Jeff Ream

it's all in how you word your issues. i have lodged complaints about both new and old, and except for 2/3 troll like posters, no one complains because i use facts to bolster my arguments, as opposed to coming out and just saying "drum corps blah blah year sucks". if you state your case with facts and examples, you'll get a receptive audience. if you post like a hater, regardless of your generation of preference, you'll be fine

no, because sometimes they do bring up some good points and convesation.

yeah yeah call me a hypocrite you amp lovers :P...i went to Allentown. My former band program, all 37 kids of them had 2 kids on the field Friday and a good friend who i promised on Saturday night. i saw some things i liked, some i didn't. i wont pull punches, but i wont be blatantly insulting. having not been to a DCI event in 2 years, i noticed some changed that weren't apparent on the dvd's. one was nobody was loud except for amped keyboards. Crown and Bayonne had the 2 loudest hornlines of the night. is everyone too afraid to let loose, or is safe the new way to go? seems like everyone had the dynamics levels (or lack of) that Cavies 02 had. next....why does every drum feature look like WGI's greatest gimmicks? you start with one snare playing really closed rolls, then a pod of 2, then builds to the whole line...yada yada. i mean 70 of the lines did this, and 85% of those everytime they did this gimmick had dirt in the trasnitions adding in the players. Hop was right...there is stifled creativity. time for new creators. if you have a sound guy, and you arent on the phone or walkie talkie with someone upstairs, what is the point of trying to adjust from 5 yards away. you arent getting the true picture there. and for you sound guys on the phone, some of you need new people up top, cause the mix was still bad. 3rd...I Love JBC for it's history. but it's traffic flow is worse since the redesign, with the city being a pain in the ### about parking, and the upper deck mess....it's time to go. UPenn isnt that anser, parkings worse. Linc may be an answer, but the Iggles dont give that away for free, and prices will be Bostonian. you want to fix the upper deck? easy. rip the whole existing thing out. rip the hill out and make it all concrete..larger walkway, and put a new concrete structure in for the upper deck...add some concession space undeneath or at least bathrooms to alleivate congestion. the traffic flow is worse than ever since the rebuild. onto the corps: Jubal..due to extremely slow lines getting water, i missed you. you sounded good from the side tho. Pioneer. nice show, tho lots of dirt. feet out of time at this time of the year is inexcusable. snares dominating the sound. really, a lot of dirt. not written over their heads either. just...eh. D2 may be an option to explore til you can get bodies to balance it out Esperanza: corps carries themselves well, but the show just never went anywhere. it seems the design has moments that are built in, so either the corps isnt hitting them, or the staff is telling them to hold back. Magic: i liked this show! drumline has come a long way from horror stories i had heard about( nice job Murph). brass has dirt. liked the groove in Pie Jesu. i have read many say the show is over written, and except for the percussion that's true. i think it's a good place to build on, and keeping Murph and DA around will help...they know corps. loved all the purple. Murph thanks for getting "the lick" in there at the end! Madarins.....show to me was an indoor drumline show with brass playing once in a while. drumline got the groove stuff down, but the brass didn't feel it. IMo, showed mosly bored me. Cap Reg. a well written showwith design issues everywhere. i totally got the themes you wanted portrayed, and you didnt need to speak it which was better. if they had performance levels up to design levels, this is a finalist hunting show. ####, if they can clean a lot this week, they could really ruin Xmen's season. Blue Stars: welcome back to D1!!! Rachael dear....sorry i didnt get to see you. you looked great out there! i liked this show except for the narration. too loud, and covered up some wonderful backfield playing. in fact in the opening, as the corps got louder, so did the narrator, which, IMo was a shame. pit too loud too. i do like the music build up in the bgeinning, but the reading of the Constituion ruined it. strong brass sound at the hit. a very pretty ballad, minus the speaking...very touching and moving. excellent use of the red white and blue, and it worked against the guards pastel uniforms. build up to the closer again ruined by narration. however the show finishes very strong. quite honestly,, you take the narration out of this show, clean up the drumline, and you have a corps that should be beating Colts and maybe nipping at Spirit's heels. Colts: I liked the colors playing off each other with the guard to the corps, but other than As Time Goes Bye...a well done ballad...nothing sticks out. this show seems like it had great intentions, but they aren't being realized. I can't see this show in finals. Glassmen: i am biased...i have a former student in their pit ( nice touch bringing Excalibur out Mike). nice strong opening for the most famous of all beethoven licks. some nice humorous touches thrown in which the crowd liked. brass had a nice sound and the volume here was well done. i was expecting a safer sound given the material, but they let me have it. best percussion since probably 99. very well scored in the pit...didnt overpower me with their mixing. ballad very well done, and the impact came across really well. liked the waltz like section. strong start to the 9th