rwrice Posted June 19, 2004 Share Posted June 19, 2004 (edited) Oops! Make that the Royal Airs. Sorry. Just wondered how they sounded and looked? How many members overall. How many drums, horns, and guard? Does it look like they'll be at Scranton? Edited June 19, 2004 by rwrice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcontra99 Posted June 19, 2004 Share Posted June 19, 2004 Yes, I saw them, and as always enjoyed them, there is just something special about seeing a corps come out with a full honor guard, one of hte many things i lvoe about the senior division Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelerand Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 Yes, I saw them. Won't go into detail here b/c I'm reviewing the show for DCW. A couple of overall notes, though. Without knowing exact details, they seemed roughly the same size as last year. However, this year they are performing as a "Senior Exhibition" corps instead of a "Reunion" corps. Does anyone know what that really means? The show was very well done. Most of the music was less familiar to me than last year's, but in terms of the drill and overall presentation, I think they have taken it up another notch this year. Fan reaction was very enthusiastic, including several foot-stomping sessions (makes lots of noise on the aluminum bleachers at Oswego). Of particular note: The Oswego High School Band, which had performed an excellent standstill show in exhibition midway through the program, was very enthusiastic in their appreciation of the Royal Airs (they were watching from the backfield stands). These kids really understand and appreciate the drum corps activity - they were a credit to their school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankBeMe Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 I saw them tonight....liked them a lot..just seemed weird though that they didn't start on the starting line.....but the screaming sops 20 feet away from me was very good! They even are marching backwards! It's not as old style as it was the first two years....but they did have the crowd big time on their first note! And the color pres---awesome! ^OO^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Milano Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 (edited) Thanks for the kind words about the Royal Airs. We WILL be starting from the traditional endzone before too long. We just had to work out too many "kinks" in the opening drill for this first weekend. Marching backwards takes us a bit longer to learn than it does for the junior kids! :) We had a few members not able to attend this first show (Friday night and all). We'll have a much bigger drum line when all are healthy (broken ankles, back surgeries, etc. - yes, we're older!!). Eight snares, six tenors, five bass, four cymbals will be on the field in a few weeks when all the physical and legal situations are remedied. ^0^ You'll also see another half-dozen horns (getting us close to 80) before long. Guard has 8 rifles and 18 flags, plus honor guard. The crowd was very nice to us, and the high school band could not have been more appreciative or respectful. ALL the junior corps kids treat us like "favorite aunts and uncles." They cheer us as we troop the stands. They high-five us as we go on the field (even if they don't know any of us personally). Someone is raising these kids with respect for their drum corps roots. Very heart-warming. And yes, our show is "evolving" in terms of modernity. Not to worry, we're still "old fashioned" drum corps, just not totally 60's. In fact, we'll be debuting our concert, "God Bless the Child" in a couple weeks (probably Michigan City show). It should be our best production of the show. Thanks again for the kind thoughts and words. Paul Milano RA 2003 and 2004 Edited June 20, 2004 by Paul Milano Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankBeMe Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 cool Paul :) Thanks for the info! I did notice quite a few people with RA jackets on crutches and canes. I guess it's one of those things that happen as we age. Kilties had a cymbal player tear a leg muscle during rehearsal and a girl from Racine Scouts tore up her knee during their show....definatley a dangerous sport we're in sometimes. I'll see you guys next Saturday in Waukesha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donk Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Without knowing exact details, they seemed roughly the same size as last year. However, this year they are performing as a "Senior Exhibition" corps instead of a "Reunion" corps. Does anyone know what that really means? The change from a "reunion corps" to an "exhibition corps" is primarily an internal organizational and goal related change, most of which is transparent to the audience. The audience may notice that the Royal Airs will not necessarily be tied to performing a show based on what they performed during their heyday in the '60s. Hence the theme of the show this year is "Something old, something new, something borrowed and all things BLUE". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.C. Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Saw RA on Saturday from the end zone and as always, was blown away! Love the new music (especially the cool arrangement of Strike Up the Band), and was impressed with the slightly more modern drill! The RA / Kiltie post-show party at George's was a hoot!! Very well attended! Got to see lots of old friends, and met lots of new ones. I was particularly impressed with Bill Morgan's surprisingly good memory of every lyric in that famous back of the bus song that sounds suspiciously like "Ghost Riders in the Sky"! I haven't sang that song with Bill since 1984, and he was perfect! Can't wait to do it all again sometime soon! J.C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Scott Posted June 22, 2004 Share Posted June 22, 2004 Saw RA on Saturday from the end zone and as always, was blown away! Love the new music (especially the cool arrangement of Strike Up the Band), and was impressed with the slightly more modern drill!The RA / Kiltie post-show party at George's was a hoot!! Very well attended! Got to see lots of old friends, and met lots of new ones. I was particularly impressed with Bill Morgan's surprisingly good memory of every lyric in that famous back of the bus song that sounds suspiciously like "Ghost Riders in the Sky"! I haven't sang that song with Bill since 1984, and he was perfect! Can't wait to do it all again sometime soon! J.C. JC: It was good to meet you, Jerry, Chris and Jim Dittrich at George's after the show. As always. I enjoyed hanging with Mac, my bud from St louis, as well as other Kilties that marched RA in 2002 like Adam, Jeff and Mike Kaufman. Thanks to Mike Phillips for the invitation, it was indeed a hoot! All the best to the Mad Plaid this summer! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwrice Posted June 24, 2004 Author Share Posted June 24, 2004 Nice to hear these comments. I'm happy they're working on their complete drill for the next show. Always loved that horn line! Great name for their show too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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