Medeabrass

Like my new friend El Guapo said, I would like to let things soak in a little more before reflecting on the magnificence of this past week for me. I don't know why I hesitate to share this, but a few things really struck me at our banquet on Saturday. First, was Jim Mason fighting back tears as he relayed a story of how he had to help a member to his starting set because he was crying and in pain after an audience member had pelted him in the eye with a quarter. Bill Cook mentioned some things about the '92 show that brought back a hilarious memory for me from that year. We were forming up our victory arc when some chick from the audience yelled out "play something we know!" Not that we played the Star Spangled Banner or America the Beautiful straight up, but it doesn't take a musical genius to recognize the "variations" on these pieces. Lastly, one of my other new friends relayed to me how she witnessed another midwestern corps urinating on the bus she was sitting in. It's not any one particular event that colored how the membership and staff felt, but the collective of all of these disrespectful actions and remarks over time. At that moment in that banquet hall, I had a catharsis and finally forgave Mr. Mason for removing my beloved corps from the field. I had finally gained some understanding and insight into his psyche at the point the decision was made. It pains me greatly, I still don't agree 100%, and I definitely wished we had said "eff it" and stuck around just to p.o. all the haters and reward our supporters, but at least I can relate, empathize, and understand the "why." Honestly, I never knew exactly how bad it got at times and how it must have burdened Jim to keep putting kids out there in a position to be treated that way. As he said later, Friday was validation and vindication and went very far to help us put these ugly moments to rest finally. Thank you to everyone in the audience who loved what we did and cheered us on...it was greatly appreciated...I would also like to thank those in the audience who hated us but managed to keep your mouths shut. I enjoyed pi***ng you off too. To my Star brethren, I love you guys and hope we can get together again soon!!! Ben Floyd

I like the variety and uncommon keys as well (or atleast what I interpret to be uncommon...maybe I just relate dissonance to uncommon lol)...Anyway, even though I majored in music for a year and stumbled my way through a couple of semesters of music theory, I'm looking at you with the same dumbfounded look people at work use on me when they force me to explain to them the technicalities of the IT work I'm doing for them lol ...I really want to understand, but I don't. Edit: I listened to the coats last night for the first time and was blown away by the variety and the sounds that I've never heard before. Especially the split parts from the contras. Their low brass just blew me away. I can't wait to hear them in Indy.

Well said sergeant...I thought the OP had a great review and these comments almost seemed like they were made by someone else...a drum corp neophyte actually. I'm not usually this blatant in my criticisms, but what a stupid comment from the OP. You just totally missed the boat there buddy. Seriously, the tradition and military bearing is something I'm so glad they are hanging on to. We need this "relic" to stay as is so that we have an "in the flesh" reminder of where we came from. I for one think that DCI is privileged that the Marines would even think about performing at any of our shows especially one thats not finals night. Jim, your dci corps provided the very tools that every show since then has been constructed with. Breath-dah and Ooh-Rah to you serge.

Be sure the children have their helmets on before they leave the house. CPS is cracking down on this.

I've only seen crown in the lot in Houston this year but let me tell you, when they invited me inside their warmup circle it was unequivocally the loudest DCI moment I have EVER experienced...and I've been inside their brass arcs for many many hours in the past and have never even heard them approach this volume level. On top of that, the things they are accomplishing musically (the attention to detail, the flat out hard azz parts from contras all the way up) is just mind blowing to me. They are achieving and pulling off stuff that we at Star could only dream of IMO. Yes I am very biased as they are one of my adopted home teams, but I just don't understand how they could possibly be placing any lower than 2nd in brass. Granted, I haven't heard them on the field yet so maybe they are having problems pulling it off on the move. It also occurred to me that brass lines in general are just that good these days and it's easy to get passed by if you have even the slightest performance issues. Maybe it's a good thing they are placing so low in brass...it gives them a lot of room for improvement by finals. Anybody else who's seen them live on the field care to chime in on this?