portion of the show. in fact, the whole section worked well. IMO, this show should be scoring higher. well written, and performance, IMO is higher than the numbers indicate. Boston: some amp balance issues but another show I liked. my only issue is at the end...the cathedral windows are out on the 50, and then just sit there forever and they seem to do nothing but seperate the corps from itself. I fully expected more visual interplay with them. whole intro section worked well, but needed more volume. percussion scored very well, and performance was extremely well done in spots. ballad was ok, but it left me wanting more. drum break coming out of it was very cool and played well....and i dug the Conquest hits, but the crowd today if they havent seen em, dont expect em, and dont give you that Conqyest reaction we';re used to. I miss that. loved the solo sop playing the Conquest melody...verycool, but again, crowd doesnt seem to get it...in Allentown of all places. I remember the crowd doing practice Conquest reps as the corps came on the field for god's sake! ending was nice, but like i said before...the field was too split by the props, and one wasnt sure where to look. did catch some little conquest moments as the corps faded out which was nice. Cadets: wow. just wow. and not a good wow. there is so much fouce on the characters and props and amps popping youforget at times a corps is out there. last years show was unpopular to many, but the corps was ###### good. this year, performance seems to take 2nd place to the crap. i know the story line, but the music to me didnt convey Alice in Wonderland. pit was amped way too loud. lots of amp popping...has to be the wireless mics. schoolgirls in the beginning staged poorly...can barely see them as they run to the door. opening narrator not as loud as she should be. and...i cant believe this...i saw people out of step a week before finals!!! i did lick the sop lick at the end of the opener...that was cool. actually got some volume before it faded out. drumline section is well done musically. talking over the pit groove sucks...cant hear the pit...basses very well done...pit also plays well....then..well, it seems like )) again with all the tradeoffs, or a WGI show from recent years. split rool and toss is cool. tenors also did well. however as the full line comes back into ram...people are jumping off of tables?? WTF? it's a drum solo by one of the best lines in the world and people are jumping off of tables.....hello...pick something to focus on?? tell me how the jumping helps the visual package? great ballad....except for her. she's too loud, and drowns out the hornline which is playing some really nice stuff. at the push she drowned em out. too much. didnt like the percussion transition out of it...needed more space to let the ballad truly die out. did like the closer musially, but the mirror image gimmick needs cleaned...the girl in the bix seemed to go at it at half speed...timing was clearly off to her and Alice. IF the timing is cleaned, it's a nice gimmick. however the school girl looked like she was going thru the motions. this week, they need to clean the performance aspects. that's what;'s killing them. oh, and they need to learn how to amp. seeing George yell at the sound guy on track isn't pretty. this show, IMO is 6th place, and IMO, has Crown nipping at it's heels. overwritten. too much #### focused on, not enough on performing. and, costuming...please....not every costume is for everyone. why you'd put a kid in the position to be mocked like we've seen all summer is disgusting. and...the crowd did not throw babies at this show. i was expecting, being in Allentown, a roar of 27th alumni proportions...not even close. Phantom.....in my life, i thought i'd never see Phantom contend for drums. folks, IMO, it's theirs to lose. Opening statement to me is jarring as it should be, but needs more volume. all those contras and I didnt feel them once. Scythian was well done, and a nice update from 84. very well integrated musically to visually, and they max out the impacts well, tho more volume could make it better. sop run was very clean. scary clean. loved the mello moment leading up to the ending, but the ending felt a touch flat. very nice warm low sound in the beginning of the ballad. Faust storyline very easy to get even if you dont know it by heart. the build to the hit was smooth and needs more volume, to max out the impact. well designed, just a tad safe sounding. drum break was so crystal clean...what ensemble demand front to back. brass re-entry worked and lined up well with the percussion. the push to the finales was pure Phantom low brass sound, and the big push at the end was as Phantom as it gets...which then led to pure Phantom visual moments...the leg kick halt....the spin, the wedge you name it. this show right now is solid 3rd, but it has 96 upset potential.they arent that far behind, and judging this year is unpredictable. i rule nothing out. Cavies.....go Jesse Young, my other former student and only rookie to get weapons time. kick ### robotic salute. folks this show is it. the attention to detail and visually bringing the machine stuff to life is done scary well. evern percussively they do a great job making it happen and creating sounds. granted brass hit at the beginning needs more power, but the perc scoring is great. line was dumped early, but that old Cassella magic is catching on. corps marches unline no other...i mean form readability is scary good. loved the whole machine thing at the beginning of the next tune...you have to see it to truly appreciate it...the pit scoring here works so well with the visual. the 'jazzy" section works, as the corps