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Madison Scouts 2014 -- Playing the Music of Stan Kenton and Don Ellis


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I have this image in my mind of a DCI judge listening to a live orchestral performance of Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique and complaining that narration would be a more "effective" way of programming the work.

. . .complete with "artiste" character doing the narration, commenting on his woeful love life and his drug OD in the process. Cue lame "witchy" guard costumes in the final act!

Well, at least we found something for Phantom Regiment to do next year. :tongue:

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. . .complete with "artiste" character doing the narration, commenting on his woeful love life and his drug OD in the process. Cue lame "witchy" guard costumes in the final act!

... capped off by lots of gratuitous lunging, leaning and squatting.

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... capped off by lots of gratuitous lunging, leaning and squatting.

This is probably the thing I absolutely hate the most about current DCI shows. The whole concept of "simultaneous demand" means we all have to watch hornlines play difficult passages while doing calisthenics. It usually looks so stupid that it's a facepalm moment for me every time. 1993 Star showed how you can do body movement and have it actually be effective. Unfortunately, no one else has seemed to figure it out.

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This is probably the thing I absolutely hate the most about current DCI shows. The whole concept of "simultaneous demand" means we all have to watch hornlines play difficult passages while doing calisthenics. It usually looks so stupid that it's a facepalm moment for me every time. 1993 Star showed how you can do body movement and have it actually be effective. Unfortunately, no one else has seemed to figure it out.

Agree 100%. The body movement has just gotten to the point of ridiculousness.

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Would we also then see a "magic trick" reminiscent of the SCV "Phantom" ending (only this time guillotine-related)?

Wouldn't want to be the "chosen one" to test out the first trial run-through...

Edited by HornTeacher
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While I really enjoy the show this year for what it is, I realize how poorly it fits in the competitive atmosphere. It's just super clunky and badly designed, but the members are playing the hell out of the music. It's a super fun program, but it just doesn't go anywhere.

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I marched with the Scouts. I love the corps. I love the Jazz music & the traditional approach, but the beginning & end of this years Scouts show is weak, the visual design & color guard are weak, & there just arent any "wow" moments in the show. The new ending is awful & none of the songs are played long enough to do the original scores justice & they never seem to develop. This should have been a great show. Instead it is a disjointed collection of musical snippets from an over-zealous arranger/designer. What R.W. Smith has done with these arrrangements is a travesty.

I hate that my favorite drum corps is in a battle for a 9-12 spot in finals, but that is where the Scouts are.

Lastly, as a Drummer, I really miss the days of marching 12 snares & 6 tenors. Why have the drum lines got smaller while the corps are now larger?

Most corps added half the new members to brass and the rest went to guard for a bigger effect. Drums will cut through no matter what. Also its harder to clean 12 & 6 so the percussion score would then drop.

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I wouldn't mind the body movement as much if it actually matched the music. Most of the time it seems like the designers are like "Oh look, an 8 count hold in the brass, we can put something here for GE points". The choreography is just tacked on for something to do, rather than something that fits the music. I get a visual cue, but no musical synergy to go along with it, and my brain is confused.

And it's not like body movement is some newfangled innovative thing either. I mean, heck, Bridgemen did the shuffle in the late 70s and Madison had a decent amount of body movement in their 83 & 84 shows (and beyond). And those were waay before anything Star did in 93. It always confuses me how much credit people give to that Star 93 show in terms of "body movement!" when drum corps were already doing stuff like that literally a decade prior. Star had like 2 sections of the entire show that lasted less than a minute, yet they get all the credit?

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I wouldn't mind the body movement as much if it actually matched the music. Most of the time it seems like the designers are like "Oh look, an 8 count hold in the brass, we can put something here for GE points". The choreography is just tacked on for something to do, rather than something that fits the music. I get a visual cue, but no musical synergy to go along with it, and my brain is confused.

And it's not like body movement is some newfangled innovative thing either. I mean, heck, Bridgemen did the shuffle in the late 70s and Madison had a decent amount of body movement in their 83 & 84 shows (and beyond). And those were waay before anything Star did in 93. It always confuses me how much credit people give to that Star 93 show in terms of "body movement!" when drum corps were already doing stuff like that literally a decade prior. Star had like 2 sections of the entire show that lasted less than a minute, yet they get all the credit?

Good points.

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