BennyASU Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 fantastic asssessment.... not sure about the '87 remake though. It seems to me that some shows made such a mark in history that they should just be left alone...SCV did not do themselves any favors last year with their remake of RCM. I could really get into a '92 remake...or some other HOlsinger. Cadets+Holsinger = Good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortAndFast Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 Why? It seems apparent a large number of fans and members enjoy the "old and busted" portion of drum corps you want to abandon, so if the activity is about fans and members, why not do the Appalachian Spring show? I would like to introduce a motion to the DCI Board Of Directors for a 10 year moratorium on the performance of Appalachian Spring, Malagueña and West Side Story in Division 1. Under this proposed rules change, any corps playing 4 or more measures from any of the above pieces will be immediately disqualified from the competition! In short, these piece have been done to death. The Cadets 1987 show is one of the greatest in the history of the activity. Let it stand for all time for its accomplishments. The Cadets in 2007 should seek out some equally worthy piece of music that we DON'T know by heart, and give it an equally glorious treatment in their show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihdc Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 I would like to introduce a motion to the DCI Board Of Directors for a 10 year moratorium on the performance of Appalachian Spring, Malagueña and West Side Story in Division 1. Under this proposed rules change, any corps playing 4 or more measures from any of the above pieces will be immediately disqualified from the competition!In short, these piece have been done to death. The Cadets 1987 show is one of the greatest in the history of the activity. Let it stand for all time for its accomplishments. The Cadets in 2007 should seek out some equally worthy piece of music that we DON'T know by heart, and give it an equally glorious treatment in their show. On my radio show, I had a segment called "This Week in West Side Story." Every week for 11 weeks I played a different WSS show, either one that was nothing but WSS (like '97 Kiwanis Kavaliers) or one that incorporated it in a significant way ('98 Blue Devils). True story. And yes, that was all an effort to point out just how frequently it gets played. On the final show, when I did my personal top twelve, I included '84 Garfield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrothgar15 Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 (edited) Cadets+Holsinger = Good! I'd love to see what they could do with his "Gmyway's Revenge." Especially the 1st movement, "Alla Brashly Bravura"...that would make a great opener. Edited August 7, 2006 by Hrothgar15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonnaLee Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 This post may shock a few folks - but so be it.Early this summer I saw Cadets at Gettysburg PA - at the time the corps was a good deal ahead of last year in terms of process - getting the program on the field, etc. I really saw incredible potential in the program - with several fantastic moments already on the field. In the standstill after this exhibition - you could feel the talent of the members oozing out of their pores - this corps is chocked full of promise! It was at that time that I stated "Cadets are much better than 2005" and figured (since the corps swept all captions in 2005) they would have a terrific 2006. I loved the program. Now - execution is reality in drum corps land. Last night I saw the Cadets for the fifth time this season - and the first time in 3 weeks. There was feedback in the left speaker stack throughout the program - an annoying clicking. You could hear the snares in the mics through the speakers - the bass drums kept coming through the mics as well. Not good. If you are going to base a large portion of your program on amplified elements - you need to get the amplification part right. This is a case of Cadets being dedicated to an ideal - but not the process. A passion to extend a vision - but not the discipline to get the details down. The members are working so hard - the program is so difficult - and its not coming through. Cadets were good - solid - entertaining - they got probably the third best reaction of the night - in agreement with their placement. BUT - it is a vision under-realized. Back drops you can see the black background through - making them look dirty. And they are underutilized - just turned around during the beginning of their program and then left parked there. Why are they not being moved to behind the risers during the ballad to make the guard work more visual? Guard - the costumes are light colored - the flags are light colored - the sabres and rifles are light colored. Diminishes the impact of all their hard work. Staging is crowded at times. I got the feeling watching the corps last night that they don't love sections of their program - the hornline goes through the motions during the drum solo. This was not an "inspired" two minutes of performance work. I really get the feeling that the administration and staff is so distracted by the amplification issues that it diminished their focus on the horns and drums. I saw this in a rehearsal setting - where Hopkins and several staff members were focused almost 100% on the amp. Well - the focus hasn't paid off. Sorry but that's focus misplaced. We are focusing on a box of wires - instead of our performers. It resulted in a third place performance from a potentially first place corps last night in Allentown. You have to question the running off the ramps and jumping off. Is this safe? It certainly doesn't look it. And if it isn't 100% safe - is this a responsible design decision? You have to question the design of the rear of the uniform - it isn't an effective design viewed from the stands - last years was. This years is pastel - you can't even make it out in a medium sized venue. You have to question the teams need to somehow sequel last years program? Why can't we just do "Alice in Wonderland" and leave the door out of it? Anyway - Cadets got third last night - which is what they deserved. They'll likely finish fourth at finals. 2007 - please revisit Appalachian Spring from 1987. A by-the-book musical arrangement - but bring back the over the top visuals - just fully-realize them this time. A backdrop of the mountain range sounds like a place to start. But keep the staff focus on the horns, drums and spinning. And if we are going to visualize "mountains" do it right. This ain't TOB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orpheus Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 In short, these piece have been done to death. The Cadets 1987 show is one of the greatest in the history of the activity. Let it stand for all time for its accomplishments. The Cadets in 2007 should seek out some equally worthy piece of music that we DON'T know by heart, and give it an equally glorious treatment in their show. Of course, when you think about it ... the members of Cadets '07 would have been infants at the time, if they were even born yet. I think that's a pretty good guage for when it might be okay to bring back a classic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_S Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 Please don't perform App Spring in 2007. I personally feel that reusing a piece, any piece, is a bad idea, especially one that's already brought home a title. There's so much more out there left to explore, and I would hope that Cadets, if anyone would be willing to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orpheus Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 Please don't perform App Spring in 2007. I personally feel that reusing a piece, any piece, is a bad idea, especially one that's already brought home a title. There's so much more out there left to explore, and I would hope that Cadets, if anyone would be willing to do that. If that were everyone's philosophy (and thank goodness it isn't), we never would have had great shows like Cadets '94, BD '94, BD '86, or Cavaliers '95, to name just a few ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geluf Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 I just want "Simple Gifts" put to rest for a while. PLEASE!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortAndFast Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 Of course, when you think about it ... the members of Cadets '07 would have been infants at the time, if they were even born yet. I think that's a pretty good guage for when it might be okay to bring back a classic. One of the problems, I think, is that Cadets 1987 is not the only use of the piece in the last 20 years. And designers ALWAYS want to do something with a piece that "hasn't been done before". The Cadets struggled with this when they re-did West Side Story in 1994. They couldn't just end the show with the company front & Z-pull that would have brought the house down - they'd done that just four years earlier, after all. Instead they had the relatively lame Officer Krupke backwards front, which took away the emotional impact of their closer. I just don't think it's possible for a DCI design team to approach Appalachian Spring as a fresh piece of music. There's too much history, and too much pressure to not copy what's gone before. So you'd wind up with a book of original music by Jay Bocook inspired by Aaron Copland, and a drill that, at all costs, avoids a company front whilst playing the Simple Gifts melody. There's no way you'd get the elegant presentation of the music and ballet that the Cadets did in 1987. The Cadets should find some great new compositions to introduce us to in 2007. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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