kickhaltsforlife Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Yeah, I'll agree with Mike. And you especially can't compare scores across circuits. Different criteria. And USBands, TOB, Cavalcade... all have an extrememly wide range of bands, from size, to achievement level. And there are plenty of great bands around here. At the Yamaha Cup last year I was thoroughly entertained. And at TOB's Atlantic Coast Championship just watch the top 5-10 in all four group levels. It's amazing what some of the smaller bands in this area can do also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hostrauser Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Ayala and Upland both went to BOA grand nationals a couple years ago... Ayala has made GN finals and regularly do the regional out there... They do BOA plenty, but I'd guess that they don't do it more because of money. As did Thousand Oaks (sadly, on a down year) and Vista Murrieta. But yes, that is the reason. It costs a 200-member California band (like an Ayala, an Upland, a Vista Murrieta) around $250,000-$300,000 for a BOA Grand Nationals trip. That's ON TOP of all your other standard annual expenses. And the school district won't pay for a single cent of it. And you can't charge/collect fair-share fees from the kids. And that's why you rarely see a CA band at Grand Nationals. Regarding the scoring comments: I'm not suggesting everyone needs to match BOA, but I find the scoring/sheets in USSBA to be silly. 1st place 98, 5th place 96, 10th place 93, 15th place 90... the lack of spreads bothers me. Believe me, we have circuits out in California just like that (NCBA, SCJA). But if you're going to use number values, then use number management. If spreads don't matter as long as the order/ranking is correct (an argument I hear often), then go to an ordinal system like the UIL in Texas. It's just my personal preference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 (edited) As did Thousand Oaks (sadly, on a down year) and Vista Murrieta. But yes, that is the reason. It costs a 200-member California band (like an Ayala, an Upland, a Vista Murrieta) around $250,000-$300,000 for a BOA Grand Nationals trip. That's ON TOP of all your other standard annual expenses. And the school district won't pay for a single cent of it. And you can't charge/collect fair-share fees from the kids. And that's why you rarely see a CA band at Grand Nationals. Regarding the scoring comments: I'm not suggesting everyone needs to match BOA, but I find the scoring/sheets in USSBA to be silly. 1st place 98, 5th place 96, 10th place 93, 15th place 90... the lack of spreads bothers me. Believe me, we have circuits out in California just like that (NCBA, SCJA). But if you're going to use number values, then use number management. If spreads don't matter as long as the order/ranking is correct (an argument I hear often), then go to an ordinal system like the UIL in Texas. It's just my personal preference. Man, I've really enjoyed Thousand Oaks ( and Valley View from a while back) and Diamond Bar ( and William S. Hart H.S.) way back in the day. Etiwanda used to be VERY good as well, winning several BOA Las Vegas regionals, but the econemey has really hurt that part of SoCal... I'm surprised that Upland is still good since Etiwanda is struggling.... I don't know much about any of these bands anymore... I do know that Ayala, Mission Viejo, and Upland are consistently very good... There's no wonder that there is no "power" DCI corps in SoCal, but Pacific Crest could remedy that in a hurry this year if they do well... Edited April 20, 2012 by jjeffeory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hostrauser Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Thousand Oaks back when Bill Hoehne was director was probably the best band in the state. Their "Cleopatra" show in 1997 or 1998 would have been Top 5 at BOA Grand Nationals. Diamond Bar only does parade now due to finances. William S. Hart is still quite good. Etiwanda dropped off when Don Jaramillo retired. They're still pretty good, but not like they were in the 90s. Upland, Etiwanda, Los Osos, and Rancho Cucamonga are all high schools in the same area, and they're all good. Top bands in Northern California: James Logan, Homestead, Saratoga, Amador Valley, Granite Bay Top bands in Southern California: Upland, Hart, the Mission Viejo bands (Mission Viejo and Trabuco Hills), the Chino bands (Ayala, Chino, Chino Hills), the north San Diego county bands (Rancho Bernardo, Mt. Carmel, Poway, San Marcos, Vista Murrieta, Murrieta Valley), El Dorado, Fountain Valley, Thousand Oaks. Top 5 Bands on the rise in California: Homestead (Cupertino), Granite Bay (Sacramento suburb), Chino Hills, South Hills (West Covina), San Marcos (San Diego suburb) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Good list. Next time I live out that way I'll have to check out the up and coming groups! Thousand Oaks back when Bill Hoehne was director was probably the best band in the state. Their "Cleopatra" show in 1997 or 1998 would have been Top 5 at BOA Grand Nationals. Diamond Bar only does parade now due to finances. William S. Hart is