Donny Drum Corps Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 (edited) I did make it to Rochester and witnessed some very good DCA corps on July 1st. Disclaimer...Although I arranged Cru's music I will try to as impartial as possible about what I saw and heard. The Empire Cadets were brought on to the field by Mr B's daughter Shelly. They are, of course, the feeder corps for the Statesmen. There is a lot of young talent at the Cadets and Mom and Dad would really be proud of Roshell (sp.) in keeping it the way they started it. Some of the kids did double duty with the big corps (ES) or Crusaders after they performed. They actually showed off some pretty good marching skills as they did a follow the leader type circle drill. Drum line was very entertaining. White Sabers took the field with a big (for class) A corps...over 30 brass. The drum battery has some serious potential when they get it cleaned up. Although there were the early season jitters obvious, they did a respectable job. Some really great solo work by Bob Rex. and Dan (from Blousemen) and another young fella I didnt know. There were some obvious ensemble issues, visually and musically. If this corps keeps working, they should give it a go for the top 5 in Class A again. Crusaders took the field and it was a proud corps as they came on. I was informed that they took 3-4 horn players for the performance because they were not ready as of last night. The show works well for them. Classic Rock tunes!!!! A young aggressive percussion battery was impressive, albeit a little small. Last night it was 4 snares, 1 tenor, and 5 basses, but I am told that more are soon to be added. Although they only used 24 horns they projected well, with only occasional laspes and stick outs from individuals. The biggest improvement for Cru this year will be noticed in color guard. They must have at least 30 and they can perform. SUPER job by Tracy and Sarah in this department. The hornline placement is also an improvement for Cru this year. They should contend for a finalist spot as they continue to get the ensemble music concerns cleared up. Next up were the Brigs and the rumors in upstate NY were silenced. They have some horn blanks to fill...but other than that, they are still the corps that is a 5X DCA champion. Percussion battery and color guard both are strong, and the brass line is still of an excellent quality, albeit smaller than the "wall of sound" Brigs hornlines we all have become accustomed to. Obvious visual ensemble clarity issues, due to blanks in the hornline, should become less apparent as they fill up the hornline. Brigs could push to a top 5 corps by season's end, IMHO. They still have the coaching staff that showed them how to get those titles. The show from Moulin Rouge is entertaining. The Reading Bucaneers took the field defending their title, and the "Balance in Blue" has what it takes to retain last year's championship corps. A definite strong contender with a well thought out program, the Bucs are very strong in all areas. The drum line is quite frankly, amazing. The guard is also in the amazing category, and the brass line is only a small step behind...but the strength is design. I watched the Bucs rehearse and they do it correctly, thus the retention of a difficult program is made achieveable by the staff and the members are eating it up. This could be a battle until the end. The bucs are definitely in the hunt. Classical music is an excellent fit for the Bucs. The host Empire Statesmen took the field in their home town not to be outdone and let it be known as they turned around to play the opening impact of Georgia. My words were uh-oh or holy cow or something like that. Beautiful well balanced horn sound came up to the stands like no other horn lines had as of yet. The percussion section is also extremely good and the guard shows off the musicality of the work extremely well. Solo work by Joey Pero in his cadenza is stuff never played on a football field. Great job from my friends Richie and Joey over the top of a great ES hornline. Jerry Kelsey's arrangements work well on the Ray Charles music, with alot of jazz chord voicing and extended harmonies. This is a corps that will do what it takes to have a shot at the championship, and the closeness between them and and Bucs is very real. Apples and Oranges comparison is the way it is...but both corps are of excellent quality and neither shows any weaknesses. Hopefully I wont get in trouble here but my only question with Empire's show was the placement of a short version of America the Beautiful seemed a little forced design wise. Other than that, we will see these corps at the end of the year still going at it I think. Empire has the guns to get it done. St. Joes did the exhibition. They were St. Joes and the crowd always eats up the nostalgia thing. I still have a problem with understanding the drums are in front of the hornline for the whole show, but as I said the people love St. joes, so I guess it doesnt matter. LOL I am glad that they are still playing some arrangements that I did for them, and I actually could tell which ones they were. Great solos by Brad and Frankie et al...they were quite loud as well. That is my actual junior corps alumni so I always wish them the best in performance. Thats it...I hope I didnt offend anyone. That was the first time I sat and watched a whole show from beginning to end. Donny Edited July 3, 2006 by donnymusic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 I, for one, am totally offended by this review. b**bs J/K, Donny..... thanks for posting your thoughts!!! Fran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geneva Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 Donny, Thanks for taking the time to share your observations. It was nice to hear from Jimmy that he is still active in drum corps with the Brigs. