oddlynormal

LD Bell and Trinity is always huge. Bell beat Trinity this year in football for the first time...in a VERY VERY long time. Even I was in disbelief when I saw the score. That game is nuts every year even though the outcome is usually the same every year.

As an older dog in this world it is hilarious to see people flame a band for not having props. Back in my day we whined about the opposite. Boy things have changed. I think marching band has evolved to a point that it has pushed boundaries we once would have called blasphemy. I am glad UIL has moved to this new system. Every single band in finals played well...most bands out of finals played well. What we have done allowing UIL to transform to include the evolution of the activity has made marching band EVERY BIT as valuable, if not more so, than a lot of DCI activities. I would say marching band is starting to push DCI a bit. The lived experience is getting pretty dang close! Not to say a high school band can perform at the level of a top tier corps, if given the same rehearsal structure, I think quite a few of these bands easily very well could. Y'all complaining about the level at which a band performs is comical. Every single band had a tough as nails book visually and musically. Everyone has a right to an opinion, but unless you are getting your rear end kicked in the ring with these groups you are whining. Stop that. Appreciate the art and the hard work that goes into this activity. Tearing down another group isn't cool.

27 indeed will be competing. This area is very competitive, but has yet to produce a state finalist. I have been all over Houston this year and I think we will likely see the same finalists as last year, with a possible few surprises just inside or outside finals. The Katy ISD bands are starting to grow and improve really reallllllllly fast. Tompkins is great and Paetow could make some noise. Katy is surging and Seven Lakes is doing great things. I was also quite impressed with Mayde Creek, an often forgotten school in the district. They are an entirely new band this year and I expect them to be rising in the near future. I call Cy Fair, Bridgeland or Seven Lakes to win. The rest will be a fight. Taylor is a dark horse for a possible state move again this year, but who knows.

A great deal of this is copyright and sync rights. A lot of composers who may be alive today have publishers who monitor sync rights to their music. You may have the rights to arrange and perform, but not record. There are also bands who do not want their early season videos posted or posted at all. That is all up to the staff of each program. If you think judges, who are the ultimate marching arts fans, aren't looking for or watch videos you are sorely mistaken. I have been in the press box at MANY contests and those conversations certainly happen. It is just the nature of the beast.

I can do a catch all response I guess. My point is that General Effect needs to be clearly defined as a higher level of achievement and expectations. As I mentioned before you can do all of the content mess the world and if it is badly performed you are not generally effective. At the end of the day the level at which what is performed matters more to me than WHAT is performed. Checking off boxes to satisfy a criteria can be a dangerous game. I am not saying marching band needs to go back to what it was long before our day, but I do fear that design considerations are really starting to out weigh the level at which musical and visual items are performed. I get that GE is subjective and everyone has their own loosely definition of it. However, I will always err on heavy weight being placed on performance considerations before I even give credit to design or "content." I suppose I am a little bit more old school than I would like to admit, but I am far more impressed with a band that does the basics really well before the do all of the other stuff. With that being said, the big dog schools consistently in state finals DO that very well. I don't want to do away with GE, but the perception of it surely should be placed on achievement before content.

Or...and hear me out... Perhaps the most effective thing you can be is excellent at what YOU do. You are not generally effective if the core of fundamentals aren't up to par. You can do all of the fluffy dances and what not, but until you maximize the performance side of the sheet you are NOT generally effective. If we just got back to that the world would be a much happier place. The days of UIL and BOA finals looking very different are over. I think we are in a good spot here in Texas and abroad. I think young people have the wrong idea of what GE actually is and assume it is all design based. SOME of it is design based, but a good judge would not really award that unless it is well performed and...well...generally effective.

Pearland has a MASTER staff now. Clay Jasper was one of the creative geniuses behind the rise of North Shore and Galena Park HS back in the days. Pearland has always had great directors, but this staff is by far the most progressive they have had ever. Good people over there. Tompkins as the same director since the school opened and he has done a great job. That area of Houston is starting to get stupid competitive. If Friendswood comes back to 6A it will be come even more insane. It is nice to have more than The Woodlands represent Houston at any contest. Houston is slowly starting to come back to life. It is a great city but has seen some big shifts since the Spring ISD programs have somewhat faded away, though they are still very good. Keep an eye on Jordan and Katy. They may have something to say about a potential Tompkins surge. Katy did tie out of the SMC.

