cadetzoid Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Hey Spirit eligible vets and anyone thinking of auditioning at Spirit, go to the Spirit website and submit your application! I agree with most earlier posters; high-energy music, identifiable music, not like everybody else, reminds me of the best of Spirit. I actually thought about why the music of Kansas for a while before deciding to post. Besides the super important things I listed above, I stared thinking about something I know to be a key to any group's success, staff strength, experience and style. So if you are looking at the 15th place group and trying to move up, it is going to be hard. It is even harder when you have a long history and were once a top six group. What to do? Based on their announcement, seems they have thought a lot about all of this and made some educated decisions. As far as the staff, I know most of the staff's work pretty well. When I started thinking person to person on their design staff, I got even more excited and convinced by the show announcement. Scott Boerma. Decades of high energy success. Known for his latin and rock arrangements. One of very few true composers in the activity. Bingo Shane Gwaltney. Lots of great perc. stuff at Spirit last two years. Music City Mystique high energy approach with intrigue and coolness. Bingo Northeast Independent (Robby Dufresne and Jill Brennan). Creative, great body stuff, intense energy and communication (2006,2008 for example). Bingo Ray Vasquez. Trumpet soloist, teaches jazz, high energy guy, diverse experience including rock. Bingo Mark Waymire. Diverse experience. His own stuff ranges from classical to jazz to rock, with high energy and always memorable. Worked with Boerma for years. Bingo Their weaknesses in 2008: Lack of show coordination and lack of energy or GE. changes=Waymire, Kansas Weak marching. changes=New visual staff Down year for brass. changes=Added guys with lots of experiences This is also only the second year for a guard staff that started the guard program in the right direction last season. All sounds smart to me. Downloading Kansas' greatest hits right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT76 Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I'm happy for two reasons...1. It's not wind ensemble music. 2. It doesn't take a long dissertation to explain the "concept" or the "vision" that the corps is trying to present. That's good enough for me. Whether it turns out great or not, at least this isn't a show where the majority of the audience will be scratching their heads trying to figure it out. Exactly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fievel Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Northern Aurora 1993 part II I thought I felt a disturbance in the Force today. If it's anything like NA '93, it will only end badly. Pain... Suffering... Therapy... Sigh. Good luck, Spirit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigger2 Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I don't agree with must of your post so I edited it, seems you don’t agree with much of your post so we kind of agree that first line of yours, is why many don't trust them or we trust them to keep putting out the sameish stuff...so when they show me something better for more than one year in a row so I know it wasn't a fluke.. their show last year, IMO, well... that other chip about the top six, I don't buy it...whne Cavies announced Billy Joel, I was all ugh...I hate Billy Joel but really being party of the top 6 Means you deliver year after year, so they earned the benefit of the doubt and that shows up in placement Not sure if I buy this quest for a new identity, I mean every year when you have a new identity ….why are they running from their past so much? They had an identity and they rocked, there is still a lot undone in that identity To me, a crucial part of identity is being yourself and this reeks of them again, trying not to be themselves… but differently this time You edited my post because you do not agree with it? Not sure of your point. Did you mean we do not agree with each other's posts so "we kind of agree"? You hating Billy Joel is just that and is not a basis for why Kansas may or may not work for Spirit. Though some would agree with you that the top six "earn the benefit of the doubt", since it is a youth activity needing positives to continue to exist, can we not give all the benefit of a doubt? I do not see any of this as a creating a new identity from all their years, just their ambiguous years; recapturing their old positive identity through a venue that fits 2009 and has built in energy. What worked for them in 1979 was great for then. No corps will go back and do those things the same way. As far as some undone material from southern/gospel/etc., yes, there is more, but why would they want to be compared to their glory years when it isn't possible? If those years were much more recent, I could maybe buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadetzoid Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I thought I felt a disturbance in the Force today.If it's anything like NA '93, it will only end badly. Pain... Suffering... Therapy... Sigh. Good luck, Spirit. Sorry you had a bad experience. It has nothing to do with Spirit. I doubt Spirt will go back and look at those videos and hope to repeat that show. 1993-2009 is sixteen years, and many drum corps changes ago. Don't think the 1993 NA staff is designing the Spirit 2009 show. I see you are from Michigan. Did you march Northern Aurora in 1993? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssorrell Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 (edited) I thought I felt a disturbance in the Force today.If it's anything like NA '93, it will only end badly. Pain... Suffering... Therapy... Sigh. Good luck, Spirit. Interesting to note that Northern Aurora's shows in 92 and 93 (the Kansas show) were their highest placements in Open Class in their history. so maybe their choice of Kansas wasn't too bad for them either. Edited November 20, 2008 by ssorrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecoats88 Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Music included will be:The Spider Journey from Mariabronn The Pinnacle Song for America Carry on my Wayward Son Dust in the Wind Point of Know Return The Wall Anxious to see what Boerma and Gwaltney can dish out. Like I said, should be interesting to say the least. Darn no Miracles out of nowhere or Magnum Opus (which we played as a drum solo in 1984) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fievel Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Did you march Northern Aurora in 1993? Yess abnd it srtill hursts to this sday. Interesting to note that Northern Aurora's shows in 92 and 93 (the Kansas show) were their highest placements in Open Class in their history. so maybe their choice of Kansas wasn't too bad for them either. True, but after the '93 season (which built off the great 1992 season), the corps lost a severe majority of its members and never even came close in size or placement again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magic of Mobile D&BC Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I am Highly Impressed at the announcement of Spirit's 2009 Show "KANSAS" Spirit has a one time chance to make this work. They have all the makings for 2009 to be a comeback year. I wish Spirit the Best of Luck. Hope to see a top 8 placement.!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrothgar15 Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 This may be one of my most anticipated shows of 2009. Musical focus = win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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