Bands of America: for the Drum Corps Fan

[bawker]

With all the hoo-ha about BOA this, and BOA that lately here on our esteemed forums, I figured it was time to actually take a look at what's going on in the world of competitive marching band nowadays.

So, I decided to get a membership on the BOA Forums.

(Side note: There's an awful lot of similarity between the "BOA Grand Nationals Premium Membership" and DCI Season Pass. Dan Potter has a webcast on there as well, just like with DCI. Matter of fact, the streaming technology that BOA uses is the same that DCI has, it seems...even down to the fact that Tom Blair is producing this years Grand Nationals DVD.)

After watching a few bands...namely, the top 6 or 8: Ronald Reagan, L.D. Bell, Carmel, Plymouth-Canton and so on, I came away with a few things...

-Every show seems to have a voice over, and a decidely intellectual bent to it.

-Most shows seem to be (at least on the webcast) amping the pit percussion.

-A lot of the "impact" moments seemed to be muddled on first viewing, if not for some homers in the audience for each school. Some of this is due to the dome, perhaps.

Now, I'm not out to crucify the BOA progams out there, so let's not go there.

In actuality, what I came away with was that this years Cadets show was exactly in the mold of each of the programs I watched. Not the Cavaliers, Regiment, or even the Blue Devils. Just the Cadets. They "got" the vibe that these programs put out...and duplicated it.

In my opinion, it seems that the tables have finally been reversed: Marching band (at the national level) seems to be the intellectual innovator, and drum corps ...although executed better for the most part...looks to be falling by the wayside..and I say this as a extremely biased drum corps fan.

Do you think this intellectual thread that we see running through each of the BOA Finalist programs is something that will overtake the whole of drum corps?

And, moreover, does it lend a measure of credibility ...with this type of show winning in 2005...to shows becoming totally concept driven, with music ancillary to the show itself?

Just some thoughts.

[Jared_mello]

completly unneccesary quoting removed

Interesting point, admittedly. I guess logic would show that your point was correct, but I certainly hope so. I think sometime in the near future, drum corps will embrace the differences more so than the Cadets '05 show did. I don't think the top 4 in DCI will be as similar to the top 4 in BOA....but I guess we'll see. I REALLY hope you're wrong, as I'm sure you do as well.

Edited December 4, 2005 by EuphoniBone

[Straemer]

how would boa be becoming more "intellectual" than dci, if you said pretty much that they are matching several things that dci has... also, what does comparing the actual event of dci finals to boa grand nationals have to do with which one is more "intellectual"...

also, (im assuming) that marcing bands would be naturally bigger than drum corps (in numbers) since it seems everyone knows what a marching band is, but very few people actually know what drum corps is, which would lead to marching bands having more money at their disposal so they would be able to put a commentary on their dvd, etc

but i say let the marching bands make whatever kind of crazy dvd or final event type thing, i really dont see how it would affect drum corps that much, i personally wouldnt go join a marching band because they have a bigger event...

[bawker]

how would boa be becoming more "intellectual" than dci, if you said pretty much that they are matching several things that dci has... also, what does comparing the actual event of dci finals to boa grand nationals have to do with which one is more "intellectual"...

I didn't say they matched several things DCI had; speaking in the sense of creativity, I said BOA overtook DCI intellectually. This is the antithesis of how I've perceived drum corps and marching band...which is the crux of the thread, more or less.

What won DCI in 2005 is a clear offshoot of the programming style seen at BOA this year... as I see it.

Is that cause for concern, or is this part of the evolution...and we look to BOA as the innovation?

Edited December 1, 2005 by bawker

[liebot]

If I want to be challenged intellectually, I'll read a book or discuss some current event with a friend. Though I have enjoyed certain shows that could be said to be intellectually challenging (Cadets 05, for example), the enjoyment was derived as much through the execution and emotion that the members put into the performance as it was by the way the whole show concept was developed.

I'm not trying to suggest that corps need to go back to playing themeless shows (though I certainly wouldn't complain), but to me, saying that BOA bands are leading the marching activity intellectually is an empty statement. So what? Is that what our activity has become? Is it not enough to simply enjoy a rich brass sound, a tight drum feature (Cadets 05 tenor solo, for instance), a high velocity drill move, or a flawless toss?

