Jump to content

JD Shaw steps down as Phantom Regiment brass arranger?


Recommended Posts

A good summary:

A Phantom Regiment Member hates his summer when he is there, loves his summer when he is home.

The Cadets and Phantom Regiment spend a lot of time working changes to their show, working quirky hard to learn technique, and developing their very characteristic sounds. This sometimes isn't the most positive experience in the world, but the vast majority find it worthwhile when it is all said and done.

As a FMM who has no knowledge of why JD is departing (very sad news indeed), I wanted to chime in here quickly.

As for arranging, I have no idea who the new person will be, but I will be even money that it will be an alumn, and that Dan Farrel will be right there ensuring that we get that Regiment sound we love. Even with a new arranger, it will still be the PR low brass line.

__________

The above quote is accurate, but it is the kind of experience that members of PR EXPECT. You march PR or Cadets because you want to be pushed hard, rehearse long hours, and be a part of a great hornline. First things first, at least while I was there, these descriptions of abrasive staff were exclusive to the visual staff (namely the caption head) - and are wholly removed from the music staff which this thread is about.

Now, I do not have experience with the current visual staff, I marched at the tale-end of the Bob Smith era, and he had a very abrasive style to his instruction. He was the only visual staffer that I remember ever yelling. I mean, he was loud - you could eassily hear him from the scaffolding from any point on the field without the aid of amplification. To an outsider it would have been really easy to look in without contxt and misunderstand what was going on. As a rookie, it was terrifying and overwhelming. However, eventually it all made sense, and by the end of the season we were quietly snickering on the field in response to his Full Metal Jacket Drill Instructor persona.

While I was going through it I really didn't like his style of instruction, I found it frustrating, and at times very demoralizing. However, that frustration fueled my efforts to improve, and I came a very long way over the course of the season. The individual experiences were very tough, but taken as a whole I treasure that summer. So yeah, the quote is an accurate description of PR for me.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now that most of us agree that it is in fact the visual staff who can be less than professional in and out of rehearsal...

...isn't it also interesting that visual is their comparative weak point? Perhaps there is a correlation? :doh:

If you treat the members with the respect they deserve, you will be rewarded with consistent excellence. Thank you Blue Devils and Cavaliers for proving this fact!

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now that most of us agree that it is in fact the visual staff who can be less than professional in and out of rehearsal...

...isn't it also interesting that visual is their comparative weak point? Perhaps there is a correlation? :doh:

If you treat the members with the respect they deserve, you will be rewarded with consistent excellence. Thank you Blue Devils and Cavaliers for proving this fact!

Exactly. Nobody marching a drum corps has motivation issues. And G8 corps hardly have talent concerns.

I understand the want to be driven hard. The people close to me from PR feel exactly that way about it. Doesn't excuse or justify the abrasive treatment, and they would be just as quick to tell you that. They love Regiment IN SPITE of the visual staff and their methods, not because of them.

Edited by PhantomCav
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe that JD is very busy as Prof. at the University Of New Mexico, and needs more time to spend on his career and family. Just my opinion.

I could actually see him writing for the Academy. They are closer to his home and his writing would fit their need.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brazale made the current staff look like a bunch of cupcake vendors. If anything, with each year they become more like the rest of the DCI staffs in demeanor, and less like the PR heritage---NOT the other way around.

.....and?

They still have a LONG way to go. And it doesn't justify them being that way in the first place.

I'm not sure that's a part of Regiment heritage to be proud of. There's plenty of great heritage in the corps to go around without all of that.

As has been pointed out in just this thread alone, you can work extremely hard and be pushed to your limit without all of that kind of crap being the driver.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not like these outburst were an everyday event. When you have the same person making the same mistake over and over at some point they're not getting the message. Being nice and sweet to them isnt working.

My point with John Brazale is he didn't go off just for the sake of going off. The end results show. He won numerous Marching and Manuvering titles. One can only imagine how he would have been today considering the changes in drill design and pace.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very few members of the Regiment hornline care or are upset about Jay Emmert yelling. When he comes on tour, you pretty much know the intensity is going to be ramped up and the expectation level goes way up. Have there been really tough days from a visual standpoint? YES, but those are the things that give the members things to laugh about years down the road "I can't believe he actually said that, or we actually did that" There is a great respect that the majority of the members afford the Emmert brothers for their approach. Is it always 100% professional, no. But all the members understand from the beginning of the season what the expectation is for rehearsals and the summer.

Just do your job and Jay or Dwight will NEVER say a word to you. It is often the people who are spacecadets that end up in conflict with the visual staff. I for one never saw a person needlessly get attention that did not deserve it, or have it coming.

It is not realistic to say corps members are ALWAYS motivated on the road, and more often than not, having a foot put up your butt is necessary to "find" the motivation to continue on days where you might not want to be doing drum corps.

Anyways/

This has been coming for JD for a while. He is transitioning to a full-time family man after YEARS on the road. 2 kids and a job in one place = leaving the activity (plus it helps that his philosophy of music first is not rewarded like it used to be, which has to be demoralizing)

Staff conflicts aside, this can be a really good thing for a revitalized Regiment. JD will be missed, but the sky isn't falling here.

SUTA

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just do your job and Jay or Dwight will NEVER say a word to you. It is often the people who are spacecadets that end up in conflict with the visual staff. I for one never saw a person needlessly get attention that did not deserve it, or have it coming.

I quote: "WHY ARE YOU SO F***ING FAT?!?!"

That clearly =/= professionalism. (EDIT: Or just plain good teaching. The corps gained nothing from that except for an atmosphere of unnecessary hostility. And that's not even mentioning that fact that Dwight himself is somewhat...you know.)

Had I been that poor kid, I would have politely responded with a "Why is your caption consistently the weakest of the entire corps, year in and year out?" :blink:

Anyway, I'm getting waaaay off topic. No matter how I view JD and what he has done in the past both on and off the field, I wish him and the Phantom Regiment the absolute best!

Edited by Room_101
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I quote: "WHY ARE YOU SO F***ING FAT?!?!"

That clearly =/= professionalism.

Had I been that poor kid, I would have politely responded with a "Why is your caption consistently the weakest of the entire corps, year in and year out?" :blink:

That was said to the ENTIRE corps and it was "and some of you are still effing fat"

Nobody was singled out. This was in the context of a whole conversation. That was the start of a very formative week for the 2006 Regiment and had that week happened, Faust would not have been the show it was (and all of the members, while hating that week, knows how important that week of no tolerance was for our advancement)

And btw, we got first in feet at quarters if i recall correctly. Just like Regiment did the year before. Recent trends for the visual caption do not apply to years ago. There are more factors for an underachieving visual performance than the caption head's teaching methods.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...