The 2006 Cavaliers.

[Bob984]

I would have to disagree with you. The Cavaliers have and continue to be absolutely top drawer from a visual standpoint, no argument. However, musically, I find them coming up short. Before I get going, I am not coming without knowledge.....31 years in the activity, a B.S. in Music Ed and a Masters in Performance, a few championship rings in my dresser drawer, and too many years as an arranger/instructor to count.

I find their music to be lacking in expression, depth of sound, dynamic contrast, emotion, demand while moving, and extended sections of thin scoring (ie percussion and drill only) or very segmental horn charts. It was clearly evident that the brassline of Phantom Regiment had far more demand in every one of these aspects....yes, I do agree that the Cavies hornline was very, very clean....but the caption is also to consider a balance of how and WHAT....and they come up substantially short in the what aspect of their arrangements. The percussion judges did recognize this. Some brass and effect judges did, but others did not. I actually got to speak with several of my drum corps/educator friends in Madison: whereas some did not feel the same, the majority felt that Phantom had a significantly better musical package...enough to win the show.

GB

[Bob984]

I'm not on crack. I just don't like their music. It isn't offensive, but it isn't memorable to me. I have seen the Cavaliers a couple of times this year and I still can't remember a single note of their show. Saucedo is really good at what he does, but his music isn't going to become standard literature for music history classes. It isn't going to sell a million records. TO ME, and that is all I can speak for, it is fluff. There is very little substance there. The visual package the Cavaliers bring is incredible. Since Gaines has taken over drill design, they have been amazing. Their hornline plays well, but when they play the Saucedo originals, their musical program suffers. I enjoyed their shows much more when they are playing things like 007, Firebird, The Planets and the like.

BRAVO!!!

[Scerpella]

You obviously didnt see the show either live, or enough times. The most spectacular moves, imo, were in the opener, and the elastic parts werent even close to the best visual eye candy thay had this year. Manyof the effects that were in this years show were indeed NOT in previous years offerings, some transitions yes, but thats like saying do a straight line thei year, cant do one next year...I mean, this is a strestch for ridicule. The guard was integrated into this visual program so well, best ever actually.

ANd speaking of coreography, yes it was in unison, and then they spun their arses off, unlike some other corps out there. I would love to know form what angle you are speaking from and what you have against Cavaliers.

~G~

It isnt possible someone saw Cavaliers enough times and it just wasnt their cup of tea?

[jake_the_hydra]

I personally love the music that The Cavaliers play. I would rather listen to them than any other drum corps. And I do.

Some people feel the opposite. That's fine.

[mobrien]

I'm not sure whether to blanch or chuckle when I see anyone claiming that Regiment's music inherently has more depth in it because the original pieces bastardized...er..."arranged" for the corps were by a famous orchestral composers. Knowing what I know of the professional writers and composers I work with, if any of them found out that a 'marching band' or school drama group had decided to take a hacksaw to their work and present it to the public, they'd be less than charitable. I suspect the same is probably true regarding any of the classical artists being done in drum corps (from what we know of Mahler, it's HIGHLY unlikely he'd find a 2-minute cutting of his 2nd as being 'a compliment").

So, if you don't feel that Cavaliers were as good as the judges and the majority of fans felt they were, that's fine, but it's really kind of silly to go to the bit about someone else's music having "more depth", because in the world of symphonic music, the WHOLE composition is what matters to the composer, not just the themes. Anything that can be boiled down to a simple theme isn't really a classical or orchestral composition - it's a pop song or a jingle. And at that point, it would seem to be pretty much the SAME thing as what detractors claim the 2 minute pieces written for The Cavaliers are.

===

It isn't going to sell a million records. TO ME, and that is all I can speak for, it is fluff.

If big record sales are an indicator of musical integrity, then artists like Milli Vanilli, Britney Spears, and Janet Jackson would have to be taken seriously. B)

Edited September 7, 2006 by mobrien

[jake_the_hydra]

I've always found that writing original music for the purpose of a concept show in the activity had at least as much, if not more, "artistic" integrity than arranging hour-long pieces for 2 minutes for a lot of 20 year old brass players.

That's just me.

[Scerpella]

I would have to disagree with you. The Cavaliers have and continue to be absolutely top drawer from a visual standpoint, no argument. However, musically, I find them coming up short. Before I get going, I am not coming without knowledge.....31 years in the activity, a B.S. in Music Ed and a Masters in Performance, a few championship rings in my dresser drawer, and too many years as an arranger/instructor to count.

I find their music to be lacking in expression, depth of sound, dynamic contrast, emotion, demand while moving, and extended sections of thin scoring (ie percussion and drill only) or very segmental horn charts. It was clearly evident that the brassline of Phantom Regiment had far more demand in every one of these aspects....yes, I do agree that the Cavies hornline was very, very clean....but the caption is also to consider a balance of how and WHAT....and they come up substantially short in the what aspect of their arrangements. The percussion judges did recognize this. Some brass and effect judges did, but others did not. I actually got to speak with several of my drum corps/educator friends in Madison: whereas some did not feel the same, the majority felt that Phantom had a significantly better musical package...enough to win the show.

GB

They are just going to have to find another way to impugn you as you have shown that educated people do not all necessarily hold the same viewpoint.

The "I did this", "20 years", "music is my life", "professional musician" stuff is all irrelevant anyway. We could if necessary pull in 5 experts who individually have more expertise thant all the people put together here and there wouldnt necessarily be agreement among them.

Everything said here is subjective and has to do with whether or not Cavies communicated their ideas effectively to people as individuals. As vferrera said you dont need a masters to have an opinion. The way the Cavie fans have attacked dciguy is somewhat reminiscent of a pack of wild dogs. Not unlike venturing into a Cadets or Scouts thread and expressing a contrary opinion.

You guys won.......again! Enjoy it. You dont have to have every single person in the universe won over.

Edited September 7, 2006 by Scerpella

[mellodramatic]

I'll probably get shot for saying this but I loved the Cavies ballad.....it's addicting.

[Piper]

Just look at the recaps. The Regiment's perc line is what put them over BD. It had nothing to do with brass.

[uncle z]

You guys won.......again! Enjoy it. You dont have to have every single person in the universe won over.

Thanks (on behalf of the guys) for the Kudos, Dan! And I'm sure were someone to go onto any of the numerous threads about the MSARP and impugn the efforts of the alumni corps as being second-rate or inferior to ANOTHER alumni corps, we could expect you to maintain decorum and show a level of restraint. And I'm sure the same goes for all of your other brothers in green. After all, you wouldn't expect alumni of one corps to act any differently than alumni of another corps, would we???

But you're correct.........20 years from now, when someone is looking on corpsreps.com about the 2006 season, it won't say ANYTHING about the people's champs, or who had the most difficult horn book. It won't say ANYTHING about controversial shows or amps or vocals. It'll just list who won. B)