Renegades and Star United

[wishbonecav]

I have started and stopped this post no less than three times trying to find that "sweet spot" of informative prose that yields thoughtful and engaged replies.

In other words, "What can I say to get you guys talkin'?"

It is the MINI CORPS experience that I want to discuss because it is the single event from DCA weekend that captured my imagination.

First and foremost: there were 18 corps at the Riverside Convention Center on Friday Night.

Read that again. 18 corps. 18 cities. 18 corps jackets. 18 groups who traveled by bus, car or plane looking to compete, perform and entertain. Wow.

And OMG! b**bs Please take the time to YouTube the Renegades 2007 Mini Corps show.

Do it right now if you have to!

Even before they played note #1 in their supercharged show, the electricity in the room was off the chart. Lots of catcalls and pointing to the stage. Friends greeting friends. Connecting. One of the sop soloists looked out at the audience with a smirk that said "these people don't even know what's comin'."

I appreciate the fact that these are our West Coast DCA brothers coming all the way East to lay down some jack and they absolutely turned the place upside down.

"Ya Gotta Try" is so ridiculous with intensity, clarity, power, muscle, depth...and it was fun! And I am convinced they didn't play that chart for themselves. They played it for me and everyone else in that convention center. They reached out and grabbed us by the collar and said "Here! Have some of this! Ya' like that?" And the place went absolutely bananas! Evil and Cool. Way cool.

Renegades kicked some California tail and left the stage to the defending champs.

What came next can only be described as a clinic. Does everyone appreciate the tremendous gift that Star United brings to us every year at DCA? Thoroughly trained musicians in an exquisite ensemble preparing charts that are not only effective in their musical arrangement, but that lift you out of your chair in their unbelievable execution and precision?

Do we really appreciate the hours that go into that kind of performance? That kind of gift? We are, as a circuit, blessed to have 20 people of this caliber (not just talent caliber, PEOPLE caliber) pay their own freight to come to Rochester and give us the musical treat that is "Candide", that is "Skylines", that is "Horkstow Grange".

I am not sure that message gets across to all my DCA friends. I wish it did. I heard more than one criticism of Star's performance that they "didn't belong at DCA" and other such dismissals. Guess what, gang? Star U isn't a robot. It's made of people. All-age drum corps people. Every one of them. Becky Wood, the DM, is a mom and a wife with some kiddies and a job and she tries her best to fit this drum corps thing in because she can't help it. If she "doesn't belong" I don't know who does.

Most of us got it. Three songs...three standing ovations. People were screaming. It brought tears to my eyes to see that outpouring of appreciation and enthusiasm. Star only exists in ONE PLACE anymore, gang, and we got 'em. Score 98.5. Way cool. You Tube keywords Star United DCA 2007 and you get to enjoy what I enjoyed.

As far as the contest goes, it's obvious that DCA considers the competition part somewhere down the priority list. That's where I have to make a decision.

IS MINI-CORPS A CONTEST OR AN EXHIBITION? Well, it's a contest because there were scores and placements. I wasn't sure of the criteria. The scoring must have been mostly GE and ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE. I would not argue about placements...the judges got it right and it was clear that 1-2-3 were placed properly. For the performers, the contest part is a driving force to rehearse and achieve. Our best performance...your best response. So it should be a contest. There's a benefit to everyone.

SO IT'S A CONTEST! Not so fast! It's also a place for some of the best horn players in the business to strut their stuff outside the confines of a field presentation or the execution sheet.

Can I stretch this note over the barline by a beat or two?

Can I bounce this solo off your forehead a couple of times?

Can I break some glass in the high register ?

So, in that way, it's kind of an exhibition of fun and ridiculousness within the contest. How cool is that?

For the audience at DCA on Friday Night, there's another flavor. Mini-Corps in the big Convention Center has a deeper meaning than the contest itsef. It is VERY much a social. And it's very intimate and personal. It is a place to see old friends, meet new ones, grab a drink, talk and do all that against a backdrop of a drum & bugle corps festival. Not sure it gets any better than that.

So what is Mini Corps? It is a celebration. It is a happening. Look at the clips!!!!!

Do we need to tweak it? How 'bout this...

Let's see the recap so we know how to compare. Post that sucker on www.dcacorps.org.

Give the winners a place in the program book. For all time. ...MiniCorps Champions

And how 'bout an annual trophy and put a special person's name on it?

These things will legitimize the already legitimate. It's already there, really. Now let's tell the world about it! :)

Edited September 15, 2007 by wishbonecav

[dckid80]

Well said!!!!

As a competitor and fan, I too was blown away by both Star and Renegades.

I was less blown away by some of the "old-timers" sitting around me who have no appreciation for excellent musicianship, whatever form it comes in.

My personal fav of the night was Minnie Brass.

They have a truly great sound.

Talked to a couple of their guys as I was leaving the garage and told them to keep up the good work even though it's going over the heads of a lot of people.

Edited September 16, 2007 by dckid80

[TopBass]

Very well written post!

I was so disappointed that more members of MN Brass weren't there for this. The corps came out a day earlier to support I&E (and better prepare for finals, of course) but they still practice so hard the day of and have such an early call the next day very few people wanted to stay out until midnight.

I felt like I was at a concert, a raucous awesome Drum and Bugle corps concert. The pace was so awesome, there wasn't much downtime at all.

It was definitely an event!

I think it should start earlier next year so it doesn't run into the next day, however.

