PRPhan4ever

I tried to count and I think I came up with 60-65? I MAY BE wrong, but hey.... if it works... I just think they need MORE volume...

Well - here goes! Get those flamethrowers ready! This year "Phantom Regiment" has elected to (from what has been posted here and according to those who have seen rehearsals) have less than their usual brass compliment of years past to add more colorguard to this years show. WHY !!!! I am a Regiment Phan since 1978 and cannot fathom why they have done so -- but, as I always say --"I" am not a staff member, and just feel they could use those added horns. I have watched/listened t Santa Clara (IE: former PR arranger we all know) and WOW! Will Pitts has done some stellar writing - but the difficulty level shows and there just seems in sections that MORE is needed. The show, in it's early concept so far conveys to a point what they are seemingly trying to -- but in sections, as many have already pointed out - is ragged and spotty. The ending? well... I get they are going with the old tried & true... but my, my that Katchaturian piece demands SO MUCH more and seems a shame how the chord transitions of the actual piece are just quickly cut into the ending. Have many other corps done this? If so, who & what years? Go with less brass to add members to another caption? I've seen sections of brass play other instruments (Crown comes to mind) and a few others -- but I don't think I've ever in my 30+ yrs of following the activity see this as being successful in any great sense... meaning SPECIFICALLY say, a brass line of 50-60 to have more color guard in this case. And, just a final note -- it must just be me but I feel like there is WAY TOO MUCH amplification and sound bytes added to many corps shows this year --- Regiment included, to where instrumentalists COULD be playing! I can't wait to see this live... and, I wish Regiment all the best! CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN! ( and add some organ!)

Well - here goes! Get those flamethrowers ready! This year "Phantom Regiment" has elected to (from what has been posted here and according to those who have seen rehearsals) have less than their usual bras compliment to add more colorguard? WHY !!!! I am a Regiment Phan since 1978 and cannot fathom why they have done so -- but, as I always say --"I" am not a staff member, and just feel they could use those added horns. I have watched/listened t Santa Clara (IE: former PR arranger we all know) and WOW! Will Pitts has done some stellar writing - but the difficulty level shows and there just seems in sections that MORE is needed. The show, in it's early concept so far conveys to a point what they are seemingly trying to -- but in sections, as many have already pointed out - is ragged and spotty. The ending? well... I get they are going with the old tried & true... but my, my that Katchaturian piece demands SO MUCH more and seems a shame how the chord transitions of the actual piece are just quickly cut into the ending. Have many other corps done this? Go with less brass to add to another caption? I've seen sections of brass play other instruments (Crown comes t mind) and a few others -- but I don't think I've ever in my 30+ yrs of following the activity see this as being successful in any great sense... meaning SPECIFICALLY say, a brass line of 50-60 to have more color guard in this case. And, just a final note -- it must just be me but I feel like there is WAY TOO MUCH amplification and sound bytes added to where instrumentalists COULD be playing! I can't wait to see this live... and, I wish Regiment all the best! CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN! ( and add some organ!)

Sopranos a bit ragged -- could have been the heat, BUT... the Kach 3 could have so much better impact IF they chose the actual 'ending' of the piece.... we shall see...

IF ( a BIG IF) they are going to shoot for the "effect" of the storyline behind the "Phantasm" theme -- then need SOMETHING/ANYTHING that resembles a mirror! that would be killer! Can you imagine the visual effect with sunlight/stadium lights if used 'correctly'? And..... the Khachaturian piece def needs MORE BASS... I do so earnestly hope that Regiment's designers/caption heads consider adding some 'organ' synth or midi... the musical additions of that would far exceed anyone's realization of this piece! Not to mention the climactic ending the symphonic score has WITH IT! Need proof? Listen to this! Not much I can say after listening to this about 100 times since PR announced they were doing this piece! WOW! IF, a BIG "IF" Regiment decides to incorporate the organ part in any facet or shape -- O M G!! And, cutting the size of the hornline to add color guard is not making sense to me right now. Regiment's brass is their hallmark and some of the pieces chosen are technically difficult (not saying the talent isn't there) but it needs SIZE and SCOPE (meaning more horns), but who am I? No one important in PR's scope of performance ....