has good feel. yeah new pit staff, but the scoring is good...only somplaint is metallics were amped a bit to high. loved the "stuck" section with the sops. loved the screamers with the bass run underneath. ballad was pure cavies...pit scoring reminded me of the past. hit could use more voulme, but then again, every cavies show since 02 could. perc break starts out the next tune with a cool groove and nice use of the woods. the perc break is close..backsticking, singles...ballsy drumming. IMO if Cavies clean the line up, this show is theirs to lose. the whole closer was just phenomonal, tho i think the ending needs more vlume to truly max it out. seriously...i have been very critical of this corps since 2002. this show blows them all away. music to visual, all the gimmicks work....clearly, their best show ever. this show has true 99 potential. barring a miraculous rise by another corps, they peak, or fall apart, green wins again. Bucs....noticed some new stuff in there, and it needs to be cleaned up a bit. corps seemed a little flat...not used to daytime performances, and it shows. still, at least as good as lewisburg, tho i wanted a little more since it was 2 weeks later. any DCI fan that's into drumming had to love this drum book, and i detected more bassline notes in new places...very cool. guard is starting to really gel...now it's up to the horns. to date, of everyone I have seen in DCA, this is the cream of the crop, and i am dying to see this show at the end with everything falling into place. PC: first time to see live...what presence! they look huge because of how they carry themselves, and, IMO, they march better than their numbers show. nice job with the City of Angles show. all the drum breaks to me looked like WGI ripoffs which wastiring after a while. i personally had them higher. a fun show i wouldnt get a hot dog in if i went to madison. Seattle....i got the show without narration. in fact, narration was a distraction. it was every bad and poorly designed band show we've mocked. the fans arent dummies, and visually and musically, you tell what we need to get without the talking. I had PC over them with room. Southwind...i get the idea visually and musically. however the same themse get played for like 8 minutes, then the ballad, then the other stuff. I heard the Holsinger mello lick less when cadets played the piece. lots of dirt..brass, perc, feet. in theory nice idea, but needed to be fleshed out more Crossmen....pains me to say this but i liked the idea until a moment i'll get into. musically the corps seems to suffer from all the shifts of styles in 11 minutes. the "dj's" need to sound more like radio personalities....they sound too much like kids. also all vocals way too loud. Chez's influence on the sops shows. perc has a lot of dirt. the ending of the opener sounded like every Metheny ending in Crossmen past, which would be cool, but the corps doesnt have the horses to pull it off. traffic guy thing was cool. some ensemble phasing in the latin section....cant hear the college band thing over the announcer, but nice to hear PSU win...doubt that score will stay next week :P Born to be Wild was a letdown. musically it needed so much more power and they didn't have it. the jam section was very square and Steppenwolf was far from square. now...here's where they lost me. THEY HAVE A ####### MELLO SOLO STARTING THE BALLAD AND YOU CANT HEAR THE KID PLAY BECAUSE OF NARRATION! Why???? i that kids has busted their ### all season to nail that solo, only to be covered up by someone trying to sound like Rick Dees. that's assinine. the shame of it is, the ballad is truly gorgeous...love the flags...but the whole beginning is ruined by this stupid programming glitch. the ending music doesnt fit at all. a nice idea that ends poorly and has a solo ruined. IMO, this isn't finalist caliber. in fact, it could be as low as 16th. Spirit: i was told the horn line was loud as ####. maybe, but not on this night. i wanted more SPIRIT, but it didnt happen. that said, i like the show. Ole Man River/Ole Black Magic stuff works well. pit was fabulous...well scored, perfect amp balance. the tune worked well, but the ending was flat. i liked the set up into the ballad, and the duet worked well. i did feel the ballad needed more oomph tho. transition out of ballad seemed a tad iffy and didnt settle in to the resolution. sops did a nice job in Mushroom hunter of catching the feel...and maybe I had Maidon 84 too much in my head, but i really wanted this hornline to throw down and they didn't. Blues started out really cool with a down and dirty bari solo and nice pit vamping. However when the full corps entered...eh....PLAY LOUDER! the transition into Blue shades seemd a little touchy but they recovered well. the arrangeent worked, but brokwn record here...needed more power. nice restatement of ole man river leading up to the ending Madison: kinda odd build to the pit run in the opener, but the hit was nice. from there, eh, the song didnt do much for me til the big ensemble moment . rest f tune did nothing, tho they played well. really enjoyed the ballad. best drumline they have had since about 92. their version of the Danza finale left me eh. maybe if they found FFF it may work. Ending took too long to build to. uniforms are bland. show needs more Madison oomph...they sound like everyone else BK....got to be honest. they played well, and moved well and seemed to have a fire in their guts. but they bored me to tears and i cant remember a single thing about them other than the extended pit feature which was very good.. show lost me. Crown...loved the opening build to the hit. finally a hornline with power. loved the drum groove in the 