torn8o Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 (edited) The 93 show continually amazes me....I don't think Don Ellis wrote a bar in 4/4 in his life!!!!Torn8o, how rough was it for the line to learn those charts? Once Ellis tine is hard enough with his writing in 9/8 or 15/16.....but an entire show??? No wonder there were feet problems...and no wonder Ellis charts were usually concert pieces back in the day... Well, that hornline was the strongest one talent wise that I had ever been in so that made learning the book go a little smoother. Keep in mind though, much of my saying that is hearsay since I came in at the beginning of april to fill a JUST SO HAPPENED TO BE OPEN soloist spot of someone who quit the very same weekend I came in and the book was already pretty much done (at least the Concord Pavilion version). What was so amazing about that hornline was that it was mostly a rookie line. By rookie though, I mean guys like myself who had marched many years of drum corps and decided to hop to the Devils. Alot of the membership were rookOUTS also. Indeed, that was the dream year for me. Especially since I did not have to march one drill set of Strawberry Soup. NOT ONE! Thank you Wayne!!!! Actually, I should say thank you to the soloist that quit because had it not been for him, I would have never had that chance. That is correct, I did not earn my spot. Someone else did and I slid into it. I always want to make sure that is clear when talking about 1993 BD because I don't ever like to take the credit for something someone else earned. Chris Barns, that book was all yours and I only hope that I did it justice for you. Edited January 17, 2006 by torn8o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torn8o Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Didn't the weather affect other corps' guards the way BD's guard was affected?Yes, the weather was quite stormy. I think they were marching in a drizzle. Madison was on before them and they were performing in a steady rain. The guard had a bad night and the rain didn't help. Try catching a rifle when it's wet. In the context of this discussion, I should pronbably point out that Finals was not our best run that week. We turned the light switch on under the rain but there is only so much you can do to make a show what it would be under normal conditions. With that said, may I recomend getting ahold of our Semifinals performance. It was much better and much more impressive. In fact, I can't figure out for the life of me why Wayne and Dave did not request that performance to go on the CD for that year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomguy Posted January 17, 2006 Author Share Posted January 17, 2006 oh... so torn8o, you must be "mr. S" as they call you in Mt. Juliet, TN? I tech'ed with you for a couple summers with the brass... good times... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCIAGEOUT Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 If I were to rank BD shows musically, here are my picks in my order of preference: 1) 1993 - tie with Star for Brass 2) 1986 3) 1984 4) 2003 5) 1991 - tie with Star for brass 6) 1985 7) 1976 8) 1994 9) 1992 10) 2000 1993 was the last year of Old Skool Devs. 1994 was the beginning of a different sound and different uniforms. Since then, it has gone to a more symphonic jazz. As far as the 2005 show, I appreciated the last 2 minutes or so of music, when you take away the naration. The naration was a distraction from what was really going on. It was tug and war on the ears. I wanted to listen to the brass and drums, but I couldn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rut-roh Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 If I were to rank BD shows musically, here are my picks in my order of preference:1) 1993 - tie with Star for Brass 2) 1986 3) 1984 4) 2003 5) 1991 - tie with Star for brass 6) 1985 7) 1976 8) 1994 9) 1992 10) 2000 1993 was the last year of Old Skool Devs. 1994 was the beginning of a different sound and different uniforms. Since then, it has gone to a more symphonic jazz. As far as the 2005 show, I appreciated the last 2 minutes or so of music, when you take away the naration. The naration was a distraction from what was really going on. It was tug and war on the ears. I wanted to listen to the brass and drums, but I couldn't. Flag on the play. Inelligible list. All listings of the top 10 Blue Devils musical programs that do NOT include 1988 is invalid. Fifteen yard penalty, Repeat the 1980's. :P 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liebot Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 And in my opinion, the style started in 1994 has been modified and has become even more choppy over the years. In 94 they played pretty straightforward arrangements of all of those Chick Corea charts... There really wasn't that much cut-and-paste in that show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smj02 Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I love '93 Devils. I was relatively young at the time and didn't get it at first aside from loving the whaling soloists, but it's now one of my favorites musically of all time. Still don't care for the paintbrushes in the guard, but holy cow, what a horn book. Kudos for staying true to the original time signatures, especially in Great Divide (13/8). That was a train wreck to sight read with a jazz ensemble...I'm sure it was a fun first camp that year. Let's hope someone does another full Ellis show without tampering with the source music too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rut-roh Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Let's hope someone does another full Ellis show without tampering with the source music too much. I thought the Crossmen version of Niner-Two (1997) was extremely truthful to the original, including the drum solo mirroring the drum set solo. One of my favorite drum corps presentations of all time. And what a color guard! WOW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torn8o Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 (edited) I love '93 Devils. I was relatively young at the time and didn't get it at first aside from loving the whaling soloists, but it's now one of my favorites musically of all time. Still don't care for the paintbrushes in the guard, but holy cow, what a horn book. Kudos for staying true to the original time signatures, especially in Great Divide (13/8). That was a train wreck to sight read with a jazz ensemble...I'm sure it was a fun first camp that year.Let's hope someone does another full Ellis show without tampering with the source music too much. Well, we are doing Whiplash (written by Hank Levy for D.E.) at Music City Legend this year and we are planning on keeping it as true as possible. Our show is actually called "A Time For A Change" and is all odd time meters. If you get the chance, check it out sometime this summer (slightly off topic I know but I have to throw a shameless plug in every once and a while) Edited January 17, 2006 by torn8o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smj02 Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I thought the Crossmen version of Niner-Two (1997) was extremely truthful to the original, including the drum solo mirroring the drum set solo. One of my favorite drum corps presentations of all time. And what a color guard! WOW Agreed, as was their Strawberry Soup in '02. I've got hopes for the Bluecoats with "The Tihai" in '06. It was something I actually put into a rep suggestion thread some time ago, so I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with it. Only BD has done a full Ellis show, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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