GUARDLING Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 (edited) "...was..." The prosecution rests. Maybe it got stale in the US with the same ole music,not progressive, relying on the same type of audience.hmmmmm Edited December 13, 2016 by GUARDLING Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouooga Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 I don't always agree with Garfield, but I'll agree with this one any day of the week. A lot of cakes have frosting, but not all. Frosting can complement the cake (these flavors work awesome together, neither would work without the other), it can just add a little something (the frosting's good, but I could take it or leave it), or it can make no sense (this cake is delicious but the frosting is meh, I'm not sure why they felt the need to add frosting). Regardless of which method a baker decides to go with, it's important to remember that I'm in the market for cake, because I love cake. If ever comes a time I'm handed just a bucket of frosting, even if it's the best frosting in the world, it's never going to be called a cake. On that note, in a world of cakes covered in frosting, I'd love to see a baker come out of the box with the best cake anyone's ever seen, sans frosting, and blow everyone's minds. (no, I'm not actually talking about cakes) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouooga Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Maybe it got stale in the US with the same ole music,not progressive, relying on the same type of audience.hmmmmm Side topic: if anyone has contacts with Blast, please pass along my personal opinion that an updated show would do really well as a residence production in Las Vegas. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoyWonder1911 Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 (edited) I haven't been reading through this thread, am I'm just responding to the OP's original post. Look, drum corps is all about entertainment. And like all things, especially entertainment, it must change and evolve in order to survive. I'm not saying ALL change is good. But the changes in drum corps shows open up new ideas, new ways of doing things, new creative concepts - the Bluecoats' show this past season would not have happened 20 years ago. Was the Bluecoats' show great? Well it would rank on the top 20 shows of all times - I'm not saying top 5, or greatest show ever, but it was good, really good - but what made it good, and this is the point I'm trying to make, is that it was designed well. You can take any kind of show concept and design it well or design it poorly. I'm also taking for granted that the judges reward shows that are designed well and performed well, and know better than most of us what constitutes a good show. There is nothing wrong with with the idea itself of adding props in a show - props can be done poorly, or they can be done well. You can't just make a blanket statement that says "all props are bad" and expect it to be the truth. The Blue Stars, for example, are known for their use of props. Most of the time they are done very well. Sometimes they aren't - I think the Side Show show was probably a poor use of props - not that the idea wasn't good - it was just not well integrated. Their Houdini show, the props were done VERY well. Very well integrated in the show. Sometimes The Cadets use props poorly. Sometimes the Blue Devils use them poorly. The white colored minimalist type poles they've used 2010-2013, some years they were used well, the Re-Rite of Spring I think they were poorly used. It's not the props, or the electronics, or woodwinds or strings or WHATEVER is used, that makes a show good or bad, it's how they are used. Show design ranks at the top along with performance, on how a show is judged overall. And as far as the fans go, I'm pretty sure the fans on the whole are good at deciding whether or not a show works. Our culture is pretty much hedonistic and pleasure seeking, so I think we are pretty good at knowing what we like and what we don't. If the fans like it, and the judges like it, it's a winner. It doesn't matter what is used or what is not used. It's whether the judges and fans like it. Maybe I'm just being overly simplistic. Now what concerns me, and I think this may be what the OP was trying to get at, is that usage of electronics are replacing talent and education. I get that. Let's add microphones to make us appear louder than we are, and add more electronics to cover up our weak bass line. I don't like it either - but do you think that the judges can see through that? Do you think that the added microphones allow judges to better hear and pick up on flaws? The judges seem to do a really good job at ranking the shows by the end of the season. So I think maybe the judges aren't swayed much, if at all, by this kind of usage. But it does seem to help bring a show more to life. Fans are more entertained, more of a bang for their buck - if they can add 10% more entertainment to their show by this usage, for the sake of the audience, then good. But I don't think it sways judges opinions. But I completely understand the notion that usage of electronics could be seen as cheating. Like lip syncing a show instead of singing it, or like for example, Miley Cyrus, WE know she isn't that good of a singer, the recording studio knows she isn't a good singer, so they have to synthesize her voice to make it sound better. Maybe that's a rude example, sorry, but