alto92

I got into corps the year after they folded, and I'm 25. The oldest kid in the corps would have been what....11 when they last performed? Did the staff used to teach the funny to them back in the day? I mean...it seemed so gleefully natural.

They came closest recently in 2001. 2nd place by .3 to the devs. I agree, PeeWee...they sound really good this year. Its the first time in awhile that blood and guts/beautiful chocolatey sound has been there.

No prob! Usually preseason recordings are much rougher than this. I'll be buying my copy on Saturday.

Check out the clips here: http://scvanguard.org/about/news/news.cfm?...20-b300da731811 I think the book is great.

Maybe you're joking (you probably are) but I think a few people probably took that literally. Doesn't quite work that way. In fact, if they put on the rest of the show this weekend, and it's sub-par, it just might bring their score down, or temporarily limit their growth. The judges judge your content and performance, and if it's good, its good. If they went the whole season without a closer, they're probably just lag in the GE category. As it is, that caption is probably the only one suffering (yes I know they're actually beating BD in GE). Any members or former members of the judging community care to call me out or confirm what I'm sayin'?

Check it out ladies and gents: http://scvanguard.org/about/news/news.cfm?...20-b300da731811 I must say, they play with a pretty good sense of understanding the music, particularly for this time of year. GO SCV!

If I had a dime for every time I heard "top to page 10...reset"... On topic, for me, it depends on what mood I'm in. If I want to hear BD, then I'll listen to BD. If I want to hear Phantom, then I'll listen to Phantom. They each have their value. Ultimately, though, I value emotion over technique when the levels of technique are as comparable as they are in this instance...and yes, Bd's hornline was really really nice, but Phantom had something else behind them.

Well put. I think the number 1 reason Cavies have dominated this decade so far is design. The top 5-6 corps have very comparable talent, work ethic, etc., I just think it comes down to brilliant design. Everything from the uniform to staging to visual effects to assigning playing responsibility relative to drill responsibility...it's just head and shoulders above most other design teams. I thought the Cadets had better membership in 2000, but the Cavaliers were right there because the design team gave them a show that was, in many ways, perfect. The uniform is so bringt and busy up top, sometimes you forget to look down low. You want to look at the pretty drill so much, you forget to look at the individual. Why WOULD they spend a lot of time trying to clean up feet when they have two other elements of the design taking away from the importance to do so. I believe the high visual scores reflect that thinking.

Though the lower body has changed over time, SCV's upper body has been the same for at least the last 10-12 years, and the only change I've noticed from before then was the degree of triangulation in thier arms. Hardin changed the lower body, but not THAT much. Whatever the case, I certainly hope that he doesn't bring the Cavies lower body style. Count your rings, Cavaliers, but your feet have been dirrrty. Certainly SCV's feet have been as well, but I think the model for cleanliness in marching style has got to be BD right now. Even though DCI has shifted the visual focus to how form looks, I still think people's lower bodies should look the same from person to person, and BD is a great example of how a corps can hvae clean forms and clean feet. Just personal preference, though.

And here it is... http://scvanguard.org/about/news/news.cfm?...2f-74acb1350560

With all the changes last year, I'm not surprised. I'm sure SCV will find a more-than-capable replacement. Good luck with whatever you do, Ron!

Eureka!

If DCI placed priority strictly on the number of corps they were fielding year to year, they would be *wasting* precious precious resources. The fact is, this isn't 1977. Other things completely out of DCI's control have affected drum corps' role in our society, including the perceived or real necessity that one go to college to secure a future. Summer school, having to work, career related internships, and summer marching band programs have all taken precedence in the pool of kids that corps used to pull from. If some of you would pull your heads out, you would realize that drum corps' popularity and influence, combined with the aforementioned factors has contributed to the explosion of closely related activities like indoor percussion, winterguard, and competitive high school marching band. There is something to be enjoyed in all of those activities that might possibly resonate with even the most stubborn old-skooler. Also, the training that these musicians and performers receive, is in many cases, BETTER than drum corps ever was. So if the kids are better educated (thanks in large part to the baby boomers and the generation after's hard work), if they're receiving better instruction, if it's reaching a larger audience with more participants, and if those involved continue to further the advancement of society with what they learn in the classroom and on the field, then what's the big deal? No, it's not like it was, but how much really is, these days?

