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The drum corps activity, some controversy and new designs...


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The Cadets do clearly stand out as a corps willing to take risks...

While they are willing to take risks in some areas, they are stick in the 1940's as far as uniforms go. They have taken the least risk of any organization in this regard. I would suggest that there is simply a fear of alumni freaking out, which is unfortunate on both sides.

Sure, they've tried (2005-06) to step just a little bit out of those boundaries, but the result was a bit awkward, compared to what could have been possible if they would have created some new sort of costume for the program.

This is absolutely the one single block that I feel is stopping up an enormous about of creativity. With the conceptual limitation of uniforms gone all kinds of possibilities could emerge.

The problem is people think that drum corps need uniforms, that uniforms are part of the definition of what drum corps is, and cannot imagine anything beyond this.

Breaking the concept of uniform could also break through the fixed set of specific roles for performers. You have 150 performers now, why are they stuck with one thing for the entire program?

Why does the instrumentation have to be the same for the entire program? Why have 5 bass drums for the entire program, where you have to force the writing to fit the numbers? Why not have 2 for part of the show... 3 for part... 5 at another part... the other times the other guys are off doing or playing something else... same goes for all instruments... do you need so many trumpets to be out there playing the entire time? why not have them do something else?

how cool would 100 flags be at some section?

how about 100 brass?

50 snare drums?

Why not?

It is the unwritten rules that have placed limitations on drum corps, not the written ones.

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While they are willing to take risks in some areas, they are stick in the 1940's as far as uniforms go. They have taken the least risk of any organization in this regard. I would suggest that there is simply a fear of alumni freaking out, which is unfortunate on both sides.

Sure, they've tried (2005-06) to step just a little bit out of those boundaries, but the result was a bit awkward, compared to what could have been possible if they would have created some new sort of costume for the program.

This is absolutely the one single block that I feel is stopping up an enormous about of creativity. With the conceptual limitation of uniforms gone all kinds of possibilities could emerge.

The problem is people think that drum corps need uniforms, that uniforms are part of the definition of what drum corps is, and cannot imagine anything beyond this.

Breaking the concept of uniform could also break through the fixed set of specific roles for performers. You have 150 performers now, why are they stuck with one thing for the entire program?

Why does the instrumentation have to be the same for the entire program? Why have 5 bass drums for the entire program, where you have to force the writing to fit the numbers? Why not have 2 for part of the show... 3 for part... 5 at another part... the other times the other guys are off doing or playing something else... same goes for all instruments... do you need so many trumpets to be out there playing the entire time? why not have them do something else?

how cool would 100 flags be at some section?

how about 100 brass?

50 snare drums?

Why not?

It is the unwritten rules that have placed limitations on drum corps, not the written ones.

Check out 96 crossman. The whole horn works flags for the first min. of the show/drums

olo.

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All great ideas. Some provoking, others brilliantly hilarious. Let me just add that while these ideas are innovative and exciting, many go against the premise of what Drum Corps is, or has become.

consistency = results

I think the amount of mental preparation and pressure thereof would exceed the capacity of today's marcher. Besides, if you've ever instructed, you know stressful it can be anticipating potential errors. Can you imagine what it'd be like with that "Costello Wheel of Uncertainty?"

o.r. - Jersey Surf 200? when DM spun the wheel and moved where it landed to "Take the Penalty."

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OK, so, here's another one...

VOYAGER

In the early 1970's, NASA launched a series of spacecraft designed to explore the outer reaches of our solar system and beyond. With these probes were a series of pictographic plaques and a golden record - messages of hope, friendship and the human experience, something of a message in a bottle cast into space.

[sNIP]

The program opens with a short narration, the opening words of President Jimmy Carter

"This is a present from a small, distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts and our feelings."

It ends with the final greeting from the recording "Hello from the children of planet earth"

WOW! Daniel, this is a fantastic idea. I love it!

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danielray- You have some very interesting ideas. To expand on the thought of not limiting the size of a horn line, guard, battery, etc.

How about a show that begins with the entire corps using guard equipment (24-48 counts). Slowly, in sequence, the battery grounds their guard equipment, puts on their drums, sets the rhythm....as the brass players begin to pick up and play their horns.....until that point in the show where the guard grounds their silks and weapons, only to pick up drums, cymbals, percussion equipment, as the brass parts diminish to a soloist playing softly while all the horn players put on drums and join in on a massively LOUD drum feature. Slowly the horns and guard go back to their original equipment, and we're back to the standard "corps format"...but, ultimately the guard and percussionists stash their gear to pick up a horn, and the show finishes with HUGE brass power chords, etc., etc.

