[Carolina Crown 2015]

Your new found excitement surprises me , since a few post earlier you were quick to point out the following:

it's not just the gap between their (Crown's) own achievement (execution) and content/rep scores -- but also the gap between their content/rep scores and the content/rep scores of BD/Cadets

If any current Crown members read this (and I highly doubt you will, since your striving for excellence), keep pushing to be the greatest and don't let anyone still your thunder.

-Carry on!

[2015 Predictions]

I have a feeling Crown won't be 5th.

Agreed. Obviously its early, but I think 4/5 place will be a fight SCV and Bloo will fight all season. But, this is could all change on the drop of a dime.

Predictions are just that.

[Clifton 7/5]

I just got home from the show. Wow! All the corps did a fantastic job tonight and deserve kudos for their level of performance, as its only July 5th. My quick thoughts are below:

The Blue Devils show is already following the trend they used last year and is incredible. Their high brass and color guard are really effective. I think the dancing and song in the middle of the show is a little ineffective, but I'm sure it will change before finals. Maybe someone can explain it to me.

The Cadets are simply the best at playing and drilling their but##z off at an extremely fast pace . My only key observation is that the colorguard is not as effective as it has been in prior years and could potentially drag their score a little lower.

Carolina Crown's colorguard and brass are ! Its amazing to me how sharp they look and sound already. If they can get their percussion scores up and add an awesome closer to this show, they will go from being .9 points behind 1st place to potentially being .1 or equal with The Cadets and/or The Blue Devils.

Boston Crusaders- I think there is too much going on with this show and it needs a little more focus. It has some amazing moments and some not so good moments.

Jersey Surf's show was really good. Good Job to the brass players as they did a good job displaying there skill tonight.

To all corps members, keep up the great work!!!

[2015 Predictions]

My 7/3/2015 Prediction/Wish list for Finals:

1. Cadets - This show has the perfect blend of technical and rigor to win the gold. Hands down they have the best drill and the 1 or 2 most musically demanding books of all the top 5 this year. I firmly believe the show has a lot of cleaning needs and some things that need to be changed between now and August, but all in all will be top 2 for sure.

1. Crown - I know most folks won't agree with putting them in second, but based on the crowd reaction I saw in Allentown this show once tweaked and with a new ending will be the fan favorite of the year. The crowd and I gave them a standing ovation at least 5 times during the show, which virtually never happens . The colorguard and musicality in this show is unreal. Kudos to the percussion improvements.

1. Santa Clara Vanguard- I think they will rank top three based on their shows design, and demand regardless of who will receives the gold. Their staff is very talented and ready to give the 4th place honor to someone else.

1. Blue Devils - I think this show is more vulnerable than most drum corps fans would like to admit. With that said, yes it is currently scoring higher than the others, but I think that is what will fuel the others to throw the kitchen sink at their show design modifications to defeat them. I also predict they will not move into 4th place until the last week of finals.

1. Bluecoats - This is one of the best shows of the year from a general effect perspective. One could even argue it’s the most cohesive at this point in the season. However, the other top 4 corps appear to have more demand musically in my humble opinion. This is not to say that the Bluecoats don't sound amazing, but there music book based on my observation and from speaking with a band director does not have the same rigor as the other 4.

Caption Predictions:

· General Effect Music- Blue Devils

· General Effect Visual- Bluecoats

· Visual Proficiency- Blue Devils

· Visual Analysis- Santa Clara Vanguard

· Colorguard- Crown

· Brass- Crown

· Percussion- Cadets

· Music- Cadets

I’m pretty sure my prediction will continue to evolve as the season continues and I wish all the top 5 corps the best as they are all worthy of the gold and have spectacular shows.

[Making Moves in Muncie - June 26]

A lot of sharpness and dirt on the entry notes with crown. A little surprising, not as appealing a brass sound as the past several years... I will get to see them live Monday so probably a lot different in person. Soloist is lovely.

I was also surprised about the sharpness originally, but realized after repeatedly watching them perform the show, that it is purposeful. The sharpness is intentional for effect. If you watch any video from this year, you will notice it in each show.

I will say that even though Crown's show music is not as demanding as last year, it is however more difficult and has more demand than the Bluecoats show music for 2015.

[Carolina Crown 2015]

I disagree. While crown was noticeably cleaner, they were also marching noticeably easier drill and music. No one is going to be out doing the Cadets this season in the number of notes. Personally, I think the Bluecoats and Cadets should've been swapped, but I think Crown is exactly where they're supposed to be at the moment. They need to add some more GE and demand into their show because as of now, the concept of "Inferno" is barely there.I

I disagree. Crown's music is noticeably more difficult than the BlueCoats in both the 2015 & 2014 seasons.

-Carry On!

[Indy "opening" contest]

I absolutely love the level of quality each Corps put out tonight. With that said, my short recap of tonight's performances is as follows:

1. Madison- Most improved corps season over season. I look forward to seeing this show grow
2. Bluestars- I loved this shows theme and overall design concept. I think once this show gels and is cleaned it could be rated as high as #7 come finals night.
3. Crown- IMO this show has the most potential of the top three corps tonight. I LOVE this new DARK CROWN! I really give the staff credit for the first 2/3 of the show and the guard looks ready to ###### the blue devils #1 spot away from them and brass also (once cleaned). If they re-write the ending and throw a little more general effect in the mix, this show could easily upset some folks and be ranked between #1-3 comes finals night.
4. Cavies- I liked the beginning and some of the middle of the show, but the hornline needs a lot of cleaning. Not to compare, but it sounds like they were going for a Crown level of brass demand without the players to back it up with. I honestly believe this a good show and could surprise us all if tweaked and cleaned on placement. I honestly think this show will pass the Bluecoats if cleaned properly.
5. Bluecoats- So maybe its just me, but IMO this show will most likely be a 4-6 show as I see it reaching the top of its potential mid-season. I honestly, thought the brass book was one of the more simple ones of the night and is easier to perform than most. Maybe I'm crazy, but I thought this exact thing last year (i.e. I thought the music played during TILT was easier than the other top 5 corps). With that said, the general effect scores are debatable and I don't see this show staying in the top 4 if SCV brings the pain this season and Crown rewrites the parts of there show that could propel them upward. I'll stop here, as I did not think this show deserves more commentary.
6. Cadets- WoW!!!!! What a fantastic and demanding show. The staff really throw the kitchen sink at this show. I think this is the show to beat this year, even though I haven't seen the BD or SCV's shows.

If I were a judge tonight the corps would of been ranked as follows:

1. Cadets
2. Crown
3. Bluecoats
4. Cavies
5. Blue Stars
6. Madison