Things you would like Corps to change for next year...

[2000Cadet]

id like to see a piano in some shows... if BD does a jazz show, a rippin piano part with amp would be AWESOME.

NO MORE NARRARATION! (cadets/bluecoats im talking to you)

scouts... uniform change please.

Fixed for you.

[bawker]

. . .standard disclaimers: all IMO, no disrespect intended, do not swim for 30 minutes after reading, do not taunt Super Happy Fun Ball, etc, ipso facto, blah blah, yadda yadda yadda.

1. Phantom Regiment: Great job in finally perfecting the story-narrative show concept that you first scratched the surface with in 2006! Now, the bar is set very, very high . . .and you'll need to find someone guard wise who can rise to the occassion, and deliver a visual showcase for whatever you decide to do next. The great thing about classical music is that there aren't any shortages of heart-tugging emotional stories to choose from to give the same treatment "Spartacus" received. Take a slightly darker tack next year for maxing out the emotional/musical audience connection you've done so well since 2003.

2. The Blue Devils: WGI is a great source of inspiration for other marching arts . . .but it's not the end all, be-all of where your creative ideas need to spring from (yes, spinning toms and basses are cool, though). Execution will never be a problem for BD, but there's a tendency for BD shows to hit you in the face the past few years for about 4-5 minutes, and then meander towards a power chord ending. Create a true ballad moment next year; use that guard front and center and give the audience more of an emotional investment in what you're doing after you get them out of their seats initially. Keep the white plumes; brightening the uniform slightly can only help the folks upstairs see how well you move. Try to bring in a little more of a jazz-flavored infusion into Wayne's arrangements next year . . .let those upper leads wail; and more solo work, please. I'm not asking for 1993 redux, but when you've got the guns, use 'em!

3. The Cavaliers: Saucedo is gone; and while he's created two shows that I really enjoy (2000 and 2004), their original stuff just sort of lays there to me. If there's one thing I hope that is accomplished out of Saucedo leaving, it's that the Cavaliers find a brass arranger that harkens back towards the charts of the 1990's that put the corps back on the map competively again . . .a truly melodic and soaring brass book + Cavaliers visuals with Gaines = many more championships, IMO. Depending on who they have replace him, this may be one of the biggest deals in the off-season to me.

4. Carolina Crown: Okay, here you are . . .the same crossroads that many others have come to over the years: Blue Knights, Glassmen, Bluecoats, Suncoast Sound, Spirit of Atlanta, and so forth. Is this a make or break year for Crown to put themselves into the upper echelon of DCI? Perhaps. The best thing to do here, IMO, is not play it safe. Challenge the members and staff and take on something epic: think about what's been deemed impossible to translate to the field by many, and do it. Bruckner, Walton, Gorecki, hell...go off the deep end and do a Rachmaninoff show. If this is the year that is supposed to be "sink or swim" within the rarefied air of the Top 4-6, go for the jugular creatively; you've built up enough fan goodwill that people will follow you down the road.

5. Holy Name Cadets: If there's one thing that must be accomplished for "Lenny", it's cohesive show design. No more scattershot attempts at trying to script an "instant classic" with the narrative, no more relying on the past with opening with "Appalachian Spring", no more trying to force emotion: your best shows are the ones that do this entirely on their own. Make use of electronics creatively, and let the horn line do the talking for you. If you must use narrative, do so sparingly: perhaps a few direct quotes from Bernstein himself at the start of a piece, and then the music takes over. The last minute or two of 2008 is GOLD; use that as your template for what can be with 2009.

6. The Bluecoats: The pieces have been in place for a while now; but, like with the Cadets . . .the show concepts are either nebulous ("Connexus") or mired in two-dimensional presentation (2008). Your hornline and drumline are balls awesome, but now is the time to find the right design vehicle to make the guys up top scared. Find a big tentpole theme this year and really flesh it out . . . maybe an orchestral or modal jazz show that has a 1920's vibe the guard can play with and the brass can dig into, or a turn towards the intellectual with a "World Rhythms" show that can showcase some of the ethnic percussion you guys like so much (think sort of along the lines of Crossmen 1992, but for the new millenium).

. . there's more, but it's lunchtime.

[PCSoprano9702]

Academy- Make your drill and music guys talk to each other. Otherwise keep up the awesome.

Bluecoats- Lighten up your blue, stop talking, play big band.

BD- Return to any of your former ###### uniforms and play jazz.

Blue Knights- Dots! Oh, and I like the dancing, but tone it down a little.