Yes?

No?

:worthy:

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danielray- You have some very interesting ideas. To expand on the thought of not limiting the size of a horn line, guard, battery, etc.

How about a show that begins with the entire corps using guard equipment (24-48 counts). Slowly, in sequence, the battery grounds their guard equipment, puts on their drums, sets the rhythm....as the brass players begin to pick up and play their horns.....until that point in the show where the guard grounds their silks and weapons, only to pick up drums, cymbals, percussion equipment, as the brass parts diminish to a soloist playing softly while all the horn players put on drums and join in on a massively LOUD drum feature. Slowly the horns and guard go back to their original equipment, and we're back to the standard "corps format"...but, ultimately the guard and percussionists stash their gear to pick up a horn, and the show finishes with HUGE brass power chords, etc., etc.

Yes?

No?

:worthy:

Sounds cool, but it would probably be quite awkward for battery since they wear the carriers under their uniforms. It would be cool to have, say, half the brass line put their horns down and play taiko drums along the sidelines (something like what the Blue Devils battery did this past year.)

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a. Long about 1970 or so, the Garfield Cadets decided to make a statement about the war in Vietnam. A few years later, Suncoast Sound paid tribute to the Vietnam conflict in their 1984 production.

Years after the start of our most recent conflict, we've yet to see anyone tackle the war in Iraq....not from a partisan "yes/no" concept, but from the mindset that the war is sort of a national touchstone for our collective conscience.

Why do you think that is? Is it a good thing? Bad?

b. As popular as "meta" has become (see "Adaptation", other forms of narrative), one wonders when (or if) drum corps will ever see a show that encompasses the meta process via:

-non linear progression of performance

-a literal "show within a show" with a small cadre of performers that interact with the larger group

...and so on.

What kinds of shows could come out of such a design format?

c. Drill...or even a show in its entireity...based on mathematical concepts. Nothing like any of the BOA stuff (NC's Clayton H.S. 2006 show is not what I'm going for here) you might be thinking of...but actually using geometric graphing for drill sets, up to the concept of creating a show to use the "golden mean", group theory, number theory and using selected music as a creation point for drill (similar...although this is a simple form of it...as to what's seen here, here and here.)

Could we see anything substantial to come out of that, or would that be over intellectualizing a show?

Just some random thoughts...some of which we've brought up, but some we haven't....and some we haven't talked about since folks came back from tour.

Also, this is no slight on the product in its current form. I like to get slammed back a few rows by a straightforward show just as much (if not more) as others...but when we speak of "creativity of design", it usually involves adding something (electronics, etc) to what we have already. Why not try to expand on what we have to work with now?

additional note: this topic is not intended to fire off any political commentary on my part regarding point "a"...just trying to get some discussion going. :)

What kind of ideas do you have that could set the activity on its ear? :satisfied:

Smart chicks intimidate me.

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One of the years I taught Freelancers, we tried something like this. We wanted to have the last set of the show be the same as the first so that we could start at any point.

Couldn't get everyone back to the first set, though.

Bobby Hoffman's initial drill for 1972 Garfield had us start in rays in the left endzone and form a box to Clifton William's "The Sinfonians" concert march, our opener. He then had us exit the field by forming a box and "raying" out the other side of the field to a reprise of the opener so ti was something as you said.

Later on the ending was changed so that effect was lost as we added a reentry to the Mahler 5th theme wae used in the Peace Sign drill earlier in the show.

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While they are willing to take risks in some areas, they are stick in the 1940's as far as uniforms go. They have taken the least risk of any organization in this regard. I would suggest that there is simply a fear of alumni freaking out, which is unfortunate on both sides.

I don't think that is the reason, as until lately there has not been a lot of alumni presence with The Cadets. Credit Dave Shaw and the new Holy Name organization with forging closer ties.

I am thinking, and maybe not correctly, that they made a conscious effort to be risky in many show areas, but to provide SOME level of familiarity and grounding they decided to keep the unis. Just speculating.

Sure, they've tried (2005-06) to step just a little bit out of those boundaries, but the result was a bit awkward, compared to what could have been possible if they would have created some new sort of costume for the program.

This is absolutely the one single block that I feel is stopping up an enormous about of creativity. With the conceptual limitation of uniforms gone all kinds of possibilities could emerge.

The problem is people think that drum corps need uniforms, that uniforms are part of the definition of what drum corps is, and cannot imagine anything beyond this.

Surf's "School's Out" show comes to mind as a great example of this.

how about 100 brass?

Garfield did this in the 70's when the guard all played horn on "I Don't Know How to Love Him".

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