still quite good. Etiwanda dropped off when Don Jaramillo retired. They're still pretty good, but not like they were in the 90s. Upland, Etiwanda, Los Osos, and Rancho Cucamonga are all high schools in the same area, and they're all good. Top bands in Northern California: James Logan, Homestead, Saratoga, Amador Valley, Granite Bay Top bands in Southern California: Upland, Hart, the Mission Viejo bands (Mission Viejo and Trabuco Hills), the Chino bands (Ayala, Chino, Chino Hills), the north San Diego county bands (Rancho Bernardo, Mt. Carmel, Poway, San Marcos, Vista Murrieta, Murrieta Valley), El Dorado, Fountain Valley, Thousand Oaks. Top 5 Bands on the rise in California: Homestead (Cupertino), Granite Bay (Sacramento suburb), Chino Hills, South Hills (West Covina), San Marcos (San Diego suburb) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Thousand Oaks back when Bill Hoehne was director was probably the best band in the state. Their "Cleopatra" show in 1997 or 1998 would have been Top 5 at BOA Grand Nationals. Diamond Bar only does parade now due to finances. William S. Hart is still quite good. Etiwanda dropped off when Don Jaramillo retired. They're still pretty good, but not like they were in the 90s. Upland, Etiwanda, Los Osos, and Rancho Cucamonga are all high schools in the same area, and they're all good. Top bands in Northern California: James Logan, Homestead, Saratoga, Amador Valley, Granite Bay Top bands in Southern California: Upland, Hart, the Mission Viejo bands (Mission Viejo and Trabuco Hills), the Chino bands (Ayala, Chino, Chino Hills), the north San Diego county bands (Rancho Bernardo, Mt. Carmel, Poway, San Marcos, Vista Murrieta, Murrieta Valley), El Dorado, Fountain Valley, Thousand Oaks. Top 5 Bands on the rise in California: Homestead (Cupertino), Granite Bay (Sacramento suburb), Chino Hills, South Hills (West Covina), San Marcos (San Diego suburb) Don't forget about the Central Valley: Clovis West, Clovis High is pretty solid, and building, Beyer High School has always been a bit smaller, but really good, Clovis North is moving up quickly from the smaller divisions, and El Diamante in Visalia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skajerk Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Don't forget about the Central Valley: Clovis West, Clovis High is pretty solid, and building, Beyer High School has always been a bit smaller, but really good, Clovis North is moving up quickly from the smaller divisions, and El Diamante in Visalia What is Buchanan's program like now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skajerk Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 As did Thousand Oaks (sadly, on a down year) and Vista Murrieta. But yes, that is the reason. It costs a 200-member California band (like an Ayala, an Upland, a Vista Murrieta) around $250,000-$300,000 for a BOA Grand Nationals trip. That's ON TOP of all your other standard annual expenses. And the school district won't pay for a single cent of it. And you can't charge/collect fair-share fees from the kids. And that's why you rarely see a CA band at Grand Nationals. Regarding the scoring comments: I'm not suggesting everyone needs to match BOA, but I find the scoring/sheets in USSBA to be silly. 1st place 98, 5th place 96, 10th place 93, 15th place 90... the lack of spreads bothers me. Believe me, we have circuits out in California just like that (NCBA, SCJA). But if you're going to use number values, then use number management. If spreads don't matter as long as the order/ranking is correct (an argument I hear often), then go to an ordinal system like the UIL in Texas. It's just my personal preference. Sheesh! We've been here 4 years and I'm still trying to get used to this UIL system. In fact, yesterday and today was the Region 13 concert/sight reading contest (all 4 of our bands- 2 Jr. High and 2 HS- all achieved superior ratings) and I was still asking questions. But I'm slowly catching on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildabeast Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Thousand Oaks back when Bill Hoehne was director was probably the best band in the state. Their "Cleopatra" show in 1997 or 1998 would have been Top 5 at BOA Grand Nationals. Etiwanda dropped off when Don Jaramillo retired. "Cleopatra" was from '98. TO did Sweeney Todd in '97 (still a pretty kick-booty show). Don Jaramillo actually upgraded to being a school administrator at Etiwanda following his time as band director. I think he's been judging for WBA & MBOS as of late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildabeast Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Don't forget about the Central Valley: Clovis West, Clovis High is pretty solid, and building, Beyer High School has always been a bit smaller, but really good, Clovis North is moving up quickly from the smaller divisions, and El Diamante in Visalia Fred C. Beyer has not always been small as seen here around '92. Clovis West from 1991 (now only about 1/3 of that size, but still pretty good) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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