84BDsop Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Dave Glyde might be the most under-the-radar guy in DCI history. I'm not sure anyone outside of the Blue Devils organization and alumni bade realize how valuable he really is. Wanna bet he takes over caption head duties if ScoJo ever leaves?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Wanna bet he takes over caption head duties if ScoJo ever leaves?? I think he's the next program coordinator, with all the musical duties he's already performing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I think he's the next program coordinator, with all the musical duties he's already performing. That would work too....keep it in the family. I remember him as a goofy guy in the pit, with a brother (Dave) in the snare line...and who got an absolute GLORY pic in the 85 program book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMcomguy Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Dave Glyde might be the most under-the-radar guy in DCI history. I'm not sure anyone outside of the Blue Devils organization and alumni bade realize how valuable he really is. Agreed. And speaking of this, when is the last year Downey actually arranged a brass book for Blue Devils? Someone within the organization should speak on this, considering what I've been told about Mr. Glyde and his enhanced role in recent years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Agreed. And speaking of this, when is the last year Downey actually arranged a brass book for Blue Devils? Someone within the organization should speak on this, considering what I've been told about Mr. Glyde and his enhanced role in recent years. In total? Not sure. Glyde and Downey have been working together for several years. I love the result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actucker Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I disagree entirely with your assessment, and I can also tell you the judges did as well. They routinely bagged on them for featuring the battery twice, and the muffler section in addition to that. There were also two distinct areas (besides the muffler drumming) where the battery was at the front of the field being featured while the brass was off in their own little world. That equals three features before the 7 minute mark in the show -- from your weakest section. I know you may not believe me (and trust me -- I also can't stand people who don't name sources, so I'm being hypocritical here I know) but I know one DCI judge personally who shared his opinions with some band director friends of mine. He spoke of the percussion feature issues time and time again. And being a percussion guy himself and a DCI judge who was out in the trenches this season, the direct comments he made were never addressed. I'm not sure what part of my argument your disagreeing with here. I'm not suggesting that there weren't percussion features. I'm suggesting that those percussion features were only written because of brass needs. Your post would seem to support that point. Because the brass moments were the priority, they were ok with exposing a weak percussion section to get them. I'm sure that had an effect on their GE numbers, as those features rambled on and didn't bring a lot to the table musically or thematically. They had to explain the car muffler thing in the preview show, and both theater shows to the audience to argue their point. I'm sure that came up in critique often as well. Again, Crown is strange from a design standpoint. When they program percussion features, its out of necessity for what they have planned for the brass. For some reason, they are having trouble getting the kids to perform at the same level as other programs. What I'm curious to see is whether or not they make a change in order to make that happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nachfolger Christi Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 actucker, I completely disagree that the staff is "having trouble getting the kids to perform at the same level as other programs." The talent is not the primary problem. Also, to say that the staff intentionally exposed a weak percussion section to highlight brass moments is just untrue. The general effect problems are mostly about design and staging. The weakness in the percussion deals more with writing than talent. I have listened to the 2014 show several times. The writing in the percussion section seems to be more about power than melody, phrasing, nuance. Listen to the difference in writing between SCV and Crown. Power playing no longer has a prominent place DCI. I have not found it to support the melodies or harmonies of what the hornline is doing very well at all. This show suffered significantly from the beginning with design issues that took too long to correct and there was little chance. to clean the show effectively because of such problems. I am proud of the guard and the visual for being able to come so far despite the design issues.The brass is phenomenal. I think a new program director and changes in percussion are needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actucker Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 actucker, I completely disagree that the staff is "having trouble getting the kids to perform at the same level as other programs." The talent is not the primary problem. Also, to say that the staff intentionally exposed a weak percussion section to highlight brass moments is just untrue. The general effect problems are mostly about design and staging. The weakness in the percussion deals more with writing than talent. I have listened to the 2014 show several times. The writing in the percussion section seems to be more about power than melody, phrasing, nuance. Listen to the difference in writing between SCV and Crown. Power playing no longer has a prominent place DCI. I have not found it to support the melodies or harmonies of what the hornline is doing very well at all. This show suffered significantly from the beginning with design issues that took too long to correct and there was little chance. to clean the show effectively because of such problems. I am proud of the guard and the visual for being able to come so far despite the design issues.The brass is phenomenal. I think a new program director and changes in percussion are needed. Either the talent or the instruction is a problem, as even with a less demanding book, the battery and front ensemble were simply not as clean as the groups ahead of them in percussion. They didn't come in 7th in percussion because of pacing issues. As for the design issues, whether it was intentional or not, a weak section was exposed. As I said before, I don't know who made the decisions, or why they were made. I simply know that it wasn't going to take a small amount of time to get the entire brass line to that high brass moment, and it wasn't going to take a small amount of time to get them back from it. We can argue all day about what percussion books were musical, or not musical. That's entirely subjective. I felt that Hannum's writing was appropriate in terms of supporting the brass. That doesn't change the big picture design issue that exposed a section that was not prepared for that exposure. Whether that lack of preparation was an instructional problem, or a talent problem is irrelevant. That design flaw is still there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amusicman Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 (edited) Agreed. And speaking of this, when is the last year Downey actually arranged a brass book for Blue Devils? Someone within the organization should speak on this, considering what I've been told about Mr. Glyde and his enhanced role in recent years. Dave Glyde has written the brass book since 2004. Downey then arranges it for brass and adds his flair, and the Blue Devils sound to it. This combo has, in my opinion, been pure magic year in and out. Edited August 12, 2014 by amusicman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonz311 Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 i've felt for a while now that jim casella would be a perfect fit at crown. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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