ACADEMY .... bust out your gypsy ball

[BariEuph]

Yes, but when Phantom switched to King, their brass scores went up.

did they do it midseason? (no really, i'm not sure myself)

cuz unless they did, that's not really a valid comparison or arguement, with an entirely different set of performers.

[leigh5101]

I almost feel like their fans have a huge chip on their shoulder, which is a shame. I would suggest they just stop listening to opinions, stop polling about a corps that is not out, and enjoy a wonderful season of drum corps. There's only one "first div 1 season" and this is it.

Enjoy the ride.

Couldn't agree more. Drum corps is not about placement; it's about hard work and the love of performance, rooting for everyone because they're all working long hot hours in the sun. It's not about gossip on a forum.

Shame on anyone who can't see and appreciate what these kids are doing. At the end of the season no matter what corps they're marching they're walking away with more than a score on a judges sheet.

[CorpsRelic]

They did not march a show, they performed the 1812 overture during the fireworks display, on a side note, they Academy would have been at 5 more shows that they asked for, but the show sponsers turned them down.

When it is all said and done, they are going to place higher then most people want to realize.....just watch out next year.........

It's frustrating to learn that THE ACADEMY was "refused" 5 opportunities to present DC fans with what is truly a challenging book and entertaining program with "The Chase." They came out extremely strong against the competition in their first three shows and dispite a three week break in competition, I must share with you how impressed I am with their focus, intensity and the improvements the ACADEMY have made during the break. I have no reason to doubt that THE ACADEMY will over come many of the expressed concerns expressed throughout this thread. Their performances and scores on July 14 and 15 and beyond will reflect just how disciplined and how well this Corps and program is put together. Yes, I am enjoying their first ride along the trails of Division 1 competition. Just as I had in following ACADEMY throughout their first three tours in Division II.

What a terrfic year of competition....ACADEMY surely has added to the spectacle and speculation in the Drum Corps World.

[XxDrumCorpsFanxX]

It's frustrating to learn that THE ACADEMY was "refused" 5 opportunities to present DC fans with what is truly a challenging book and entertaining program with "The Chase." They came out extremely strong against the competition in their first three shows and dispite a three week break in competition, I must share with you how impressed I am with their focus, intensity and the improvements the ACADEMY have made during the break. I have no reason to doubt that THE ACADEMY will over come many of the expressed concerns expressed throughout this thread. Their performances and scores on July 14 and 15 and beyond will reflect just how disciplined and how well this Corps and program is put together. Yes, I am enjoying their first ride along the trails of Division 1 competition. Just as I had in following ACADEMY throughout their first three tours in Division II.

What a terrfic year of competition....ACADEMY surely has added to the spectacle and speculation in the Drum Corps World.

thats a great post!!

and maybe the people complaining about that they don't have enough shows...blah blah blah...should take a look at this. And plus I honestly after these past 3 years of them being in DIV II and doing the same exact tour, don't think that this "break" that they have will effect them. I mean honestly it obviously didn't effect them last year...coming out undefeated and with a championship. I think people just need to stop the moaning and groaning like they are doing and should support the growth of DIV I, and support The Academy and wish them the best of luck this season, and not say oh they don't deserve to be here, oh they suck..etc..., when 99% of those people are the same ones saying that they shouldn't have been in DIV II. Grow up a little and show support to all the corps and the members who are spending their summer working their butts off.

[brassboy]

My main curiosity with Academy will be to see if their entire corps and show design can match those of a finalist corps. Even those with long time experience have a hard time making that happen.

I have the same curiosity. After all the hype, I finally gave in and bought their APD from the Walnut show.

Based on the music and writing alone, I have some concerns for them. Yes, the kids are obviously talented, as evidenced by a remarkably clean performance so early in the season, and there are some nice challenges in the book (brass runs and rapid articulations). However, when sitting there and listening to the performance, I couldn't help but wince at the jarring pacing of the musical book. The first few minutes in particular come across as disjoint, with three very different musical thoughts--each about a minute long--each coming to a complete end, then moving onto the next. It lacked flow, which when put against programs of other finalist contenders may hurt (relatively speaking) their GE scores.

