MikeN

The 8 - yes, eight - separate Dallas score threads have been merged. (Well, except for the ones that were closed.) I think we had a lot of DCP members watching that show? :) Mike

So far, I'm okay with it - the summer coverage has been pretty good, but obviously could be better. I would very much like to see more than one day notice of events that they're covering live - like one week notice, or even a full summer schedule. Mike

1999 - it (to me) struck a great balance between sophistication and accessibility. That brassline - wow - incredibly tight. And I love the unison horn fanfare at the end of the show, with the triangle pointing at the featured guard member. Too cool. Mike

I did - I'll be sending out e-mails today in response. :) We're at $1055 of our $8500 goal - 1/8th of the way there! Mike

Steve V. and Steve R. would top my list. (Rondo not only for his announcing, but having contributed at *all* facets of the activity.) Mike

Update for today - $755 raised so far, $7,745 still needed. Mike

There's also one in our photo gallery (not as slow loading as the rest of the site - hooray!). http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/2k5photos.shtml Mike

We used to have it - didn't raise us much money (I think we did $30 one month). Mike

Because DCA doesn't give me DVD's to give away. :) Mike

Um... no? I've got enough entries to hold a contest (all I needed was two, as there's two DVD's to give away), but would obviously like to have more. Mike

Hey, all: You can read the formal version here: http://www.drumcorpsplanet.org/forums//ind...showtopic=67528 But the short version is this: :) We've been getting practically free hosting from Compel Solutions for almost two years now. That's been their donation to us. However, they don't have a spare machine anymore that can handle our site - we're too big - too many simultaneous users. That's why everything has been so slow since May. I've found us a new hosting company, but we're going to have to start paying for our hosting. That's the way of the world, no problema - but I simply *cannot* afford it without donations from you guys. Just can't be done. :) So, if you have an interest in seeing DCP remain open, then you need to donate. Click here to donate via PayPal: http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/2k5campaign.shtml If you want to donate a different amount than the ones on there, e-mail me and I can set you up with that. All donating members get the same perks as before - upgraded user title, e-mail address and access to the donors-only forums when they open. Please, everyone - we *have* to have your donations to keep this site running. There's no way around that fact. Thanks! Mike

More than two (so it's not a 'gimme') but not enough so far. :) Mike

11 1/2 Minutes: A Drum Corps Story This week, DCP is featuring this documentary! You can read a review of the film here, buy the film from the Blue Devils Online Store, or even better, win one of two free DVD copies from DCP! Here's how to enter the contest: We are looking for your drum corps story. It can be about what drum corps means to you, how and why you marched or are a fan, or even just a poignant moment that still resonates with you. Here's the catch - it must be submitted in 150 words or less. That's one to two paragraphs! So it has to be short and powerful. Entries can be submitted to me in three ways - via e-mail at mike@drumcorpsplanet.net, via PM (use the PM link at the bottom left of this post), or even post it here in this thread for everyone to see! I will accept submissions until 12:00 am next Friday morning (July 22, 2005) and later that day the best two submissions (as determined by a judging panel) will be posted for everyone to read, and will be featured by DCP News! Oh yes, and the authors will receive a copy of the DVD. :) Best of luck to everyone with the contest! Mike

Yikes - that's got to be some ongoing agony there. :( Mike

OT posts split off from thread - Mike. (Sorry - did it a few minutes ago and forgot to add a note.)