Edited September 17, 2007 by TopBass

[Rap48]

The first Mini Corps contest for the DCA I&E was a brain child of Donna Ernst, who was DCA I&E Co-ordinator. Donna past away way to early. The DCA gives a trophy in her honor every year to the winner.

The Mini Corps activity is growing and the DCA will nurture it and we have some ideas for the future. But let us never forget that there were another 500 contestants peforming at the other venues that led up to the Mini show.

[WayBackBuc]

Very interesting post. I was not able to attend in 07. Eighteen corps is truly amazing!!!

I really liked Mini Corp in its early days, the crowd was standing and free to move around. Festival seating if you will, it had a really cool feel to it, very intimate. Lots of interaction with the people around you. It would be nice to find a venue that could accommodate that type of show.

The big question,,, could you stand for 6 hours to watch the whole show! I would be looking for a place to sit after a while.

[SaraNYC]

I will tell you what I have told people all along abut Star United....

It's all about the breathe dah.

I went up to listen to Star front and center - 2nd row in my original 1985 Star of Indiana member jacket. There was a gentleman that had an empty seat next to him and I asked him if he minded if I took it. Then the poor guy made a comment about "they're all in Blast!" before Star started.

I was pretty nice about pointing out to him that there were FIVE people up there that I marched with in 1985 - two that I aged out with. And I don't think they had anyone from Blast with them this year - maybe a Brass Theater person or two.

Regular people folks, doing what every single one of us does everyday of our lives - breathing. But breathing at the same time with a set technique concerning attacks and releases that everyone is on the same page with.

The Renegades put on a good show too and I really enjoyed MassBrass - I love the charts they do every year - the stuff that made me wanna march drum corps when I was a kid.

Edited September 15, 2007 by SaraNYC

[strutta]

I will tell you what I have told people all along abut Star United....

It's all about the breathe dah.

I went up to listen to Star front and center - 2nd row in my original 1985 Star of Indiana member jacket. There was a gentleman that had an empty seat next to him and I asked him if he minded if I took it. Then the poor guy made a comment about "they're all in Blast!" before Star started.

I was pretty nice about pointing out to him that there were FIVE people up there that I marched with in 1985 - two that I aged out with. And I don't think they had anyone from Blast with them this year - maybe a Brass Theater person or two.

Regular people folks, doing what every single one of us does everyday of our lives - breathing. But breathing at the same time with a set technique concerning attacks and releases that everyone is on the same page with.

The Renegades put on a good show too and I really enjoyed MassBrass - I love the charts they do every year - the stuff that made me wanna march drum corps when I was a kid.

Thank you Sara. Mass Brass enjoyed (and enjoys) performing many of the drum corps classics (and songs we think should be classics).

Regardless of the gentleman's comments, I for one would not have cared if every member of Star (or any other corps) marched Blast or any other music theater, symphony, jazz ensemble, etc. The beauty of what this event has become is that every year, it puts the best possible groups (willing to put in the time and effort), head to head in good natured competition.

That is an absolute WIN for all involved, performer and spectator alike.

As far as Mass Brass is concerned, who cares where you learned to play or are playing now? Get your arse on that stage and blow your balls off! (In tune of course.)

Once again, everybody wins...(and the corps get to discuss 4 judges opinions and talk smack for for the next year :P )

[WayBackBuc]

I will tell you what I have told people all along abut Star United....

It's all about the breathe dah.

I went up to listen to Star front and center - 2nd row in my original 1985 Star of Indiana member jacket. There was a gentleman that had an empty seat next to him and I asked him if he minded if I took it. Then the poor guy made a comment about "they're all in Blast!" before Star started.

I was pretty nice about pointing out to him that there were FIVE people up there that I marched with in 1985 - two that I aged out with. And I don't think they had anyone from Blast with them this year - maybe a Brass Theater person or two.

Regular people folks, doing what every single one of us does everyday of our lives - breathing. But breathing at the same time with a set technique concerning attacks and releases that everyone is on the same page with.

The Renegades put on a good show too and I really enjoyed MassBrass - I love the charts they do every year - the stuff that made me wanna march drum corps when I was a kid.

Who cares who they are, or where they performed,,, They all are really good musicians!

It would one thing if for example if I was rich and hired a group of top studio guys to do a Mini Corps and won,,,

I really don’t think that’s the case for Star.

I viewed them on You Tube and was very impressed by there technique and how tight they performed.

[Netty]

As a first timer for myslef being in the Mini-corps competition it was exciting and frustrating for how hard we worked all summer long and we played better then we ever had but still it wasn't quite as good as some of the other corps who were there and had been returning members. I found it interesting that some corps were dressed in a very casual style and didn't seem to have any special or uniform way to get on or off the stage and yet We as Excelsior tried to make every effort to perfect the little things that seemed regimented. We had to start somewhere and I am glad we participated in MCA so we can have some guidleines to go forth with as we prepare our show for 2008. I noticed after n ot having been in drum corp over the last 20 years it has become more of a theater presentation using props and story lines. It makes things much more interesting to the audience. Star united defintly was the greatest and an enjoyable show. They were all enjoyable but I could have watched them three times in a row and still been wowed.

If i had to give any comments to improve for next year it would be that signs be better placed to direct corps where to set up and park and where the entrance and exit would be especially if they change venues.

Well Nice job to all the other 17 corps, you have some tough shoes for us to fill.

I apologize for any typing errors it does not reflect the drum corp I am associated with just my poor typing skills.

[wolf1]

The loudest four person mello line ever....................

Thanks Star! And especially for coming out to the rehearsal site and watching Renegades last run through of the day...........