roosevelt Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Key is a talented guy. Very talented. Some may argue that his drum corps arrangements may not be the best thing in the world (I think they are fine), but none of that really matters yet becuase they have not been able to PERFORM the last few years. You can blame Key Poulan or Pete Weber all you want, but the instructional team has either A) not trained the corps well enough for them to compete with the corps in their bracket or B) the instructional team has not been kept in place long enough to get them at the level to compete for the top. Lets face it, the corps that have been in front of them the last few years (BD, Cadets, Cavies, Crown, & Phantom) have been flat out executing their shows better than them. It really hasn't been close these last few years.... those other corps have been out-marching, out-playing, and spinning SCV lately and THAT is why they are not competing for championships like they used to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwscv87 Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Key is a talented guy. Very talented. Some may argue that his drum corps arrangements may not be the best thing in the world (I think they are fine), but none of that really matters yet becuase they have not been able to PERFORM the last few years. You can blame Key Poulan or Pete Weber all you want, but the instructional team has either A) not trained the corps well enough for them to compete with the corps in their bracket or B) the instructional team has not been kept in place long enough to get them at the level to compete for the top. Lets face it, the corps that have been in front of them the last few years (BD, Cadets, Cavies, Crown, & Phantom) have been flat out executing their shows better than them. It really hasn't been close these last few years.... those other corps have been out-marching, out-playing, and spinning SCV lately and THAT is why they are not competing for championships like they used to. I completely agree. It has been about execution - plain and simple. I hope Key is around for a long time, Pete Weber too. I think SCVs musical book last year was as interesting and exciting as anyone's with the exception of Phantom and possibly Crown. Visual design was excellent too. Moto was one of the best shows this decade IMO, but again execution was just very good, not great. Design has not been the problem for SCV this decade in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTNK Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 You can blame Key Poulan or Pete Weber all you want, but the instructional team has either A) not trained the corps well enough for them to compete with the corps in their bracket or B) the instructional team has not been kept in place long enough to get them at the level to compete for the top. Lets face it, the corps that have been in front of them the last few years (BD, Cadets, Cavies, Crown, & Phantom) have been flat out executing their shows better than them. It really hasn't been close these last few years.... those other corps have been out-marching, out-playing, and spinning SCV lately and THAT is why they are not competing for championships like they used to. So true. I loved most of SCV's show last year, but when I watched the video of Allentown it was plain to hear why they got 7th: shaky attacks, poor intonation, and overall just sloppiness and lack of a strong ensemble brass sound. Although...I think their show design started off well and got progressively worse throughout the show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarVoyager Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Yes execution is a problem with this group right now in a few areas. Something else I want to mention: For the last 2 yrs. or so a lot of people have said the same thing: "The show was great up until the closer." Hopefully they have a great production this year and shock the hell out of all of us . Time will tell. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Getintoyourcolor Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 SCV 2008 was one of my favorite shows last season. It wasn't a "perfect" show conceptually but I found it very entertaining with a high degree of difficulty. I agree about the execution - they aimed high but fell a bit short. I am rooting for them this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
washingtoncorpsfan Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I've always been impressed with SCV's shows, even in this decade. I can't understand why they keep placing in the middle of the top 12 pack. Granted, their marching does tend to be a bit sloppy sometimes; but I can't understand why the would need more than a few little fixer upers to get back in the top of the heap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_S Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 You can blame Key Poulan or Pete Weber all you want, but the instructional team has either A) not trained the corps well enough for them to compete with the corps in their bracket or B) the instructional team has not been kept in place long enough to get them at the level to compete for the top. Lets face it, the corps that have been in front of them the last few years (BD, Cadets, Cavies, Crown, & Phantom) have been flat out executing their shows better than them. It really hasn't been close these last few years.... those other corps have been out-marching, out-playing, and spinning SCV lately and THAT is why they are not competing for championships like they used to. Well put. SCV's been a sore point for me, as the last show of theirs that I loved was 2003. But I really, really loved those shows from 1997-2003, ###### near every single one of them. I was introduced to the activity shortly after that run began, so of course SCV was one of my favorite corps from the start. The worst those corps finished was fifth in 2003, when they were narrowly clipped by a rising Phantom Regiment at the end of the season. If you want to throw 2004 in there, a show which I enjoyed though probably not to the same extent as most, then the point is even stronger. The fact is, Vanguard was at their best when they were performing their best, even as they were taking on challenging shows in the process. How disastrous was that 2005 season, when the corps decided to play a simple show that they thought everyone would like? I'm concerned that the corps looks ready to go down that same path again this year, we'll see what the results are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCImonkey Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Then he'd be out of a job, and whatever your opinion of him may be, could you do all those arrangements for all those groups better than he? It is not Key Poulan who arranges boring music. It's the design staff as a whole who chooses boring music, then sends it to Key Poulan to be arranged for drum and bugle corps. Key has composed music for the SF Renegades that will tear your face off, so don't knock him, knock his clients! I have met him before and he is a gentleman and a scholar, and I admire him for his composing AND his arranging skills. Keep on going Key, dont take S**T from anyone! Ok, so when I go to Key Poulan's website or listen to the CD's that get mailed to my bandroom, I can listen to all of those shows that he has arranged for marching bands...... which bore me! Or are very repetitive....or leave me with that eeehhh feeling. Did SCV hire him to write all of those band arrangements? Ultimately, a design staff comes up with an idea, but at the end of the day, Key puts the pen to the paper.....or right index finger to the mouse as is the case with most arrangers now. I'm not buying it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdaddy Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Ok, so when I go to Key Poulan's website or listen to the CD's that get mailed to my bandroom, I can listen to all of those shows that he has arranged for marching bands...... which bore me! Or are very repetitive....or leave me with that eeehhh feeling. Did SCV hire him to write all of those band arrangements? Ultimately, a design staff comes up with an idea, but at the end of the day, Key puts the pen to the paper.....or right index finger to the mouse as is the case with most arrangers now. I'm not buying it. Those probably aren't arrangements you are hearing - they are probably original compositions. If you write enough of them, they'll probably start sounding a lot like each other or altogether boring (ask Sousa or Haydn). One more thought - when his website lists that he arranges for X bands, I doubt he has X different arrangements. Those are probably bands who buy his music which he has already composed, and perhaps he tailors it a little bit for that band. I seriously doubt he puts significant time into X different high school band shows. For what it's worth, I think Poulan is an exceptional arranger for SCV, and I don't think it's a coincidence that when much of the staff left (or was let go) after 2005, Poulan remained. I've thought that SCV has had a unique arrangement style since 1997, and I think Poulan fits right into that style without skipping a beat. Also, 2004, in my opinion, was brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Then he'd be out of a job, and whatever your opinion of him may be, could you do all those arrangements for all those groups better than he? It is not Key Poulan who arranges boring music. It's the design staff as a whole who chooses boring music, then sends it to Key Poulan to be arranged for drum and bugle corps. Key has composed music for the SF Renegades that will tear your face off, so don't knock him, knock his clients! I have met him before and he is a gentleman and a scholar, and I admire him for his composing AND his arranging skills. Keep on going Key, dont take S**T from anyone! well said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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