Well -- THIS organ that Cameron plays in NOT your typical organ! A good Rodgers or Allen organ could suffice... not this! PR "could" use digital samples pulled from the recordings available -- a Roland Attillier keyboard has wonderful pipe organ samples! Regiment can REALLY have an epic ending if done RIGHT! To do so they would have to come up with a better ending than the one presently heard... if one listens to the you tube video posted -- THAT is the ending a show like this SHOULD (could) have!!! Regiment could also employ the use of a reflective material that could be put on boards to appear like mirrors, after all, the movie "Phantasm" ends with the character being pulled through a mirror -- thus ending his "nightmare". We shall see.... I just hope (and pray) the re-do the ending! I have had not one, but THREE international organ scholars/performers hear the concert in the park and all three agree the ending need "more" -- More organ! :)

It shouldn't/couldn't be THAT hard to add some organ to the end... as it is presented now the ending 'as is' seems a bit TOO 'upbeat' an ending when the show is (from my take) being about darkness etc ... ending needs work, but, as is true to Phantom -- they always do some 'tweeking' & re-writes! 12 Contras/tubas? For a dark show more bass is needed, especially in the Khachaturian - I just hope & pray they don't over amplify the bass if they use some samples/audio... it would be justified if it were the pedal notes of the organ part.... we shall see! I sat for 2 hours and listened to the concert video (audio only) as I reviewed the original orchestral score -- marked the parts they used, and formulated this opinion (and it IS ONLY THAT - an opinion). Will Pitts is extremely talented and has written some wonderful wind ensemble scores (which I own) and he is well familiar with what is expected from the usual troupe and the legendary 'regiment sound'. Change the ending with some additions.... it'll be just like 2008! WINNER, WINNER !!

LOVE what I see/hear so far! The Khach 3rd Symphony is a REAL closer! -- BUT.... IF IT WERE ME (and it's not) being a musician for over 30 yrs - studied organ/brass etc, "I" would take reference to THIS recording starting at min mark 17;34 - bits/pieces can be put together and the use of MIDI, synthesizer and/or sampling of the "organ" part would be THE MOST fitting ending to this piece and would show off the brass, percussion and pit iin a canon type effect! Just my take on what I heard from the concert in the park -- this is a great piece of music and IMHO 'Only' Phantom can pull off something this dark & sinister (with maybe the exception of "crown"). I say ADD some organ parts ..... and, maybe, just MAYBE a huge tarp concealing the corps at the very end......... WOW!!!!!!!

WOW !!!! So, as Hop put it "Life changes" --- Ummm to be a part of a pinnacle corps for THAT long and just well, leave? Maybe $$$, but I suspect if they wanted Jay, Gino & Colin... they (or other corps w/said $$$) would have lured them away long before now

I am reall trying to remember just how long Gino was w/Cadets... a good span of years, and Jay Bocook has been writing since what? 2003 or so? could be wrong -- but that's a long time!

Well, I disagree in part. JD Shaw left, and Rennick followed ... the next year @ PR drill, guard and Vis all changed -- but from one season to another, that is quite an exodus in just a short time - be in in one year or within 16 mos. Was just making a point that they had a slew of folks depart within mos of eachother

