LeanderMomma

I was about to come here and say the same thing. I've heard that some of the Houston bands seasons may be a complete "wash" at this point, no pun intended. I hope not and that they DO get to perform, but it's hard to imagine that they will have had enough time to prepare for the upcoming 2017 competitions. Besides the fact that many of those families have had to move out of their homes and may have had to enroll their children in other school districts in other parts of the state, depending on where they relocated. There are a lot of things that will affect the Houston area schools band programs with the fallout from Harvey. And what will Irma do to Tarpon Springs in Florida? Lots of people affected by these awful storms.

did you ever figure out why he decided you were suddenly beneath him? His band won the competition that you took 2nd in. Why was he so salty?!! SO STRANGE!!

Oh thank you!!!! I was CRACKING UP at people on YouTube saying (after watching 4 minutes of Leander's spring "preview" in May) that Leander wasn't going to be as good this year. I'm like, "really? You can tell that from 4 minutes of a video in a gymnasium with zero marching involved?" okay...

Oh wow, that's fantastic!!! Okay, I just might have to drive on up to Dallas for that contest. I have been torn since I am already attending so many, but hey....BAND!!!!

Yes, poor Stony Point has had a bit of a roller coaster ride this year with band director changes and all. Everytime I think they might have a shot at having a good year, something happens within their program to cause a whole new set of issues. But I'm always rooting for them and hoping to see big improvement in coming years...they ARE an RRISD school after all!

I agree completely.

Well, we are used to getting up in the middle of the night to drive somewhere in the Leander ISD, so I'm sure they will be fine.

Vista Ridge is going to be getting up early for this one! Like Pioneer at BOA Austin, Vista Ridge got a sucky time slot. But I'm proud of them for signing up for this BOA DFW contest, which is sure to be tough with the Dallas area LISD bands all competing! Go Ranger Band from Leander ISD--the OTHER LISD!

I just watched their (really poor video quality) performance at last night's football game and now I'm even more excited to see Pioneer! Wouldn't it be crazy if they made finals??!!

I'll bring the coffee, you guys bring the knowledge! And if FloMo was coming, we KNOW what they would bring!

I'll bring you a Starbucks. Will you be sitting with the "other" Daniel?

Sure is!!!!! Looks like I'll be getting up early that day, though. Lots of great bands to watch.

I'm thinking it's homecoming night for Bell so it'll be an away game for Flower Mound. I would definitely sit on the home side for band, regardless. I hate when I have to watch from the back!!

UPDATE!!!!!!

Austin's forecast is looking up as well. But Conroe is about to be a complete mess as they are having to release water in record levels from the dam at Lake Conroe.

It was definitely exciting to watch live last Friday night, even though my kiddo just graduated and is no longer a part of the program. You're right about bands having a personality all their own. Vandegrift has a strong orchestral and classical vibe which always makes them exciting to watch. Cedar Park always does something fun and unexpected and their shows never cease to entertain. Flowermound seems to just in recent years be forming a personality of weird and out there, but undeniably PHENOMENAL! CTJ is just freakin fun to watch and listen to and you just never know what they're gonna do. So many Texas bands have their own flair and there are too many to list but I love them all. And just in the past year, I've discovered a deep appreciation for bands like Broken Arrow, Avon, Carmel and Tarpon Springs, just to name a few. They all have their own personalities too. That's what I believe truly puts a band on top. When you can recognize them not by their uniforms, but by their style and their sound. Phew, that was long winded!

I do have mixed feelings about it. I love being able to watch the videos and often wish other districts would show what their kids are doing. But I also cringe a little because it's so early in the season and a bit rough to look at. And there's no element of surprise once it's all out there. This brings me to a question I've had for awhile now. WHY are so many bands SO secretive with their videos? Look at the comments on you tube. People go apoplectic when someone puts up a video of their band! Haltom has one up, and people are freaking out. I've seen the same with Dallas area bands and Houston too. Just wondered what the thinking might be on whether to allow videos up or not.

I'll be at the L D Bell vs FloMo football game in October. My best friend's youngest son is a 6'8", 325 lb giant who plays football at Bell. Can't wait to see that game AND the bands!!

I've been watching some of the rehearsals and the music was a little off at the parent performance I thought. I know they'll get it all smoothed out in the long run. Again, I wish we would hold off on putting up videos.

I wish Leander didn't always put videos up so dang early in the season! Not sure why I feel that way, tho. Does it matter in the long run? Probably not...

It's going to affect San Antonio and Austin area bands as well. No practice for awhile. The Dallas bands will definitely have an advantage come BOA time. But none of that is ultimately truly important. Let's pray for Houston right now and all of the surrounding affected areas. It's bad down here.

Hopefully I'll see you again at BOA Austin next month Daniel. (I'm one of the two annoying moms that sat in front of you the last two years at BOA Austin--thanks for putting up with us; you're a very patient man! ). I'm also planning to go to Conroe this year as well. I've never been to BOA Conroe, and this year it's looking to be a FIERCE competition there! Nope, I'm never graduating.

I hear ya, but I would love to go again. I just loved that experience so much last fall, and I think I'd like to go again when Leander goes back in a few years. Heck, I'd love to go watch DCI finals in Indianapolis sometime as well! Indy is such a fun town, and there's nothing like watching band in the Lucas Oil stadium. Geez, I'm such a nerd.

Are you planning to go to Grand Nats and watch FloMo win it all this fall? I hope they do it!!!!

I wanted to reply to both of you as a neutral 3rd party because I can see both of your points. Let me first say that I love the private lesson program for kids in Texas bands. My daughter graduated this past May, and she was in private lessons ALL 4 years of high school band. It is my understanding that over 90% of the kids in the Leander Band are in private lessons as well. They even have a scholarship program for kids that can't afford it. I believe that these private lessons are part of why the Leander ISD bands have been so successful and I'm sure it's true of other districts as well. When I was in band 100 years ago, no one was getting private lessons! Band has come a long way...but I digress. While I agree with Takigan that these teachers/judges shouldn't be able to hurt a student's chances at better placement, and for the most part probably don't, I can not help but believe that this teacher did in fact "recognize" Daniel, that she let her bias jade her judging of his performance, and that she definitely harbored a strong grudge against him! Why else would she go to his band director and unload on him? It almost had a hint of Fatal Attraction to it, in a professional sense of course.