I think it's a question of which you prefer, General Effect or general effect. The first is the caption judged on the sheets, dealing with the show integration and the attention to thematic detail that most BOA bands spend hours on. The second is the enjoyment that comes from the things I mentioned before.

To be completely honest, I'm not sure which I prefer. For the sake of supporting my argument, I want to say that I prefer the second, but BD 96, 04, and Cadets 02 and 05 are among my favorite shows, and those are definitely shows that were extremely well-developed thematically. I think my problem comes in when you get to narration and voiceovers. I've made it clear in other threads how much I despise BOA band voiceovers, partly because of how ostentatious and sophomoric most are, and partly because I don't like how much they dominate the show.

This is not to say that corps are devoid of this. Cascades' narration this year completely turned me off to their show, especially in the early season before they took out some stuff. But as much as people like to bash BD's narration and all the "yowzaing", I personally thought it was much, much more tasteful and authentic than anything I had seen or heard from a BOA band.

Still, it's really a shame to me that narration has been a part of DCI, but I guess that's the natural evolution of the activity. I can definitely see how people would think that BOA bands are leading the activity intellectually - to me that will only happen when they start developing voiceovers and narration that is mature and effective. At the end of the day, though, I'll always take the corps that flat-out entertains me over the one that tries to challenge me intellectually.

[bawker]

.At the end of the day, though, I'll always take the corps that flat-out entertains me over the one that tries to challenge me intellectually.

Speaking as the old pharte that I am, and not trying to be objective in my own thread....me too. :P

It's just the follow-the-leader mentality that the marching arts has may not leave much choice in the long run.

[Jeff Ream]

I didn't say they matched several things DCI had; speaking in the sense of creativity, I said BOA overtook DCI intellectually. This is the antithesis of how I've perceived drum corps and marching band...which is the crux of the thread, more or less.

What won DCI in 2005 is a clear offshoot of the programming style seen at BOA this year... as I see it.

Is that cause for concern, or is this part of the evolution...and we look to BOA as the innovation?

i didnt realize evolution was borrowing from something already there.

i thought evolution was being creative in your own right

[mchromik]

Despite all the programming similarities and what not, I think drum corps will always have it's nitch and through it's membership create new fans who will support it. The BOA member experience is not the same. You just cannot bond with your fellow members and build the same love of the activity as you can in drum corps. Touring, sleeping on gym floors, dusk to dawn rehearsals for days on end, lifelong friendships, lifelong lessons. I am thirty eight years old and still hang regularly with my drum corps family. Cannot remember the last time I saw someone from high school.

I've been to BOA. Even enjoyed alot of it. But the execution and impact are not there. Plus I just don't feel as connected to it.

[deftguy]

I attended a band competition here on the west coast in northern california. One band in exibition was of BOA caliber. I wasn't impressed with a single band there. Even the one of BOA caliber. Dirty feet, lack of movement follow through in the color guard, an annoying hang over with the keyboard bass(completely overshadowed the tuba's), sqeaky clarinet solo's played through a mike, shreakie flute solo's, dirty color guards, it was a mess to me. Marching band in 2005 is less interesting than marching band of the late 70's and 80"s to me. I think the level of excution amoung the top bands was better then than now, especially the color guards.

Edited December 1, 2005 by deftguy

[Jeff Ream]

Despite all the programming similarities and what not, I think drum corps will always have it's nitch and through it's membership create new fans who will support it. The BOA member experience is not the same. You just cannot bond with your fellow members and build the same love of the activity as you can in drum corps. Touring, sleeping on gym floors, dusk to dawn rehearsals for days on end, lifelong friendships, lifelong lessons. I am thirty eight years old and still hang regularly with my drum corps family. Cannot remember the last time I saw someone from high school.

I've been to BOA. Even enjoyed alot of it. But the execution and impact are not there. Plus I just don't feel as connected to it.

the niche wont be nearly as different as the instrumentation continues to change