IMHO -- This is a serious issue for Cadets. Not unlike Phantom Regiment in 2011 (well for the Drum Corps fan, follower and non-staffer) when Rennick, Shaw & visual and drill writers all abandoned ship at the SAME TIME! Phantom 'survived' -- but NOT as we know and love(d) them. Change brings a sudden bit of fear and expectation that cannot be answered when things like this occur. I have met Gino and Bocook personally and they are HUGE supporters of the activity, aside from their respective place of employ. Should Cadets look to totally NEW personnel? Should they 'hire from within' so to speak? I use Phantom Regiment as a constant here because so much of what has suddenly transpired to Cadets, has been in play for some time with Regiment. Many a year when I volunteered many alumni were techs, and staff -- some even became caption heads etc. Look at Will Pitts! Member, conductor now brass arranger! If it were me, and I would never ask it to be so, perhaps the Cadets & GH, should they want to keep the teaching style, marching and percussion as it has been --- hire from within your ranks! If it's felt that a 'breath of fresh air' is needed -- then maybe a totally new staff be sought out. When I first heard of this years Cadets music -- I thought "AWESOME" -- then the title "Stoned" and the theme of statues. Ugggh... then the title and theme changed, and changed again! 1/2 of the show was re-written like what 3 or 4 times? How ould YOU like to contend with that over the course of one season ? It happens, but not in that great a scale for a top 10 corps like Cadets, which is what struck me as so odd! that's like changing the way you do your job on a daily basis with something different EVERY WEEK! Man those kids overcame adversity! As I look at, watch and listen to the show this season, there was NO CLEAR design and certainly no clear theme. Who's fault is that? Certainly NOT the music arrangers nor the teaching staff. I'd be looking for direction real quick!!!!! Like in April! Perhaps this is what caused the mass exodus? On MANY occasion, I have pondered submitting my resume' to YEA/Cadets in the past few yrs, but on the hearsay advice of some in the DC community was told -- Look elsewhere! GH is hard to please and even harder to work for! I dispute that as Cipriani, Bocook, McNutt and so many others have had long running tenures under his employ, so, I wonder why the sudden departure of not one, but several key people in the organization. Maybe this is what the Cadets need? However, with caution my heart says "let it not take another 10 yrs to get to where we the fans, fellow musicians and DC followers of Cadets would expect them to be". But herin lies the problem .... are too many corps, the Cadets in particular, so ingrained in 'tradition' that they cannot make themselves change? With discontent but hope I keep looking back at Phantom Regiment that "was" (87 thru early 2000's) and the Regiment that "is" today. Do we get too wrapped up in the 'They can't do that ... that's not the ______ (insert corps name here ) way!" or "they have never done that, or played that etc" that we place a burden upon the staff of said groups to 'give us what we've always had and expect"? Sometimes, like this scenario with Cadets (and of course PR) that I say yes. 2016 is a prime example. A show with no clear direction, vision or theme and pressured to 'make it work' by finals. Tradition is one thing, history is another. Moving with the activity in the direction it's going in will be difficult for groups that ARE so steeped in tradition from the early days of DCI to the present. Coates' and Crown etc don't seem to have that problem, at least to date. Staff need to be given freedom, to be able to 'create', teach and do what they do best.... not held to a list of "we can do this, this and this, but never that!" I look at Blue Devils, SCV, Cavaliers, Madison -- Corps that have been around and have had their share of staff turn around, but in that -- look at where they are now! I am NOT a fan of the 'theatrical, sound sampled, props and narration' that is seen today, however, it seems as the judges are rewarding just that creativity for use of same. Cadets if they can step back in the off season and REALLY leverage their talent, personnel and look at talent as talent presents itself -- (either internally or externally IE: other corps staff ) may yield a totally different and fresh approach - both visually and musically! Eager to see the who, what and where as the months go by!

Withe the sudden (shocking) news that BOTH Gino Cipriani AND Colin McNutt both going to Boston, maybe I missed it -- but is Jay Bocook still writing the brass book? I would hope so! Instructional staff is one thing -- but changing the breadth and scope of musical writing that has been so prevelent and closely associated with a corps is sometimes detrimental. I will us a key example here. Look at my honk corps "Phantom Regiment" -- a brass powerhouse who, after the departures of their brass and percussion writers, fell into stagnation, a somewhat 'identity crisis (at least if felt like that to me -- a faithful phan from 1978) and a new arrangers that just could not do the corps the justice in the sense that the timbre, sound and arranging was so different that what we, the fans were accustomed to. I will say, that as many have pointed out in the "Staff Merrigoroung" thread, that change is good and leads to often bigger and better things -- however my hope is that the Cadets (and Boston) both benefit from these transitions. Phantom is STILL trying to regroup, recoup etc. C'mon...it's no lie folks! Will Pits has done good and I expect much more in 2017 -- which I hope for as well for the Cadets as well as Boston Bocook and his arrangements are literally an expectation when it comes to the Cadets, anyone else writing has BIG shoes to fill! Have not heard if Jay too, will be moving elsewhere as well.

