What's going on with Crossmen?

[soccerguy315]

No, I haven't seen any corps this year. That's why I was asking why people think the Crossmen aren't doing well.

Crossmen are in the thick of the battle for 13th-17, IMO... which is where they've been the last 5 years.

They need [good] staff continuity for long term improvement. Can't start over every year and expect more success.

[Frogman87]

They made some changes this week that seem to have paid off. The crowd reacted much better than the Michigan show. I liked the new wrinkles. Based on what I saw tonight, I would group Crossmen with Spirit, Troopers, and Colts. I didn't see Glassmen. Scouts were a step above this group as were Blue Knights (ahead of Scouts too). I think Crossmen took a major step forward tonight.

As to the individual errors, etc. I know the last three days they have addressed this in a major way. Reading others' posts, it seems the Full Circle is a like it or hate it arrangement this year. Not much in the middle. It may be such a old favorite that a new arrangement just isn't sitting well with some. That may be adding to their problems.

All that to say, the show tonight was much better. Still needs cleaning, but much more energy, etc. Just my opinion.

Edited July 18, 2010 by Frogman87

[soccerguy315]

They made some changes this week that seem to have paid off. The crowd reacted much better than the Michigan show. I liked the new wrinkles. Based on what I saw tonight, I would group Crossmen with Spirit, Troopers, and Colts. I didn't see Glassmen. Scouts were a step above this group as were Blue Knights (ahead of Scouts too). I think Crossmen took a major step forward tonight.

As to the individual errors, etc. I know the last three days they have addressed this in a major way. Reading others' posts, it seems the Full Circle is a like it or hate it arrangement this year. Not much in the middle. It may be such a old favorite that a new arrangement just isn't sitting well with some. That may be adding to their problems.

All that to say, the show tonight was much better. Still needs cleaning, but much more energy, etc. Just my opinion.

the music arrangements are broken up more, which is their arranger's style. Obviously some people don't like it. If you have the fan network, watch 98 Crossmen, the closer... then watch 2002, the opener. The different arranging style is very obvious. The older versions have more continuous melody lines.

Crossmen are obviously working hard to clean what they have, just like everyone else. If you don't like the music, having cleaner music is not going to help. Part of the issue with going back into past repertoire is that you will always be compared to the previous version. The members only have control over execution.

edit: apparently 02 Crossmen isn't on the fan network??? that's a bummer... anyone know why?

Edited July 18, 2010 by soccerguy315

[Jeff Ream]

Dont' be shy:

AIM: YataForLuda

no thanks. i caused enough issues stating what I felt about Crossmen last summer on here

[perc2100]

the music arrangements are broken up more, which is their arranger's style. Obviously some people don't like it. If you have the fan network, watch 98 Crossmen, the closer... then watch 2002, the opener. The different arranging style is very obvious. The older versions have more continuous melody lines.

The older versions are also VERY faithful arrangements for the most part. I'm a HUGE Pat Metheny fan, and there are few shows I like more than 91 Crossmen (and I also love their 98 Metheny show; I wasn't a big fan of the year they did Heat of the Day). I think this year's arrangements of his tunes are "different." Mr. Guidry has a fairly unique style where he takes well known melodies and twists/turns/modulates/whatever-you-want-to-call-it to make some unique. I agree with others that's it's probably hit or miss, but IMO I don't mind a fresh take on Metheny classics. If I want to hear an arrangement that is super faithful to the original, there is no reason to not look at 98 (for Letter From Home and First Circle) or 91 (for Minuano). For others who don't mind taking a chance and listening to a totally different interpretation of those tunes, 2010 offers something different and cool.

I haven't watched their most recent video yet to see how the show is changed, but I liked Kalamazoo's performance (or at least the show design; performance was not up to par yet). Metheny himself is VERY hip with people arranging his music in drastically different ways (and with different instrumentation) than originally recorded, so I think this show is in the spirit of his wishes.

Of course, maybe this show will cause someone to take the best option: buy Metheny's originals and enjoy some INCREDIBLE music! I recommend the Road to You live CD for KILLER versions of Letter from Home and First Circle. Minuano is the first track of the awesome Still Life (Talking) disc, and Heat of the Day can be found on the awesome concept album Imaginary Day (trivia: Pat Metheny Group played Heat of the Day on the Imaginary Day tour and he's gone on record as saying that song was probably the hardest tune he and his band have ever had to prepare and perform live).

[Jeff Ream]

saw Pat live a few times...loved Heat of the Day Live, as well as all of the classics.

[Jerseyboy]

2010 Crossmen will be in the 11-16 position by the end of the year.

lets see what the next 2 weeks bring.

better program than

Spirit

Colts

Glassmen

Troopers

Have not seen Academy , PC , yet.

Its all cleaning and performance.

[soccerguy315]

Of course, maybe this show will cause someone to take the best option: buy Metheny's originals and enjoy some INCREDIBLE music! I recommend the Road to You live CD for KILLER versions of Letter from Home and First Circle. Minuano is the first track of the awesome Still Life (Talking) disc, and Heat of the Day can be found on the awesome concept album Imaginary Day (trivia: Pat Metheny Group played Heat of the Day on the Imaginary Day tour and he's gone on record as saying that song was probably the hardest tune he and his band have ever had to prepare and perform live).

I agree... I own multiple Pat Metheny CDs thanks to drum corps.

[ShortAndFast]

Definitely I think the show design, and especially the music book, is not giving them the vehicle they need to either succeed competitively or to get a big audience response. I was really hoping that the choice of repertoire this year - great charts, and synonymous with the Crossmen in the minds of most fans - signaled a change in their design direction. Sadly, it's not the case. There's plenty to say about their book, but in short, it is not an effective presentation of some very strong source material.

I've been a fan of the Crossmen for a long time, but their shows since 2007 have basically left me scratching my head. I just don't understand why their staff is putting this kind of product on the field. I'm sure they'll do their best to clean up the performance of what they've got, and hopefully that gets them into Friday night - it definitely doesn't seem like a lock at this point.

[CloudHype]

Considering that I like the Midi's better then the performance, guess which direction I'm going with on this one? That said, I feel that Guidry's work translates better to the instrumentation of a marching band vs a drum corps. I like most of his stuff, I feel he uses electronics very well but something is missing when I hear Crossmen and I dig the books for Broken Arrow, RR, etc...