perc2100 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 You left out BAC on the rise. Will be a big surprise this year. They seem to be that corps that is kind of under the radar: they've been improving, have been solid, and feels like they could have a breakout year (I'm mostly talking corps in general, not necessarily percussion). Interested to see where they end up 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 If you're going to add corps with no shot at the drum title on the list, you might as well add Crown. I'm sure their staff is working as hard as possible to improve the drumline from what it has been the past 2 seasons. yeah I would imagine many eyes will be on Crown. with no major staff changes, a program viewed by many as sliding down...while the former caption head took the current caption heads team to the top 5 will be something to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 I'm hoping Crown will have a drum line to watch this year. I'm not a percussion person, at least not in comparison to many of those who post on DCP, but Crown's one flaw has been strengthening already strong areas while having missed opportunities in their weaker areas, and this is most evident with percussion. I always enjoy Crown and was happy to be in Indy to witness their first DCI championship, but I'd love to see a better percussion performance by Crown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actucker Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 I'm hoping Crown will have a drum line to watch this year. I'm not a percussion person, at least not in comparison to many of those who post on DCP, but Crown's one flaw has been strengthening already strong areas while having missed opportunities in their weaker areas, and this is most evident with percussion. I always enjoy Crown and was happy to be in Indy to witness their first DCI championship, but I'd love to see a better percussion performance by Crown. Unfortunately I don't see that happening this year. Not that that staff won't do their best (and I'm in no way trying to place blame on anyone for Crown's percussion performance as I don't go on tour with Crown and have no idea the inner workings), but when a group has been decimating brass lines left and right, and putting up barely top 5 percussion numbers, its hard not to have member turnaround at that program. Its a perception thing, and I don't know that Crown will fix it without some sort of change at the top of the caption. I could be wrong entirely, but if I'm a member considering the costs of marching a top level drum corps, and I feel I have the talent to be in a top 5 line, Crown isn't on my radar as a place to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallace Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 (edited) Unfortunately I don't see that happening this year. Not that that staff won't do their best (and I'm in no way trying to place blame on anyone for Crown's percussion performance as I don't go on tour with Crown and have no idea the inner workings), but when a group has been decimating brass lines left and right, and putting up barely top 5 percussion numbers, its hard not to have member turnaround at that program. Its a perception thing, and I don't know that Crown will fix it without some sort of change at the top of the caption. I could be wrong entirely, but if I'm a member considering the costs of marching a top level drum corps, and I feel I have the talent to be in a top 5 line, Crown isn't on my radar as a place to go. Well, by semis, we could really see the talent level of Crown particularly in the battery come to life, so I really don't think this was a talent problem. First, it was the content of the book. It was too low for a top 5 line with little rudimental variety and dynamic contrast. Plus, it just seemed to my eyes and ears that percussion hit a plateau in the middle of the season. They were pretty hot in the beginning, but once BD and Cadets (who started out SICK) started clicking, Crown seemed to sputter with a mad dash at the end. I would say that was instructional. IMHO, the book wasn't challenging enough. You have to give drum corps percussionists that "rock star" moment, and they didn't have it. Lastly, I found the relagation of percussion to accompaniment rather than an equal partner in a musical sense to be worrying. You have an insane brass section with one of the craziest books we've heard in a long time and arguably the best of all time, but the percussion section's repertoire isn't even in the same galaxy. Not even a wormhole could bridge the gap... I'm rooting for them to succeed, but more of the same will tend to lose CHPs more often than not. Edited May 13, 2014 by wallace 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tone Quality Matters Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 (edited) Crown's percussion is allot better than anyone is even speaking of this summer. You will see Edited May 13, 2014 by Tone Quality Matters 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brichtimp Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 (edited) Regardless of placement in the percussion scoring last year, I really enjoyed the Crown percussion book in the context of their entire ensemble...the shifting meters with the visual elements were both impressive and entertaining for me. When you throw BD, Cadets, SCV and Bluecoats into the mix, it's great to have such a diverse and excellent group of percussion sections to enjoy. My son tells me that Cadets are now down to 8 snares after one had to quit, but I recall that they muddled through in 2011 with just 7 :-) Edited May 13, 2014 by brichtimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingusmonk Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Crown's percussion is allot better than anyone is even speaking of this summer. Huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actucker Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Well, by semis, we could really see the talent level of Crown particularly in the battery come to life, so I really don't think this was a talent problem. First, it was the content of the book. It was too low for a top 5 line with little rudimental variety and dynamic contrast. Plus, it just seemed to my eyes and ears that percussion hit a plateau in the middle of the season. They were pretty hot in the beginning, but once BD and Cadets (who started out SICK) started clicking, Crown seemed to sputter with a mad dash at the end. I would say that was instructional. IMHO, the book wasn't challenging enough. You have to give drum corps percussionists that "rock star" moment, and they didn't have it. Lastly, I found the relagation of percussion to accompaniment rather than an equal partner in a musical sense to be worrying. You have an insane brass section with one of the craziest books we've heard in a long time and arguably the best of all time, but the percussion section's repertoire isn't even in the same galaxy. Not even a wormhole could bridge the gap... I'm rooting for them to succeed, but more of the same will tend to lose CHPs more often than not. If the book wasn't challenging enough then why were they still dirtier than most of the top 6? The fact is, Crown will have trouble drawing the level of talent that a Bluecoats or Cadets do until they put some priority in their percussion program. We can argue all day long about why the talent wasn't/isn't there, but I know of several folks marching in top 4 or 5 lines that left Crown to get there. Teaching in the southeast, I can tell you that most aspiring drum corps drummers see Crown as a secondary choice, not a destination. I'm not informed enough to tell you who's fault that is, whether it be instructional, design, or whatever, but I CAN tell you that that is the general perception in my area. I've had former students travel farther distances to drum with other corps that don't finish as high in the top 12 and then go on to march a Sanford contender. Again, I'm not slamming the kids who march Crown, the staff, the design team or anyone involved. Its an unfortunate stigma that Crown has struggled with. But, while they draw some of the best brass talent in the country due to the reputation of their brass program, their percussion program can't say the same, and that's a problem they will have to overcome if they want to win drums. Perhaps that's not a priority as an organization. It doesn't seem to have been detrimental to the success of the corps in general. There have certainly be championship drum corps that have had rough percussion sections before, not to mention deficiencies in other caption. Its incredibly difficult to be the best at everything. Maybe Crown's percussion section will be excellent this year. Again, not being a part of the organization, I have no facts to base my prediction on. I simply know that if I were an aspiring MM, Crown wouldn't be on my list of places to go compared to the rest of the top 6 placing corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Crown's percussion is allot better than anyone is even speaking of this summer. You will see I hope so. i was surprised when someone I know walked away from a contract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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