whitewing09

I also like hornrank.com because of its ability to connect and juxtapose bands from all around the nation. Is it pefect? No. Statistics/analysis is never about perfect because perfect doesn't exist. Does it provide insight? Yes. A lot of thought from multiple people go into the rankings. I REALLY WANT A SHIRT (Not a contributor, avid follower).

This is such a hard contest. I honest have no clue the order of the medals or who will miss out because there are too many bands who could be a medalist on a given day. It was also hard guessing who'd actually make finals. There will be so many good bands and we saw them at the beginning of the season. There's so much time for things to change. I'll do cohorts: 1-4 Avon - too good to not be in the top four. The deciding fact will be whether the Texas bands can squeak past Avon in music with a higher score difference than Avon will own in visual. CTJ - I was in awe watching their Austin finals performance. They had their whole show on the field and for the most part, they sounded amazing. Their show is dynamic, difficult, and fun! They are going for a completely different angle this year imo. I think the past 3 years they've brought shows that demanded a lot more time for cleaning than they allowed, so this year they decided to have the full show on the field at the beginning of the season and it seems that they're dedicating the season to cleaning. It will be interesting to see how well this works for them. This is also their last show of the season, so they will plan accordingly. FloMo - They did get second at Dallas, but their show has a lot of room to grow and they've proven to us that they have a program capable of cleaning the s%^& out of their shows. TWHS - Their show is amazing. Hands down. It is very well written. The execution isn't there though. They've been known as a late blooming program, but they could either pull a 2015 or a 2016... 5-9 Hebron - This is a great program and they've done superbly in BOA. They may even have a shot at a medal. I could see them pulling a World of Wonder. Leander - Awesome band that balances execution and design. I think their show is a little confusing at the moment, but they play it well and still have a chance to reconcile. Marcus - Top band w.r.t. to execution, but they've become somewhat stagnant in design. Reagan - Great band w.r.t. design, execution, and the wow factor, but their shows sometime seem to lack the musical depth of other top bands. Vande - Amazing band in execution, sometimes their shows could use a little more design nuance especial visually. 10-14 Bowie - It's nice to see that they didn't let last year's GNat's and UIL State results get them down. Bell - They were strong at Dallas. If they get a good performance slot, they will have a good chance at finals. Cedar Park - Awesome execution, but this is a state year and their show is meant for that. Henny - Awesome band! I really hope to see their show in finals. It was such a treat at Conroe. I don't think last year's appearance in SA finals was an anomaly. Round Rock - I feel like they always have a rough start and get the magic flowing in October. This is a GNat's year and they'll be ready come November. Bubble Cedar Ridge Coppell Churchill Cy-Fair Keller Keller Central Vista Ridge Wakeland

Playing with fire in the sense that they had a break out last year, so obviously both the students and faculty are talented, but their show last year was difficult and they didn't have the cleanest execution. Though, It was enough to make it into SA finals. This year, they chose an even more ambitious show (imo at least) and they seem to be struggling with it.

My thoughts (mind you, I watch from the feed): TWHS has an amazing show, but it needs a lot of work. The ballad was especially cool on the feed, but the opener didn't seem like it was there. If they can pull the same magic they did in 2016. They will be golden. Round Rock's show is actually really starting to grow on me! It was unfortunate to see the major collision. I'm hoping they modify that piece and inject some structure into the drill. Churchill was the farthest behind. Their show is difficult and not anywhere near polished, but they've still got a bit of time. In general, I still find it weird that we're worried that RR and TWHS are scoring lower than usual. Scoring above an 80 the first weekend in October is pretty remarkable. It's kind of weird to think that the majority of major Texas competitions happened already and that the scores were so high so early in the season, but I wholeheartedly believe CTJ, FloMo, and Hebron deserved the high scores they received. I don't think we have too much to worry about from RR and TWHS. Churchill... is playing with fire.

I think one thing to note is that if we look at the past two years they've had pretty high quality early season execution since Morrison took over, while the Woodlands takes their time to grow. Vande on the other hand...

Does anyone know Keller's rep? LOVED their opener.

Normally I would agree, but d@mn Hebron and FloMo were lit. Hebron especially.

Too bad this isn't livestreamed.

It's a little generous to say that FloMo could edge out Avon by one place? lol Honestly, the top four (if not the top five) can land in any order. In the past three years, Carmel has been 1st, 4th, and 5th. In 2015 Hebron won Class Champion.. given that FloMo is generally a better band (their visual shouldn't be as weak and their music will hopefully be at par with Hebron 2015), they realistically have a shot of medaling.

I think CTJ has something very special this year, much like in 2014. Their show is just so dynamic (and that's saying something for them given their shows in general). I'd even say they seem more comfortable with their show now than they were with Flashdance in mid-October. I cannot wait to see how well they do end of season. If there is a show to challenge the hegemony of Avon and the rise of FloMo. I'd say it's this one.

is this a game of FMK?

Unless something goes really wrong, I highly doubt Broken Arrow or Carmel will win Music.

Apples and oranges

Apparently Lockhart just got Kenneth Vise who was just at New Braunfels. I'm assuming they will see some growth.

Since y'all are more connected to the area and I'm lazy I'm going to ask: besides Reagan and Churchill, which SA area bands had relatively recent director changes?

Rouse over DS? Are they really that good?

I don't quite understand how Spring and Clements rank so highly on people's list while Langham is ranked lower when they all scored in the same neighborhood at UIL state (and they don't really do BOA). On the other hands North Shore was actually in finals, which wasn't a fluke (in the sense that they deserved it, but maybe last year was randomly a good year for them?) with the only Houston area band ahead of them being the Woodlands.

I completely agree. I think if Reagan could match the technicality of their 2015 show, but execute at the level they were in 2016 they will score pretty well. As for CTJ, they found that point where the reward for difficulty offsets the penalty for execution in 2014. 2015 was a harder show and 2016 even more so. If they can return with the same energy and show quality as 2014, They will definitely be competing for a medal.

I'm still a little confused.. I understand that new Braunfels isn't in San Antonio city limits, but isn't it considered part of the SA metropolitan area?

Um... What about New Braunfels? They actually made Area D finals.

As for a list: 1. Cedar Park 2. Leander 3. Vandegrift 4. Round Rock 5. Bowie 6. Hendrickson 7. Cedar Ridge 8. Westlake 9. Vista Ridge 10. Dripping Springs I should note that the order can change especially at the top year-to-year and weighting criteria differently.

Don't forget Marcus 2009 (along with a tie in music 2013). It's not to say that Avon isn't a musical band. They most definitely are, but they've also seldom gone up against the best Texas band of the year, let alone a whole field of Texas' best. Will they do exceedingly well? Probably. Will they sweep.. doubtful, but maybe.

CTJ is probably not the best of examples because they constantly have what I'd say is the hardest music + visual combo in Texas and they're constantly making it harder. I don't think they've plateaued, they just raise the bar higher every year.

They could definitely win the competition. If they sweep all captions I'd almost be as shocked as I was when they lost nationals last year. They're very talented musically, but so are the Dallas LISD schools. BOA SA will be Hebron's terminal competition for the season, so you know they'll rise up for the occasion. FloMo and Marcus *may* save their best for nats. Who knows maybe even one of the Austin LISD schools will pick up the music caption.

I wonder how Mason will do. It sounds like they had some dramatic changes.