Popular Post NeoCervantes II Posted June 26, 2013 Popular Post Share Posted June 26, 2013 Disclaimer: I am not a BD honk (if anything, more of a Cavies and Crown fan, well, at least earlier '00's Cavies) I was about to post this in the latest anti-BD thread, but it was locked by the time I finished writing. Throught it might stimulate some interesting conversation: In the circles I travel in it is generally accepted that from around '00-'08 the Championship was Cavaliers' to loose. With the way their design staff was putting together music and visual, if they didn't push too far such that they couldn't clean it up ('03), or pick something that did not have a strong enough visual component ('05, '07, and '08 itself), the gold medal was theirs. None of us could see how any other corps would be able to put together music and visual in a way that could beat Cavies in the years when their staff got it right. But then in '08, the Blue Devils showed us all something we hadn't seen before. I remember seeing Constantly Risking Absurdity live for the first time and being blown away by the game changing nature of it. Though they had won in '07, it was only because the next greatest challenger was Cadets with "This I Believe...", and THAT is saying something (not to mention Cavies with Billy Joel, a show I LOVE musically, but a theme which has little to offer in terms of strong visual connectivity). BD '08 was a clean break with what they had been doing for the past 7 years or so. I remember almost feeling like the Blue Devils staff got tired of waiting around for Cavies off years and their own ON years to line up (I mean, they freakin lost with The Godfather Part Blue!!!! that must have hurt!!!). When none of us could see how anyone could beat Cavies in the game of combining music and visual, BD went out and changed the game in an important (and in my opinion exciting) way and has been pursuing that same model ever since. The Championship is now BD's to lose and has been ever since '09. Don't like it? Figure out what's next. 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinastick Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 "Don't like it? Figure out what's next."...sums it up perfectly! Innovation is rewarded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1223 Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 But when does the innovation stop being innovated? I don't necessarily see BD bringing anything new to the table than what they already have been bringing from a design standpoint over the past 4 years. BDs show is pretty much the same approach they have been doing but with different props and music. It was certainly more jarring and innovative in 07 and lead up to 2010 "glass shattering" design. The next innovation in corps won't just be variations of Dada. From the top I would say Crown is probably the most innovative with what they are achieving with their brass and design of the show basically centered around a choir (of course talking isn't anything new thanks to cadets) I am curious what dramatic design innovation will rock the corps world as BD had done though not "as" much anymore (IMO). But ofcourse BD isn't infallible. Cadets and Phantom squeezed by in the past 6 years. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaddyt Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 But when does the innovation stop being innovated? I don't necessarily see BD bringing anything new to the table than what they already have been bringing from a design standpoint over the past 4 years. BDs show is pretty much the same approach they have been doing but with different props and music. It was certainly more jarring and innovative in 07 and lead up to 2010 "glass shattering" design. The next innovation in corps won't just be variations of Dada. From the top I would say Crown is probably the most innovative with what they are achieving with their brass and design of the show basically centered around a choir (of course talking isn't anything new thanks to cadets) I am curious what dramatic design innovation will rock the corps world as BD had done though not "as" much anymore (IMO). But ofcourse BD isn't infallible. Cadets and Phantom squeezed by in the past 6 years. I'm not sure I would consider Crown wholly innovative. That's not to take anything away from them. They are a phenomenal corps and have raised the bar from a brass perspective, but I don't necessarily see anything unique or never-been-done-before with them from a design standpoint. I liken their brass book to Cadets' run-and-gun drill. It's cool to watch/listen to, but is it in there because it enhances the show, or just because you can or its expected of you? I think that's where BD has moved to the next level. Like it or not, understand it or not, there is nothing in their shows that doesn't need to be. No "drum corps for drum corps sake". That being said, I feel that the Devil's will soon need to find the "next thing" as I think their shows are starting to become stale to an extent. And I mean that only in so much as the out-of-the-box design that they've been using has now placed them in a new box. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theCHEZman Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Disclaimer: I am not a BD honk (if anything, more of a Cavies and Crown fan, well, at least earlier '00's Cavies) I was about to post this in the latest anti-BD thread, but it was locked by the time I finished writing. Throught it might stimulate some interesting conversation: In the circles I travel in it is generally accepted that from around '00-'08 the Championship was Cavaliers' to loose. With the way their design staff was putting together music and visual, if they didn't push too far such that they couldn't clean it up ('03), or pick something that did not have a strong enough visual component ('05, '07, and '08 itself), the gold medal was theirs. None of us could see how any other corps would be able to put together music and visual in a way that could beat Cavies in the years when their staff got it right. But then in '08, the Blue Devils showed us all something we hadn't seen before. I remember seeing Constantly Risking Absurdity live for the first time and being blown away by the game changing nature of it. Though they had won in '07, it was only because the next greatest challenger was Cadets with "This I Believe...", and THAT is saying something (not to mention Cavies with Billy Joel, a show I LOVE musically, but a theme which has little to offer in terms of strong visual connectivity). BD '08 was a clean break with what they had been doing for the past 7 years or so. I remember almost feeling like the Blue Devils staff got tired of waiting around for Cavies off years and their own ON years to line up (I mean, they freakin lost with The Godfather Part Blue!!!! that must have hurt!!!). When none of us could see how anyone could beat Cavies in the game of combining music and visual, BD went out and changed the game in an important (and in my opinion exciting) way and has been pursuing that same model ever since. The Championship is now BD's to lose and has been ever since '09. Don't like it? Figure out what's next. Momentum and success breeds confidence and the entire sequence repeats itself. Prior to this current BD domination, it was a GREEN world in drum corps. Eventually another team comes along and offers something more appealing/refreshing. It may be a new king or a familiar one one coming to retake what it once had. I would much rather have a 2 or 3 corps ducking it out for the gold all season than the a corps coming out and winning all season by 2 points. Having said that, BD is an amazing corps within an amazing organization that has full bragging rights for their consistent excellence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theCHEZman Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 AND, what was once fresh and exciting also becomes familiar and done. BD design although well written is hardly new. This mode of dessign dates back to 2008. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bawker Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Don't like it? Figure out what's next. More cribbing from WGI across the board, I'd wager. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitedawn Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 "Don't like it? Figure out what's next."...sums it up perfectly! Innovation is rewarded. No it isn't. Cleanliness is rewarded. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvjesse Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Maybe this question deserves it's own thread, but I often wonder..... How many championships would SCV have if Gail Royer were still with us? The late 90s-early 00s were an anomaly where a large number of people who had marched under or worked with Gail directly taught the corps. But since this thread is based on hypotheticals, I thought it appropriate to bring it up here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetalTones2012 Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 (edited) I don't think anyone has figured out what's next, but shows are now becoming increasingly similar to the idea that BD created. Crown's show this year, while decidedly Crown in style, is a step towards BD's abstract nature in my opinion. The Cadets, who are next in the pack at the moment, are also doing that but more in the way Star of Indiana did in 93 (and not just because they're playing Barber, it's how they're playing it that matters). We'll see who innovates next, but the others are at least catching up. Edited June 26, 2013 by MetalTones2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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