2nd tune. the cream and purple worked really well, and i liked the rotating circles to create that trance effect. if the drums had been purple it would have worked that much better. really nice ballad, very pretty. loved the closer as well. truly, one of the shows from the weekend i could watch and listen to over and over and over. SCV...loved the in your face opening statement, but it needs more volume especially at the end. Visually i get the show...you dont need a PHD to catch that, other than Mr. Moto, someone is always moving...example is the cymbals at the end of the opener. nice job with the jazz section, kids did a really great job feeling the peice, and it's one of my favorite arrangemnts by Key. now again, tuen up the #### volume.very strong drum solo. loved the build to the end...very well done, faked the crowd out for the down ending which works incredibly well as they go backfield. IMO, this is top 5 material. Bluecoats...liked how the pit started and the corps followed before the salute. the backfield build to the turn and hit was well done, but needed more volume. marimbas were amped too loud. corps feels the jazz well, and had some nice upper sop work. dug the steel drums, and the drumline is fantastic...2nd best of the weekend. 4 basses? wow. missing one? the whole show just works. everything makes sense...i see what i hear. drill flows well. guard seems to be getting the shaft....maybe Hershman needs a blog that he can whine about numbers on. only thing i didnt like was the breathing...sounded like darth Vader IMO, 4th place at finals. BD: I'm a mob buff, and they delivered. all the touches with the chair and roses, the horse and fish flags...i hate narration and even I would have been ###### if they didnt do the "offer you cant refuse" line...tho the speaker needs to sound more like brando and not nicholson with a sore throat. loved the gunfire stuff from the snares in the opening. some nicely written drum stuff in between the WGi gimmicks, but it did have some dirt. when they did the big hit in the opener, good god, i wanted it loud...and i got maybe forte. that lick screams BD FFFF of old. best pit sound via amps of the weekend. at times tho, it did come across as the usual BD snippets of melody syndrome from the past few years, but nowhere as bad as the last few years. the jazzy section came across well, but again, needed more volume. did the love section with the overlapping themes from I and II. luckily, nothing from III made it in that I could tell :P loved the ending, however...it needed to be louder. this corps moves well, and plays well. the stripe has to go. overall, a solid corps, but unless they clean some drum stuff and find an extra level of volume, this is 2nd place. they're close, but with more cleaning,Cavies will be tough Welcome back My Friends, To The Show that we hope never ends...THE BRIDGEMEN! it's been a long time since i saw those raincoats come up that hill. in fact, i was 18 the last time. god the goosebumps. i felt like a giddy HS kid. loved the whole guy running on the field and falling on the drum bit. nice to see the drum carried off on a stretcher :P crowd totally fell for it at first too...they thought the guy really bit it :P corps passing out at the salute was great. pure Bayonne. Pagliacci opener was great...such power and what a sop line! did sound a bit harsh at one spot, but hey, they're old now :P great transition into Land of Make Believe...and ####, i am playing along...parts off the albums...and yes, i do mean albums! guard was too much in the back, but it was pure Bayonne work, and they had a nice rifle line. crowd clapped along and the drums grooved well....and again, what a sop line. had the down and dirty hit into the sop duet which sounded as good as it did in 76. My Fave Things...the Kerchner version thats been done by everyone...#### i played it in HS...but no one does it like Bayonne. this led to the drum solo...roto toms and all. yeah it had some dirt, but some of those licsk were pure 82 and 83 and worked well bringing back the hornline for the park and blow. (next year do Black Market please) song ended very strong and showed that these guys can still wail. oh...Summer of 42...oh god...so pretty. oh so very pretty. 77 wasnt that pretty guys. loved the brief snippet of "No bannanas". next year do the drum solo version. it was cool..you expected in the stone ( especially bottom bass). transition...classic. folks..they yelled transition, and ran to a new formation. so pure Bayonne. then..In The Stone. full crowd clap along. full groove. 80/81 drum parts. i mean it was off the album good. great power in the extended hold at the end of the tune. crowd loved you, and so did i. anyone who got up and left cause "oh god an alumni corps....you so dont know what you missed. then the corps came up on the track for William Tell whichagain was loud as #### and fun! corps then ran to the end zone and did an improv battle Hymn...only thing missing was a company front on their knees. thank you so much Bridgemen for reminding fans of the past, doing it well, and being worth the price of admission entirely. yeah, i'm a homer for the yellow raincoats...have been since 1976...and i always will be. someday, maybe, if you and my lets me, i'd be honored to wear one of them for a show. even better...my wife never had the chance to see you live. Now, she gets Bayonne. and you made a new fan forever. will i go back? I dunno. if Cadets and Xmen are the future of DCI, no. there was some really good stuff out there. a lot of corps need to learn to blend and balance their pits better. every show that had narration, IMO, was worse because of it. and JBC sucks as a facility anymore.

