Weaklefthand4ever

They loved it lol. These days I just stay in meetings for 10 hours a day.

But Brain....how are we going to spell "Let's Play Global Thermonuclear War" out on the field with only 165 people?

Chief. We had an agent in one of my training classes named Sarah Conner back many moons ago. Seeing the roster of course prompted me to be late for a meeting just so I could go knock on the classroom door and say "Sarah Conner?" to the class in my very best Arnold voice (which is actually pretty good.)

Is it weird that we keep this stuff? Lol. I was going through a drawer the other day and told Britt "never throw out these stinky, stained, nasty a** wristbands. Those are from my 87 season at finals." I have so many collected oddities from those years. I still even have a pair of bibbers. It's like the drum corps version of a wedding dress to me I guess.

I'm fairly sure I have some from the early to mid 90's and 100% sure that I have one from 1998 (because I'm wearing it right now.) I always wear drum corps shirts when I know I am going to be on camera for meetings at work. Let us all know when and how and I'll give up the goods. I think I also still have my audition stuff from 89 and probably some Hurley solos from back then.

Cavies battery and FE are #### clean, the book is full of content, the tuning is fantastic and they're staged VERY well for maximum score. Other lines in the top 6, especially BD and Bluecoats, need to clean and are not presented as well from what I see. That being said, I'm 1. Not a judge 2. I remember that most of the cleaning is really more muscle memory than anything and takes time to peak at just the right moment and 3. Not 100% sure that some of the absolutely FILTHY GOOD nuanced playing from other lines is being scored as well as I would expect

Yes. Amazing battery and FE

Jeff what years did we do the 2 judges thing with 1 in the box and 1 on the field at least for regionals?

The battery and front played wonderfully. They deserved to beat the pack. They need to keep improving a tiny bit each show to take the Sanford. BD won't like being 2nd, but their battery isn't quite clean...yet. the top 5 or 6 in percussion this year is outstanding. Really most of the top 12 batteries are outstanding. Well done Cavies!

This. THIS is what marching drum corps is supposed to be about. Forget placement. Make music and visual beauty and cherish your time together, the friends you've made and the memories along the way. At the end of the day, that's what you'll remember. Not placement.

I auditioned for snare and got cut lol. I just wasn't as ready maturity wise for PR. But I will always ❤️ PR.

In regards to kick halts and the kick out. I was under the impression that those things were done to reward the members for certain milestones and good old hard work. Again, I never marched PR. But if that is the case and the MM's feel rewarded and feel a connection to their corps family by doing it, screw the #### score bump scenario and let them have it because it's a tradition that allows that common bond. And in an activity that is supposed to be fan centric, if the crowd digs it, give the people what they want. I think we're reading too much into something that really has nothing to do with a score.

I have always felt that it's self imposed. We don't have a secret handshake, although stretching out your neck to eat a leaf off a tree (bronto style) might just be part of the initiation....

Agreed. I haven't looked at captions to see what the drum placement was either.

I would be fine with it. I truly believe that it's as likely to be 5th as it is 7th. As has been stated, it's going to be VERY close. A complete change in corps product doesn't happen in a season typically. Look at Bloo, BD, BAC (to a lesser extent.) They revolutionized what is now the standard in design. But they didn't do it in one year.

So first. I stopped into one of my classes today to check on one of my trainers and give a little pep talk. Turns out that one of the trainees was in Cadets 2011-2012 in the front ensemble. Small world this drum corps thing. Then I remembered that I aged out in 1990. Dead on target. I never played front ensemble but all I ever heard from cats who did, was they follow us. Back then the drill was far less complex, but the battery always moved right around the 50 when listening within the hornline would be difficult. The whole idea being that you were dead in the center where you can establish a constant tempo that isn't shifting. Yes. There are some judges which absolutely give credit to good fronts. There are some that are very battery driven. I respect them all. I couldn't do it. If you are solid musician or even an avid music appreciator, listening goes far your specific instrument that you play. At some point, you start really appreciating some of the things you just never had time to notice when you were the one on the field doin' the darn thing. 2010 PR front ensemble. Stunning...just...stunning. Beautiful approach to the instruments. Balanced. Musical is every way. Here is what I always thought about judging. It's subjective and changeable. If YOU want to see it change and you get the chance, become a judge and go do the darn thing.