- As soon as I get my new pc's software updated, I'll put the pics I took online. And forgive the rambly nature of the review - normally I don't have a week between my recollection and putting it down for posterity! - Mike Okay, better late than never. On Sunday, June 26, 2005, me, Jenna and the kiddos packed up and headed down to the Alamo to hear the four Texas drum corps perform at the Texas Drum Corps Preview. If you're unfamiliar with Texas drum corps, the four corps are Revolution (San Antonio), Trinity (Seguin), Frontier (Dallas) and Gulf Coast Sound (Houston). It was important to me to finally get down there - I've kept promising Revolution and Frontier that I'd get to see them, and this was the best chance I had! :) We met Jenna's brother and girlfriend down there, as well, and they watched the concert with us. First off, the venue - the first concert (I didn't get to the 2nd one, more later) was held in the garden at the Alamo - off to the left of the chapel and pretty much at the back. Lots of trees - that was nice. However, the 100 degree temperature and 80 percent humidity was still brutal, even to those of us *not* in uniform. (How GCS and Revolution survived that, I'll never know.) It was a pretty well attended event - I'd say around 200 people - but it was kind of hard to find places to sit / stand and watch. We were all pretty much relegated to the front corners - the courtyard there at the Alamo doesn't have places to sit directly in front of where they were playing - that's filled with trees. Until I get my pictures online, I can't give reliable numbers of horns / drums, but I'll estimate as best as I can. Frontier (Dallas, TX) led off the performances. I knew ahead of time that they had a good number of brass folks out. They brought 20 to the show, along with 2 snares, 2 tenors and 4 basses. They weren't in full uniform - polos and khakis instead - but in the heat that was suffocating the plaza there, that was the best choice! I wasn't terribly fond of the opener (Old Man River, Home on the Range) - not because of the arrangements, but because I just didn't like the combination of tunes to begin with. The ballad though, Wayfaring Stranger, I *really* like, and not just because it's not every corps that will play Bluegrass. :) The closer was a medley of Battle Hymn of the Republic, William Tell Overture and Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me, and that last tune - well, snicker now, 'cause once you hear it, you'll think "you know, that actually *works*!" The battery was good - don't get me wrong - but the real eye-opener of this corps is the brass. Ay, caramba, do they put out a *mature* sound. Like fine wine good. :) I'm trying to think of the best analogy, and the only thing I can come up with is that it was like listening to the tone quality of old drum corps recordings then Blast - it just had a silky sound to it. At the end of the day, both Jenna and I independently had decided that Frontier's brass was by far the best there, even over the power that Revolution was putting out! All in all, I was both surprised and impressed by Frontier. If they hadn't told you ahead of time, you would *not* have suspected that this was a first year corps at all. I think they're going to turn a number of heads at DeKalb. Next up was Trinity (Seguin, TX). This is an emerging corps (founded 2002), and they brought a small ensemble to perform. (Off the top of my head, I remember 5 brass and 4 percussion.) Surprisingly, and I think this says more about me than the kids, they had a *great* brass sound. They really came off feeling like a brass quintet/ensemble, and not just a small horn line. Each player seemed like they had great control of the instrument. They played the opener to their show this year, Ghost Train Tryptich, and while Jenna gave them a lot of credit for attempting a particularly difficult piece, I felt it - from an arranging standpoint - wasn't really working with such a small group. My daughter loved the train noises, BTW. :) The percussion section next grounded the drums and played a pit arrangment of the theme from The Legend of Zelda, and I swear that my brother in law and I were the only people grooving to it. Maybe we were the only ones in the correct age-range? Honestly, my assessment of Trinity - if they're teaching all the rest / future brass kids the way they're teaching the ones they sent out, then this corps will be just fine. The percussion was such an incomplete view that I couldn't really tell you - they sounded good enough, but I'd have to hear them again (and with a more complete show) before I could tell you more about them. I tried to catch up with Ray Holland, the corps director, but kept missing him one way or another. :( Gulf Coast Sound (Houston, TX) came on next. They and Revolution came in full uniform, and despite the heat, I had to give them credit for that! They brought 16 brass, ... um... I think 3 snares, 3 tenors and 5 basses. The show - put together by Chris Green - combined the most unlikely candidates possible - Evanescence and Kansas. (I'm sure Chris saw the look on my face when he told me that's what they were doing - sorry, Chris!) To my complete shock and surprise, the match works. Don't ask me why or how, but it does work. I've felt Evanescence should have been on the field *last* year, so I'm glad to see a group try it - it just seems like the way the songs are set up - floaty high voices with staccato driving low voices - is just custom-made for corps. My Immortal is going to be *good* once they get it tightened up a bit - it's a great arrangement they're using. The strength of the corps, by far, is the battery. Holy cow, do those guys have a great drum book, and they were just right on with it! The high brass really seemed to have trouble with the performance. It might have been the heat / humidity, but the sopranos never really nailed dead on the exposed sections they had. If they clean that up, then this show could really take off. Like Trinity, I missed my chance to talk to Jason Rose, the corps director - by the time I managed to get through the crowd, they'd already left for the later concert. I'll have to manage where I stand better next year! Revolution (San Antonio, TX) was the last up to perform. The last I heard, they were looking at performing in Division III, and if they do indeed do that, they'll be one of the largest ones out there! It looked like they had about 75-80 folks in the corps this year. They did get the new uniforms, and I'll post the pictures when I get them, but they look *very* nice. I got kind of an inverted view of the show, as I was watching it from behind. I was at this point holding my son, right next to the snare line (and got a great pic down the line) and behind the tenors. I've listened to the midis of the show enough times that I was pretty familiar with where they were going with it. The show contains music of James Newton Howard, from Signs, The Sixth Sense and (mostly) Waterworld. The brass (on G bugles this year) has a fun book. It's not *near* as esoteric as Connotations, or even the Graham music from '03. This show is easy to follow, and really easy to get in to. The brass performance was a little ragged around the edges - it was lacking that really tight sound - but there were also no glaring problems, either. To me (and give me a break, I'm a drummer), it sounded more like as the summer goes on, the sound will come together better. The drums (7-4-5, on the silver Dynasty battery that we know and love) are *very* far along for not even having started their tour yet. They had a few exposed moments where the various sections weren't quite meshing, but it was (to me anyways) a subtle thing and corrected itself on the go. They have a take-no-prisioners book that they're aggressively jumping on top of, and that's going to make them fun to watch! GM Kuzma, Revolution's director, said that the ending of the show is still a work in progress - they may keep it they way they presented it (kind of Cadets '87 - playing themselves off of the field as the show ends in a musical denouement), or if it doesn't work, put a more traditional ending on the show. I think it depends on how they work it with the drill. Musically, it was kind of confusing, but we also didn't have the advantage of seeing what they were doing with it. I had a few minutes to talk to John Rodriguez, Executive Director of RYPA (Revolution's NFP organization), and he said the vibe this spring / summer from the corps has been incredibly positive. He was honestly surprised by the work ethic that the kids brought with them - they've gone above and beyond what the staff has asked of them. (And for that matter, he had nothing but glowing praise for the staff, as well! :) ) I also had the opportunity to meet a number of the staff from Revolution, including Jaime Martinez (tour manager) and Tim Overturf (percussion caption head), and it turns out they had a staff hat for me as a gift! That was a geeky celebrity moment for me - that was the first time that's ever happened to me. :) Still wearing the hat, too. To sum up Revolution - I think musically they will be a contender for the Division III title should they go that route, and could do some damage in Division II as well should they do that. The combined brasslines completed the concert by playing the DCI AmeriCanada arrangment, and I can say that I've never had the chance to hear it standing 16 inches from the contra line. That was an... intense... experience, and one I recommend doing if you own earplugs! At this point, my poor kids were beet red - the heat was *really* getting to them, so I had to give the family priority over drum corps, and we headed home. From the pictures that Revolution has posted (), it seems like the afternoon concert was as much fun as the noon one. All in all, the concert was great - it was neat to see all of the TX corps in one place, and it was good (and I hope they keep it) that it was before the DCI tour swings through - a nice way to get hyped early about live drum corps! I told Chris between shows, the one thing that recordings can't really capture is the visceral oomph that the drums pack when they hit in unison, and the vibrations you can feel when the horns get that perfect blend as they play together. Mike

