Rufus67
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Posts posted by Rufus67
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Sound in our theater was like the field mics weren't working so horn/battery were very muted. Pit and soloists were fine so it was a bit of a disappointment. The good news was for the first time ever (for me anyway) I really enjoyed each show. Some more than others but they all had something that was awesome to experience. I'm a curmudgeon by nature so that was quite distressing.
Good luck to all the corps the next two days!
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Just saw their show in Douglasville live last night and they knocked the doors down. They just move and play differently from other corps while still being bad-### (not saying they're better, just that if you turned the sound off you'd know who they are just by the way they move).
I'm not a fan of the costumes at all but the show itself was so good I didn't even notice them. As to show theme, a buddy posted last night that he's given up on trying to connect/understand the stated theme to what on the field in terms of sets, costumes, music, and movement. Just go and enjoy the show for what it is without trying to make it all connected to a larger storyline. Once I let go of that contemporary drum corps became much more enjoyable.-
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Was at the show last night and it was awesome. There's something to be said for seeing corps in a smaller, high school, venue to give you the full effect of the horn lines and percussion. You miss out a bit on the drill design/effect but nothing compares to getting your face peeled back by a good horn line pop. Overall comments:
Atlanta CV, Heat Wave
They were ok and a good warmup. I recognize the need for corps like this as training grounds for younger marchers or destinations for folks who want to march but not get caught up in World Class corps things. As such they were fine and did a good job with what they had.Spartans
First time I've ever seen them live and they were a definite step up in show quality, presence, and difficulty. Well done by the Granite Staters!
Music City
Wow! These folks did a wonderful job and have enjoyed watching their transformation over the years. Tasty horn licks, percussion on point, and guard all brought together a great show in terms of quality and announcing to everyone that the big boys/girls are now on stage!
Cadets
I'm biased because I grew up a Cadets fan, but these kids brought the wood. Their first big horn hit pushed the stands back a couple yards and they didn't take their foot off the accelerator the rest of the show. Highs, lows, complexity, movement while playing and a battery/pit that was simply awesome. I was so thrilled with the show I didn't even notice/pay attention to their costumes this year. Well done Holy Name!
Bluecoats
This group always seems like they're trying to bring an edge to every show they do and get in your face while doing it (not saying it's a bad thing, just that they conduct their business with a certain amount of swagger). This one was different (to me anyway) as they came out in lounger costumes, hippy-ish set design, and lack of winking soloists (that I could see anyway). All that said they blew the audience away and had a great show. There was a moment where the corps is spread out end zone to end zone backfield and are playing syncopation with the recorded voice. How they pulled that off without tearing/phasing I don't know but it was flippin awesome!
Spirit of Atlanta
Didn't have high expectations going into this one to be honest. Not because they wouldn't be trying hard, etc., but because of what they went through last year and then having to effectively rebuild (again). To quote a line from the movie Brainstorm - They knocked my socks off! From the first note to the last Baby Blue announced with authority that they were back and hungry! Impactful horn hits, great movement from every element, skilled soloists, and smooth transitions between movements had me thinking I was watching a perennial Top 6 corps. The great thing is with all that they still have room to clean/augment and I hope they continue to do so and are able to make Finals this year!
Only other comment I'll make is that the amplification needed to be dialed way back. The last three corps had kick-butt horn lines with meaningful, in-your-face moments that were partially drowned out by the cranked bass coming out of the speakers. I'm not one of those old-timers who doesn't like amps, and I get why in a space like Lucas Oil Field such heavy bass is needed to fill the space, but they need to pull it way back in smaller venues like high schools to keep from drowning out the rest of the corps. What's funny is they did that for one mic'd soloist who come through very loud on their first couple of notes and was adjusted back down by the board operator. If they can make "in-game" adjustments like that they should be able to do the same in the big impact moments I would think.
Overall a fun night reconnecting with some really great corps. I got invited to attend only last week so was very surprised who all was going to competing. Quite the lineup for a small-ish venue and early-season show!-
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Our son is an alum of recent years (yes, including '18...). I can't speak to admin, show designers, or anything other than being the proud parent/fan of the Scouts. Always have been, always will be. Wish the new members nothing but great success this year and am just glad to see a bunch of crazy kids marching and making music again.
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On 5/19/2020 at 10:01 PM, Jurassic Lancer said:
I would love to see the venn diagram of fencers / drum corps enthusiasts, except I suspect you are the venn diagram of fencers / drum corps enthusiasts.
Ok, so I marched Sunrisers in the mid-80s and fenced in college (met my wife by defending her honor in a duel, no joke, and attended the Olympic team foil finals sitting at the judges table because my old coach somehow wrangled his way into being the head officiating dude for all the fencing competitions in the '96 games).
It's a rare crossover, I'll admit, but still can happen! -
Madison Scots
Sadly we'll never get to know what Scottish men wear under their kilts, if anything...
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On 5/24/2020 at 12:48 PM, skevinp said:
Stan of Indiana
I marched with the infamous Stan from Sunrisers in the 80s and for that reason alone this one cracked me the heck up! He was definitely from NY though!!!
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13 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:
And that bleeping extended tour through Russia.
In an effort to insert some levity to this discussion I remember a MM in the corps I marched with wearing a Hitler world tour shirt. It had a picture of him doing his trademark salute on the front and "tour dates" on the back. You know, 1939 Poland, 1942 Moscow (cancelled of course). The last date was for The Bunker, May 1945. Entirely inappropriate, I know, but still kind of funny...