Any school in Leander ISD will be fine regardless of pretty much anyone who teaches them. The district's support is unlike the vast majority of those anywhere. Those students who live in district are extremely lucky to have such amazing support. Congrats to Mike Howard on the big promotion. The LISD Fine Arts will be in very capable hands.

They too are going under another head director change. Same at Spring High School. Things are getting rough out there!

I would like to add that we should keep an eye on Jersey Village. I've seen them a few times this year and they are GOOOOOOOOOD. Their ensemble sound is solid!

The Crowley band programs have sadly taken a serious down turn over the last 5 or so years. I remember when I was in high school in the 80's and 90's they were a massive powerhouse. That band could PLAY! However, splitting North to CHS proper really changed things. Both schools have great directors, but I fear the district isn't willing to support the programs like they used to. North Crowley was a state level band not too long ago, but the fall came too fast. I am not sure why both of those high school programs have slipped over the years, but I hope they improve.

I have seen Galena Park at a few football games. They are just about as strong as they were in 2019. It is still unfortunate they didn't advance in 2019, but their final run was just not as good as their previous performances. The new director is in their second year and are they are doing great. The rest of the staff from 2019 are still there. I suspect they are absolutely in the running to get one of the 2 or 3 spots for state. Galena Park's color guard is FANTASTIC. Porter has ascended to another level and I predict they will easily win the area. However, a new high school is opening in New Caney ISD next year and will probably affect somethings. The area contest will be strong for sure. That final spot will be anyone's game. Porter and Galena Park will likely advance with College Station or Magnolia taking that third spot. Crosby can be a dark horse. Final prediction, Porter will hopefully, FINALLY, be a Houston band with finals potential other than Friendswood in 5A.

Suzanne Dell will be a phenomenal new head band director at L.D. Bell HS. The program will be just fine with her at the helm. They still have incredibly strong feeder junior highs and a staff with energy to boot. Hebron has the best shot at winning the 6A SMC. I predict a new band will win the 5A SMC that has not won yet with a slew of new state finalists. Watch out for Burleson and Granbury. I think at least one of them will be a new state finalist in 5A if not both. Jordan HS will be come a beast very quickly just like Bridgeland HS has. I see a massive shift in the 5A landscape on the western half of the Houston Metroplex very soon. Porter HS will claim the top spot in the Area I Finals, easily, with Willis moving to 6A. Area I will be considerably weaker than before. I see College Station, A&M Consolidated and Crosby making their way up the finalist ranks quickly and Magnolia HS making their way into finals. Galena Park will be a wild card, possibly. Kempner HS and La Porte HS are going to be dark horses. I can see one of them taking a state spot with Jordan and Friendswood. Pearland will shock 6A in a very good way. I think they could very well challenge The Woodlands for the top spot if they are in the same area again.

Lots to watch out for... 6A Willis-Area finalist threat Tomball-Could be a shocker in 6A Tomball Memorial The Woodlands-As always North Shore-Great band and always does well at UIL Westfield (Coming back up FAST) Bridgeland-Huge surprise this year! 5A Porter-They have become a force and will remain so Galena Park-I hear they will grow to be even larger next year Magnolia-Probably not happy with this years results and will be back with a vengeance next year Foster-Fantastic year and will build on it Waller-Fantastic this past year at Area Barbers Hill-They keep getting better and bigger

North Houston will be a bit different too. Tomball and Willis have moved up to 6A and Lumberton is back in 5A. This means we will see even more new faces at the 5A SMC from Houston in 2 years I bet. Something tells me the Houston area may be recombined like it was in 2017 for 5A. This gives Galena Park, Porter, Lumberton, Crosby, and College Station a pretty clear path for a fight to the SMC with room for Magnolia, Magnolia West and some new comers to be area Finalists next go around. With the explosive growth of each of these programs I suspect Houston area schools that are not Friendswood in 5A will start to move up a bit.