luv4corps Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 (edited) As someone who has never marched, but who is an educated musician AND music educator, AND mother to a marching euphie, my answer is this: I love Crown's shows because first of all, to my ear, they achieve a uniform brass sonority, a homogenous sound that is distinctly Crown. Secondly, they play their horns while performing amazing marching feats... like being almost sideways and moving very, very fast. I guess I don't need a knock-my-socks off show design concept to be impressed - just excellent brass playing and gravity defying marching! I don't feel qualified to comment on other captions :). Edited February 2, 2013 by luv4corps 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaos001 Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Personally, I attribute a lot of the grief Crown fans have about 2012 to their denial about what might plague Crown on the sheets. I don't really want or mean to bash the drill writer(s?) at Crown, but how many visual staffs have they gone through and they still can't quite seem to master the "look ma! see what I can do on Pyware" style drill without frankly looking really bad. Believe it or not, there are limits to what a 19 year old kid can do while playing crazy licks on a trumpet or holding a contra without breaking down upper and/or lower body technique. I really did find myself wondering "why are you making the kids do that?!" or "was that really necessary" for much of the 2012 show. --- AMEN! I just want to scream at the top of my lungs, "It's the VISUAL STAFF, stupid!" But to get back on topic, I think just about everyone's response to the OP has been something along the lines of "their hornline. period" or "I like the music". Well gosh, that's what, three or four things on the sheets? Brass perf and analysis, the music GEs (which has everything to do with how well your show is put together, what music/visual matches, etc and nothing to do with how bananas the crowd goes) and that's it? --- As it's been stated in other blogs by myself and other people, they over-rely on their brass to the point that the other factors are lost. I didn't notice the guard at all except for the few solo moments this past year. Like I said before, I think there is an amplified bias when it comes to Crown fans because they're so supportive and hungry to see them win the gold (not a bad thing) but it's also important to recognize that such an attitude often blinds people to the point that they don't realize that BD just had a more thoughtful show which, sorry, might be more important to certain people in green shirts who have seen it all before. When your favorite corps gets 2nd place finals night by more than a point and you still think they got robbed, there's probably a little more to it than just personal taste. --- <WARNING: Controversial Statement> It's not only the fans that want to see them win; it's also the staff and kids. Now, is there anything wrong with winning...no, there isn't. However, if it's all you're consumed by and all you talk about all season on the field, in the lot, etc., then you need to rethink your priorities. I've spent plenty enough time on the road and talking to staff members/kids of various corps including Crown where they've gone from wanting to please the crowd and do well to winning at all costs. The show last year exemplified that. The theme "For the Common Good" didn't come through at all. The idea that "we're going to do whatever it takes to win. look at us, look at us!" is all that that show did for me. /me flame suit on 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theCHEZman Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 They won the silver medal last year, the Jim Ott award for excellence in brass and most fans loved them including me. I'm very hard pressed to come up with a negative with respect to Crown. I would honestly prefer watching and listening to them over the corps above them. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hostrauser Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 DISCLAIMER: THIS POST IS NOT TO START A FIGHT (of course that is near impossible of dcp) Ok, so here's the deal...I am NOT a drum corps rookie. I have been around the activity since I was 5. I understand show design and such. But I'm not seeing it in Crown's shows. I want to like Crown and all I hear are amazing things about their shows...but I just don't get it. Someone PLEASE explain what is so fabulous about them, show me videos sound clips anything just help me because all I get from their shows is that they are OK at the max and underwhelming. I must be missing something. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hostrauser Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 In all seriousness: I like Crown because (IMO) they are attempting far, far more difficult things in brass, percussion, and visual SIMULTANEOUSLY than any other corps right now. It is both what makes them amazing and also--so far--their downfall (their visual never gets clean enough and, after 1,000 listens to the 2012 show, their drum line was a disaster and fortunate to be no lower than 6th). