MikeBob Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Well when I watch the Champion from 2002 or 2004, and soon to be 2006, I see plenty of performers who are able to execute the best drill imagined so far. As do I. I see about 123 champions marching championship drills about as well as they can be marched. Unfortunately, not every corps draws talent of that caliber, and equally unfortunately, not every corps seems to realize it. And even those jaw-dropping Cavies shows, at whose altars I worship, are not "as good as they can be" -- i.e., 100% clean. Unless I mistake the OP, I think what he's wondering is why more corps don't try to find a balance between what's mind-bogglingly cool and what can reasonably be executed. Why, after practicing for months and months, is there still dirt at Finals? Why is the stock SCV assessment "would've won if they'd had another couple of weeks to clean it"? (Oh yeah? What about all those weeks they just had?) I think that's what he's getting at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tekneek Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 (edited) I did begin to feel like there is very little variety of styles in drum corps today, as compared to 10+ years ago. They seem to be different shades of the same color to me, as opposed to being almost completely different in the past. I felt like most corps were trying to do some mix of Star 1991 and Star 1993. These shows are written when no reasonable person thinks they will get it cleaned by Championships. Edited July 30, 2006 by Tekneek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgoth Bauglir Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 As do I. I see about 123 champions marching championship drills about as well as they can be marched. Unfortunately, not every corps draws talent of that caliber, and equally unfortunately, not every corps seems to realize it.And even those jaw-dropping Cavies shows, at whose altars I worship, are not "as good as they can be" -- i.e., 100% clean. Unless I mistake the OP, I think what he's wondering is why more corps don't try to find a balance between what's mind-bogglingly cool and what can reasonably be executed. Why, after practicing for months and months, is there still dirt at Finals? Why is the stock SCV assessment "would've won if they'd had another couple of weeks to clean it"? (Oh yeah? What about all those weeks they just had?) I think that's what he's getting at. When you put it that way, I do see what you (and I guess the OP) are saying. But I feel that we have pretty much reached that equilibrium. And if not, we still have just a bit more ways to go in the drill complexity/coherence department for most corps. I don't know about most people, but I am more than willing to accept a little dirt if the overall product is more entertaining. Listen to the drum book from Blue Devils 2000. Was it dirty? Of course. Was it a sweet book? You bet. And I think that if they would have watered it to make it cleaner, it would not be as much of an enjoyable to show. And the same goes for drill. When I watch some SCV shows, it's obvious that it's not as clean as what the Cavies are doing. But it's still cool drill. And I think SCV is basically the only other corps that comes close to the way Cavies do drill in terms of complexity, "meaning and purpose" in relation to the show, and just plain neatness. It could be cleaner of course. But if making it those few more .10ths cleaner means making it less fun to watch, I'll pass. When it comes down to it, I like watching and listening to shows. Clean for the sake of clean doesn't do a lot for me. Clean for the sake of making something cool look better is OK. But when being clean gets in the way of the overall entertainment of the product, it's just not worth it to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocko the Wonder Llama Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Why is it not as good? Simple: The are far too few corps anymore. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordRider Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Do you watch the cavaliers?and this is why shows are not scoring 100 Flood of 80s indeed:In that May CORPS live to see the Dawn. :angel: More 90s,corps out of DCI's Ark,so to speak. drumhumorTerrance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hup234 Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 In the 1970s, when Drum Corps was slowly getting away from its tradtional beginnings of simpler music played on inexpensive bugles and drums so that even beginners could join and move up through the ranks - and, therefore, when drum corps began to forget that you have to walk before you can run - and also, when volunteerism began to lose out to high-priced staff, and when nearby contests were plentiful and each contest was special, a weekend adventure which included a parade, barnstorming, sightseeing and inter-corps socializing along with the actual contest itself, the highlight of the whole weekend - at that point Drum and Bugle Corps as the world knew and loved it began to lose its soul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeBob Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 In the 1970s, when Drum Corps was slowly getting away from its tradtional beginnings of simpler music played on inexpensive bugles and drums so that even beginners could join and move up through the ranks - and, therefore, when drum corps began to forget that you have to walk before you can run - and also, when volunteerism began to lose out to high-priced staff, and when nearby contests were plentiful and each contest was special, a weekend adventure which included a parade, barnstorming, sightseeing and inter-corps socializing along with the actual contest itself, the highlight of the whole weekend - at that point Drum and Bugle Corps as the world knew and loved it began to lose its soul. ...and that's why there's dirt in the feet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgoth Bauglir Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 (edited) In the 1970s, when Drum Corps was slowly getting away from its tradtional beginnings of simpler music played on inexpensive bugles and drums so that even beginners could join and move up through the ranks - and, therefore, when drum corps began to forget that you have to walk before you can run - and also, when volunteerism began to lose out to high-priced staff, and when nearby contests were plentiful and each contest was special, a weekend adventure which included a parade, barnstorming, sightseeing and inter-corps socializing along with the actual contest itself, the highlight of the whole weekend - at that point Drum and Bugle Corps as the world knew and loved it began to lose its soul. I don't agree with any of that. Because it cheapens and degrades the experiance people like me have gone through in recent years. How can you say that what you had was better than what I had? How come your experiance had "a soul" and mine did not? Tell me why your competitions were special and mine were not. Why is the quality music played by skilled and experianced players somehow less meaningful? Edited July 30, 2006 by Morgoth Bauglir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIGHTFLY3000 Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 That is a completely whacky statement <**> That's not a whacky statement, just a narrow one. I believe drum corps could be better without the amps. Think of the shows the past three years and all of the creative things that would have been accomplished sans amps. I can not think of one single show that would have been worse off without the amps. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X DM Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 (edited) maybe it is because no one has big hair on the field. By the way I am being sarcastic. b**bs " Maybe it's because no one has big hair on the field " ( you said )...... Sure they do. You just need to watch The Cadets that's all. ( hey, just kiddin' ) Edited July 31, 2006 by X DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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