I wouldn't go so far as to say "not so bright" but there was definitely a time when it was brighter than now.

It seemed to me the point you were making was that "too many corps" try to explore the meaning of life, and that to do so was not a good thing. To me, some of the best shows educate AND entertain, thus pushing the envelope of drum corps performance. Drum corps is a forum just as much as DCP: art is a conversation. Art and life are partners, and to say that corps performances shouldn't reflect that, or to imply that the corps' shows who do aren't going to entertain, is...well...contradictory to what drum corps is all about. Like it or not, corps is an art, just as much as it is a show or a sport. Corps and their staffs SHOULD treat the activity as such, and DO. You can derive a lot of philosophy from what the Cavaliers put of the field this year - just as much as PR's show. Every step, note, or toss was deliberately decided upon to create a certain aesthetic. That's art, and it's free. Also, how would a corps "talk down" an audience...I really doubt Star 93 was put together with the intent to create that kind of a relationship with the audience.

Maedhros - you're my midwestern counterpart. Every friggin suggestion for a show you make is something I've hyped on too. Century Rolls would be interesting. It'd certainly not be a hit with everyone, but man, I'd love it.

1993 Star . . . . . . . then the rest: . 2003 Cavies 1987 SCV 1997 Cadets 1999 BD (yep, 2nd place - a #### fine show, but a 2nd place one) 2006 Phantom

Count me in for 150 people. Yes, I'm a Band Director. No, I'ts not cheating. :)

Can't wait to see them on the field........even the winter drumline is sounding VERY GOOD!!! Welcome back......

Ugh...Music123. I ordered some stuff that they would "get soon" a few months ago. Still haven't received it (after numerour calls in to them).

I probably wouldn't have marched if SCV didn't show me what drum corps can be, especially from 1997-2000. That said, I've always had a tremendous amount of respect for the Cadets and PR.

Don't most DMs salute the winner? I know at every competition, SCV's DMs salute the winners of each division. I also know that at most high school marching band shows I've been to, the salute lines from competing band regularly salute the winners of their divisions. Yeah yeah, MB is MB and DC is DC, but do the two activities not share the same spirit of competition albeit at two completely different levels? As for PR, what a perfect way to end and amazing year from you guys. I sincerely hope you or SCV are our next champions and that you are the ones who receive the salute/tribute.

You know, SCV didn't think this one through well enough... Imagine how many Mr. Moto freakin bobblehead dolls they could have sold.

I didn't particularly like what Cadets did this year, but not for the narration/singing and crazy props alone. People seem to get caught up in the use of those things, or at least that's all they present in their arguements. I think the Cadets show didn't work this year because there was little actual music, and mediocre dancing/singing/prop design took center stage. Maybe those elements can be incorporated to create an artistically sound AND entertaining field show, but they didn't do it THIS YEAR. Emphasis on this year! Star caught all kinds of crap in 93 for the hornline movement and their approach, but the overall product was sound and it went down as one of the most innovative shows ever (ranked by me, anyway). Do I think the same can happen with the Cadets this year? Nope. Can certain corps go in this general direction and win the audience? I think yes. Will the Cadets be credited with the leap? Possibly! Something tells me, though, that big yellow raincoats and funny stunts on the field are more likely to be remembered fondly than good art, though. But this is drum corps, and not a concert hall or an opera house or museum, so what can you expect?

I don't think it's particularly bad. It just means that a few corps have been REALLY successful during their time and have found a way to be consistently good year after year. These corps have set many a standard throughout those 34 years and in many ways shaped the activity into what it is today. It might be a bad thing, it might be good, but I do know this: this year kicked some freakin ***. With Bluecoats pressing, Crown consistently throwing down good shows, Phantom stirring things up yet again, and the top 3 medal-winners continuing to do their thing, I think that drum corps in general is doing quite well.