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Blue Devils 2018


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I work in a profession where I am asked to evaluate the technical merits of decisions made and provide my expert opinion based on the facts and circumstances of my clients.  If I get the facts wrong, then my clients can experience a high costs result.  Its a shame that the culture/society we live in currently, abandons respect for facts and truth as they are belittled to "Fake News" quote on quote. 

So I for one appreciate and value an experts opinion.

- Carry On!

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Loving the fact BD has chosen to provide their "2018 Test Drive Tour" by "System Blue" at our school in Purcellville, VA on July 30.  This will be our fourth time hosting the Blue Devils at Woodgrove High School and we look forward to seeing many DC area fans and students at this open rehearsal.  What a great way for many high school bands to start their band camps by participating in this event.

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On 6/6/2018 at 3:03 AM, DCI-86 said:

I am sure their music will make more sense with the visual but a lot of the time it just sounds like random notes or playing tricky passages for the sake of the sheets!  When they do play a melody they sound wonderful (e.g. the ballad).  I only wish they played more tunes that had a start, middle and end rather than chop & bop 10-20 second passages!

They’ve been chop and bop for a long time. What I notice is by chasing Crown for the Ott, they too have gone run happy and this book is written with Crown in mind. Last year they used Bumble Bee as their Crown-copy run piece so it was more subtle with in the context  

It also feels like last years’ book, half technical box ticking, bowing to the judges and the rest slow, build and musical. If it follows, more stagnant, group brass dance wiggle visuals for the brass runs with the guard doing filed coverage and the drums motions. I’m getting a 2017 part 2 with new props vibe

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49 minutes ago, cowtown said:

They’ve been chop and bop for a long time. What I notice is by chasing Crown for the Ott, they too have gone run happy and this book is written with Crown in mind. Last year they used Bumble Bee as their Crown-copy run piece so it was more subtle with in the context  

It also feels like last years’ book, half technical box ticking, bowing to the judges and the rest slow, build and musical. If it follows, more stagnant, group brass dance wiggle visuals for the brass runs with the guard doing filed coverage and the drums motions. I’m getting a 2017 part 2 with new props vibe

Uh!!!! wth.... :blow: I'd sure like to pop your bubbles on that but, 18th world titles speaks for itself, you know what this years music is off the charts its amazing!!!! i love it and i definitely loved last year!

Edited by theonlyfizzle
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1 hour ago, cowtown said:

What I notice is by chasing Crown for the Ott, they too have gone run happy and this book is written with Crown in mind. Last year they used Bumble Bee as their Crown-copy run piece so it was more subtle with in the context 

 

LOL

Devils have had crazy-demanding runs and technical writing in the brass books since before Crown even existed as a drum corps.

Edited by Kamarag
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1 hour ago, cowtown said:

 What I notice is by chasing Crown for the Ott, they too have gone run happy and this book is written with Crown in mind.

 

No 

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Crown hasn't influenced BD at all

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2 hours ago, Kamarag said:

 

LOL

Devils have had crazy-demanding runs and technical writing in the brass books since before Crown even existed as a drum corps.

I agree but I feel they have become more gratuitous and less melodic with their runs as a result of Crown.   

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57 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

Crown hasn't influenced BD at all

I remember an interview done with Meehan where he was asked about other arrangers he admires. He said Klesch was one of them, but I don't remember if John said he took any inspiration from his work. I'll have to find it on YouTube.

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5 hours ago, cowtown said:

They’ve been chop and bop for a long time. What I notice is by chasing Crown for the Ott, they too have gone run happy and this book is written with Crown in mind. Last year they used Bumble Bee as their Crown-copy run piece so it was more subtle with in the context  

It also feels like last years’ book, half technical box ticking, bowing to the judges and the rest slow, build and musical. If it follows, more stagnant, group brass dance wiggle visuals for the brass runs with the guard doing filed coverage and the drums motions. I’m getting a 2017 part 2 with new props vibe

I agree with you in some regards. However, BD has always "written to the sheets" and focused on what is going to get them the most points, You can't win that many championships without doing that purposefully. The problem is that harmonically the jazz vocabulary is so much denser and thicker that its just harder to get the same clarity and transparency that Crown gets. I'm not saying Crown plays an easier book by any means, but when you write in a lot more unison and major/minor chords, its way easier to create a clear sound. Crown, IMO, just out cleans and out "clears" everyone else, partly due to the nature of the harmonies they use, or don't use. Its more exposed in some rights, but a much easier sound for judges to evaluate and digest. Also much easier to play loud in unison, fact. Its a design choice and since they've had so much great success and are rewarded year in year out for doing it, why change? The quality is still fantastic and musicianship is strong, so it still "checks all of the boxes".The judges (and many of us) clearly like that sound and style and if you can't be that clean, forget about it. 

 

Unless BD and other corps are willing to change their sound, writing style and approach to match, its going to be awfully hard to beat Crown at their own brass game. It took an incredible BD line in 2014 to beat them and that book was a little thinner, combined with a ridiculously talented brass line. Crown wins year in year out with all ages in their line, so its a writing, teaching, design, out cleaning and "judges like the sound" thing. Hard to beat that in today's day and age. Very similar to the Rennicks and SCV almost always winning drums. Aesthetic and musicality go much farther than cool and dense in terms of sheet reward in performance areas. I personally love the variety of sounds in the activity, but if I was Crown, I'd never change my style unless they quit winning brass. Same as BD design with all of those championships. if anything, I'd say Crown has taken BD's model of design and applied it straight up to the brass area. Time will tell if their overall design will catch up to that level and create a number of championships. You can only ride a great hornline so far in today's drum corps activity if you want and expect to win championships.

Edited by trumpetcam
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