Jump to content

gmtb617

Members
  • Posts

    241
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    2

Everything posted by gmtb617

  1. I’ve had a lot of cool interactions with other schools in region band, jazz (esp. Katy All-Star; those guys were fun), orchestra, etc. However, BOA McAllen 2018 takes the cake. A group including a few friends and myself decided to go around meeting students from other schools, and we took to Brazoswood first. We met students from their loading crew, and incidentally we were all also part of loading crew from our school. We talked for a long while and learned each other’s “loading-crew lingo”, and thereafter the group got together on Instagram. It was a ton of fun. They even met up with us months later, at UIL State. Great guys.
  2. I've felt the need to introduce myself to this chat for a while; I just didn't exactly know what to discuss or what to say. On that note, hi everybody.
  3. Huge surprise for me! A college friend is planning to go to BOA Dallas to watch as a FloMo alumnus, and I might be able to tag along in the morning before my college football game events. I’ll probably do the thing where you watch one regional IRL and another on FloMarching at the same time (because I’m still a Houston homer). Not sure if traveling will work out, but I can’t wait!
  4. UIL Area I 2018 was a definitely a rather...questionable contest. Don’t sweat it; Legacy will treat you well when paired with BOA leadership. Go destroy BOA Houston!!
  5. I’m REALLY interested in what Tompkins, Paetow, and Cinco Ranch are up to.
  6. Some other prelims placements of note. Westwood: 8th - Bit of a shakeup. Cypress Woods: 13th - Woah!! Johnson: 16th - Phenomenal for a first-year band! Missed Cypress Woods and Johnson. I want to see Cypress Woods at Houston really badly now.
  7. What a regional. About time I’d become re-exposed to it for real.
  8. Man, I’m inexperienced when it comes to competition of this level! First experience observing bands @ BOA Austin since 2015!! Granted, I listened quite passively and took the contest as pure entertainment, relaxing my competitive mind a bit. Lake Travis with 7th place! Was not expecting them ahead of Bowie, but in retrospect I can’t say I disagree (I listened to both passively, I’ll admit). They had some of the strongest ensemble sounds outside the top 5. Band on the rise, folks! Congrats to Vandegrift. >1.5 point lead! Cleanliness = Added Effect. Vandy knows this. Shake up GN with this philosophy! Leander and CTJ’s shows are both so much fun. So glad they’re going to GN to showcase their productions to the nation. CTJ deserves another shoutout. I did notice wacky forms but I would NOT have suspected an unforeseen obstruction for the whole show. Absolutely wild.
  9. Well done! I wasn't able to catch WW in prelims but now I really want to see them in finals. And consequently I want to see them in Houston finals too.
  10. I agree that Cedar Vista Ridge are the 2 strongest so far, with Cedar Ridge having a strong visual program with great music effects, while Vista’s show yet again being a GE powerhouse + boasting strong music technique and power.
  11. I think 4 bands have made performances that scream “We deserve to be in finals!”, but, of course, this is BOA Austin we’re talking about. I thought Rouse especially had a full sound (impressive given their size), and that will help them out. I would not envy being a judge for this contest. We’re not even 1/4 done with it yet.
  12. Just had a fellow alumnus paparazzi drop a ** Private ** video of a post game performance of 7L’s show at the football game today. It’s GOOD.
  13. I’d like to offer some input on the matter. Here is my top 10 that I listed on the predictions page: Place 1 Ronald Reagan H.S Place 2 The Woodlands H.S Place 3 Westlake H.S Place 4 Cy-Fair H.S Place 5 Seven Lakes H.S Place 6 Oak Ridge H.S Place 7 Stephen F. Austin H.S Place 8 James E. Taylor H.S Place 9 Pearland H.S Place 10 Brazoswood H.S And here are the “groupings” that I had composed months ago (things changed since then; Churchill’s not attending anymore): The most important point that differentiates these two lists is that, in the second list, I concede that there are so many bands that can find themselves in finals given an excellent performance; the first list I do not (because I cannot). In reality, I truly believe that any one of the bands from the top 4 groupings (and maybe even a few bands from the 5th) can give a performance that screams “We deserve to be in finals!!”