ssorrell Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 Name something that has demand and difficulty that would be recognized as southern. If Spirit were to harken back to its roots and play laid back yet powerful southern style jazz, would members come to the corps? Every time we have an argument about the differences between the generations, old timers praise the entertainment qualities of the 70s and 80s shows, while the new generation of members stick up for the types of music that corps have put out in the 90s and 00s. Would prospective members find Spirit's old style attractive enough to follow them and audition for a spot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decompressed Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 Name something that has demand and difficulty that would be recognized as southern. If Spirit were to harken back to its roots and play laid back yet powerful southern style jazz, would members come to the corps? Every time we have an argument about the differences between the generations, old timers praise the entertainment qualities of the 70s and 80s shows, while the new generation of members stick up for the types of music that corps have put out in the 90s and 00s. Would prospective members find Spirit's old style attractive enough to follow them and audition for a spot? Steve: The point I was trying to make was that I personally miss the style Spirit used to present. I also love listening to contemporary music performed by drum corps, whomever the corps is if it is presented well with good sounds, good visual and emotion. As far as demand and difficulty...a talented arranger and design team can do almost anything to any song and "manufacture" difficulty. However i am not sure that you would still have the familiar feel that we "old timers" LOL get. I propose looking at your question differently: Could 1986 Spirit of Atlanta (my alltime fav. spirit show) be a finalist drum corps today? A tricky question because you are comparing different eras in drum corps. For whatever it is worth...i am a fan of the activity and a fan of all drum corps. Do i miss some of the corps "identities"...you betha...but all things change. Corps do whatever they must to be successful while maintaining their connection to the past with a look torwards the future (my gosh i sound like Walter Cronkite at EPCOT). Spirit will always be my corps from down south whether they play Gershwin or Berlioz. Take Care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bawker Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 Name something that has demand and difficulty that would be recognized as southern. If Spirit were to harken back to its roots and play laid back yet powerful southern style jazz, would members come to the corps? Every time we have an argument about the differences between the generations, old timers praise the entertainment qualities of the 70s and 80s shows, while the new generation of members stick up for the types of music that corps have put out in the 90s and 00s. Would prospective members find Spirit's old style attractive enough to follow them and audition for a spot? Okay, you want to expand Spirit's roots? Charles Ives is a good place to start...not strictly Southern...but enough Ragtime in there that it could work, and still keep the niche of Spirit intact. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...nce&s=classical That's just the first thing I can think of...I'm sure the music major folks can up with plenty more. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lieut. General Effect Posted July 7, 2004 Author Share Posted July 7, 2004 Muskrat : the Blue Devils, Phantom, Madison, are Corps that come to mind that brought back songs they had done in earlier times. They did so in a fresh and different way. Boston has even incorporated some passages from earlier times ( brief Conquest strands ). Spirit is certainly capable of doing the same, if they wanted too. No one here that I'm aware of wants Spirit to be stuck in the past and simply do a rehash of earlier programs. It's a stylistic approach that perhaps they are missing. An opportunity if you will to reach back to their roots, find what it was that made them ' different " and "unique ", and bring that to the audience in a fresh and new way. This is not unheard of here. Corps have done this with success before. It CAN be done in a fresh way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lieut. General Effect Posted July 7, 2004 Author Share Posted July 7, 2004 (edited) ssorrell : you asked for suggestions for Spirit that they could do musically thar would be challenging and have the neccessary demand. Go into Google. Type in " Southern Jazz ". In seconds, you will find on Google 1, 460,000 references to " Southern Jazz ". This is just one musical genre too. It seems to me that a talented Spirit staff member, so inclined, could find some intriguing ideas to explore with Spirit from these references of over a million examples of " Southern Jazz ". Or Spirit could use other musical genres ( heck even Country Music or Southern Rock ). Choices that could tap into something that could be unique to Spirit that perhaps other Corps from different regions could not pull off as easily. Hey, no flame here. Just a thought. Spirit is making progress as is. Edited July 7, 2004 by Lieut. General Effect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssorrell Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 A few points... 1. Spirit has brought back many tunes of old and re-arranged them recently. They've played Nuttville, Let It Be Me, and Old Man River more than once since the mid 90s. 2. I'm not sticking up for their choices, but I do try to understand why they have gone the way that they have. 3. Country or Southern Rock? sorry, I can't see that on any drum corps field, particular in 2004 or beyond. 4. I ask again...if Spirit went back to an older style of southern music made to fit today's drum corps environment, would the member's support it? 5. As difficult and technical as shows are these days, I just don't see our former laid back style fitting in. You can't take Let It Be Me, We Are the Reason, or Amazing Grace and make them difficult without losing the qualities that made us love those songs as played by Spirit. If you take any southern jazz or gospel tune and contemporize it, then it won't have that appeal that fans loved about Spirit in the 70s and 80s. It would be southern possibly in name only, but it wouldn't have the same effect on fans. It would be a show designed for the current trends, which would not have that appeal nor identity that you associate with Spirit of old. IMHO of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 (edited) 3. Country or Southern Rock? sorry, I can't see that on any drum corps field, particular in 2004 or beyond. Hopefully the success of this year's Cavaliers, Cadets, and Carolina Crown will change that mentailty. Each are doing pop or rock based shows, or in Crown's case, have a section of the show based on pop music. If Spirit *really* wanted to innovate, yet stay true to thier souther roots, they should think about some Skynard stuff. Now before you laugh yourself silly, take a listen. There's some mind-bogglingly difficult stuff in all of thier music (they used three guitars pretty much all the time, which gave them thier signature sound). Imagine a creatively arranged version of "Sweet Home Alabama". Anything but the latest cookie-cutter Holsinger tune... Edited July 8, 2004 by Kamarag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKBari Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 Funny, the Blue Devils and the Crossmen manage to find jazz music every year and the members support it. The Crossmen played "In the Mood" and "Birdland" Were successful and made finals. Devils even played ragtime music and they placed in the Top 3. Saying you can't play jazz or develop a competitive show sounds like a cop out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muskrat Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 Kamaraq, I've already thought about how enjoyable a Lynrd Skynrd / Charlie Daniels show would be and even though I'm not laughing myself silly, I bet the current members probably would. My spouse and I would much rather hear recognizable music from all of the Corps when we attend shows, but that just isn't the way it is. (He'll probably be beside himself when he sees the 007 show. I haven't mentioned to him that the Cavies are doing that this year, but he's a huge fan of the Cavies AND James Bond). I just hope that none of the current members of any of the Corps come to this message board and read a review stating how disappointing their show was - after working their butts off for as long as it takes to try and put together a show that fans won't complain about, but is still artsy enough to impress the judges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lieut. General Effect Posted July 8, 2004 Author Share Posted July 8, 2004 (edited) My original review above, that started this thread, should put that to rest. I enjoy their show this year. The suggestion was just a thought that perhaps they could develop a future style that they may have an advantage in that other corps may not. Spirit, it seems to me ( and a few others on here it appears ) has a chance to be unique. They have been in the past. They can do so in the future. Some of the great young modern composers of today, in a variety of musical genres, are actually tapping into the past and finding inspiration there, and bringing it forward in a new and refreshing way. Spirit could do so as well, if they were so inclined. They do not have to do " Porgy and Bess ", and such again . But they could find compositions easily if they tried that would be uniquely, and identifiably " southern " and it could be wonderful for them. But it's just a thought. Again, Spirit is making progress as it is. And we are glad to have them still on the drum corps field that's for sure. Edited July 8, 2004 by Lieut. General Effect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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