bmjfelts1988 Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Parades. Whoopty do! Yeah, free money for any corps who wants to participate. Whoopty do!:rolleyes:/> 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmjfelts1988 Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Just watched the video clips and I also watched the corps that your trying to ##### out, Crown. As ever, Phantom are doing a stellar performance. That's how they are, impeccable and professional. To us drum corps perfectionists that's the way to go. To the average Joe in the street, its pompous and too regimented. I would guess most people would rather watch Crown as they seam to be enjoying it..... at the end of the day they are getting paid for it, shouldn't they play for the paying audience. Your plain wrong for calling out a quality organisation like crown for being unprofessional. I asked for answers and this is a reasonable one. However, I'm not convinced the "average Joe" is as oblivious as you think. If there's one thing the average joe notices, it's "are they marching in step and are their lines are straight". I'd go so far even to say they expect it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmjfelts1988 Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Hehehe Also, well-stated one the rest of it. Coming from a corps that really lets loose and has fun at the one parade we do, 4th of July, I have to agree with Britbones. Parade audiences that aren't involved in band/corps activities have probably seen countless corps and bands doing the same thing, marching by in straight lines playing a march. Nothing at all against that, but I'd imagine it can be a little samey sometimes. The occasional group that doe something different, that gives a more easy-going, loose and fun performance breaks up possible monotony and adds a lot more fun. It also affords the members a chance to relax a little more while performing. I don't think a single job should really be assigned to every corps in this case. Some, like Phantom, represent the precision and high-class aspects of DCI, while some, like Crown, may serve to show recognition for the audience and show that the groups care about the people watching. Another great answer, though I ask...should there not be a balance between entertaining and quality. You can entertain, take a relaxed approach and still look good and move in time. That's my real point. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmjfelts1988 Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 exactly. Is a corps just going down the street doing a march going to get the crowd into it, or is a corps letting loose and having fun going to do it? Again, I think you can have a balance between the two. Well, unless that corps goes at it like Stanford's band, the corps that lets loose will get far more crowd reaction and participation. Honestly, Stanford was my first thought when I saw Crown's approach. Granted, much more tame and hardly as offensive but the wondering and lack of some form of uniformity, just makes me question the purpose. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmjfelts1988 Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 are they competing ... no True, but they are getting paid. are they entertaining ... yes Agreed are they required to participate ... no Then don't. is your argument pointless ... YES If you say so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmjfelts1988 Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Beg to differ about parades.....I've seen some great corps in parades and I believe they are important for drum corps overall as a PR tool (PR as in public relations, not Phantom Regiment). Parades are also part of drum corps tradition. Living in the Boston area, I am able to go to Bristol, RI and Wakefield, MA for July 4th parades. The drum corps who are featured are always top notch. Bristol usually has the corps who competed the previous night featured in their parade, Wakefield often has a similar line-up. Wakefield may have a connection since it's where Ed Devlin calls home. Last year Wakefield had Colts, Crossmen, Crown, Spartans, and Cadets, all of whom marched with great precision, stopped to wow the crowd and amazed everyone. I know Phantom has a great parade reputation, so too does BAC. I've seen Spirit in parades and they likewise are impressive. My hometown has had one of my favorite "Little Engines that Could" corps--Les Stentors and they sometimes do small formations when there's a pause in the parade which everyone enjoys, especially many of the locals whose families are French Canadian. After the parade is over, they show kids their instruments, let them try a flag or spin a rifle which I'm sure sparks an interest in music with at least a few of the kids who participate. Like some posters, I've also seen some of the Top 12 do lackluster parade performances. Overall, I bet it would be safe to say that the corps that respect the audience most in competition, often do the best in parades. I'll take this response to the bank. :smile:/> 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmjfelts1988 Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 I've seen both Phantom and Crown (and others) in parades, both are impressive. I have to admit the Crown's "let it all hang out" style can be seen by some as sloppy, but it IS exciting. When we went to Bristol MA for July 4th a few years ago, the townspeople knew the corps and loved them all...including Crown. I will say this, I video taped a certain corps at the parade with the intent of putting some video on YouTube, but I will never show it in public. It is sloppy and weak, the drumline is dirty and the members are just walking and joking. I was embarrassed for them, and it wasn't any corps mentioned in this thread. Long story short, if you are going to be in a parade do what you do and do it well. Agreed! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I see what you did there. (For others wondering about this, Dash inserted a photo of a discus thrower. Discus vs. discuss.) DISCUSS!!! verb to talk about (an issue) usually from various points of view and for the purpose of arriving at a decision or opinion Synonyms agitate, argue, bandy, bat (around or back and forth), canvass (also canvas), debate, dispute, hash (over or out), moot, talk over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I asked for answers and this is a reasonable one. However, I'm not convinced the "average Joe" is as oblivious as you think. If there's one thing the average joe notices, it's "are they marching in step and are their lines are straight". I'd go so far even to say they expect it. I think the heart of this silly argument is that different corps have different styles, and likewise different folks have different tastes. From the video posted in this thread, it is seemingly apparent that Crown is getting significant more positive crowd reaction that Phantom Regiment: i.e. the crowd is eating it up. Parades are typically for entertaining the locals, and both Regiment and Crown are seemingly doing their job, albeit in different styles. I would stipulate that the average person might originally think that Regiment's parade style is a typical marching band, and when Crown does their thing they might think, "well, this is different but I'm loving it." FWIW, I marched in a corps that was somewhere in between Regiment and Crown. I also live and teach in a region where parade band is a big deal (there are pretty big parade competitions), and there are plenty of folks like you who live/breath traditional military style of parade band. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. Conversely, there are also many people who roll their eyes at the seeming pretentious air around military style bands, and for those folks Crown is a welcome respite from the norm. The beauty of our activity is we get to see both styles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmjfelts1988 Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 I just LOVE parades! Crown hamming it up, the pristine perfection of Phantom, the amazing intricacies of Cadets at Disney, I DON'T CARE! I LOVE THEM ALL! Seeing a drum corps in a parade is reliving my youth, when straight-legged marching machines were gods, drum lines played the craziest things I'd ever heard, and I just wanted to be a part of that incredible, hair-blowing sound! What is the argument in this thread again? And, by the way, WHO CARES!? Ok, I'll accept this. I guess variety is good. Never thought of it that way. I think I was just so impressed with the Phantom video that I got carried away. I just liked what Phantom did, that's all. :) It impressed me. I'll take this response and all the others and stand corrected on Crown. Getting that out of the way now, I pondered having this thread closed but figured lets take a different approach. Since some great videos have been posted as well as stories like the above where parade performances have inspired people. Lets enjoy some of that. No more negative (at least not from me). Sorry for getting carried away, guys. Seriously. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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