What is the difference between BOA & DCI?

[MikeD]

Just one example... the BOA bands go on the field surrounded by a squadron of able-bodied dads who make sure the pit instruments get unloaded (then reloaded) correctly after a performance.

Some of the local shows in my area actually give out a trophy for 'Best Pit Crew"...some bands have special t-shirts made up for the pit parents...one actually had their pit parents do a little drill on the field after they set up the pit (in a spirit of fun...it was great!).

And don't forget the able-bodied moms...the band I work with is usually a 50/50 split. :)

[dccorpsfan]

and I thought for a fleeting moment you were going to say, "Band Chicks."

Heh...not so much in MY band.

[Liam]

There's nothing wrong with borrowing from BOA concepts on occasion...any more than there is in cribbing from musical theater, symphonic works or visual arts; but when a marching band circuit becomes the lead horse in the race (as it has for a while now, it seems)...something's wrong with the picture.

I come to the DCI table for completely different reason than I do the BOA one...

...let's not make both the same meal. B)

I've brought this up before -- but I remember back in the early 80's, I was in a highly successful high school marching band -- one that remains highly successful nationally even today. But back then, we were still figuring out how to do it. We studied DCI VHS tapes like they were manna from heaven. All we wanted to do was to wail like Spirit of Atlanta, swing like the Blue Devils, drum like Phantom, march like the Garfield Cadets and have fun like the Bridgemen. Sure, we ripped off drum corps all the time -- not whole shows, but a song here, a formation there, a visual trick, etc. We had our own identity as well, but those tapes were our reference manual on how to do it right. Somehow, over the years, this has flipped a little bit. Maybe that's not so bad, and it's certainly a true testament to how far high school programs have come, but it just makes me chuckle a little because back then it never would have even dawned on us that a DCI drum corps would "borrow" something from us lowly high school schlubs!!!!

Edited August 22, 2007 by Liam

[LAMystreaux]

Not True, the top two from last year didn't have any props. They also marched and played very well an amazing rep of music. You should be ashamed of yourself for downplaying the amazing things these kids are doing. You really need to check out Broken Arrow's website and see their show from last year. Also ld bell's show is available.........

No shame in that statement. It is often true. May not have been true last year, but in some years it is.

[bradrick]

(snip)

Broken Arrow & L.D. Bell both had incredible shows last year. BA's climax from 'Time to Say Goodbye" was chilling. And, L.D. Bell's ending just did it for me. The emotional content of Bell's show was surreal.

(snip)

L.D. Bell HS, TX - "The Remaining"

Hound of Heaven (James Syler)

Ballet Dracula (Phillip Feeney)

Beautiful from the 'King Kong' soundtrack (James Newton Howard)

Music from the 'A Beautiful Mind' soundtrack (James Horner)

Music Arrangements: Don Hill & Aaron Guidry

Drill Designers: Myron Rosander & Brian Youngblood

If you're a fan of Myron Rosander, I highly recommend checking out his design for L.D. Bell 2005 & 2006. One of his best designs.

Agreed. Myron wrote some cool, effective stuff for Bell. (I'm certainly seriously hoping he is able to return to writing drill real soon.) And Wes Cartright's colorguard at LD Bell is one of the best I've EVER seen. Simply stunning. Intense and super duper clean.

Edited August 22, 2007 by bradrick

[LAMystreaux]

Ok, I went and watched BA's Aqua show. . .very nice. It is good to see BOA rewarding a show like that, but it hasn't always been that way.

Also, speaking of amazing high school guards, their band is not always the best (but good) but Winston Churchill in San Antonio has an amazing guard program also. I got to see some videos of them while down in San Antonio cooking for The Crossmen.

As a sidenote, I felt like Crossmen's guard scores should have been much higher near the end of the season.

[shawn craig]

Ok, I went and watched BA's Aqua show. . .very nice. It is good to see BOA rewarding a show like that, but it hasn't always been that way.

Also, speaking of amazing high school guards, their band is not always the best (but good) but Winston Churchill in San Antonio has an amazing guard program also. I got to see some videos of them while down in San Antonio cooking for The Crossmen.

As a sidenote, I felt like Crossmen's guard scores should have been much higher near the end of the season.

Sorry no, at least not what I saw in Pasadena.

The flag line simply was never together. Always some ahead-to fast, always some behind-spinning to slow. I'm not talking about a subtle difference that even top guards will have at the end of the season but obviously not together. While I'm not a guard expert, I didn't think their work was as difficult as Madison or Spirit. (Academy and Blue Stars had what I thought was fairly easy work compared to those corps above them.)

[LAMystreaux]

Sorry no, at least not what I saw in Pasadena.

The flag line simply was never together. Always some ahead-to fast, always some behind-spinning to slow. I'm not talking about a subtle difference that even top guards will have at the end of the season but obviously not together. While I'm not a guard expert, I didn't think their work was as difficult as Madison or Spirit. (Academy and Blue Stars had what I thought was fairly easy work compared to those corps above them.)

They may not have been the most together. . .I agree. But in terms of exposure and difficulty, I thought it was through the roof, especially in comparison to the other corps in their range.

[UNCGQ]

I'm constantly amazed at the amount of "band hate" that goes on from 'corps people'. I just assume that these are the type of people that went to a crappy HS program and excelled in spite of it and have never been to a BoA Grand Nats.

I'd never try and 'compare' the two actvitities but suffice it to say there's a huge place in my heart for shows such as L.D. Bell's show last year. And now that DCI is moving to Indy I'll be making two annual trips to the mid-west for each activitiy's "Championships" instead of just Grand Nats. Well, I don't even count WGI Finals as a 'big mid-west trip' since it's in the mighy city of Dayton, OH :) But oh the good times I've had at the Holiday Inn there haha.

[Hrothgar15]

The thing about BOA and their electronics is that, well think about it this way. I think it's so special that drum corps has its own form of instrumentation that isn't found in any other musical ensemble. In 2001 the Ronald Reagan High School performed music from Cirque du Soleil. The opening contained pit percussion, but since they used synthesizers and got any fake instrument sound they could need, the music sounded exactly like it does in the actual Cirque show. Exactly like it! Same exact instrumentation. What I love is that if a drum corps did this piece, they'd have to adapt it to the tried-and-true drum corps instrumentation and make it truly drum corps.