Exactly...you're just saying the staff's "How" not their "What" will be star-like...how they manage the process of design...how they marry and cater the design to the anticipated talent for any given year. I don't anticipate seeing anything that's like Star from a style perspective.

Sarcasm? I guess I'm missing something here but why are they not rehearsing?

Yep...I thought they stopped doing the "intrigue" thing awhile back but I guess not.

Black hides dirt in the feet the same way that black hides fat on the hips. It won't cover either up completely but it gives the appearance of being better than it really is.

Nothing new...this stuff happens in sports too...especially basketball. Honestly, I don't see how someone's bias could be eliminated completely.

Strachan was from Madison? I always wondered what his background was. I suppose he followed Todd Ryan to Star. I always loved it when that scratchy-voiced gray beard would catch up with us for the last couple of weeks of the season.

hmmm...I can see Jim Prime approaching the horn arc now with his "manilla envelope of goodies."

Exactly. That would be a great question for another thread. Think about how much the sport of football has changed in the past 50 years. I would venture to guess that there have been fewer major rules changes in football during this period than drumcorps, and yet, the game has changed so much. I just don't see how you could stop the changes. I can hear folks now clamoring for less passing and more leather helmets ;) ...I actually heard someone on sports radio here in Houston say that, ironically, he thought the high school game is actually the driving force behind the move to spread offenses in the college game. ...food for thought.

Chances are a bunch of large apartment complexes opened near your school. It doesn't take long for a decent complex to turn trashy if the management sucks. It just takes one to bring down the property values and then they fall like dominoes.

Gang bangers in the 4th largest city in the U.S.? NO WAY!!! I know some dainty chicks who will offer you ample protection while mocking you for being such a puss. By the way, Cypress isn't in Houston so you don't have to worry about the schizophrenic neighborhood boundaries...there will be plenty of buffer between you and the ghetto there.

I just noticed something about the Bluestars uniforms in your pics that made me think how they might relate to Houdini (probably a stretch but look for your self). If you look at the thumbnails before expanding them, they look like torso-less ghosts...all you see is the white from shoulders up and it really looks like they're floating...like a genie or something.

Just curious...were they too old? Too young?

Sounds eerily similar to the effects the "death penalty" had on SMU football...never the same again.

Apology accepted ...and thanks.

Uhhh I think they pretty much kept the core nucleus of their staff in place for the first time in about a decade so I think that's a pretty good start actually. Also, isn't he serving more of an executive role, focusing more on the business operations and less on the design/direction of the show?

Well said...I think the majority of classical music that I like was introduced to me through drum corps...then, I'd go out and get a symphony recording of the work. I don't think I ever would've discovered my 2nd favorite song (Belshazzar's Feast) if it wasn't for DC.

A little insight on Madison's volume...and this is educated conjecture on my part because no one on staff has said anything to me that this is what they're doing, but I imagine the brass staff is holding them back a little at the beginning of the season until they prove they can play with balance, blend, and good tone quality. Once that's achieved, they'll start pushing for more...I would look for them to get significantly louder the last 1-2 weeks....long story short, they have to get the basics of the system down before opening it up.

I'd say the reverse of what the OP said is true. I think there's a little bit of a "you've gotta prove yourself before you get rewarded" thing. I think an "underdog" corps that has been down for awhile or maybe never been "elite" has to prove they're head and shoulders better than a corps who's performing right at their level just to tie that corps.

I think the back of the H-town 1st deck has a much better vantage point than the same spot in SA (i've sat in the same place in both stadiums) and in Houston, you get addition by subtraction: NO STUPID ROOF! You're also closer to the performers in Houston or atleast that's how it felt to me. The sound between the two is not (forgive the pun but I've been on a roll lately) even "in the same ballpark."..not even the same sport...did I mention I hate domes for drum corps? H-town is just an a fantastic venue any way you cut it... I wonder if it's as fun to play in for the performers as it is for the audience to watch there.

Give the kid a break he just finished his first semester of music theory ...he's excited!