DrumManTx Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 no kidding. David Glasgow of the Bluecoats told me at the Canton camp back in November that contra was the second most competitive spot this year after snares. WTF? My son was auditioning on tuba and didn't make bloo so he tried with the Blue Stars. They had 25 people for 7 uncrontracted spots at the callback camp this last weekend. Happily for him, although contras were flush, bari-euphs were not so he took a spot as a euphonium player. I think he'd prefer tuba but as he says "I don't care, I'm marching World Class DCI". What's going on with tubas this year? Bluecoats contras get LOTS of feature time, so that kinda makes sense. They always have my favorite contra features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroopAlum12 Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 no kidding. David Glasgow of the Bluecoats told me at the Canton camp back in November that contra was the second most competitive spot this year after snares. WTF? My son was auditioning on tuba and didn't make bloo so he tried with the Blue Stars. They had 25 people for 7 uncrontracted spots at the callback camp this last weekend. Happily for him, although contras were flush, bari-euphs were not so he took a spot as a euphonium player. I think he'd prefer tuba but as he says "I don't care, I'm marching World Class DCI". What's going on with tubas this year? I think marching contra has also just become a cool thing to do. It is admittedly pretty impressive when you can sling 45 lbs of metal from attention to horns up in a split second. I knew quite a few woodwind players or other brass players who wanted to learn tuba for drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Bump Can anyone who attended last camp add any details to keep us Troop fans going? Especially with the bold announcement from DVD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2muchcoffeeman Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Attendance strong, many spots contracted, average age of members up, marching instruction getting extra emphasis. Word from the brass line is that the book is a beast; same is being hinted at re: drill. Not much news on the show-design and -composition front. Lots of anticipation around the uniform update. We keep expecting the show & uni details to emerge at each camp. Next one begins Feb. 19. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornTeacher Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Attendance strong, many spots contracted, average age of members up, marching instruction getting extra emphasis. Word from the brass line is that the book is a beast; same is being hinted at re: drill. Not much news on the show-design and -composition front. Lots of anticipation around the uniform update. We keep expecting the show & uni details to emerge at each camp. Next one begins Feb. 19. Hip-hip..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearwy Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I'm looking forward to seeing this show. The uniform change sounds mysterious. I understand it will not be what we are used to seeing. This sounds a bit risky. I hope it pays off for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2muchcoffeeman Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I can be fairly accused of thinking and writing on this topic too much, but I've come around to the conclusion that there is more room available to the Troopers' ouevre than I had once thought was provided by the corps' western persona. If one considers Troopers to be flag-waving U.S. soldiers on horseback, then yes, there is limited room to roam, artistically. But if one instead grounds the Troopers' identity in the ideas of the West -- freedom, adventure, fear, independence, duty, loneliness, awe, conflict, the brutal elements -- the creative horizons expand, providing room for the uniform ( er, costume) to expand its own boundaries of expression. The trick, of course, is to push those boundaries without snapping the strands of DNA that make the Troopers instantly identifiable as the Troopers. My sense is that the staff is methodically moving the corps toward an identity that is rooted more in an idea and a sound, than in a look. Consider Crown: It has had several looks in recent years, but it has a unifying idea behind it, most notably its brass sound. You could say the same about many other corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xandandl Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I can be fairly accused of thinking and writing on this topic too much, but I've come around to the conclusion that there is more room available to the Troopers' ouevre than I had once thought was provided by the corps' western persona. If one considers Troopers to be flag-waving U.S. soldiers on horseback, then yes, there is limited room to roam, artistically. But if one instead grounds the Troopers' identity in the ideas of the West -- freedom, adventure, fear, independence, duty, loneliness, awe, conflict, the brutal elements -- the creative horizons expand, providing room for the uniform ( er, costume) to expand its own boundaries of expression. The trick, of course, is to push those boundaries without snapping the strands of DNA that make the Troopers instantly identifiable as the Troopers. My sense is that the staff is methodically moving the corps toward an identity that is rooted more in an idea and a sound, than in a look. Consider Crown: It has had several looks in recent years, but it has a unifying idea behind it, most notably its brass sound. You could say the same about many other corps. And DVD (and family) did have much to do with that new Crown image as he does with the "new' troop. Awe In the face of the great Western beauty, the pollution free sky seeing the galaxies of stars, the vast spaces sometimes as if w/o limits give quite the palette to the designers. Whether it be freedom, adventure, independence, and initiative as ideals or the burdens of duty, fear, conflict, brutal elements and loneliness as the dark side of life, that is all quite a spectrum. Yup, there is much more to life here than just yippee-hi-oh. My uncle toured as part of the Troopers caravan for many decades. My whole family awaits what this "change" will be. If we can survive past the black nights of the Cadets, we'll be strong through this whatever it is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllianaLancerContra Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I think marching contra has also just become a cool thing to do. It is admittedly pretty impressive when you can sling 45 lbs of metal from attention to horns up in a split second. I knew quite a few woodwind players or other brass players who wanted to learn tuba for drum corps. Marching Contra has ALWAYS been cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeN Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 The trick, of course, is to push those boundaries without snapping the strands of DNA that make the Troopers instantly identifiable as the Troopers. My sense is that the staff is methodically moving the corps toward an identity that is rooted more in an idea and a sound, than in a look. Consider Crown: It has had several looks in recent years, but it has a unifying idea behind it, most notably its brass sound. You could say the same about many other corps. I'm as progressive visually as they come, but I will be very sad if Troopers "rip the band aid off" with their uniform. Very few outside of the cognoscenti can identify Crown based on their sound. Everyone can identify Troopers based on their look. Mike 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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