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Our son recently aged out from Scouts and I know they had 3-4 marching members from Japan. Not saying that justifies the expense of holding auditions there, but I'm pretty sure other corps are reaching out to potentials members there too.
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I loved BD's ballad this year and very much appreciated the Scouts' One Voice as well. Both were incredibly layered and moving (to this tin ear anyway).
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On 6/29/2019 at 11:17 PM, Jeff Ream said:
it's a dog eat dog world, and Madison's last 15 years have basically had them wearing milk bone underwear
Any time someone uses this quote, correctly I might add, gets an immediate thumbs up from me.
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An understandable adjudication system that rewards execution (musical, marching, performance, etc.) instead of the hash that currently exists. Figure skating figured this out a while ago (e.g., if you fall you ain't winning that day) and I'm not really sure why drum corps can't (e.g., marchers out of step, different marching techniques used by marching members in the same corps, entrances missed, equipment dropped, etc.).
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Having sent tuition dollars to Madison and watched our son grow, mature, and perform the crap out of shows the last couple of years (before aging out) I can tell you I wish nothing but success for the new design team. If you thought it painful watching the shows the last couple of years try having your kid be one of the performers trying to make sense of the instruction given, the effort expended, and the lack of results (score-wise) earned. I saw a young man stare into the face of adversity and, instead of folding, grow artistically and do things in terms of playing, marching, and performing that weren't possible prior to getting with the Scouts.
This is not an appeal to moral authority for my view of the upcoming season, because there is none for me any longer (if there ever was any). It is, instead, a fervent wish that this year's corps achieves the vision of the design team, gets rewarded with positive fan reaction/buzz, and keeps producing Men from Madison like our son.
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My favorite show of the night by far. The kids were fantastic!
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20 hours ago, tesmusic said:
That part I do commend the members for. Not that I like that they're keeping their mouths shut, but in today's age of social media and access to information, it's impressive from a self-control standpoint.
Agree. When telling us about camps and spring training our son always began and ended his story with "don't share this with anyone!" He's normally cautious with sharing private stuff anyway but his level of awareness around the secrecy involved was something else.
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Marched with a now-DCA judge and, I found out/remembered a few years back, Jeff Sacktig.
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7 hours ago, Fran Haring said:
Or any company!!! LOL
The infamous "Stan" (for those who know about a particular DCA corps) was also a drill-spot nickname that stuck with the person who filled that spot.
And Hey-Ray was also known as Mr. Low... for reasons I cannot disclose here.
Swing low, sweet chariot...
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Got mine when they named a drill hole "Rufus" and I filled it mid-season. The rest, they say, is history. Over my marching years there has also been Root Beer, Hey-Ray, Mr Nuts, and nicknames our entire 3rd baritone section which I can't repeat in polite company.
Never prouder than when our son got his nickname marching DCA and carried it forward into DCI.
I think it's agreed, however, that the best are assigned and not created by the MM.
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Not trying to be "that guy," and I get this is a Scouts thread, but is there the same level of interest in The Cavaliers adding females? I haven't noticed if there is and that leads me to wonder if the reason is because of the relative competitive success/failure of the two organizations. If going co-ed is good for one from a competitive standpoint why not good for the other?
Don't have a dog in the fight with my kid aged-out of Scouts in the last couple of years, just curious about the difference in thought regarding the two organizations.
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That is wild and a small world then. When I went to Stamford HS I entered a Shakespeare monologue contest and went up against three of his kids from Westhill (and they kicked my butt). In the time I knew him I wasn't even aware he was into drum corps. How crazy is that!?!?
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2 hours ago, Fran Haring said:
Like I said on my FB page... IMO, the best drum corps PA announcer ever.
I know a lot of people here on the DCI forums never had the opportunity to hear his work... I wish you had. He was pure magic behind the microphone.
Among his many gigs, relevant to this forum (he did a lot of work on the DCA/all-age side of the activity) ... he was the PA announcer for the early years of DCI East in Allentown, and also was the longtime voice of the World Open show in Massachusetts.
Fran
I'm sorry about Wes' passing. Do you know if he ever taught high school drama in Stamford, CT, specifically Westhill HS? I think my wife and I did a show with him in Westport in the early 90s but just not positive it's him or not. -
On 10/14/2018 at 11:25 PM, JimF-LowBari said:
But that trophy they will get this season will look so nice in the case in decades to come..... collecting dust....
Shiny plastic rules!!!
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10 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:
No idea where you live but here is my standard plug for All Age corps if any are nearby. Get a good taste of being in a corps without the tour and hopefully cheaper. Others have started all age and then to junior without hard feelings from the all age corps.
PS I was 16 when I joined....
What Jim said. Our son marched two years with a DCA corps (after not making a local DCI corps), learned what this drum corps thing was about, then took it on the road the next three years with DCI corps. He's a driven kid anyway, but he definitely used his time in DCA to hone his skills in listening to feedback from techs, practicing what they gave him to work on, and making sure it showed up during competitions. All of those things got him to the point where he was able to march with his dream corps in DCI.
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Cadets 87. Reprise the melody while playing backfield and the drill puts them into position to march off the field like a boss after the last note fades.
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Blu-rays No Longer A Thing?
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted
Been away from the activity for a bit (obviously) and I remember there being issues with the rights to music used by the corps (let alone recordings used during shows), but is DCI really not selling blu-rays of finals any longer? Very distressing if true. Is there an alternative like FloMarching having prior competitions available for subscribers?