supersop Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 amazing post Thanks. I know many will try to rationalize my post in reference to the '06 season. Granted this has been one of the most controversial shows the Cadets have fielded in decades. I will neither defend nor bash the design of this show. I can only look at it as a stepping stone/learning lesson for the organization, and watch the future to see what bares fruit from this exercise. I guess my comments, to me, are a romantic concoction derived from the 2nd Golden age of the Cadet history. I'm forever thankful to have been a part of it. To "The Ghosts" who have sent me messages in regards to my post...... as I would for any soldier of my country ...... THANK YOU! Thank you to Cadets present for continuing the tradition. In restrospect, I remember my first years in drum corps. I remember listening to corps from only a few years prior to my entering the activity. I remember the power and pagientry they represented. I then compare those performances to what I actually had the opportunity to witness live. There is such a huge difference. It is with this thought that I realize..... the younger generation of Jr. corps students will never understand the true essence of the performances of the past.... because they didn't witness it live. A video tape or cd or dvd will never capture the grand scope of design progression throughout the past 80-100 years of Drum and Bugle Corps (even the last 25 yrs in particular). It is with this knowledge that I have come to understand and respect the opinoins and experiences of the statesmen of this activity found on this forum. I hope you all take the opportunity to strike up a conversation with folks .. I guess that includes me. There is much to learn ...... much to admire .... and much to wish for the future with their support. Good luck to everyone in the upcoming openhouses. Keep the tradition alive.... and if you don't make the corps you want to march with ..... FIND ANOTHER ONE! No matter the size or history of the corps you march with .. it's an experience you'll never forget. NEVER! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skewerz Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 If I had to pick a show from 2006 to watch, the Cadets would be pretty low on the list...it just doesn't appeal to me... But... I appreciate what the Cadets do(and honestly, the Cavaliers and to a certain extent, the Blue Knights) on the field...trying new things, expanding the field....because that makes the other corps try that much harder at their more "traditional" style to be able to compete.. What Garfield did in the 80's to marching style has helped push other corps to excel at marching. Zengali might have been a whacko, but he was a genius whacko. I'm a HUGE fan of the more traditional types of shows...malaguena...appalachian spring...west side story..porgy and bess...ear splitting jazz that BD has done so well for years...the hijinks of corps like the Bridgemen and VK, etc, etc, but I know that if the Cadets (and other corps) didn't push the envelope, that these traditional programs would become stagnate and boring... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BozzlyB Posted October 13, 2006 Author Share Posted October 13, 2006 Putting on the colors of the Holy Name was not only an honor, it was a burden. One who marches the Cadets has a history to live up to that is not often realized by Hoppy. He has even admitted so in past interviews. For 17 years, I have questioned my show with the Cadets. Was it good enough? Did we live up to the tradition? Did we make "The Ghost's" proud? How will it measure up on the alltime list? You may think I'm crazy for feeling this way, especially since that show won a DCI Title. But, it's true. As a Cadet, you expect more of yourself. You suspect that the Cadets who came before you expect more than what you can or will give to wear the uniform. You push yourself harder to execute, perfect etc. Somewhere in the middle of tour you hate life and even feel that you're not getting the "family" experiece that one would expect from DBC. However, it all comes together in the end. I know I'm not hitting it on the head, but that's exactly my point. This corps can not now, nor will they ever be understood. They are different, they always will be. The only way to find out for yourself is to march there. That experience is certainly not unique to the Cadets, in fact I would venture to guess you are describing a very common experience of most marching members who have been involved with a Corps that has a long history in DCI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Wilkie Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Hrothgar, do you have any drum corps experience? Your opinions are so staunch, I'd say you've been marching junior corps for 20 years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrothgar15 Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Hrothgar, do you have any drum corps experience? No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yabetterbelieveit Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Well put, and I think most people in corps feel that same burden to be the best *insert corps* and to live up to tradition. That's not just a Cadet thing. Great post While I'm absolutely not denouncing your statement, because you are right, every corps has traditions and etc they want to live up to, but on the other hand, each corps is definately individual. Are Cadets traditions/history the same as BD/Cavies? Nope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickCogley Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 I really liked supersop's post, and I'm thankful that a FMM was able to come on and give it that perspective. There have been shows from all corps that I haven't liked, but the internet makes it soooo easy to be anonymous and criticize. I can only imagine what it would be like to see criticism real time during the season. Yikes. No wonder some corps try to prevent their members from posting on, and dare-I-say-it, even seeing this sort of joint. To be honest, I personally did not much like Cadets offering in 06 (which I saw through the Internet, the very thing I'm grousing about above - ironic, no?), because I feel they just don't need any gimmicks to be great. I would love it if we could just get our worlds rocked once again by the Cadets, and I look forward to that greatness once again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIGHTFLY3000 Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 (edited) There is no question that if the Cadets were to put on an amazing show sans gimmicks, I'm all in! :) Edited November 6, 2006 by NIGHTFLY3000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryceH Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 i must say this, after reading EVERY post i have come to the conclusion that if you saw your first show in 05 and youre talking about the 2000 show, you should probably think of a more valid point. ill be the first to admit that i started my drum corps career (being a fan) in 2003 and i marched Troopers in 2005. to say since marching in 05, drum corps is what i live for is a very good evaluation of my current situation because im only going to school so i have something to do after i age out and my summers arent taken up with 2 and 1/2 months of travel and rehearsal. though i have seen a VERY small number of shows dating before 2000, some of the shows that i have seen are not exactly what i would call innovative. examples of this are 92 VK, 89 Cadets, 91 Star, 70 top 5, and a few more that i cant recall at the current moment. i am a fan of every corps in existence or that has existed because of the fact that the people who marched there marched for reasons that people on the outside of the drumcorps world might not be able to comprehend. I respect each and every person in every corps however that does not mean i like every person. i have marched with some complete ***holes but i still respect them because they marched for the love of the activity. i sat through the Cadets 06 show out of respect. sure there were a lot of parts i didnt like (i.e. the overbearing singing) but the fact is there was musicianship in the show. anybody can go through and pick apart any particular show for reasons they didnt like it, but why do that? it would be too opinionated that people would give up reading. why are people attempting to change the path that history has already laid? sure i dont like the way amplification has been used in recent years, but i have a feeling that the ways amps can be used will be defined and so on. as much as i disagree with what Hopkins has done in the past 2 shows with the Zone, he still deserves respect for pushing the envelope as much as he has been doing. when it comes to what this thread is really about, i never lost love for the Cadets, or any other corps for that matter, however, there are shows i have not been too fond about and those would be 2005 and 2006, but both shows had an amazing amount of musicality so that part i had to go with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 There is no question that if the Cadets were to put on an amazing show sans gimmicks, I'm all in! :) There were no 'gimmicks' in the Cadets shows of the past two years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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