MikeD Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Per the original question. I think the cadets are an excellent corps. Like everyone in drum corps they try their hardest and produce very good shows. They in my opinion are pushing the activity, and shows to the limit and they get mad respect from me. It has to be hard on members from the Cadets. Considering they put forth their whole summer and then get to hear crap for it. An opinion of dislike can be expressed but no need to completely hate towards a corps. Sure the 2006 show wasn't my favorite show of all time but everyone can admit they performed the heck out of it. I was just speaking with a current member at USSBA Open class champs last weekend at J. Birney...no mention of controversy came up at all. He seemed very excited about the last two seasons and looking forward to next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 yes that was the reason for the shift from Garfield to the bergen county moniker, their move to bergenfield. However, I still seem to recall that the move to bergenfield was somewhat driven by a lack of support for the corps in garfield. Even in MY day the town itself provided little if any support. They used to hassle us all the time about rehearsing at the HS. We eventually just moved over the the parking lot at the Bergen County jail in Hackensack to rehearse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 I believe that Bergenfield stopped supporting them in the ways they had in the past, so they stopped supporting Bergenfield. The Garfield/Bergenfeld connection went waaaaay back...Don Angelica attended HS there (he was in the HS band when Dr Baggs was the director). Eventually he became the director himself...and finally landed a job as the personnel manager for the school district. He would use the musc teaching jobs in town as a way to give Cadet staff jobs, full and/or part-time. Fred Sanford, for example, our 1972 drum instructor, was the band director at Bergenfield for the 71/72 school year. You'd go to an event where the Bergenfield band was appearing in the 70's and it looked like the entire Cadet staff was there! :P Funny, though...as good as they were the Bergenfield band NEVER competed at that time...and well after. They'd appear at non-competitive events like the Herald News Band Festival (held at Clifton Stadium) and the NJ Marching Band Festival, and they'd play pro games and often march the Macy's parade, but they would not compete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugle Turtle Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Maybe if you post this a third time, it'll really be true!Sorry, couldn't resist. :P sorry its this computer the internet is weird so it sent the post like 3 times...whoops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no_itsnotadash Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Would enjoy a return to the older Cadet themes, the Zone just doesn't do it for me personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penn State Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 (edited) Maybe it's because when I watch a drum corps show I don't look for little symbols on the field. I sit there and wait to be blown back into my seat from a huge hornline sound, groove along to a jazz chart, be touched by a beautiful ballad, and get brought to my feet in sheer amazement at the end.When a show can do that, that's sophistication. IMHO, great show would still be great even if you close your eyes. Visual (drill, guard, stick work, etc..) should compliment the music, not be the show, with some music I don't care for what Hop has done recently, BUT I will still wacth and cheer the Cadets on, just b/c a friend (marched with in Blue Band) marches Cadets. Edited November 10, 2006 by Penn State Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PR_ducky Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 I didn't read thru the whole thread, but I can say the one thing that would instantly bring back my unconditional love for the Cadets is if the did Appalachian Spring this year. No vocals, no gimmicks, just a clean, uncomprimised, 20th anniversary show of the what I still consider the best show of all time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbc03 Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Out of curiosity, how are the "gimmicks" that the Cadets have had any different than say... having the corps act like robots... or putting the horns down and doing little dances? Still waiting for an answer to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bawker Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 (edited) Still waiting for an answer to this. Answer is, not much different. It's more about the execution of said gimmickry in the context of the show. The Cavaliers in 2006 incorporated the "Machine" motif into just about every aspect of their show...drill, visuals by the individual members, sound effects and so on. The layering is transparent in most cases. It was a simple concept, one that relays easily to the audience. Contrast that with the Cadets show this year: in order to effectively emote or act in front of 20,000+ people (Rabbit/Queen/Alice), there's a bit of overplay that has to occur. We see it in musical theater (it's a reason why "Phantom Of The Opera" didn't do so well as a movie release, I think....although Emmy Rossum sure is hot. ^0^ ), we see it on stage. That translates into an extra "layering" on top of the already dense musical and visual cues that the 2006 show has. Given that, it became bogged down under its own weight....where the move to extend the theatrics out became a distraction from the show itself. That's not to say that Cadets aren't masterful at all inclusive show design...1989, 1992, 1993, 1998 and even 2005 are top-to-bottom, very good at taking a theme and weaving it throughout the textures of the show. All IMO, of course. :) Edited November 11, 2006 by bawker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickCogley Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 It's usually Hoppy who takes the heat - not the Cadets. Yes, there's a lot of heat for him personally, but the marching members certainly heard the grousing about their show. I guess that's life, but sometimes the overtly vocal criticism of the corps and by extension the members, just does not sit right ... But maybe, they thrive on it, who knows? I would be happy if whatever experiment works out for the best. If vocals, we get the "z-pull" of vocal performance on a field, and so forth. I suppose this sort of evolutionary change really does drive a certain kind of innovation, but there sure seem to be a lot of growing pains with vocals and electronics. I'm so disappointed I cannot listen to SCV's 06 show because of the way their pit is mixed. Hope the corps can either work the kinks out, or, just go back to drum corps, unplugged. Cheers, Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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