OT posts removed from this topic - Mike.

I think that's half of my head in the edge of this picture. :) http://www.revolutionypa.org/media/gallery...m34&id=TX_PV_15 Mike

This thread has strayed OT. Mike

Thanks for the reviews, everyone! :) Mike

Community Guidelines - can also be found at the upper left of every single forum page. As we get going this summer, I'd like to remind everyone that DCP is here because we're all fans of this great activity. :) While we all don't agree on every issue, we can talk about them in a civil and courteous manner. The forums don't have to always be a "rah-rah" for drum corps, but they do have to be polite, and general corps-bashing (or person-bashing) is *not* allowed. We get upwards of 1,000 posts per day on here, and with 9 moderators, there's not enough time in the day to physically read every post made. That's where you come in. If you see a post that you think is inappropriate or violates the spirit of what we're trying to do here, click on the "report" button that is found at the center-left under every DCP post. That will send a link to a moderator (with your comments). The moderator will view the post and either edit/remove it or let you know if/why it's okay. DCP is not run by a company - it's nothing more than a site created by and run for drum corps fans. We're all a community here, and you can help us keep it the largest discussion forum of its kind on the internet. Thanks, and feel free to PM / e-mail me with any questions, problems, concerns, stories, rants, jokes or general banter anytime! :) Mike

Our marketplace is for drum corps items only. Thanks. Mike

Don't they also work it in to the end of Johnny One-Note in 1989 - just without the 3-note tag on the end; instead it goes into the final measure with the horns. Mike

Rich - thanks for the awesome review. Mike

Thanks for the review! Mike