dbc03 Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 I rechecked my post and didn't see a mention of a falling sky. It's just that I don't like amplified voice in the shows and that's a opinion supported by thousands of fans. Why not split to give both groups of fans what they want? No, but you did say that voice was going to take the starring role, which is an overreaction. The sky is not falling (voice isn't taking the starring role). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 No, but you did say that voice was going to take the starring role, which is an overreaction. The sky is not falling (voice isn't taking the starring role). I suppose you can assume your crystal ball is better than mine, but only time will tell for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelerand Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 I tend to agree with Wanderer. Hopefully, amplified voice won't be widely adopted quickly, but the evidence so far is to the contrary. Last year, two of the top 4 shows (BD, Cadets) depended very heavily on amplified voice. One other corps - I think it was Pacific Crest? - had significant narration of their "flight" show. And those are not the only examples. For a second year in effect, amplified voice has already made an impact on the activity. In 2004, amplified voice played a significant role in Div 1 shows like Carolina Crown and Div 3 shows like Colt Cadets. The history of significant "optional" rules changes - that is, changes that would let corps decide to use something new or stick with the old - indicates that over time (and not much time at that), the changes become pervasive. Two- and three-valve horns; Bb; use of amplification in general. These were all nearly universally adopted in D1 within 2 years of being enacted. Amplified voice is a bit of a different kind of change - it's more dependent on show design than the other changes - so one can hope that adoption would never become universal. Still, IMO, amplified voice fundamentally changes the nature of the activity. It removes the subtlety of communication of themes within the idiom of marching and instrumentation. In those sections of shows where voice is amplified, it completely dominates the attention. I think a case could be made that woodwinds are more compatible with drum corps than amplified voice is - at least they're still instruments. And this year I think there was a rules proposal to allow a non-member of a corps to operate the amplification board. I don't know if that passed or not, but if so you're now looking at a situation where non-members (eg, staff or whoever) are actually part of the performance. The door has been opened, and it appears that it cannot be closed again. Will voice take the starring role? Hopefully not, in terms of an activity-wide phenomenon. It already has in some shows (BD, Cadets last year). Most likely, it will continue to depend on the show designers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yabetterbelieveit Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Honestly, I could care less what DCI chooses to advertise themselves as. I would still be very interested if they labeled themselves as "Dorky Band Music of America meets Barney and Friends" etc etc. (excuse the randomosity of that last regard). [*is thinking positively that that statement is not going to stir up a crazy DCP 20long page argument*] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbc03 Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 I tend to agree with Wanderer. Hopefully, amplified voice won't be widely adopted quickly, but the evidence so far is to the contrary. Last year, two of the top 4 shows (BD, Cadets) depended very heavily on amplified voice. One other corps - I think it was Pacific Crest? - had significant narration of their "flight" show. And those are not the only examples. For a second year in effect, amplified voice has already made an impact on the activity. In 2004, amplified voice played a significant role in Div 1 shows like Carolina Crown and Div 3 shows like Colt Cadets. So you think that the stars of the shows you mentioned were the amps? BD 05 is the closest any corps has come to having amps be the star of the show, and they paid for it in their placement and I believe taught a valuable lesson to any other corps who had considered doing something similar. Even then there was some d*** good brass playing and drumming in BD 05, and I would say they were the intended stars of the show even though most people can't get past Yowza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelerand Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 So you think that the stars of the shows you mentioned were the amps? BD 05 is the closest any corps has come to having amps be the star of the show, and they paid for it in their placement and I believe taught a valuable lesson to any other corps who had considered doing something similar. Even then there was some d*** good brass playing and drumming in BD 05, and I would say they were the intended stars of the show even though most people can't get past Yowza Yes, I'm sure that the brass and percussion were the INTENDED stars of the show. But you said it yourself - most people couldn't get past the Yowza. Intentionally or otherwise, the narration dominated the BD show. Voice (and a door) also dominated the Cadets' show. There was some pretty good stuff in that show as well, but many could not get past the gimmicks. That's what determines the "star" of a show, IMO - it's what people see, hear, and experience as they watch it. It's what draws the focus and attention. And, as you mentioned about the BD show, voice can really overshadow some great stuff going on - that's one of my biggest complaints about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Here's a couple quotes from another post about the Cadets show this year, "Cadets started their show with one lady singing and no horns for quite a while", and "During a drum solo she kept saying "Where are we?" in between drum licks." Is the singer the feature? Is the singer the star? The singing is likely to increase (and that's my prediction) until we'll all admit they are at least as important as the band providing the background music. Should we start scoring the vocal performances? How can we not when they play such an important role? I believe lead singers have plenty of other chances to be the star in a myriad of activities. This activity was for the band geek (again, just my opinion). That is starting to change, but in five to ten years who knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelerand Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Yeah, Wanderer, I'm with you. With a brass line like they have, I'm just not sure why the need for gimmicks like that. When you have a lead singer starting off the show and no horns, there's not much doubt about who's the "star", IMO. I think you're probably right about predicting that the singing will continue to increase, but allow me to hope you're wrong... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCImonkey Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Let me get this straight...... DCI added "Marching Music's Major League" as a slogan in an effort to compare DCI with the highest league in baseball..... They add bunting to the website...and this somehow "kills" DCI? I guess back in the 90's when they brought in Curt Gowdy to do the broadcasts to make it seem more "sporty" and calling DCI Finals...our "Super Bowl" or putting us on ESPN2 have really laid the groundwork for DCI's demise. HMM Weak argument....next please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Somehow I doubt that amplified voice is going to take the starring role in any drum corps shows this summer, or ever. The sky is not falling as fast as you would like to believe. sounds like we're closer every day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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