. They all have the vehicles to do it (a solid show) and they all have the musicianship to make it work. Performance is everything. Also note that things can change at the turn of a dime. Anecdotal example as a Seven Lakes alumnus: in last year’s BOA Conroe topic, we were considered a bubble band for finals; most people thought that it would be unlikely (BOA Conroe 2016 and 2017, 7L got 14th both times). After McAllen, many posters had deemed us a finals lock, and then we did make finals. Very minor boasting aside , I hope that this demonstrates the idea that anything is possible from year to year. Maybe Westwood will have a lights out performance at BOA Austin and they will thus be deemed a finals lock for Houston. To be honest, the main reason I didn’t predict Westwood in finals is due to ignorance; they’re not from Houston, so I’m unfamiliar with how they generally sound relative to Houston programs. Final note: Consider a “top tier” of band programs in Texas — the “SA Finalist” regulars. Now, one thing that BOA Houston can boast that no other Texas BOA Regional can, in my opinion, is the fact that Houston has by far the greatest quantity of bands *one tier under* this top tier — the most “tier 2” bands, if you will. Since there’s so many bands around this level, you get a combination of great performances with a strong vibe of “anything can happen.” I’m really glad I got to experience competitive band as a Houstonian, because I think this dynamic is really awesome. Cannot wait for BOA Austin and BOA Houston!
  14. One thing that I feel JBA is doing phenomenally that very few other bands in Texas are doing is *feeling* the show’s message (of course to do that you need a clear understand of what it is) and using that to enhance the musical performance and overall effect. Definitely their best example of this would have been their “WAR” impact; the energy and sound complemented the chord structures and overall message very well.
  15. Ok so I won’t list thoughts on every band as I decided that eating dinner is something that I should kinda do, but I will say: I think JBA sweeps captions over prelims Churchill (except maybe visual...?). And would have blown last year’s 7L McAllen finals performance out of the water. That is a GE Monster.
  16. My thoughts listed off as I watch : United: Some really ambitious technique here, and overall really powerful sounds. Sometimes got carried away but McAllen is the regional to do that . Overall a really fun show with a LOT of content (which I believe in early regionals, is definitely a good thing); and, it’s all performed well. They are in a great spot to improve later in the season. Del Rio: Respect points for the pink dancer outfits. Lots of places to show off technique, and they do it very cleanly. Sound is brilliantly blended but feels a bit “small” in my opinion. Cool musical effects throughout. Love seeing Del Rio’s ambition with BOA given their location. It’s paying off. Pioneer: What a fun show. What a fun show. Their show? It was fun. And also powerful. Preliminary, but, like United, it’s got a lot of content with a lot of room to grow (which is excellent). Expect these guys to storm state! These guys have a good shot at medaling through some GE power.
  17. Watching BOA from the outside looking in...it’s almost surreal. Especially for McAllen; Our band performed there last year but saw almost no Valley programs perform due to our schedule. I can’t comment on all the bands (because I didn’t some all of them) but I certainly have thoughts on some that I’m hoping to post in a bit.
  18. Oh...how could I forget Katy Mills?
  19. My first time ever watching from FloMarching!! Birdville surprised me in a really really good way (in context of prior expectation vs. how they ended up *performing*). They sounded solid! Even though I’ve got commitments for today, I can already tell this regional is going to be a lot of fun. I should hopefully be able to catch all of finals.
  20. Anyone going to watch 7L vs SFA tonight?
  21. I personally really like Cy-Fair’s uniforms; they have an excellent blend between design cleanliness and vivid color choices. In particular, their plumes are bright and memorable.
  22. It’s funny; the Katy ISD boundaries are so huge even I’m not that familiar with the area and its non-chain restaurants. Regardless, I’ve heard Snappy’s has great options, especially for breakfast.
  23. New alumni club!!! What school did you march for? (Forgive me if it’s on your signature...I’m on mobile :] )
  24. Selfishly, I’m bummed that the last block is (1) stacked and (2) includes Seven Lakes because it’s likely the block I’ll have to miss for college football pregame events. Really wanted to see 7L live on FloMarching, especially at Legacy Stadium. There’s always next time! (If you couldn’t tell, I’m still getting used to this whole “Not being in HS band” thing.)
×
×
  • Create New...