High School Bands Attempting to do Drum Corps!

[Hrothgar15]

Also interesting, Marian's show in 1988 was a rip off of Garfield Cadets 1985 show.

Also, I remember hearing a Marian show from the early '90s (I think) that had Jeremiah Symphony and Make Our Garden Grow (but no Overture to Candide). Did they repeat a show that they ripped off? A rip off of a rip off of a rip off?

[garfield_cadets]

Marian Catholic 1988

[BMBob]

I know some have said this, but I don't think bands ripping off corps is always a bad thing. Corps ideas have always been ripped and used with bands, and that is one element of what has raised the difficulty level and thus the talent level within high school bands. This has, in turn, raised the talent level of kids moving into the drum corps world, thus increasing talent there. It is a big circle, and one that, as I see it, doesn't have a negative side, unless the idea that is "ripped off" is somethng that is blatantly beyond the level of the performing group it is written for.

[Beau R]

Is Johnny G (Grauer) still there? If so, tell him that Brian Hunt said hi. He was assistant director at Newtown my freshmen/sophomore years and absolutely hated me. I'm kind of glad he didn't take over when Jim Dumas left because I would've been blacklisted my junior/senior years. He's a good guy, though. His little cousin and I were in the same trombone section all four years. Fun stuff.

Yes, Jon Grauer is the Band Director at New Milford. I'm sure he didn't hate you, but the fact that you thought he did means he got into your head! Will tell him you said Hi.

[Musicman1084]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that Greg Bimm, director of Marian Catholic, was their drill writer. Could be wrong though.

[idontwan2know]

Try and see this thing from the perspective of the band directors making the choice to do this. Most of them are not "marching band guys" or "drum corps guys" and don't have the experience or skill to put together a great show from scratch. They also, by and large, can't afford to hire the kind of staff and designers who will put together a top notch show that's completely original.

To a director in that situation, by copying a corps show, he's getting a much better show than he could otherwise get, and at a bargain price. The kids usually hype on it, and the audience will neither know nor care that somebody else did it first.

My only complaint is when highly competitive bands do it...those bands are capable of putting out a quality original show and are taking the easy way out. There's no outrage, just dissapointment.

Fortunately, it's been my experience that there's an unvoiced agreement in judging circles to give the benefit of the doubt to the original show vs. a ripoff when the two are performed equally well.

[byline]

As you can see in this photo, Madisonville-North Hopkins, the band I worked for in Kentucky, had almost an exact copy of the Cadets' uniform (same colors, everything):

The guard uniform is, of course, a variation on the Blue Devils' theme from the '80s. It's something we ordered from Miller's. In their catalogue, it came only as a skirt. I asked if they could do the same top but with pants, and they agreed. I came up with lots of uniform designs over the years because I wanted to try something different, but in the end the band director always went with what he felt was a known entity.

Edited October 6, 2006 by byline

[garfield_cadets]

WOW byline, those rifle tosses are CLEAN! They pass the "snapshot" test!

Not all the same height, but the release is beautiful.

Edited October 6, 2006 by garfield_cadets

[byline]

WOW byline, those rifle tosses are CLEAN! They pass the "snapshot" test!

Not all the same height, but the release is beautiful.

Thanks! Yeah, height was always an issue. In the end, I was happy if I could get the release, timing and catch together. It was hard enough to get them to do that.

It's interesting, because this was the last guard I taught before retiring, and they were the most fun. This particular rifle line was the least experienced one I taught (well, except for the very first line I taught, who were all beginners). All but one in this line were beginnners . . . yet they ended up being the best line I taught. Often, talent isn't everything. The line I taught the year before had the most talent and experience, yet they weren't nearly as good (egos clashing, jealousy, etc.). Hard work and a basic willingness to get along and work together, instead of against each other, go a long way!

[Piper]

Imitating something is one thing.....duplicating it is a different matter entirely.