Phantom Regiment and the Visual Department...

[Phantombari1]

Figured I'd chim in here...Having been with Phantom during the years they won marching it's difficult to compare the era's. I will say that the last couple of years their entire show design seems to be about balance in all captions. If I were to critique their drill this year I would say that it isn't a balanced drill. (IMO) the running portion sacrifices the potential for power at the end of the show When fatigue sets in everything else is affected. No one has mentioned how the anticipation of that part of the show could also have the weaker members (no Knock) sand bagging for the end.

If they end up being able to accomplish it as is then great but for now I think fatgue is affecting their performance in many different ways!

Edited July 9, 2007 by Phantombari1

[KingJoeVII]

Rumor I heard from a little bird - the marching style of the corps had become such a mess by 0o, that they went straight legged in 01 to unlearn the bad technique from the years before. That way they could get back to the style that they wanted in 02, and develop it. Of course, the style is now different than that - due to the new vis crew.

SUTA

what style do they use now? it looks similar to the blue devil technique

[year1buick]

Well, as far as the 94 drill goes, I have mixed feelings. I was blown away by Tony's work in 93--like previous posters have mentioned, there were so many unique ideas, such as the on-field pit integration, marching around the helmets, etc. (I hadn't heard about this prior to seeing the corps in Dallas. I remember watching them rehearse-- a painful experience in of itself becase I wanted to freaking be out there!!!-- and thinking "Why are they carrying around little parking cones???). That year set my expectations high for 94. Yet, it felt as if the staff (including Tony) were still somewhat caught up in the previous year and had a hard time breaking out of that ground breaking mold. The pit was back on the field, the helmets came off in the ballad, we played Death Hunt again and so on... I think that the mid-winter reboot from Rite of Spring to Songs of Summer Night set the tone for this. It was as if the "big idea" for November fell flat and they were left scratching their heads, wondering what to do next... (Remember Cesario's idea for 3-D drill and different uniforms? Never made it past November) Granted, the staff and corps still managed to work their tails off and pull out a pretty entertaining show, but it never felt to me as though it had its own voice and direction. For example, they could never make up their minds about what to do with White Witch Doctor-- I remember spending a lot of time during that song hanging out with a group by the pit, waiting for us to be tought how to play some percussion stuff. Never happened. (Similar issues surrounded the death shrouds in 92.) We were eventually written back into the drill.

As creative and talented as Tony is, (I wholeheartedly believe this) it always seemed as if he showed up with only a notion or two about what he wanted to do--certainly no charts-- and winged it until he got close to what he liked. Even though the results were good in the end, it was sometimes frustrating to be on the other end of this style of creative process. I've always wondered about "the show that could have been" (Rite of Spring). One with a completely unique style of its own, not built up from leftovers of the previous year. One where Tony and Cesario, for better or worse, could have been cut loose to come up something completely new.

On another note...

I think the same person Nikk mentioned, if I'm guessing correctly(I can hear the Imperial March as I type this), may have put the breaks on a few visual moments of the 94 show, such as when the guard staff got a little too "out there" with the horn line during Clair de Lune. I'm talking about the interpretive dance and ballet work while we were playing. As soon as they put it in, our sound went to crap. And this was during the hornline's big moment. I can still see his and the brass staffs' faces while we practiced it, as if some kids from another neighborhood were trying to take over their ball field. Needless to say, it didn't last...

[Kdiggy]

Tough love my friend....Tough love....

My rookie year I moved a uniform off of the rearview mirror as the busses were taking off. It ended up being one of the Contra players (I think Birdman). As a "penalty" for moving his uniform, I was summoned to wax the entire Contra line. After that day, I've never looked at the Contra line the same way. Maybe I was taking out some built up aggression on you.

Gilday, aka The Equipment Truck Lord!

**EDIT: I meant Wax the entire Contra lines HORNS. Don't start getting all X-Rated on me.**

Naa...I was a your typical "I know everything, so you don't need to lecture me", rookie. I deserved it all. I've given my share of hard knocks also. :P

[GSNewell]

I have trouble believing Dave is the only PR alumn with something to say about Regiment's visual program, past and present. For my part:

It might have something to do with the fact that former members lurking around DCP have no idea what's going on internally with the staff. Almost everyone responding here is responding with their impression of what's happening or what they've heard from a friend of a friend of a brass tech's sister-in-law.

I'm on the board, the program coordinator is one of my good friends, etc., etc. -- and I don't know the details of what goes on with the staff. I know a lot of things, but I certainly don't know everything. How in the world would someone on DCP know the details?! In many cases, as a personnel matter, it's simply none of anyone's business.

I will respond to a couple silly things I read, though:

-- Dan Farrell is the driving force behind PR's competitive resurgence the past 5 years. He hired the staff, he creates the schedules, he manages the design and instructional staff, he makes the final decisions. Without Dan as program coordinator, it's unlikely that PR would be in the top 6 right now.