and again, i have seen better prop design in TOB :P

i agree, it isn't all DCI's fault, but they dont deserve absolution. if over the years they pushed D2/3 and 3 like they pushed the top of D1, i think there'd be more corps. also, if they created the regional touring model ten years ago, we'd still see some old faces out there.

never happen. #### JoePa wont even let the Blue band on the field when it's wet.

only up high tho. really, outside the 20's, only the top rows had any sizeable amopunts of people

i got 4 other corps to do. i wrote you guys first :P

Tom? Fred? I know any way i do it wont sound right, and i suck at math :P

which is why ge needs averaged less and GE more. well said Adam.

one thing i did see this week was many corps putting in little touches into their shows honoring the past. that was most cool.

Tournament of Bands...a circuit with members in PA, NJ, MD, DE, VA, WV and Ohio.

i agree. i wont name names, but one corps director who wasnt pleased not only yelled at the guy, but then went over and got involved.

doesnt matter. even if there are drops, it can be perfect....just hope an ambulance isnt needed.

or, the judges start too high and box themselves out, with only 10's to give

a judges first job is to rank. then they rate. so yes, spreads may not always line up as people want them to

best Cavies show since...ever. blows 02 away in my opinion.

they did it in the past....they could do it again. it has to be taught from day one.

Madisons show has potential...if it sounded like the Madison we all know and love. but they don't. the key is they don't sound special or unique...they sound like everyone else

or maybe BD just was on tonight and Cavies weren't. it will all wash out this week. really, there isn;t a lot seperating the two.

I dunno, i think other small corps who live on a shoestring should be aware of potential issues if they too get burned on a bus issue that basically breaks the bank

yeah this is a DCi forum question.

i was redoing a kitchen and mowing a lawn from #### :P

did you guys get fined for pulling out of the shows? if you're broke, that only makes things worse.

didnt they go junior the first year after it wasnt all DCA...DCI is less ready in late June early July than DCA is usually