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 (edited) This. I wonder how those kids might feel when they go on the fan network or youtube and note the deafening silence in most of their performances from audiences. I mean, people went nuts for anything and everything in Crown's show and then when BD had a huge hit, there was almost always silence or quiet, polite, and sparse applause. I wonder how those kids feel when they go on any social media, including dcp, and read left and right that crown got robbed. Like jeez. Or think about how they felt when they said "we have a correction" at retreat and at that moment knew they were pretty much the only ones in the room who were happy with them winning anything. Watch the 2008 DVD of Phantom, then watch Blue Devils. It was very similar to 2012 with Crown and BD. Then watch the announcement of the awards. The crowd erupts in an explosive but also somewhat rude way when Blue Devils are announced as second. I love Phantom and have for many years, but I'm not sure they have a fan base that could create that much applause (though they deserve it). People root against the Blue Devils much in the same way baseball fans root against the Yankees. Last year's rabid Crown fans were not sitting in the Crown section at Indy. It looked as if Crown would top Blue Devils in at least a few of the shows and I think people jumped on the bandwagon, excuse me, drum corps wagon. I think if Cadets, Phantom, BAC, Cavies, SCV, Bluecoats,etc. had been in the position of Crown, they would have had the newfound rabid fans. Also, I think many of the "Crown got robbed" fans left their love in Indy, maybe even Allentown. I am not sure I've ever seen "fans" jump ship so quickly. Just look at some of the DCP threads since finals, which is another reason why I say they were not cheering for Crown, they were rooting against Blue Devils, which as you mention is rude. Edited February 3, 2013 by Tim K 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaddyt Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Watch the 2008 DVD of Phantom, then watch Blue Devils. It was very similar to 2012 with Crown and BD. Then watch the announcement of the awards. The crowd erupts in an explosive but also somewhat rude way when Blue Devils are announced as second. I love Phantom and have for many years, but they've never had a fan base that could create that much of an applause. People root against the Blue Devils much in the same way baseball fans root against the Yankees. Last year's rabid Crown fans were not sitting in the Crown section at Indy. It looked as if Crown would top Blue Devils in at least a few of the shows and I think people jumped on the bandwagon, excuse me, drum corps wagon. I think if Cadets, Phantom, or Bluecoats had been in the position of Crown, they would have had the newfound rabid fans. Also, I think many of the "Crown got robbed" fans left their love in Indy, maybe even Allentown. I am not sure I've ever seen "fans" jump ship so quickly. Just look at some of the DCP threads since finals, which is another reason why I say they were not cheering for Crown, they were cheering against Blue Devils, which as you mention is rude. What you see and hear finals night in 2008 has nothing to do with the imagined size of Regiment's fan base, unless you assume that only people who are publicly fans of a particular corps are the only ones allowed to cheer for them. 2008 was what most drum corps fans, regardless of corps affiliation, hope to see - some shakeups. PR was third in quarterfinals. Second in semis. How awesome would it be if they... holy #### they just took gold! Add in the fact that their show emotionally connected with the audience (everyone around me screamed "I am Spartacus" during their finals performance), and of course you're going to have a much larger reaction when they're announced in first. Are there folks who adamantly root against corps like the Blue Devils? Sure. But that's not nearly the majority that was heard that night. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielray Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 DISCLAIMER: THIS POST IS NOT TO START A FIGHT (of course that is near impossible of dcp) Ok, so here's the deal...I am NOT a drum corps rookie. I have been around the activity since I was 5. I understand show design and such. But I'm not seeing it in Crown's shows. I want to like Crown and all I hear are amazing things about their shows...but I just don't get it. Someone PLEASE explain what is so fabulous about them, show me videos sound clips anything just help me because all I get from their shows is that they are OK at the max and underwhelming. I must be missing something. Different people have different opinions. I actually think Carolina Crown is a pretty amazing band, one of the best ever. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byline Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 (edited) 2008 was what most drum corps fans, regardless of corps affiliation, hope to see - some shakeups. PR was third in quarterfinals. Second in semis. How awesome would it be if they... holy #### they just took gold! Add in the fact that their show emotionally connected with the audience (everyone around me screamed "I am Spartacus" during their finals performance), and of course you're going to have a much larger reaction when they're announced in first. I agree with this; Phantom just had a lot of emotional momentum behind them that year. And, to add to that, I think a lot of folks wanted to see them win their own title outright; 2008 seemed to be the perfect culmination for that to happen. As for Crown, I have mixed emotions about them. I love their brass sound, but their visual program almost always leaves me with this "trying hard to impress" feeling. Mind you, that is a very subjective reaction, and just because it hits me that way doesn't mean that's what it really is. Edited February 3, 2013 by byline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mello Dude Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Different people have different opinions. I actually think Carolina Crown is a pretty amazing band, one of the best ever. Indeed, one of the best bands ever. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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