Jeff Ream

i have one of Shore if i can figure out out how to get it on here. unless you tell me to send it to you and you post it :P

by the way, if you thought we were close on stage, we were about 8 rows apart in the seats :P

We just need to teach him how to say "get funkaaaaayyyy" don't tempt me ^0^

I guess my brain was scrambled from hearing the full horn line that I thought the parts were new at the end. Still in awe two days after from the performance. so are we! you have to love a drumline that can take famous 85 Suncoast groove and make it fit America. actually, funny story. the 2nd half was mostly written on the fly, as we needed to know it that day, and we decided to throw in licks from the drum solo that needed clean(Suite For Jazz Orchestra from the 90 show), and 2 bars from the beat. hey it works :P

At one point this week, Steve Vickers contacted me...he may have needed a writer for DCW for last night at Serenade in Brass. Lucky for him, Mav showed up(great notes btw), but his normal writer, Adam Burdett was in Westshore's nass line w/me, so we decided if needed, we'd do a take off on Roger and Mitzi's colum he Said/She Said and create our own review. so here's my take and Adam, don't leave me hanging! first...ah, Serenade. I've been to every single one of them. This is like a major holiday in my house. Old friends, family, and once again, a great view from the stage. First non Westshore person I see is Frank Ponzo(he's quite a sight at 9:30 AM), and he has Mike Palmquist with him. That's a sure sign the day is off and running :P Rehearsal on stage went very well. Things were clicking. At that point i knew it'd be a fun night. at that point, we make a previously unscheduled stop to the Capital Steps to play America for a support the troops rally. We closed the rally, and the crowd loved us, even if we were called a band. And um, they forgot to turn the mikes behind the bass drums off. Oops :P Rehearsal in the afternoon was even better. GAME ON! pre show warmup...on "our" steps, the place we made the 1990 DCI video at. Old times came rushing back...how many times have i warmed up there now? not enough. huge crowd, lot of alumni watching, and a few of my students too. We nailed both warm-ups(hey, we dont wanna go too crazy ya know). basses smoked on Sobriseda and 6 on $ jammed. Showtime. Watching Hitmen back stage. great story about playing for their relase, props and all. 8 horns, 1 drummer, and a lot of fun. I just hope the rumors backstage of pending indictments for RICO offenses were false. great to see ya Faz! Next up: us. Westshoremen alumni. Place kinda packed, tho not as much as last year. As always, the view from the top riser is one of the best seats in the house. We get set, kick the street beat, and just watching ALL 62 horns come out on stage was awesome. We had 31 our first year. Do i hear 80 next year? Streetbeat was kickin. rolls locking, heads bobbing. it seemed like 1996 all over again. Larry introduces us, and Joys calls the corps to attention. America the Beautiful is up first.....wow, horns sound awesome. Drumline comes in, and oh yeah, we're grooving. Surf's up visual/audible cuts like knife, and the "lationo"section is a full out jam. (yes Adam, if you ask, i'll explain that other bass visual) Crowd reacts very well. can't go wrong with a patriotic tune at a standstill show. Explosion. First shot off the hi hat by the snares still resonates in my ears. basses and brass come in with walking 8th notes, and game on. Man that horn lin is loud! tune is smoking along, and then the coolest thing.....mid song, to set up the drum solo lead in, the basses have a run. We're the only thing playing. We nailed it, and the snare line gaveit up on stage....all i hear is "wooohoooo" from the glory boys. To top it off Pudge wails his lick....drum solo...oh yeah. snares hit the backsticking. rolls cutting like a knife. tenors wailing away, bass run nailed. big roll to end it...oh yeah. oh yeah. Horns come back in, and it's a full out stone cold groovejam. Snares thank you for the big roll...i know we nailed it. Singles fest at the end dead on, and we're one happy corps. then of course, Blues In The Night...our national anthem as it were. it hits. Sops are screaming, drums are blasting....Wilt again makes my ears hurt in a good way with the sop break....and boom, we're done! play the beat one last time, and the season is over and the crowd loved it. Ok i'm biased, but i did hear a lot of yelling! Next up...Bucs alumni. Unfortunately, i had to sing the corps song and load up, so I amissed you guys, Word has it you played well and entertained the crowd. From here I may go out of order, but i'll forget no one. Navy.....I understand you were missing some sops today. Those there did their brest...American Salute had very driving and energetic...great drum licks. (note...Cadet Aj Clay, tenor player, proud alumnus of Mechanicsburg HS. I knew him when he was a freshman and couldnt play and march at the same time. Aj, you've come a long way man. We're all proud of you in more ways than one) Malaga up next, and a nice arrangment, corps is playing their best yet i do believe, and of course, Anchors Away/marine Hymn always gets the crowd up. Mass Brass: WOW!!! Another American Saulte, and what power for what, 20 of you? Awesome arrangement of Niner Two as well! You guys were definitely a highlight, and you did a great job after the show too! Yankee Rebels: Always glad to see dad's other corps! larger than last I saw you, and better too. Drumline especially improved. Shenandoah of course gave me goosebumps,and seeing Phil on the box always makes me think it's 1974 again. I'm sure Christine got annoyed with me drumming along, especially in the drum break, but hey, i cut my teeth on those parts. Ya know, it's time for requeim one more time...whattaya think gang? Hip Pickles Hip Pickles, WHOOOOOOOOAAAAAA: Chet and co. continue to amaze and do drumming...on anything not moving too fast...in ways i can't begin to dream of. the truly cool things is you hear stuff you remember from past years, yet they work it in there in creative ways so it stays fresh. I must say, chet your "tiny" snare drum puts out great sound and sounds like a full sized drum. Chris is probably the best tenr player i have ever seen live. Cabs Alumni. Wow times two! From Ponzo's Bull call from the crowd, to the latin guys tarting the groove, to the drumline kicking the beat to Larry conducing the killer rumps...wow! Ralph Silverbrand also came out to conduct! Truly, a history lesson to watch, and yet be rocked from at the same time. Like they were on the field, these folks are never content to rest on their laurels. Killer sop solos all over.....drumline was absolutely on fire. St. joes Alumni....is this the year of American Salute? lol. Great show. Legend smoked, and the soloists were on fire. DA you looked great man! drumline played very well, and I'm not sure which i liked better...the all out rip your face off Big Spender or Ace starting off Georgia with the whole coprs wailing away. The most I hae liked you guys in a while, and i usually like ya! Cabs: No Curt Hawkins who i hear is ill. get well soon. On that note, Gordito, great job learning the solo in a day!. It's April. This drumline is better than last year. In fact, this tenr line is Brigs 00 level. That snare line is...well...awseome. basses....um...do you ever have tacet time? cymbals displayed about 9 zillion techniques. Pit...wow. do you ever tacet too? lol. and of course, the show stealer in the pit. Watch this kid folks, he's what you've read and more. that warmup you played is incredible. i couldn't play it. then the hornlines came in. Show reminds me of last years, but to a new level. it is original msuic, but it's not the esoteric kind of stuff that makes you go "hmmm". very, very fast, and what a ton of notes. However, the corps does show its softer prettier side, and the ballad ranks up there w/last years. very pretty, and i cant wait to see what they do w/the guard in it. if you liked Cabs 03, you'll like cabs 04. yeah I have friend sthere, and you can call me biased, but they aren't resting on the duffs gloating over 03. As for the Bb...well...i could tella difference even inside. However, i will stand by what i said after seeing BD, SCV and Phantom last year....in the hands of aa good arranger and quality staff, you won't notice. Ok Adam, tag you're in :P

