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2019 Phantom Regiment


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On 8/22/2018 at 9:29 AM, ftwdrummer said:

Would Weber's visual style mesh with Phantom, though? Can't see Phantom in the bicycle step...

There's another corps slightly closer to home for him, though...one he happened to be a member of...that already bicycle steps...

I'm not saying Weber to Cavies is a definite. But I think Weber to Cavies would be a better fit than Weber to Phantom.

What does marching technique have to do with writing drill? The two do not have anything to do with one another. 

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Was Key Poulan writing for SCV when Pete Webber was also there?

I'm curious about that combo if they were with PR. Poulan is writing great stuff for Mandarins and did great work with SCV back in the day (2004 comes to mind).

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1 hour ago, Sideways said:

Blue Knights tried something like that a few years ago and imho it looked even more ridiculous.  There are pros and  cons to any technique but the real chance of injury comes when they are exaggerated to the extreme.  You can teach a "straight leg" technique that looks very strong but is ultimately very relaxed if the group is properly conditioned and knows which muscles to engage.  There are a lot more moving parts in a "bicycle" style technique and you need time and more mature group to teach and clean it...the ultimate reason more groups do not use it.

Was that the "Prep Step Pop"?

Yes, that was distracting too.

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On 8/17/2018 at 11:52 PM, 1956OPR said:

To my simple mind, GE = Visual + Music.  Of these 2 components, the fall of the Regiment since the Rennicks and alumni JDShaw left after the 2010 and 2011 seasons, respectively,  is largely tied to the failure of my corps to figure out and/or apply the Visual components at a medal level.

In the 9 seasons from 2003 through 2011, the ordinal rankings of GE Vis and Total Visual exceeded the Regiment's finals placements only once (2011) and only twice equaled this (2005 and 2006).  Strong Music performances and rankings usually offset these deficiencies.

In the 7 seasons since then, only once, in 2012, did their GE Vis and Total Visual match their finals placement. Since then, the caption slides have spiraled downward with GE Vis ranking 15 and Visual ranking 12.

By the way, the Percussion team, in a very competitive environment,  has stabilized this caption and it is on it's way back.

It is galling to me that DCI's Best Visual Performance Award, which honors John Brazale, a former Phantom Regiment guard and visual designer in the 70s and 80s and DCI Hall of Famer, has rarely, if ever, been won by the Regiment.

It is annoying to me that in 2013, Triumphant Journey was dominated by a laughable Puppet Queen; that in 2015 a show about Paris, the City of Light, was turned into celebratory shopping exhibition; that in 2017, Phantasm was mocked because someone thought that seductive moans and groans were an appropriate trademark of the production and in 2018, an abstract program attempted to help express it's ideas by using mobile gymnastic vehicles which simultaneously muddled and covered up terrific guard activities.

So, what can be done.

First, I would recommend that the Design Team be expanded to include all Caption Heads and that all be included from the beginning of the design process. It is my hope that these specialists will be encouraged to speak up when certain design choices are introduced that may sound great when voiced but that are likely to be really problematic when they are attempted to be applied on the field. 

Second, understand the judging rules well enough to be able to present competitive top 6 shows without having to accept DCI's current artistic inclinations.

Third, return to programs based on classical, elegant music programs performed by brass lines powered by mellos, euphs (the Buicks) and contras   Return to our musical roots.

Concentrate these programs on musical and design parameters which do not require a detailed libretto to explain what and why the Regiment chose it.Let the music rule and let the visuals speak for themselves. 

Not so sure about design by committee.  It's simple, hire someone to design a show who has proven creativity.  Pitts definitely does not.  IMHO, I don't he is very good at writing music for Drum Corps either.  

I would bet money that if the corps went after a big name, PR would see people donating money to pay for him/her.

Edited by EricS
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On 8/23/2018 at 10:23 AM, Spatzzz said:

What does marching technique have to do with writing drill? The two do not have anything to do with one another. 

They certainly do if you are considering the total visual package.  Marching technique is a component of the drill writing as much as technique is with brass or percussion writing/design. Proper technique allows proper playing.  Excellent marching technique compatible with the written movement,  will allow the visual presentation to be maximized.

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1 hour ago, LabMaster said:

They certainly do if you are considering the total visual package.  Marching technique is a component of the drill writing as much as technique is with brass or percussion writing/design. Proper technique allows proper playing.  Excellent marching technique compatible with the written movement,  will allow the visual presentation to be maximized.

some marching movements require certain marching techniques in order to achieve the movement/form/transition. The music will also determine the technique at times, and definitely the music will determine the movement the designer writes for the drill.

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1 hour ago, LabMaster said:

They certainly do if you are considering the total visual package.  Marching technique is a component of the drill writing as much as technique is with brass or percussion writing/design. Proper technique allows proper playing.  Excellent marching technique compatible with the written movement,  will allow the visual presentation to be maximized.

The original poster was referencing a certain drill writer and a specific marching technique (bent knee) and whether his drill would be compatible with Phantom who marches a straight leg technique. I was pointing out that writing drill is done the same regardless of the marching style (bent knee or straight leg aka technique) used by the corps. Marching style/technique doesn't play a role in the writing of the drill. It does have a role in how the drill if performed. SCV for example could have marched their show this summer using a straight leg technique and as long as that technique is consistent across the members the show would have still be great and the drill the same.

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18 minutes ago, Spatzzz said:

The original poster was referencing a certain drill writer and a specific marching technique (bent knee) and whether his drill would be compatible with Phantom who marches a straight leg technique. I was pointing out that writing drill is done the same regardless of the marching style (bent knee or straight leg aka technique) used by the corps. Marching style/technique doesn't play a role in the writing of the drill. It does have a role in how the drill if performed. SCV for example could have marched their show this summer using a straight leg technique and as long as that technique is consistent across the members the show would have still be great and the drill the same.

...except Weber introduced the specific bent-leg style Vanguard uses when he came over. It would not surprise me if the same happened were he to go to Phantom. That was all I meant.

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13 hours ago, EricS said:

Not so sure about design by committee.  It's simple, hire someone to design a show who has proven creativity.  Pitts definitely does not.  IMHO, I don't this he is very good at writing music for Drum Corps either.   

From pod casts with the new caption heads for Boston, it seems they've all had some say about the last two years shows, even giving their thoughts about other sections.

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