Also, I noticed that the brass writing consists primarily of sub-section unisons. With the exception of some repeated cluster chords, it sounds as if the brass book consists of nothing more than unison parts within sections. In other words, no splits for trumpet 1, 2 and 3, etc. When you listen to their ensemble moments, the chords are formed mainly as a result of each sub-section playing one note of each chord. It sounds great because it's loud and well-performed, but something about it sounds less mature to *me* (just my own personal opinion, so please save your flames). In some ways, it can even be argued that it's a "safe" approach because (1) you won't have such balance concerns where 1st trumpets are overpowering 2nd and 3rd trumpets, for example, and (2) it's easier to create that wall of sound when EVERYONE is playing the same note (stagger breathing is easier to achieve because of the number of people playing the same note).

Again, this post is NOT a flame against Academy--the group is OBVIOUSLY very talented, the writing has given the members some nice challenges, and they're looking like an easy shot at semi-finals and a real shot at finals. But since this thread was a place where people were bringing up potential obstacles, I figured I'd add in my 2 cents...which are really only worth about 1/2 cent...1 cent at best. :P

Edited July 7, 2007 by brassboy

[XxDrumCorpsFanxX]

The first few minutes in particular come across as disjoint, with three very different musical thoughts--each about a minute long-

The story is told through these seven scenes:

1. The Chase

2. The Villain

3. The Hero

4. The Woman

5. At the Jitterbug Club

6. The Love Theme

7. The Chase/Conclusion

as mentioned earlier by some people there are 3 different musical thoughts like you said... I'll see if i can the post again unless someone else wants to do it. But they're are different musical thoughts because they are mentioning different characters throughout the story line...

Just figured i'd try to help ya out... :D

[crest99]

I think they'll probably slip in the standings a bit, but this will likely have more to do with the DCI show set-up than the corps itself.

In the past, earlier performance times have almost never boded well for Pacific Crest, whose tour schedule during recent years at least approximates that of Academy this season. Ditto on long intervals between shows. The only time this worked out well for PC was when we were first up in '03 at quarters, when the colorguard judge gave us a huge number and let us slip by CR and Mandarins.

This isn't a revelation to anyone who reads these forums or even checks scores. It's apparently hard for judges to remember just how good the first corps was four or five corps into a show, and it's hard for them to have a ballpark number in mind for a corps that hasn't competed in awhile. I actually have a little sympathy for them here (though not too much). Remember, too, even corps that have competed with each other on the West Coast for a long spell before heading east have generally suffered when they meet their peers for the first time (I'll leave open whether this is inflation by the left coast or deflation on the right). Additionally, once you do poorly in one show late in the season (esp. a regional), it may be harder to convince a panel that this was a bad number. This doesn't mean that Academy will get hosed, but I think they will probably fail to get the nod when a judge is parsing out tenths of points in his/her caption with corps performing an hour later.

As far as the corps itself, I think the problems groups like PC and Academy confront when they are at home have more to do with individual errors than design issues and rewrites. I think members of these corps have to actively "remember" performance assignments (step-offs, horn pops, releases) that become automatic for members on full tour, and this does become an issue on show days.

Chris

[GEVisual]

Just a thought . . . . which would you rather see:

(1) The Academy does a full tour, makes finals, is predicted as the next "new" corps to ascend to the uppper echelon only to have them go inactive the following year because they "lived beyond their means in order to make finals"?,

OR

(2) The Academy does a shorter tour due to fiscally responsible management, allows their members to compete during the summer but not commit 100% of their time from June 1 through Finals, gives them a great experience, makes finals because they are actually one of the best 12 corps on the field on Friday night in Pasadena, and are able to compete again next year due to the actions previously mentioned?

With the number of Division I corps seemingly shrinking over the past few years, I personally applaud the direction they've chosen to steer their program this year to lay the foundation for further years. One can only wonder if we'd still see the corps that are inactive this year actually on the field had they pursued this route last year. Best of luck to The Academy!

[XxDrumCorpsFanxX]

Just a thought . . . . which would you rather see:

(1) The Academy does a full tour, makes finals, is predicted as the next "new" corps to ascend to the uppper echelon only to have them go inactive the following year because they "lived beyond their means in order to make finals"?,

OR

(2) The Academy does a shorter tour due to fiscally responsible management, allows their members to compete during the summer but not commit 100% of their time from June 1 through Finals, gives them a great experience, makes finals because they are actually one of the best 12 corps on the field on Friday night in Pasadena, and are able to compete again next year due to the actions previously mentioned?

With the number of Division I corps seemingly shrinking over the past few years, I personally applaud the direction they've chosen to steer their program this year to lay the foundation for further years. One can only wonder if we'd still see the corps that are inactive this year actually on the field had they pursued this route last year. Best of luck to The Academy!

[supersop]

HYPE BUMP! "T" minus 6 days and counting.