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDempsey Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 I did make it to Rochester and witnessed some very good DCA corps on July 1st.Disclaimer...Although I arranged Cru's music I will try to as impartial as possible about what I saw and heard. The Empire Cadets were brought on to the field by Mr B's daughter Shelly. They are, of course, the feeder corps for the Statesmen. There is a lot of young talent at the Cadets and Mom and Dad would really be proud of Roshell (sp.) in keeping it the way they started it. Some of the kids did double duty with the big corps (ES) or Crusaders after they performed. They actually showed off some pretty good marching skills as they did a follow the leader type circle drill. Drum line was very entertaining. White Sabers took the field with a big (for class) A corps...over 30 brass. The drum battery has some serious potential when they get it cleaned up. Although there were the early season jitters obvious, they did a respectable job. Some really great solo work by Bob Rex. and Dan (from Blousemen) and another young fella I didnt know. There were some obvious ensemble issues, visually and musically. If this corps keeps working, they should give it a go for the top 5 in Class A again. Crusaders took the field and it was a proud corps as they came on. I was informed that they took 3-4 horn players for the performance because they were not ready as of last night. The show works well for them. Classic Rock tunes!!!! A young aggressive percussion battery was impressive, albeit a little small. Last night it was 4 snares, 1 tenor, and 5 basses, but I am told that more are soon to be added. Although they only used 24 horns they projected well, with only occasional laspes and stick outs from individuals. The biggest improvement for Cru this year will be noticed in color guard. They must have at least 30 and they can perform. SUPER job by Tracy and Sarah in this department. The hornline placement is also an improvement for Cru this year. They should contend for a finalist spot as they continue to get the ensemble music concerns cleared up. Next up were the Brigs and the rumors in upstate NY were silenced. They have some horn blanks to fill...but other than that, they are still the corps that is a 5X DCA champion. Percussion battery and color guard both are strong, and the brass line is still of an excellent quality, albeit smaller than the "wall of sound" Brigs hornlines we all have become accustomed to. Obvious visual ensemble clarity issues, due to blanks in the hornline, should become less apparent as they fill up the hornline. Brigs could push to a top 5 corps by season's end, IMHO. They still have the coaching staff that showed them how to get those titles. The show from Moulin Rouge is entertaining. The Reading Bucaneers took the field defending their title, and the "Balance in Blue" has what it takes to retain last year's championship corps. A definite strong contender with a well thought out program, the Bucs are very strong in all areas. The drum line is quite frankly, amazing. The guard is also in the amazing category, and the brass line is only a small step behind...but the strength is design. I watched the Bucs rehearse and they do it correctly, thus the retention of a difficult program is made achieveable by the staff and the members are eating it up. This could be a battle until the end. The bucs are definitely in the hunt. Classical music is an excellent fit for the Bucs. The host Empire Statesmen took the field in their home town not to be outdone and let it be known as they turned around to play the opening impact of Georgia. My words were uh-oh or holy cow or something like that. Beautiful well balanced horn sound came up to the stands like no other horn lines had as of yet. The percussion section is also extremely good and the guard shows off the musicality of the work extremely well. Solo work by Joey Pero in his cadenza is stuff never played on a football field. Great job from my friends Richie and Joey over the top of a great ES hornline. Jerry Kelsey's arrangements work well on the Ray Charles music, with alot of jazz chord voicing and extended harmonies. This is a corps that will do what it takes to have a shot at the championship, and the closeness between them and and Bucs is very real. Apples and Oranges comparison is the way it is...but both corps are of excellent quality and neither shows any weaknesses. Hopefully I wont get in trouble here but my only question with Empire's show was the placement of a short version of America the Beautiful seemed a little forced design wise. Other than that, we will see these corps at the end of the year still going at it I think. Empire has the guns to get it done. St. Joes did the exhibition. They were St. Joes and the crowd always eats up the nostalgia thing. I still have a problem with understanding the drums are in front of the hornline for the whole show, but as I said the people love St. joes, so I guess it doesnt matter. LOL I am glad that they are still playing some arrangements that I did for them, and I actually could tell which ones they were. Great solos by Brad and Frankie et al...they were quite loud as well. That is my actual junior corps alumni so I always wish them the best in performance. Thats it...I hope I didnt offend anyone. That was the first time I sat and watched a whole show from beginning to end. Donny Donny Donny Donny...I for one was hoping for some jabs, inside ifo and maybe a lil dirt LOL Then again..it was a good review. Best of luck to you my friend Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K2SMA Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 (edited) Yeah, Donny! Like Fran, I was totally offended by your review, LOL! J/K, of course, but it's good to read the second (and third, sometimes) opinions. Wish I was still up there in the NE to see for myself, so (Heaven forbid!) I have to rely on you guys! From what I am reading (and hearing from my spies in NJ and PA), I suspect your suggestion of Bucs and Empire crashing into each other all season long is accurate. But I also suspect that Bush and Cabs (from other show reviews) will also be in the mix. Could we be at the start of a neck-and-neck, wire-to-wire free-for-all (okay, I like hyphens!)? Or will Bucs post a second consecutive undefeated season? Sure looks like a great season is underway! Where are the Blousemen expected to place? Edited July 6, 2006 by K2SMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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