it's true. I hope this doesn't happen with drum corps. Because the point of DCI is education. Not trying to do a chop job just to get points or accolades. I really hope DCI org isn't purposefully pushing electronic cheating for the sake of keeping them afloat. I like to think that making morally wrong decisions are what causes organizations to fail, and I would think that electronic cheating is morally wrong for the activity because it forsakes the supposed mission of the activity - education and experience. It's for the marching members. Don't cheat them out of a sincere education and experience because you want to try to move your corps up the ranks. But again, I'm not saying ALL electronics are bad, it's just bad when they are used to enhance the brass line and cover up mistakes. But I think that there is some of this bad stuff going on, and it's happening throughout the ranks. It is a little bit disconcerting. EDIT: I went back and read oouda's post - I loved the cake analogy! I don't like cake. Pumpkin pie or brownies though, mmm mmm mmm! I would also really like to see if a show can still medal without any use of electronics or microphones. I think it can. I still think that electronics can be used good or bad, and I think not using them would be better than using them poorly. It's ALL about the show design - and I think it still can be done. It just has to be a very, very well designed show and performed very well. That's all. Edited December 13, 2016 by BoyWonder1911 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted December 13, 2016 Author Share Posted December 13, 2016 Maybe it got stale in the US with the same ole music,not progressive, relying on the same type of audience.hmmmmm That wouldn't explain, then, the persistence of the $25million activity called drum corps that, by all accounts will outlast the BLAST! production. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingusmonk Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 That wouldn't explain, then, the persistence of the $25million activity called drum corps that, by all accounts will outlast the BLAST! production. C'mon man. The model is completely different. I know that you know this. They both toot horns, bang drums, spin and dance ... the business of DCI Corps and Broadway Touring Company are different planets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabMaster Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 I don't always agree with Garfield, but I'll agree with this one any day of the week. A lot of cakes have frosting, but not all. Frosting can complement the cake (these flavors work awesome together, neither would work without the other), it can just add a little something (the frosting's good, but I could take it or leave it), or it can make no sense (this cake is delicious but the frosting is meh, I'm not sure why they felt the need to add frosting). Regardless of which method a baker decides to go with, it's important to remember that I'm in the market for cake, because I love cake. If ever comes a time I'm handed just a bucket of frosting, even if it's the best frosting in the world, it's never going to be called a cake. On that note, in a world of cakes covered in frosting, I'd love to see a baker come out of the box with the best cake anyone's ever seen, sans frosting, and blow everyone's minds. (no, I'm not actually talking about cakes) Yeah, but occasionally there is cheesecake. There has been cheesecake in the past, with little or no frosting. Maybe a little white chocolate with raspberry syrup. No fruit, no nuts. Of course I'm not actually talking about cheesecake. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 That wouldn't explain, then, the persistence of the $25million activity called drum corps that, by all accounts will outlast the BLAST! production. Actually , wouldnt it? The change or progression to productions, the diversity in content and design, the exploration and tools to produce a program. Could it possibly be a reason why we still have the activity today? Just posing a question. Not all the toys are good or done well by some BUT I sure would have loved all of it back in the day when I actually marched. I would love to see ( not possible , I know ) a corps say like old 27th with the bells and whistles of today. Now that would be something to see. jmo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Holland Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Actually , wouldnt it? The change or progression to productions, the diversity in content and design, the exploration and tools to produce a program. Could it possibly be a reason why we still have the activity today? Just posing a question. Not all the toys are good or done well by some BUT I sure would have loved all of it back in the day when I actually marched. I would love to see ( not possible , I know ) a corps say like old 27th with the bells and whistles of today. Now that would be something to see. jmo I'm thinking if you gave the Bridgemen all of the bells and whistles, they'd find ways to make some crazy stuff happen. Or VK. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouooga Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 I'm thinking if you gave the Bridgemen all of the bells and whistles, they'd find ways to make some crazy stuff happen. Or VK. Oh man, can you imagine the Shark chasing the Fat Lady up and down one of Bluecoats' slides? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.