Orange Roughy

I'm Orange Roughy, and I endorse this post.

I'll add one more to my original list, if only because I can't stop listening to it this morning: 4) Best use of a major scale in 2006 goes to... Phantom Regiment. I'm not sure if it's in the original Ave Maria (by Biebl, right?), but near the end of the ballad, that beautiful, chocolate bathing ballad, the hornline re-enters with a major scale, followed by another. Never in my life have I been more entranced by whole steps.

Thanks for the lesson, Professor McNerdypants. :P Yes, elastic is probably the correct description, but I'm gonna stick with magnetic for two reasons: 1) Magnetic fits with the show 2) Elastic makes me think of underwear.

1. The Cavies "magnetic" drill. If you've seen the show, you know what I'm talking about. The guard is "warping" the box, stretching it and pulling it. Darn cool. Fits the concept, wows the crowd, and will look amazing on the DVDs. More great stuff from MG. 2. The brief duet with the soprano and the contra (er, trumpet and tuba) about 4.5 minutes into the Bluecoats show. Darn cool. I enjoyed it on the APD, but then seeing it in Normal made it cooler. The entire corps quickly "genuflects" to them during this part, making it appear like, well, like there's a spotlight on them (I'm not kidding - I glanced up above the press box afterwards to see if they had snuck in a spotlight). Well done, Bluecoats. 3. The rock-hip/hop beat about 2/3rds of the way through Crowns program. It only lasts 15 seconds, but it takes a very dark Danielpour chart and transitions in and out of the beat perfectly. Darn cool. Very Niagra Falls-esque. I can't listen to it without bobbing my head. Good stuff.

My take: Just like 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004 , it's a two horse race between BD and Cavies. (sigh) I don't think the Cadets have something that could overtake them. Love PR and Bloo this year, but I'm too cynical to think that they could actually beat Concord or Rosemont. As for 12th, my money is on the Colts. I saw them in Normal, and I thought the show was outstanding. Being a drummer and not a guard guy, I usually don't pay much attention to guards. But the Colts guard stuck out to me like the 2005 Bloo guard did or the 2003 Crown guard - that was some good stuff. I can see the red team pushing Glassmen for 11th. Here's my predicted order of finish: 1. Cavies 2. BD 3. Phantom 4. Cadets 5. Bluecoats 6. Crown 7. SCV 8. Madison 9. BAC 10. Blue Knights 11. Colts 12. Glassmen 13. Spirit 14. Crossmen 15. Blue Stars 16. Capital Reg 17. PC 18. Southwind 19. Mandarins 20. Cascades 21. Esperanza 22. Magic 23. Pioneer

FINALLY got it to work....now listening to Blue Devils.... They included F Tuning! Suh-weeeeeet!!!!!

Not me. This discussion starts and ends with Cadets 98.

I was in line for tickets last year in Normal, and when the guy in front of me reached the ticket window, he starts screaming "Twenty Dollars? TWENTY DOLLARS?? To see the show??? NO WAY IN **** am I paying $20!!" He grabs his wife's hand and stomps off. I chuckled, gladly slapped down $100 for 5 tickets, and went in to see an outstanding show. I mean, the guy gets home from work, changes clothes, gets in the car, drives all the way to the stadium (who knows how far), waits in a long line for tickets, and THEN decides that he needs to make a vocal protest? What were his thoughts as he walked to his car to see the stands 95% full with thousands of people who gladly paid $20 per ticket? Supply and demand, pal. If more than 5,000 people decided that $20 was a fair price, don't you think you're "what's something worth?" meter might need recalibration? I recently paid $228 for six tickets to a Cardinal baseball game - outfield seats. I'd gladly pay that much or more to see a drum corps show. And i'm no rich man. On a tight budget, I once drove 11 hours round trip to see SCV 2004 because that was the closest Sheherezade came to my house. It was worth every minute and every penny.

This is a two part question: With Arizona Academy rockin' and rollin' this season, I think it's safe to say that they have a great chance to win D-II at their first-ever finals. And if that's the case... 1) Can they win D-II, declare their intentions to move to D-I next year, and have a shot to make finals, such as Magic did in 2002? Or did they change the rules so that no D-II corps can compete at Semifinals for a shot at Finals? 2) Does Academy intend to go D-1 in 2007? 2008? Anyone know?

I shoulda been the 6th snare with Star in 1990.

Well, mark me down for Phantom then....

Who is building the stadium? Because if it's Hunt Construction (they build the majority of sports stadiums), it will be finished on time. They are OBSESSED with completing construction on time for stadiums to open, even if they have to pay the workers triple overtime to work through the night. For the new St. Louis baseball stadium, the original plan was for the outfield seats in left field (the area where the old Busch Stadium sat) to not be open until the beginning of the 2007 season, seeing as the old stadium could not be town down until late October 2005. At the time, the Cardinals said that there was a slight chance that the seats would be open for the very end of the 2006 season. They will be open on May 29th.

Usually, when I read these polls, I have to think about it... "hmmm - that's so hard - so many choices..." On this one, there is no dispute in my mind. 2002 Seattle Cascades.

No love for 1990? If nothing else, you should buy 1990 just to watch the Star staff go freakin' nuts down front at the end of the opener.

My listening experience over the last 3 minutes. Sounds cool....wonder what staging they will use for all of these silent parts....hmmmm, sounds like a Canadian Brass song I've heard....wow really liking this....oohh, LOVE that chord right there....wait, is this last year's ending?....WTF?? They're playing last year's "Medea into Twilight Zone" ending AGAIN?....What was that? - cranking up each phrase of the twilight zone a half-step??....That's it - Bo and Hop are officially mad.

First off, I don't understand why I received a "for our donors first" e-mail from Hoppy, but I did. I bought a Crossmen t-shirt online a few years ago - maybe that qualifies me. Second, I'm in the "amps are OK so I can hear my boyz in the pit, but don't yell yowza" crowd. Third, I really liked the clip. I'm predicting chills in Madison come August. Very Braveheart-y.

Maybe this has been discussed, but I was all "Saywhaaaa??" Stuart Shulman, SCV drum major for the last 382 years, joins RV on the Phantom staff? I mean, good for him and all, but am I the only one surprised that the face of SCV for the past 5 years immediately joins his old director in Rockford? You would think they would have at least found room for him in Santa Clara, especially with the staff turnover. I know that age-outs jump on any chance they have to join a staff, but geez. He bleeds red and green, and now he gets to be part of the black, white, or red debate. Here's the story

Absolutely. Gives me chills even on the 800th listen.After posting that, I had to go back and listen to it 3 times. I can't even begin to calculate how many times I have rewinded my CD player to the 6:47 mark so I could listen to it again, and again, and again...

Lists are for the hesitant and irresolute. There is only one answer to this question: Cadets 1998 Nothing even comes close.

*scratches BD off of "buy stuff from their souvie trailer at finals" list*

Here's one vote for black

Both Glassmen and Spirit did October in 2003. Both were outstanding.

See, that's what I love about this board. People go on record theorizing about how things went down, and then the arranger/designer shows up and sets everyone straight. Thanks Key - in my book, you write the best horn book in drum corps. If only this happened in other places in life. Like you and your buddies sitting around claiming that Roger Clemens has lost some pop and that you could easily hit his fastball - and then Clemens chiming in from the booth next you.....

What would it take for them to pull an '02 Magic and make DI finals as a DII corps? Do they have to declare that they will be DI in 07? (which they are not planning on doing) Can you even "declare DI and play DI Semis" any more with the new rules? Given their product the last two years, I'd like to see the Vegas odds on them winning DII. Probably something like 13:12...