I have 'heard' that some corps, maybe all, are not putting out DVD's/CD's of 2015 Tour (on the road etc) as they have to wait until DCI sell the same merchandise? Won't this deprive corps of much needed income thay normally count on? I have not seen one advertised for any corps like Crown or Cadets. If these CAN BE purchased aside from DCI please clarify

I'd like to see them do Symphonic Metamorphosis- Paul Hindemith,. Call the show "Metamorphasis" with a return to cream with colored accents. The guard, drums and brass could do miracles with this piece. The have the anger and the desire to supercede what they did this past year.

Gee -- maybe the winners of captions has already BEEN DECIDED and tonight is 'just the culmination' of 'THE LAST run ??? Wouldn't surprise me ! HOW CAN ANY OTHER Corps win a DCI title -- How dare they! Up a bit farther someone said 'they own what they do'? Does that mean judges too?

Well, tomorrow IS for the whole 'kit & kaboodle' right? I just hope "Crown" pulls the performance of a lifetime out of their souls -- they'll need it! I REALLY want them to win -- and NO disrespect to BD ( or ANY other corps ) but DCI needs a new champ -- even if for ONE year ( season ) EVERYONE performed splendidly, but that "Inferno" show is masterful! Here's hope the crowd, the angels, and heavenly hosts above along with "Crown's" members, staff, supporters, fans, volunteers and parents will have a wonderful answer to this prayer! LORD WILLING! 'Go Crown'

WOW, WOW, WOW ! .1 is a VERY slim margin indeed

No recaps yet -- I'm ok with that -- that Bocook book of Shosty 10th is OUTRAGEOUS!

Who took Brass? ARE YOU KIDDING? BD? Oh Dear Lord ....

Hi all ... it's been almost 2 years since I've posted, but... in trying to catch up on Drum Corps after an illness/two surgeries.. I've watched several shows from 2013-2014 over & over and see now that SCV is now wearing dog tags... as far back as "I" can recall... maybe the early 90's? Phantom Regiment was possibly ( POSSIBLY ) the first to use Dog Tags for members/sections. Also, DCA corps are now using them, such as Buccaneers.... Was PR the 1st corps to start this tradition? And how ironic that former Phantom staff are now in CA with SVC and they too are now adorned with dog tags too ... I know, ( I am boased ) but seems kinda like corps identity theft... help me out here PRR alumni & staff..... were they ( Regiment ) the 1st to wear them, and, symbolically leave ONE of the 2 on the field at finals night? I saw this personally in the 90's and early 2000's....

I agree ... brass has to 'meld' with the battery as a whole ensemble unit -- hasn't been that way the past 3 years. One, they need a 'draw' -- someone with a good track record to attrack talent & KEEP IT! (future MM's & tech staff) Will others in DCI instructor positions 'want to leave' where they may be currently to head over to Regiment to try and cure all their ills? I highly doubt it -- NOT without a hefty price tag attached. They may have to shell out big $$$ for a name to write 2014 & beyonds percussion, and, additional $$ for others to teach it! I truly thought, that when Rennick & Shaw as well as jamey Thompson teamed up in 2006... I was like: "They FINALLY have got some good name talent that may stick around a while" It did for a while. Well, Jamey went with other corps, Shaw & Rennick stayed till 2010 and that was that .... I hate to think of what will happen in Rockford, but, it's painfully evident that what is/who is in place now may not be the best for what PR needs (or wants). As others have pointed out, Brass, is not far behind percussion in need of improvement. 2012 score/brass book was already written before Don Hill went to PR, and since then, the writting at times is disjointed and either one volume or very piecemeal. take this year... the pieces did not seem to fit together IMHO. ( SEE: http://livingattheopera.com/blog/2012/07/22/a-musical-marriage-made-in-the-heavens-phantom-regiment-drum-and-bugle-corps-and-giacomo-puccinis-opera-turandot/ ) If "I" were in the upper eschelon of Regiment's Board, I may have to decide who to keep, and who not to. Keep Gains & Thompson and put out the 'in search of sign...' for percussion and brass... it's a sad scenarion, but kids march where they want to, for the music, instructors they want to be taught by and play. Easy to surmize... no abundance of talent showing up in Rockford, no congruent staff & teaching from year to year.... may signal trouble on the horizon