Nate is the new Sandy McNeil! and thanks for the kind words on Shore. we loved doing it! as for the parts to America(the Latino) those parts are intact from the day we got them in 1990. not one change in 14 years!

thanks for the kind words on Shore! FYI, we had 62 brass on stage....almost double last year!

Cabs bass line, and not just the water drum stuff

bass all the way

man i remember when Empire switched back in 01 to traditional. you would have thought the world was coming to an end. but man they looked so cool!

i wish field judges in all disciplines would be allowed to stay and judge performance. once you go upstairs, imo, opinion creeps in, and the emphasis goes towards design

the judges should know the shows by finals and no where to go. if they dont shame on DCI for giving 1st or 2nd reads finals week

i heard that on Phantom. dont say it too loud tho, they'll use it as a reason to yank the judge off the field.

nor does he comment for all 11 minutes. at finals, he shouldnt be saying a lot, at least in the area of performance. if he is, thats bad for you on his sheet. and i dont remember seeing any serious close calls on drum cam this year

it isnt just todays drill...i hit a judge in 1989. i wish i could say i aimed, but i didnt. it happens. one of the biggest problems is judges dont keep their peripheral vision going and focus in and block the world. or, in a few cases, are very out of shape and shouldnt be out there. keep a judge on the field. add one up stairs. make the caption mean something again.

i agree. we have 2/3 collisions the last few years and now everyone is freaking about it. look, if charlie poole got hit, the drill had to be bad. also, he was warned about the move and still went. so it's his fault. most judges knew within a week where not to go in bostons drill. once again, real drumming means nothing. it's all about the total picture. #### that, play clean and be seen.

no limiting the judge where he goes is just as damaging as keeping gim in the stands. all you have to do then is design the drill to hide the drums and boom, he can't hear half the show because of the 60 horns in front of him. also to the person who said about make it mandatory to do 1/2 battery and half pit....ever try to cover everything in 11 minutes? it's tough, especially if the drill traps you and you have no way to get back up front. fantomas said it best....i have copis of judges tapes i still listen to 13 years later. yet i have upsatairs tapes i hardly ever touch. wonder why.

i agree there seems to be more collisions. as many of these judges see the shows several times, my advice as someone who has started judging, is to stay back more early on til you get a better feel for the drill and where they are going. Of course changes in drill happens, but anyone judging finals week should have seen everyone at least 3/4 times.

exactly. how can you get a look at the snares playing a passage at the edge of the drum from upstairs, especially if hidden within the drill. How can you get a good look at interp player to player from 100 yards away? the ensemble judge will address the conerns noted, and keeping the field guy will allow for a quality look at individual performance.

good they ####ed enough rules up last year

yes, DCI should look at how DCA does it. but, when you look at the DCI sheets, patterned off of BOA, i believe the judge is upstairs there too

thanks some points for both sides were raised in the old one.

no woman was stupid enough to carry Shore's bottom bass, which was a 34". ####, we had to bribe guys to carry it

the upstairs judge is needed, as is the field guy. Mike can you merge the discussion on the juniors page with this?

sigh. there is so much that can be missed from the stands. listening to the tapes on the dvd, and any tape i have ever had, the pit does get coverage,tho sometimes not enough, but there is no need to take the performance judge off the field. does this mean performance brass and performance visual get moved? we already have a music ensemble judge, shouldn't he adress ensemble issues as part of his sheet?>