BRASSO Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 (edited) The term "relative placement" comes to mind. Each caption is expected to meet or out perform their placement. If not, they are considered a "trouble" section. I hope JD finds a suitable home to make more " trouble ". I positively love most of his musical mischief he's created over the years. I can't wait to see what future musical mischief he can create perhaps elewhere... now that he's no longer with Regiment. Edited August 21, 2011 by BRASSO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralTsoChicken Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 I hope JD finds a suitable home to make more " trouble ". I don't think JD is a trouble, anything. I'm simply pointing out with Ryan at the helm they underperformed the corps. With JD at the helm, they were one of the superior sections. That was not the case this year. Visual and Guard was. If anything, that is a TESTAMENT to JD, not a degradation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marchingartist Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 My heart broke a little reading the announcement. Hopefully Phantom will still be Phantom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcvet95 Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 The term "relative placement" comes to mind. Each caption is expected to meet or out perform their placement. If not, they are considered a "trouble" section. And 6th is relative to 5th in my mind. Regiment got 2nd in brass in 08, i'd hardly call them a problem section. Regiment got 4th in GE music this year... the brass performance does have a hand in that as well. I would hardly call them a "trouble" section. However you want to chop it, PR has been 6th in horns the last 3 years. I think the hornlines from the last three years have been comparable, as can be witnessed in their placements. The biggest drop off I've seen was between 08-09, not between 10-11. Something else happened between 08-09 with PR brass... if you get my drift... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 (edited) I don't think JD is a trouble, anything. I'm simply pointing out with Ryan at the helm they underperformed the corps. With JD at the helm, they were one of the superior sections. That was not the case this year. Visual and Guard was. If anything, that is a TESTAMENT to JD, not a degradation. Thanks for clarifying. I agree with you that it was not JD Shaw's work that held Regiment back a bit the last couple of years from what they had hoped to accomplish competively. Edited August 21, 2011 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWEST Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Hire Prime for 2012 while looking for a long term candidate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutaman1986 Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Phantom will still be Phantom. We survived after Wren retired and we will survise this megalommanic leaving as well. Look into the man not the legend he portrays himself to be. he only wants yes men on his staff, and will run anyone off that dares question anything he does. Good writer? YES. Good human beign? Not even close My heart broke a little reading the announcement. Hopefully Phantom will still be Phantom. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralTsoChicken Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 I would hardly call that a trouble section... You aren't catching my drift. The current discussion relates to Ryan's effect on the hornline. NOT JDs. JD isn't the leader of a "trouble section". HOWEVER, when a section of the corps places UNDER the total placement of the corps, that is considered underperforming your placement. When a corps is 9th and the brass is 6th, that is a compliment, not a degradation. This year, however, the corps placed 5th and the hornline consistently placed below that placement. JDs arrangements are, and have been, great. So this isn't a discussion of JD dropping the ball, this is a discussion about how the caption head alters the relative placement of the hornline compared to the corps. Since 00, I'd venture to guess the hornline has met or surpassed the placement of the corps, just about every year. Not the case this year, and they were one of the corps weaknesses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sax1210 Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Too each his own. I loved Kennedy's Boston's Les Mis this year as it fit the visual beautifully. The Cadets '89 version ( and Boston's version in '88 ) were in a different time where the music was more in the forefront of the scoring sheets. The '89 Cadets version today would have gotten killed on the Visual and Guard sheets of today. Kennedy did not write this Les Mis. version for 1989 judging sheets. He wrote the arrangement to fit the wonderful visual design that was created for Boston to be able to compete well under the current scoring sheets. For perspective, I can't think of much music from ANY the 70's and 80's Drum Corps that I believe was brought back again in these times with better music arrangements when looked at purely through a musical lens. From strictly a musical arrangement ( not profiency levels ), I enjoy on balance the arrangements written of all these songs better from earlier decades...including updated versions of earlier songs from top Corps like BD, SCV, and even Cadets themselves. Usually ,I find the earlier written arrangement have more depth, and are longer, not chopped up to fit the visuals that are now required of modern Corps and the modern judging sheets. For example, I enjoyed Cadets '84 West Side Story music arrangements way more than the updated WSS versions they did decades later. Few, if any of the modern arrangements brought back have better arrangements in my view. But when looked at thru the prism of the visual component, the visual and music go together much better for the most part with todays Corps than in the 70's and 80's combined music and visual. If I go to '89 Cadets Les Mis production on Fan Network and put on the mute button and just WATCH the visual of '89 Cadets Les Mis., the offering is subpar compared to the 8th place finishing Boston Crusaders visual from this year ( tarp and all ). Finally, Boston's version of Les Mis. this year received a 7th, 8th place in GE Music from the 2 GE Music judges and 8th in Brass at Finals. This year's Corps I'm told had 90 High School aged students in line. Way more than most recent years. Jay Kennedy wrote the arrangements that fit the visual and in keeping with the anticipated young talent level he would have in the brass line that he expected this year. When looked at from this perspective, it seems clear that he knew what he was doing. Additionally, Boston was a hit with most audiences with this year's Les Mis. production, and that can not be lost either. The Berklee School of Music in Boston's national and worlwide reputation for first rate faculty instruction stands on its own. Jay Kennedy's has been on the faculty at the Berklee School for Music for years. He's also been a DCI judge in the past. Boston is very fortunate to have him writing the Crusaders music, imo. There are very few audiences the last decade that think that Boston is " boring " musically, or that they generally play music most people have never heard of. Kennedy could easily write the most esoteric music from the most obscure composers one has never heard of for the Boston Crusaders. Thankfully, for its many fans he has not chosen to go down that path with this Corps and with Drum Corps audiences. Thats how I see it anyway re. Jay Kennedy and his Music arrangements for Drum Corps audiences, and in particular with the Boston Crusaders. Well, I typed a very long Les Mis response to this, but it was accidentally deleted so I'll summarize. Basically, the way that they used some of the music bothered me because they misconstrued the emotions of the Les Mis pieces, and for me, music is all about emotions. I am quite sure that I am in the extreme minority on this but that's all I meant to say. As to Kennedy himself, I never questioned his writing ability, I just don't think he would be a good fit for Phantom. His style and the corps' style are very different. Like you said to each his own. I also was not questioning Berklee's prestige as a musical school, but I was just pointing out that they are not a school for classical training and we all know what musical direction Phantom takes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sax1210 Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Feagin never arranged for SCV. Those were Key Poulan arrangements, with Feagin as caption head. For what its worth, I think SCV should be doing everything within their power to get him back. Thanks for that bad info on my part. Key Poulan is a fantastic arranger, we played a couple of his arrangements for marching shows while I was in high school. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.