-- I bristle at the suggestion that the brass staff is just holding down the fort while J.D. is in Europe. Kevin Rabon has been the brass caption head for, I believe, four years now. He is extremely capable as our the other terrific members of the brass staff. Taylor Criswell, Mason Daffinee, et al, are very good at their jobs.

-- Staff turnover has happened for a variety of reasons. Some people were fired, some quit, some simply moved on with their lives.

[melritz]

(anyone remember "18 and 24, again!") during Finals Week.

Again and again and again.... I remember....oh my oh my, do I remember!!!

[The Tsar]

It might have something to do with the fact that former members lurking around DCP have no idea what's going on internally with the staff. Almost everyone responding here is responding with their impression of what's happening or what they've heard from a friend of a friend of a brass tech's sister-in-law.

I will respond to a couple silly things I read, though:

-- Dan Farrell is the driving force behind PR's competitive resurgence the past 5 years. He hired the staff, he creates the schedules, he manages the design and instructional staff, he makes the final decisions. Without Dan as program coordinator, it's unlikely that PR would be in the top 6 right now.

-- I bristle at the suggestion that the brass staff is just holding down the fort while J.D. is in Europe. Kevin Rabon has been the brass caption head for, I believe, four years now. He is extremely capable as our the other terrific members of the brass staff. Taylor Criswell, Mason Daffinee, et al, are very good at their jobs.

-- Staff turnover has happened for a variety of reasons. Some people were fired, some quit, some simply moved on with their lives.

I just want to point out that I was not looking for "dirt" or the "scoop" on Regiment's visual staff. I was simply asking for impressions of members regarding their drill and the manner in which it was taught. I was not looking for internal matters , I was actually just looking for impressions as a member. The only people who know what happens internally are the staff members...and it should stay that way.

I'm a big Dan Farrell fan. To this day he remains Darth Farrell to me, and I still recall fondly that after beating the baritone section into the ground during block exercises, he took us all out for soda (and then marched us back to the school). Nothing of what I wrote should be construed as a slam on him, he is most certainly NOT the program coordinator I was referring to earlier.

Just wanted to point that out.

[Phantombari1]

It might have something to do with the fact that former members lurking around DCP have no idea what's going on internally with the staff. Almost everyone responding here is responding with their impression of what's happening or what they've heard from a friend of a friend of a brass tech's sister-in-law.

I'm on the board, the program coordinator is one of my good friends, etc., etc. -- and I don't know the details of what goes on with the staff. I know a lot of things, but I certainly don't know everything. How in the world would someone on DCP know the details?! In many cases, as a personnel matter, it's simply none of anyone's business.

I will respond to a couple silly things I read, though:

-- Dan Farrell is the driving force behind PR's competitive resurgence the past 5 years. He hired the staff, he creates the schedules, he manages the design and instructional staff, he makes the final decisions. Without Dan as program coordinator, it's unlikely that PR would be in the top 6 right now.

-- I bristle at the suggestion that the brass staff is just holding down the fort while J.D. is in Europe. Kevin Rabon has been the brass caption head for, I believe, four years now. He is extremely capable as our the other terrific members of the brass staff. Taylor Criswell, Mason Daffinee, et al, are very good at their jobs.

-- Staff turnover has happened for a variety of reasons. Some people were fired, some quit, some simply moved on with their lives.

Good post Greg, As I mentioned earlier I believe Dan has things headed in the right direction.

[festive]

I'm a big Dan Farrell fan.

One of the biggest. I think we all are. It's like a club. And with good reason...he's the keeper of the tradition...I mean that in the best possible sense of that often abused term. Dan, above practically everyone else, knows what it is for Regiment to be "Regiment." It's a nebulous concept to chase down, with corps moving from one thing to another year to year, but Regiment is always "Regiment" and Dan is a big reason why the corps has that identity going for it.

Regiment is very lucky that there are people who understand that tradition and convey it so well to the young people who put on the uniform. I've always been very proud of this.

[year1buick]

I just want to point out that I was not looking for "dirt" or the "scoop" on Regiment's visual staff. I was simply asking for impressions of members regarding their drill and the manner in which it was taught. I was not looking for internal matters , I was actually just looking for impressions as a member. The only people who know what happens internally are the staff members...and it should stay that way.

I'm a big Dan Farrell fan. To this day he remains Darth Farrell to me, and I still recall fondly that after beating the baritone section into the ground during block exercises, he took us all out for soda (and then marched us back to the school). Nothing of what I wrote should be construed as a slam on him, he is most certainly NOT the program coordinator I was referring to earlier.

Just wanted to point that out.

Guessed wrong. I also think that Dan freakin rules (my story wasn't a slam either, but I'm pretty sure it reads that way...)