ForTheCommonGood

A few thoughts on the corps videos I've seen... Carolina Crown is bringing a much more coherent package this year in terms of theme. The music and the visuals compliment each other very well. While I don't feel this show will win, it should win over fans and definitely not place lower than last year. The brass and percussion have a lot of room to grow musically, but this is to their benefit I believe. The extended use of trombones by members of the brass section will take a long time to sound as full as I would like, but fundamentally they are taking the right approach and will get there. The ballad has some really cool musical moments that I think will be perhaps controversial, but I really enjoy. I have only seen what I can assume is Blue Devils ballad, which is in a similar vein to last summer's spectacle of the season. I applaud them for continuing last years approach, and I hope to see a lot of great film noir elements in the final product. Music wise, not much to say, other than that they are stellar! The Cadets are doing very well at this point. Great arrangements, a much more experienced brass and percussion section, and some really effective moments all drum corps fans will surely enjoy. This is the show I am most excited about. Sensemaya is crazy difficult, probably the hardest thing I've seen on the field this summer. As a lot of you know, I was a huge fan last year of this corps and it looks like this year will be no different. Phantom Regiment is playing better than they have since 2013! Musically, the arrangements are much more cohesive. The props are really cool looking, I'm excited to see how this show develops. Boston Crusaders never really had me hooked last year, which is strange considering how much of a fan of them I have been in the past. However, the last four minutes of this show give me a lot to be excited about! Blue Knights are playing a very demanding show, and are sounding great. No one should be concerned about the new brass staff, they are incredibly qualified and the students seem to be really excited about this year. While I haven't seen any drill yet, musically this one will be very enjoyable. The Academy had the hardest show on the field in my book last year. This year they have stepped it up with not necessarily a whole lot less demand, but better pacing of it throughout the show. They are surely a finals contender.

Got a chance to see and hear the Cadets- this is not a corps you'll want to miss. I was a huge fan of last year, but this corps clearly is very mature and the sounds they are putting out definetly reinforce that!

Crazier things have happened, I wouldn't call it a shoe in just yet. I'm rooting for them to pull ahead! If they can get the reward they deserve for this outstanding product, they may very well pull ahead. Crusaders were for sure 13th at this point in semis last year. And then they played on Saturday night! I'm so excited that THIS show is their "transition" show, the fact that they are doing this well after losing so much in one off season is a testament to this new staff, the marching members, and their volunteers and supporters!

Waiting for the numbers to reward this corps- they deserve it! Not trying to diminish what the Crusaders are accomplishing, but Cadets have a show far ahead of it's time. The brass score and visual proficiency scores especially confused me last night. I majored in music education and trumpet performance and have been following the activity year round for a long time, and frankly I don't see how BAC, Cavaliers, BK, and PR outscored this hornline. But alas, these are just numbers, and what I witnessed in the theater is probably my favorite drum corps show in long time, maybe my favorite ever (I've been following since 2003). Congrats Cadets, keep pushing!

If you are looking at competitive placement you are correct, though Cadets are on track to at least match their score from last year, if not exceed it. Cadets are having a much improved season in terms of a design perspective, one of the most cohesive shows they have put out in a long time in terms of music and imagery. And this is this staff's first time working together, it is a transitional year for them, and the fact they are close to maintaining with a completely new staff in the top 7 now is something unheard of. Now another thing unheard of is Boston Crusaders huge jump in placement. Will they be able to maintain? Will there be any staff changes from them? I can't imagine so because the word from many is that the staff is very happy, so they likely want to build another dynasty. As a big Cadets fan, I am looking forward to the future of this friendly rivalry. There shouldn't be any animosity between these two corps, I feel like we can't have a conversation about Boston with talking about Cadets and as well the other way around. We should be celebrating the success of both of these organizations as both are having VERY good years, albeit for different reasons but I see no reason to be nothing but excited about the future of both organizations! I am not calling your post hostile towards Cadets, because it certainly is not, I would like to bring awareness to people bashing these two corps based on which one they are affiliated with. These are wonderful kids, designers and staff, who I have great respect for! Good luck to Crusaders this week, and I am looking forward to 2018!

Saturday, July 29 DCI Southeastern Championship - Powder Springs, GA Blue Devils - 93.000 Santa Clara Vanguard - 92.950 Carolina Crown - 91.800 Bluecoats - 91.200 The Cavaliers - 90.000 The Cadets - 88.200 Phantom Regiment - 85.700 Blue Knights - 85.300 Blue Stars - 83.800 The Academy - 79.000 Spirit of Atlanta - 75.400 Oregon Crusaders - 74.000 Pacific Crest - 72.900 Genesis - 71.800 Seattle Cascades - 71.000 Jersey Surf - 68.400 Pioneer - 64.900

The biggest synth bass offenders for me have been Bluecoats, Madison Scouts, and SCV. Everyone uses it, but I can't recall it being egregious to me in person. I'll see this weekend at the Winston Salem show!

They aren't 8th yet! And I seriously doubt they will be. Consistently, they have been close to Cavaliers in effect head to head, so that shows the judges think the product is in that same tie at leastr. The execution numbers are getting there, they were spectacular in San Antonio (frankly, I had them half a point over Crusaders, but I'm guilty of putting product over performance). I'm really pulling for them, to maintain 6th will definitely help them retention wise and they can come back with another incredible show in 2018!

Tuesday, July 25 Mustang, OK Santa Clara Vanguard - 90.800 Carolina Crown - 90.650 The Cadets - 87.950 The Academy - 77.900 Seattle Cascades - 68.400 Wednesday, July 26 Little Rock, AR Santa Clara Vanguard - 91.400 Bluecoats - 90.000 Cadets 88.200 Boston Crusaders- 88.000 Phantom Regiment - 85.100 Crossmen - 82.900 Mandarins - 80.000 Colts - 75.800 Seattle Cascades - 69.150 Hattiesburg, MS Blue Devils - 92.000 The Cavaliers - 89.500 Blue Knights - 84.300 Blue Stars - 82.000 Madison Scouts - 81.250 Troopers - 76.000 Oregon Crusaders - 73.100 Genesis - 71.200 Jersey Surf - 66.000 Pioneer - 61.900 Thursday, July 27 Birmingham, AL Boston Crusaders - 88.200 Blue Stars - 83.200 Crossmen - 83.000 Madison Scouts - 81.800 Mandarins - 81.700 The Academy - 80.200 Spirit of Atlanta - 76.000 Oregon Crusaders - 73.000 Jersey Surf - 65.600 Friday, July 28 Dothan, AL Blue Stars - 83.500 Madison Scouts - 82.400 Colts - 76.900 Troopers - 76.500 Spirit of Atlanta - 75.900 Pacific Crest - 74.900 Genesis - 71.300 Seattle Cascades - 69.700 Pioneer - 62.400 Nashville, TN Blue Devils - 93.600 Santa Clara Vanguard - 93.500 Carolina Crown - 92.900 Bluecoats - 92.000 The Cavaliers - 90.000 The Cadets - 88.900 Blue Knights - 86.500 Phantom Regiment - 86.400

And I did give the staff and the corps their due credit in that regard. While I may not have mentioned improvement outright, it is certainly implied (the staff changes are old news at this point). And I have no doubt they will eventually take their place as perennial top 5/4 finishers.

Congratulations Cadets! Trust the process :)