I WOULD LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to see Jeff Prosperie take the reins again! Hmmmm... Lee Beddis? He wroe that great 96 book... but, everyone knows, Regiment hierarchy is a tough sell, and it is often one way and that is it. I ope (no, I PRAY as a PR homer) that they look at this really intently in the off season.. and look at the WHOLE picture! They have a distinct identity to uphold and traditions just as strong -- and having a staff member formerly associated would certainly help! Once they figure out the direction of the percussion section .... PLEASE PLEASE, PLEASE rethink the brass strategy!

As an instructor (keyboard & brass -- NOT with a drum corps but with orchestra's and private students) I have to ask what type of talent is Phantom recruiting? Meaning, those drummers who want to march Phantom and not play as well as others (DCI corps ) just to fill the line? Or, those with extreme skills, that want to march Phantom because of it's traditions, history, music selection etc or -- as in the past 3 years a caption head who has vast knowledge experience as an indoor instructor, attempting to write for a HUGELY competetive DCI genre and isn't ensuring said 'talent' meets the rquirements of the book written? It happens .... To me, not being a percussionist, it (the past 3 yrs ) doesn't seem to flow with the music (and that is a whole different story - or cause for concern) -- unlike Rennick's writting, (both Sandy & Paul ) it was smooth, integrated and flowed with and throughout the brass parts. Not so with Shane's writting .... is it as it's been mentioned because the tech staff has changed, teaching styles vary and that could be another key point as well. Are the instructors teaching the SAME THING the SAME WAY? Students like adults, learn in various ways & speeds.. but if the talent is not there to begin with ... it may to be to no avail! I have watched alot of videos (I know that says nothing s far as the teaching skills of those tech's or Shane's ability to write a good book ) and there are some good parts here & there ... but the pit seems (to me) have they're own thing, and the line theirs -- at times it doesn't even seem to fit. In the competetive nature of DCI, IT HAS TO! That is part of the judging criteria Yes there will be staff turnover, there will be new kids at camp next year... new book to write, but I just don't think Phantom has gotten better in the last 3 years... they have, as scores/sheets will show either been stagnant... or, gotten worse How does an organization fix this? You (Phantom) will never get the Rennick's back... Marty Hurley is sadly gone ... BUT you can go out an seek a student of theirs (Rennick, Hurley etc) that will teach what is obviously working in DCI right now and that is having a great drumline/pit, year in and year out. What I see with Vanguard is the same CONSISTANT, CONSICE, TECHNIQUE and flow from pit to line to ensemble and it WORKS! I haven't heard that w/Regiment since 2010. SCV this year sounded GORGEOUS! And... hey... Regiment..... like others have pointed out... Rennick (or whomever) can be paid to write a book even tho he isn't on staff a Caption Head ... and others paid to teach it, but keep in mind those paid to teach it better be up to the challenge of playing it themselves as it was written and teaching it consistantly! having the same staff with teaching ideals that are the same is what makes that even more valuable. I think Shane is a great guy with mounds of technical skills and prowess when it comes to indoor percussion... but DCI, maybe not. Only the "Powers That Be" at Regiment are able to assess his skills and his work to date. Sadly, it hasn't given them anything to really say "We know it was the right thing".