The dance work in Bump drains me visually. There is so much going on musically to take in and it distracts me. If I could only watch the show once, I would simply not be able to focus on the music. By contrast, the opener going into the narration is segregated. You have the opener and then some musical space followed by narration and body work only. Very different vibe IMHO.

Agreed. I would honestly add silks to the props. They need something to break up the silver as your eyes travel up them and the back to the field. It's a bit too strigent a color shift.

I will say I have to agree here. I've like them ONE TIME and this is that one time lol. And it's exactly as you said. It's the staging of it and how it's used to actually enhance the actual flow of movement in the show. That makes it more than a one dimensional esthetic thing for me. Now. No more tarps. Ever

It really is a hard piece. Not being a brass player, I can only imagine how tough a piece it is. The battery part I wish I could pull out a little volume wise so I could hear exactly what the timing is supposed to be but I just don't have the equipment for that. From what I can hear, lots of cold attacks and edge geography stuff. I want the priests to go bye bye (or at least not be RIGHT THERE with the front ensemble.) I said it in different post and I'll say it again. It feels like thrown together choreography right there and it distracts my eyes from the other much cooler moments that are going on. Edit: Special note to the design staff. If you give the priests keytars, I will change my opinion. I mean we're reusing the props anyways.....

Agreed Cappy. It's a fantastic ballad. Whomever the cat is on flugel....brother you have some gorgeous tone man. The only thing I hope they add, is some voicing to when the full ensemble comes in. The whole drum set "thump" on 2 and 4 is just....meh. With such a good pit, they can add a lot of timbre and color to that 8 or 10 measures. It just feel the tiniest bit empty to me as a drummer. Definitely my favorite show of the year.

My guess.....and it's just a guess, is that the drum break in the middle is a space filler for new drill. That being said, I have NOT seen the changes to actually get counts and think through it. But if they've added some different velocity AND a new battery feature, it kinda fits. Also, as the battery gets cleaner, putting them up front for some judge exposure makes perfect sense. The only thing I fear is the cleaning. It's a flip of the coin. If you expose yourself and you're not as clean as the 4 or 5 lines above you and you're REAL close to the 2 lines below you score wise, you're playing with fire. There are a #### ton of fantastic batteries this season and some pretty darn good front ensembles. I think Aged Out Podcast said 10 out 12 returning vets for Bluecoats as an example. Cavies pit is also really well balanced and written. I dunno. Just a thought. Having never marched PR, I don't know how much space they save in the 2nd half of the tour for new stuff like adding X number of counts of drill, drum break, guard moments etc. But in general, what i said before it makes sense at least to me. But I'm a drummer so......

Definitely top 3 at the moment. Batteries this season are just stupidly good for being mid-July. I would think the top 5 or 6 lines are VERY close. And the pit is very, very musical.

Mandi's have a good show this year. They're pretty clean especially in the battery. I don't feel like they have as much room to add and grow as PR but who knows.

I think the wait is worth it....I truly do. When I first saw the Flo free show opening night my first thought was "Are those <GASP> electronics I hear??!!" That's a huge jump by itself. They're evolving right in front of our eyes. I laugh as I say that because of the whole dinosaur covering the props thing. Every show they move up by almost a point and a half to two points. They're on track to peak in August. Get the battery cleaned and you're top 6....maybe 5th. The best part is that much like Bluecoats, you can see mm's are bought into the show and they're enjoying performing it. That's what it's supposed to be about. That's why so many of us marched...why so many fans are still fans of the activity decades later. You have a very nice corps PR. Absolutely ❤️ and dig you cats with all my heart. You're on my daily YouTube search list lol. See you in Atlanta!