, ~20 drumline, ~10 pit? Large guard) Gold comes off of a 1st place finish in All-Age class at DCI Atlanta. Their 2015 program, "Let It Snow", is a cleverly-designed theme that carries well through the visual design and uniforms. The corps proper has added a blue sash to their uniforms for this year to match their guard uniforms. Guard has been Gold's strong suit for years and they don't disappoint in this show, with many effective emphasis moments and good unison work. Percussion is good. The pit writing evokes the right mood for this show, although during most of the production they cover up the brass. Compared to the percussion and guard, the hornline seems a bit underdeveloped and anemic in some of the full-bore impact moments. However, during their feature in the middle of the show, they exhibit some very excellent power and projection that I would love to see more of. The hornline is overall much stronger and more clean than years past - I still think they're capable of projecting more on the move and I believe as they get more comfortable with the show as the season accelerates into DCA South and Championships that we'll see them improve more in that regard. The corps has taken some very good steps in design and quality of performance in the past several years and this season is looking like one of their best. Open Class: Atlanta CV - Atlanta/Rockmart, Georgia (2 DM, ~50 horns, 18 drumline, 15 pit, Large guard) CV seems to have hit a stride in their season after a somewhat puzzling outcome at DCI Atlanta. The performance of their 2015 program, "Eyeconic", was much much more together and complete with the addition of several members filling holes who joined the drill at different points in the show tonight. Most of the newcomers are almost 100% integrated into the show and (from what I could see) all were on the field by the time the closer started. This is a fun show with a lot of effect moments. The brass is very present throughout with several excellent powerful moments and some excellent solo, duet, and small ensemble work. Visual demand is very high with a lot of high-velocity drill. The props on the field are effectively used to hide the horns during several points in the show, and it works well to focus the viewer's attention to the percussion and guard work that occurs during these moments. Speaking of the guard, they had a fantastic run tonight and posted a very impressive early August number - 89 in content and 86 in achievement. There are many good guard moments, including a hearkening back to some old-school Cavaliers with the hornline stepping over the guard near the end of the show. CV's percussion has experienced a meteoric rise the past several seasons. The pit provides full and rich musicality and a wide variety of timbres. Like every corps tonight, CV did experience some small timing issues but no major tears occurred and any inconsistencies were resolved by the percussion and drum majors within a few seconds. I think this show has the potential to evolve a little more as the season continues. It could become a crowd favorite at championships. Class A: Alliance - Atlanta/Woodstock, Georgia (1 DM, 24? horns, ~19 drumline, 8 pit, ~10-12 guard) It's good to see Alliance back on the field for 2015. The corps is competing in Class A this year after an encouraging 10th place Open Class finish in their first year back from inactivity. The purple sash the corps displayed on their jackets in the 2011 and 2014 seasons has been replaced with a blue one to fit their winter theme for the 2015 program, Subzero. The corps is smaller than before, but every section is solid and performs boldly and confidently. If you remember the sounds the Sun Devils were producing with their Class A hornline, then you'd enjoy listening to Alliance this year. The brass is small but powerful and blends very, very well. From what I understand they are still down a few high brass players. It's hard to balance and blend in a small line but these folks are doing a fine job listening and creating some really enjoyable brass moments. Percussion, as always, is strong. Guard plays a prominent role in this production and serves as the indication of the corps "surviving" the harsh winter and emerging into the spring with a burst of bright orange and red flags near the end of the show. Alliance seems to do very well from a programming standpoint, and I hope they continue to field corps for a long time - they will be a Class A title contender this year and with a few season to rebuild will have a good shot at achieving competitive success in Open Class, should they choose to move up again. --------------------- Results: Exhibition: Southern Knights Class A: 1) Alliance - 72.55 Open Class: 1) Atlanta CV - 80.70 - All captions 2) Carolina Gold - 76.50

http://i.imgur.com/cU04hnj.jpg Class A ALLIANCE 72.55 Open Class Gold 76.5 Atlanta CV 80.7 Edit to fix scores. I jotted them down as they were announced and made a few errors.

Southern Knights came out at 13 horns, Carolina Gold was either 29 or 30, Atlanta CV had approximately 50 (more members came on field towards the end of the show, I know they had several new members come in within the past month or so), and Alliance fielded somewhere in the neighborhood of 24 or 25 horns tonight. I know they're still looking for a few high brass players.

http://i.imgur.com/CHhCIqf.jpg Alliance closes out DCA Woodstock with a good run of their 2015 production. The guard is the highlight of the corps this year, although the brass and percussion both have some very strong moments. Brass blend is very good in powerful hits, and percussion have a tasty drum feature in the middle of the production as well.

http://i.imgur.com/QA8sLwr.jpg Atlanta CV with a great improvement over last weekend's DCI Atlanta run. Great moments all around with some wonderful solos, tasty percussion work, and a callback to lots of "eyeconic" drum corps moments.

http://i.imgur.com/XPmcfIc.jpg Carolina Gold looks bigger than years past and has lots of really nice effect moments in each section. Percussion is especially strong this year.

http://i.imgur.com/Az3MqW6.jpg Southern Knights in exhibition with a really great G bugle sound. Much larger than their 13 horns and 3 percussionists, I expect them to do great next year in DCA competition.

http://i.imgur.com/FfdYpyT.jpg Woodstock High School band is ready for the national anthem. There's at least 2 kids in bibbers that I'm assuming are marching with Alliance tonight.

Hey there folks, I'm here at the 50 yard line at Woodstock High School and I'll be posting thoughts and pictures (pending network performance) throughout the evening. Show kicks off in 25 minutes. Anyone else here?

Corps name: Euphony Cadets Director: Jothcra Division: A Class Hometown: Atlanta, GA Home show Venue Request: You already have several Georgia shows picked out, I suppose we could "adopt" the Powder Springs show as our three corps' home shows. Corps name: Euphony Vanguard Director: Jothcra Division: Open Class Hometown: Atlanta, GA Corps name: Euphony Empire Director: Jothcra Division: World Class Hometown: Atlanta, GA

You show Euphony Vanguard and Euphony Cadets as intending to complete pending captions and scheduling but neither of them show up in the dropdown on either page in my control panel, only Euphony Empire does.

A friend who is currently marching bari there used a Schilke 51D last season. May be different now with the new staff but in the past most of them have been in the 51D or similar (Bach 4 or 5G, Yamaha 51, etc).

Corps name: Euphony Empire Director: jothcra Division: World Class Hometown: Atlanta, GA Corps name: Euphony Vanguard Director: jothcra Division: Open Class Hometown: Atlanta, GA Corps name: Euphony Cadets Director: jothcra Division: A Class Hometown: Atlanta, GA

All of Spirit's brass currently play on Yamaha horns.