Cadets

[madscout96]

You're advocating ignorance. All the pieces in the standard orchestral repertoire were once new. All elements of drum corps were once new. It's a shame that our society does not appreciate new artistic endeavors as they did in Mozart's time.

I'm not advocating ignorance. I'm advocating knowing your audience and what they want and communicating artistically with them. Mozart and Haydn had to do that for sure! They didn't just write and perform whatever they wanted all the time. They had bosses that paid them to write and perform stuff that was to their liking. Sure they tried to push the envelope to see how innovative they could be within the boundaries of what was asked of them, especially Mozart. But they still had to answer to a paying patron!

Charles Ives, on the other hand, that dude sold insurance. He had a day job, so he could write whatever the hell he wanted, he only needed to please himself with his writing, and maybe other people who he wanted to share his music with.

[ToferVis]

It's interesting how crowds react to the Cadets vis a vis other narration-heavy shows. I don't recall booing in response to the BD '05, Cascades '05 and Bluestars '06 shows (though BD was criticized and mocked on-line for the Yowzas).

I didn't think anyone liked BD 2005....lol. When I think about it...2005 was a bad year in DCI to me...*just saying, i'll run to my corner now*

[chaddyt]

In reference to the booing/art/audience meme....

Let's say a composer wrote a piece of music to honor something outrageous. Maybe it was to commemorate Lee Harvey Oswald and his assassination of JFK. (That's an extreme, I'll admit, but for the sake of argument I'm using it to illustrate something offensive.) Now, this piece of music is going to be performed by a high school wind ensemble.

Is it a better course of action for me to write a letter to the band director/school district/etc. to express my outrage and offense?

Or to just wait till the Spring Concert so I can stand up and boo the kids performing it?

[Legalhack]

They were mocked in the stadium too, weren't they? I didn't see BD live in 05, but I heard that the Yowza guy got heckled a bit... didn't he?

YOWZA GUY: Audience, are YOU ready??

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: NO!!

Besides, BD finished 4th that year, their lowest finish in a long time. So maybe in most people's minds that was "punishment" enough for lame narration.

There were some "clever" responses. However, I don't recall boos.

[madscout96]

In reference to the booing/art/audience meme....

Let's say a composer wrote a piece of music to honor something outrageous. Maybe it was to commemorate Lee Harvey Oswald and his assassination of JFK. (That's an extreme, I'll admit, but for the sake of argument I'm using it to illustrate something offensive.) Now, this piece of music is going to be performed by a high school wind ensemble.

Is it a better course of action for me to write a letter to the band director/school district/etc. to express my outrage and offense?

Or to just wait till the Spring Concert so I can stand up and boo the kids performing it?

Booing has been a part of the culture of drum corps shows for a long time. The audience speaks its mind. Just like at sporting events and opera houses in 19th century Italy.

Booing hasn't really been a part of the culture of wind ensemble or orchestra concerts. So I would suggest writing a letter or speaking to the people in charge in person.

[mad_scotty]

In reference to the booing/art/audience meme....

Let's say a composer wrote a piece of music to honor something outrageous. Maybe it was to commemorate Lee Harvey Oswald and his assassination of JFK. (That's an extreme, I'll admit, but for the sake of argument I'm using it to illustrate something offensive.) Now, this piece of music is going to be performed by a high school wind ensemble.

Is it a better course of action for me to write a letter to the band director/school district/etc. to express my outrage and offense?

Or to just wait till the Spring Concert so I can stand up and boo the kids performing it?

i believe.....you should read all the e-mails from people who think you're a punk for writing a piece of music commemorating lee harvey oswalds body of work, decide you're better and smarter than all of them, and then rewrite your musical composition into a spoken word art house piece telling all the fans what jerks they are for not appreciating your "artistic explorations."

i believe......that this will make all of your enemies loathe you and everything you do, which is clearly part of your whole misunderstood artist mantra.

i believe........none of this has anything to do with the kids in your wind ensemble, and its become all about you at this point, and one day they will have the perspective to realize they weren't being booed, just sold up the river by the one person who should have been in their corner.

[The Other Mike]

In reference to the booing/art/audience meme....

Let's say a composer wrote a piece of music to honor something outrageous. Maybe it was to commemorate Lee Harvey Oswald and his assassination of JFK. (That's an extreme, I'll admit, but for the sake of argument I'm using it to illustrate something offensive.) Now, this piece of music is going to be performed by a high school wind ensemble.

Is it a better course of action for me to write a letter to the band director/school district/etc. to express my outrage and offense?

Or to just wait till the Spring Concert so I can stand up and boo the kids performing it?

First let me say that I would hope that the students would have learned that this was in poor taste by the time they were in high school and since band directors answer to higher ups, I really don't see something like that happening. Of course thers always the Stanford band and the pot leaf drill............

As far as booing them at their concert ? No, I would not even go and if I did I would never boo high school kids let alone do it at THEIR concert on their home turf so to speak.

Now, if that same group did something like that at a festival or contest I think it's a different story. While "I" would not boo, I could understand people that would.

Personally I like to be a little more creative. A fellow band director ( who also marched corps LONG ago ) and I have, in the past, had fun with each other and our bands at football games where we played each other. I enjoyed the year that I passed out newspapers to all my band members and when his band began to play, we just started reading the papers and put them on ignore.

In drum corps, I just go get a hot dog and gripe and complain on forums and newsgroups.

[chaddyt]

So because its "part of the culture", that makes it the mature thing to do?

[madscout96]

So because its "part of the culture", that makes it the mature thing to do?

I wasn't passing judgement on it. I'm just saying that it's a part of the culture of drum corps audiences. It just is, right or wrong. It has been for a very long time.

[LandoC]

Booing is bad. Narration can be good.