Blue Stars- Keep it up, but with helmets. By no means should you return to those silly pants from 07.

Boston- Elbows! Otherwise keep up the awesome.

Cadets- Stay awesome, stop talking.

Cavaliers- Stay awesome.

Crossmen- Red and the capes from 07! Play Birdland constantly.

Crown- Stay awesome, add purple.

Colts- Go west!

Glassmen- Continue to get less boring!

Madison Scouts- Pre-2002 uniform, "A Drum Corps Fan's Dream 3.0" please!

Mandarins- Taiko drums!!!!!

Pacific Crest- White pants, clean drill. Keep up the dark angle from this year.

Phantom- Change nothing!

Pioneer- Open Class? Please don't sell out your identity!

SC Vanguard- I don't even have to tell them to stay awesome - I'd like to tone down the "concept" so that more than the judges have something to watch.

Spirit- Come out west, play at least one Southern tune per year.

Troopers- More guard, by no means should you "modernize" that uniform!!! Scarves and gray pants with gold stripe. Feel free to explore western/American themes more liberally.

DCI- Unplug, stop talking, stay reed-free, full retreat, Omerida, require cymbals lines, bring back PBS telecast, I'm ok with premium seats, but always have cheap seats on bad sightlines (that's where next year's rookies/donors/volunteers all come from!)

DCI Fan Network - Stay Awesome. $69 is not just a fair price, it's also hilarious.

[Mason Dixon]

id like to see a piano in some shows... if BD does a jazz show, a rippin piano part with amp would be AWESOME.

NO MORE NARRARATION! (cadets im talking to you)

scouts... uniform change please.

Rhapsody in BLUE, anyone?

[Noname]

Fixed for you.

Well, I wouldn't say that. Bluecoats used good narration, and didn't drown out the rest of the show with it. How <i>they</i> used it I liked more than if it wasn't there.

[2000Cadet]

Well, I wouldn't say that. Bluecoats used good narration, and didn't drown out the rest of the show with it. How <i>they</i> used it I liked more than if it wasn't there.

Well since he said no more narration and put Cadets in parenthesis, I looked at it as if he didn't want narration from ANY corps, so I WOULD say that.

[MidTN Mello]

Academy- Make your drill and music guys talk to each other. Otherwise keep up the awesome.

Boston- Elbows! Otherwise keep up the awesome.

Cadets- Stay awesome, stop talking.

Cavaliers- Stay awesome.

Crown- Stay awesome, add purple.

SC Vanguard- I don't even have to tell them to stay awesome - I'd like to tone down the "concept" so that more than the judges have something to watch.

DCI Fan Network - Stay Awesome. $69 is not just a fair price, it's also hilarious.

Sounds like a HS yearbook.

I'd like Crown to go back purple, be less "cute" and more tough, like you play.

Bloo to go back to white pants and more moments like "The Boxer"

PR to have black uniforms, don't make a wedge kick in the show.

BD to keep the plumes, ditch the side cape skirt thing, and as has been said play jazz and build throughout the show instead of the show not being as interesting after the opener.

[84skyrydr]

Well, I wouldn't say that. Bluecoats used good narration, and didn't drown out the rest of the show with it. How <i>they</i> used it I liked more than if it wasn't there.

The only reason that the show wasn't drowned out by their narration, was because, their mics didn't work half of the time. Otherwise, they had a LOT of gabbing. They just get the pass though,because Hopkins isn't their leader. The Bluecoat narration factor has risen three straight years, so what do you think they are going to do this year. ( hopefully find better mics and a sound guy that can fix a problem that occured ALL season ).....

[MGCpimpOtimp]

yeah, two Fred Sanford's in three years means they need to be better trained...please

I think he was talking about them getting in and out of the box. I know they are notorious for being slow at getting out of the box so other pits can get in.

[wvu80]

Cadets: NO NARRATION (or at least learn how to use it effectively...have someone from Bluecoats give Hop some instruction)

I've got to gently disagree with you on one minor point, my friend; I didn't like the way Bluecoats put narration back IN to their show at the end of the season.

They took out the junky 'counting to ten' (TWICE), but then put it back in at the end. I thought it was TOTALLY unnecessary.

If you're referring to last years' BC shows, then I agree. I liked what they did last year.

+++

My suggestion is not for a corps, but for DCI: Give the on-field judges gray pant and shirt, instead of the white pants they wore this year.

The judges should be NOT-seen, and NOT-heard (and NOT be run over from being on the field!)

(I'd vote to get ALL the judges off the field, but that's another thread)

Edited August 28, 2008 by wvu80