BOA Grand Nationals

[corpssaavy]

Well don't get me wrong, I LOVED Tarpon Springs' show and they performed it really well, I just wouldn't call it a marching band. The main reason for this is not the tarps or the choreography, it's simply because they don't have a drumline (in case nobody noticed). This is fine if it's a small low budget high school, but the band is huge and obviously they have a lot of money to throw around, especially since they have like 20+ people in the pit recreating the percussion sounds with electronics. In fact their pit is so big and electronic they had to stick some more synths at the back of the field.

FYI, the synths are all in the back. There are no synths in the pit in front of the field. Until this year, they have not had enough numbers in the pit to field a drum line of adequate size. From what I hear, they are starting their first winter drum line this year, and I believe the plan is to have some type of battery on the field next year.

Edited November 18, 2010 by corpssaavy

[corpssaavy]

I didn't realize they were the same design teams...You raise an interesting point. It seems the designers, then, ARE "holding back" because of their awareness of DCI audience vs. BOA audience. Other than cost/logistical constraints, I cannot see another reason for it. However, what I don't understand...is how corps like Cadets are not taking full advantage of this kind of programming. In 2005, we got a door. Great. But that theme with this level of programming? It would have been INCREDIBLE! And what's more, Tarpon Springs' visual demand concerning body movement and dance, well, let's just say they did probably THREE TIMES as much in their opener as I did in two seasons of World Class drum corps this decade.

Personally, I think what they did was incredible because the thematic approach was so well designed and the setting was so well utilized. On top of that, they played AND marched their butts off! Pass-throughs, jazz running, etc. and doing it clean while playing well! That's not something that can be said of ALL World Class drum corps. Give that very same show to a corps, replace the woodwind voices, and I think it would have a lot of appeal not only for its technical merit but for the goosebump moments inside the music. Even the voice patch was effective and contributed to the overall mood of the show - I found myself on edge and tense in the right places.

There HAS to be audience awareness or logistical concerns - those are the ONLY two factors that I could see warranting a restrained approach to design especially when THIS is what can result. I'd still call it marching band - those kids were marching their butts off! But they were doing so inside of a well-designed thematic package that really married the musical, visual, and "ambience" to create an amazing, ENTERTAINING production!

Anyone else have thoughts because I am literally sitting here totally blown away and wondering why the corps so concerned with pushing the envelope aren't ACTUALLY pushing anything. A bunch of mirrors looks like amateur hour compared to this stuff. I'd LOVE to see BD or Cadets simply go ALL OUT; I could even forgive the lack of melody in a BD show if they were to commit fully to the programming.

Honestly, Tarpon Springs High School just kind of upstaged all of DCI from a design standpoint. Makes BD2010 look traditional.

The reason Blue Stars don't have as much of a set design as Tarpon Springs is purely logistical. With high school bands, you have a huge parent and booster program capable of transporting and setting up the set. In drum corps, you do not have anywhere near the amount of people available to build the set at every show and take it on and off the field.

[corpssaavy]

If I'm not mistaken, their synths are in the pit. The platform at the back contains guitars and the electronic drumkit that functions as Tarpon's "battery percussion", as well as the backfield drum major (listening to a click track) - the main DM locks in with the backfield one. This helps to reduce ensemble music problems created by extremely hard music, field coverage, and individual drill demand. Not 100% positive on all of these details, but I think this is the gist of it. Pretty ingenious really.

The backfield drum major is not conducting to a click track.

Edited November 18, 2010 by corpssaavy

[Jeff Ream]

I have watched them. and to be honest, I really didn't go running to the box office to see it live

Look at any other bell show from 05-09 and you will see shows of equal or better quailty with music you've probably never head on a field

[Jeff Ream]

Well don't get me wrong, I LOVED Tarpon Springs' show and they performed it really well, I just wouldn't call it a marching band. The main reason for this is not the tarps or the choreography, it's simply because they don't have a drumline (in case nobody noticed). This is fine if it's a small low budget high school, but the band is huge and obviously they have a lot of money to throw around, especially since they have like 20+ people in the pit recreating the percussion sounds with electronics. In fact their pit is so big and electronic they had to stick some more synths at the back of the field.

while i agree on the electronics, ventures didnt march a battery either and everyone called them a drum corps

[Michael Boo]

What year did Carolina Crown use the giant chess pieces on the field....1996? They dragged those things everywhere. If planned properly I don't see it as a restriction.

And their drill writer that year? Kevin Ford, who went on to become director of Tarpon Springs. Even then he was demonstrating his mastery of moving things around.

[DrillmanSop06]

So... why do you enjoy DCI more than BOA, if BOA has better programming, better music, and better execution (in your mind)?

Definitely NOT better execution - sorry I didn't make that clear. That's one reason I enjoy DCI - it's the highest level of achievement in marching music today.

Despite the clearly superior programatic choices being made given the access to things like synths, props, etc. in marching band, I can't pretend that a marching band will ever get the same primal, gut-wrenching, skin tingling feeling out of me that a hornline does. Even if it doesn't happen on the field for 10 minutes straight, I can walk over to the lot and hear just the pure, gorgeous sound of brass. Now, on the field, mix in pit, mix in sound patches, whatever. But the fundamental thing that draws me to drum corps more than marching band, aside from overall excellence, is the difference in acoustic instrumentation. In a way, the limitation creates the draw for me.

My line comes at woodwinds. I'm sure a DCI corps with woodwinds would be amazing and showcase the excellence of young people in a way no other venue could allow. But then it would just be summer drumband.

This is all just my personal opinion. I hope that helps clear it up. Now, I'm sure the inevitable argument is that, "Oh, if we make these programming changes, we move one step closer to being marching band." The fact of the matter is the raw material - the sound production, the electronics, the props - are ALL already being used in DCI. If you're going to use 'em, do it up right. That's all I'm sayin'.

Btw, I also enjoyed the marching/playing shows I saw coming out of Grand Nationals. You know why I loved Broken Arrow? Melody. I could hum it, I knew it, and I could recognize it without even seeing a description that it was based upon the Wizard of Oz. Isn't that what we want from our DRUM CORPS? So even on the other side of the spectrum, PROGRAMMING (not performance or execution) is just so far behind IN MANY CASES (not universally, of course.)

[Catan]

And their drill writer that year? Kevin Ford, who went on to become director of Tarpon Springs. Even then he was demonstrating his mastery of moving things around.

awesome! One of my favorite Crown shows! Ford is an amazing drill designer.

[Lance]

You know why I loved Broken Arrow? Melody. I could hum it, I knew it, and I could recognize it without even seeing a description that it was based upon the Wizard of Oz. Isn't that what we want from our DRUM CORPS?

just because you don't recognize it doesn't mean it doesn't have melody.

there's plenty of melody in drum corps right now, imo. i don't always like it, and hope the music trends right now revert a bit backward, but melody is there, and lots of it.

[DrillmanSop06]

just because you don't recognize it doesn't mean it doesn't have melody.

there's plenty of melody in drum corps right now, imo. i don't always like it, and hope the music trends right now revert a bit backward, but melody is there, and lots of it.

I'm not saying there isn't melody in drum corps - but many posters here seem to lodge the complaint that they'd like less "chop 'n bop" arranging and more cohesive melodies. I know it's there but it seems as though the same people who dismiss BOA are the ones complaining about a lack of perceived melody.