trh Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Another stand-still show... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVf5Yddqjz0&feature=player_detailpage 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickhaltsforlife Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Can I just say. I love that I can tap my foot at many points to this show. And when they tune up the Some Nights hit... it's going to be one of those brass moments that will be remembered... which the lead up to that gives me the chills alone. I have talked about flow before... it is already flowing better just from one standstill to the next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanitape Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 When I watched the above video the night it came out, it immediately made me want to go and snag a couple of the expensive seats at my local show. IMO: Baritones are amazing as stated already. Flugels (thank you Crossmen for having flugels) blew my mind with their sound. Strong tpt section and soloists. Lyman is missed, but they've still got some nasty good solos in there (beginning to see a trend here and I'm liking it). Glad to hear a good mello section in the mix too. I've gotta say the tubas stuck out as really nice sounding when I saw them live. I was positioned right in their "line of fire" at Southlake. Here's a vid of the performance. I can say nothing but good about the rest of the ensemble. Guard performed great, pit was really together, and the battery was on fire. A fellow audience member said to me "they don't have THAT ballad this year." What they meant was that they thought "Hallelujah" and "Here Comes the Flood" were hits, but this one isn't as much. At the same time, I disagree. I really like this year's ballad. The whole rest of the show too. Of course you're gonna hear me say that I don't like the voices added in (electronics blahblahblah...), but I have faith in the show designers. Who knows? Maybe this show will convert me! One thing I've yet to see is their drill. Whatever shapes they march on the field are gonna look good from what I hear. I've seen pictures of them in mid step and observed good technique. I've also heard great things about how their new drill learning system is working for them. Anyway, really diggin' the vibe. So happy to hear a full jazz chart again! They're definitely keepin' it Crossmen! The people involved in this corps just never cease to bring something great to the field. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbones7480 Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 I'm making them breakfast for Monday. They'll like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfallon Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Alright - I'm getting nervous - when is the last time I agreed with every thing people posted? Agree with you both on both the toe tapping and the ballad, plus in my opinion folks who get America in the second half of the 20th Century are going to have a tough time keeping their eyes dry during "We Shall Overcome"... The arrangement finds the simple beauty of America's second National Anthem (yeah I know - not all agree but I'm only speaking for myself as always) and portrays it in a gorgeous setting worthy of the lyrics - you feel the longing with every suspension and delay on the way to the resolution. Simplicity and expression - tough to beat. I'm old and I'm a sap but I haven't heard it once without crying - unfortunate as I picked the night they ran it like 7 times in rehearsal. I need skin cream under my eyes today (yeah but I'm a guy and don't use that stuff). The drill? Man I don't know. I saw some from up top in San Antonio but there's 2 things involved - a) I saw only one ensemble rehearsal and one rep and b) anyone who knows me knows that I'm a visual Neanderthal. I still dig stuff like the Bottle Dance and the Holley Hawks. There, I said it. I'm hoping that someone with some visual chops will see them soon and enlighten me. I do think the pit moves well... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbones7480 Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Ray Fallon is deep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arrangerx Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 So if 600 folks auditioned, paying an average of $200 in registration and camp fees, and only 150 actually made the corps, that leaves 450 folks who paid $200 to the corps and got scratch. That equals at least $90,000 clear profit for the corps without having to provide any services other than a camp that they would have conducted anyway. That my friends is good business! Here is what they received (as opposed to "scratch"): 1) Professional brass staff input and instruction for a total of 14 hours. 2) Individual auditions with actual scorecard input and ratings to help them understand what to work on next. 3) The chance to push themselves for an entire weekend to see if this is what they expected/wanted. 4) 5 meals/2 snacks 5) An unforgettable experience of playing with a top tier brass and percussion line -- where no one sits and watches. Unlike some places, you don't just show up and get cut on Friday night and mope around. The approximate 450 auditionees who did not make it got all this and much more. The majority of them came back a couple of times because the experience is worth it. We didn't have to twist anyone's arms to show up -- it's made very clear in advance exactly what the auditionees will experience. They are treated with respect, given excellent instruction, given tons of information about how to succeed -- and encouraged to be their best, whether they make it or not. There are precious few places you can go for that little money and get the same experience outside of drum corps. If it was a bad experience, or something not worth the money, word would quickly spread, and we wouldn't have the auditionees in the numbers that came out this year. Perhaps coming to one of these camps in person would be advisable to really understand what's happening in today's drum corps. It sure isn't anything like when I marched and first started instructing. :thumbup:/> :cool:/> :music:/> :whistle:/> all the best, Chuck Naffier 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxBigfoot Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 (edited) Chuck nailed it on the head. The Crossmen are a first rate outfit. It starts with Fred Morrison who loves the corps and all that the Crossmen represent. My son is a third year tuba vet and I would have never have let him march if I had gotten bad vibes from the corps. They are a top notch and highly respectable organization that I am thrilled to have my son involved in. Chuck , great job on the chart! BTW. We need more high "G". ;) Edited June 19, 2013 by TxBigfoot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacrificialclown Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Chuck , great job on the chart! Brw, We need more high "G". ;) Couldn't agree more. I really like this ballad mix of sound of silence and good bye blue sky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfallon Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 (edited) Chuck nailed it on the head. The Crossmen are a first rate outfit. It starts with Fred Morrison who loves the corps and all that the Crossmen represent. My son is a third year tuba vet and I would have never have let him march if I had gotten bad vibes from the corps. They are a top notch and highly respectable organization that I am thrilled to have my son involved in. Chuck , great job on the chart! Brw, We need more high "G". ;) To your point, for contrast, when my son started with Crossmen on tuba in 1991 the corps had 4 different kinds of tubas, all used, mostly in "Salvage Title" condition. We were laughing at rehearsal in South Lake that the cases on the current horns cost more (and possibly played better) than the DEG Magnum Contras that were 3 or 4 of what the corps had back then. He reminisced that one of the staff talked about the tubas all using the same mouthpiece to match sounds and he cracked, how about matching the horns first? (The Magnums were virtually untunable - I know - I tried). There is an attitude of professionalism and respect that permeates this group. There's an attitude of musicianship and respect for the style and sound of the corps that goes all the way back to Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The group - to my relatively experienced eyes and ears - really understand, appreciate, and aspire to be "The Crossmen" and do so with a financial sense of security that the corps worked hard at back in the day, but never felt quite this secure. These remarks are all from the outside looking in, but it's not my first rodeo either (don't ya love those western references). Nice to see good kids playing good charts on good instruments. Edited June 19, 2013 by rayfallon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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