oldbandguy Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Indeed 12 great shows! Great to see Mason climbing another notch on the ladder to a soon to come championship. I enjoyed all of the bands, but have to say my overall favorite was Carmel, IN. (Not saying it should have won, just that it was my favorite.) Congrats to Marion Catholic on yet another BOA finals and another class championship. Their record of success may never be duplicated. Will be interesting to compare the recaps of semis and finals. OK...time to start drum corps season!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueStainGlass Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 I waited to see it live before I commented. Watching the show last night without hearing the name of it it was meh. Execution was great but the show did nothing for me design wise. This was my first experience of BOA and was actually let down with the designs for finals compared to other shows that didn't make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindap Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 They didn't travel to Grand Nationals this year, but they won the San Antonio Super Regional two weeks ago. They were followed by in second and third by, respectively, Ronald Reagan and Claudia Taylor Johnson, two other schools who didn't make the trip to Indianapolis this week, with Hebron in fourth. Hebron did tie for first in both music performance and music effect, though. Thank you. I forgot I had to start at Music for All to get to Bands of America Grand Nationals. I saw a few videos of some of the finalists this morning. Wish I could get to Indianapolis more often but I'm over 2,000 miles away and don't like traveling alone anymore. I wait until my group says 'Let's go to DCI this year'. We're having lunch on Tuesday. The topic might come up In the meantime, looking forward to winter guard season soon. For the past 5 years, I've been to local contests and enjoyed the live experience again. 2 years ago, I sat behind a young girl cheering for her Mom spinning on the gym floor. Last year I saw winter guards aged from 4 to 54. Drum corps, marching band, winter guard? I can't choose. I like them all! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Last year I saw winter guards aged from 4 to 54. Drum corps, marching band, winter guard? I can't choose. I like them all! Not a bad addiction L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I do not follow high school bands as avidly as many do on this site, so I can't say whether some are avoiding DCI for various reasons with any certainty. I can't say it for DCI either I suppose. I only know a few designers mostly by sight and one top designer who designs for DCI, WGI, and high school bands, and I do not know him from the drum corps world. Yes there are some excellent designers and instructors have walked away from the activity, but that is life in general. I will offer two thoughts 1. Just because a person designed an excellent show for a high school band does not mean much of anything. Does a gifted writer have to write a novel? If you have the ability to be a surgeon but you'd rather play the violin mean you need to be a surgeon even if your heart is in music? So the reason why the show is better designed, if in fact is better designed, is due to the person's talent and desire and that person is under no obligation to design for DCI. 2. There are legitimate reasons why a designer or instructor avoids DCI for reasons that have nothing to do with DCI. If you are a designer who is expected to be involved with the show or an instructor and you have school aged children, the DCI schedule will probably not be conducive to family life. You can't pack up the kids from mid-May to mid-August and tour the country while being involved with drum corps and the opportunity to enjoy a child's growing up are limited. I know some do and they are probably great parents, but my guess is that at least some avoid DCI for family reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I do not follow high school bands as avidly as many do on this site, so I can't say whether some are avoiding DCI for various reasons with any certainty. I can't say it for DCI either I suppose. I only know a few designers mostly by sight and one top designer who designs for DCI, WGI, and high school bands, and I do not know him from the drum corps world. Yes there are some excellent designers and instructors have walked away from the activity, but that is life in general. I will offer two thoughts 1. Just because a person designed an excellent show for a high school band does not mean much of anything. Does a gifted writer have to write a novel? If you have the ability to be a surgeon but you'd rather play the violin mean you need to be a surgeon even if your heart is in music? So the reason why the show is better designed, if in fact is better designed, is due to the person's talent and desire and that person is under no obligation to design for DCI. 2. There are legitimate reasons why a designer or instructor avoids DCI for reasons that have nothing to do with DCI. If you are a designer who is expected to be involved with the show or an instructor and you have school aged children, the DCI schedule will probably not be conducive to family life. You can't pack up the kids from mid-May to mid-August and tour the country while being involved with drum corps and the opportunity to enjoy a child's growing up are limited. I know some do and they are probably great parents, but my guess is that at least some avoid DCI for family reasons. And for some they are just not into the summer thing. There are many in the activity like this including the WGI crowd. There are much more involved in all of it BUT there are many who prefer one over another. Nothing more than personal choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forevergreen Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I saw BA a few times this year. The show was pretty good. At times. I felt the props caused the show to look "crowded"- but liked how they used them. I have heard them play much better music ensemble- but love the music they choose year to year. Wish their guard would do weapon work (see Tarpon Springs)- and while the "flag skirt" works at times- it is a yearly thing.that is getting a bit old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmc5682 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Offered in discussion of: Top instructors and designers AVOIDING DCI? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMxTzPmKedg I'm thinking specifically of this program in comparison to: 2015 Phantom Regiment, 2015 Cadets, 2015 Cavaliers, 2015 etc... I'd (personally) put BD, Bluecoats, Blue Knights etc above this one in terms of design After watching the band show you mentioned, I can only say I am miffed that you think that program design comes close to any of the World Class corps in the top 12, actually the top 17 from last year. To me, that band show looked like a cluttered mess. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 i caught the last half. some good stuff. now, i probably wouldn't pay to watch it, but I'll watch if the opportunity arises. I got to judge 25 great bands in a regional circuit, lots of good stuff there too. I saw more ideas coming from recent DCI or WGI shows than what I've seen in BOA the last few years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 After watching the band show you mentioned, I can only say I am miffed that you think that program design comes close to any of the World Class corps in the top 12, actually the top 17 from last year. To me, that band show looked like a cluttered mess. yeah well that "cluttered mess" just won the BOA National Championships lol Maybe a video with a fuller view of the field would appear less cluttered... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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