California Boi

Results 1. Flower Mound 2. Vista Ridge 3. Vandegrift 4. CTJ 5. Hebron 6. Reagan 7. Keller 8. Leander 9. Marcus 10. Waxahachie 11. Cedar Ridge 12. The Woodlands

I have Reagan, Hebron, Vista and CTJ as my top pics. It all depends on how judges emphasize performance and cleanliness in relation to effect. CTJ had excellent effect while Vista was near perfect in their execution, and the other 2 fall within that spectrum.

Definitely some crowd shockers today. If I’d have to take a guess at how prelims will most likely go down for the top 5. 1. CTJ- They may not have performed yet, but this band is just on another level. Their level of performance, attention to detail and their EFFECT. Them going last is only going to punch those numbers through the roof one top of what is already the most GE heavy show in my opinion 2. Ronald Reagan- There is a level of finesse their show presents that none other does. Notable moments are the alternating fugues in the woodwinds, the trombone ballad moment, and that glorious trumpet feature. 3. Hebron- Will someone please nerf their mellos, they are way too OP for this meta. 4. The Woodlands- I’m a true believer in this show, taking the execution from 2013 and 2016 and combining it with 2017s level of design, a real crowd pleaser. 5. Flower Mound- Their visual program is undeniable, and their polka mixed with other styles of music has certain charm to it, especially with Wayne Downey giving it a “Blue devils” feel.

BOA definitely isn’t for everyone. The idea that BOA is morphing into DCI isn’t completely true, but it also isn’t conpletey wrong. I choose to look at it a different way; BOA and it’s GE caption constantly requires band to innovate. You could in theory win UIL multiple times with the same style and design of shows, as seen by Marcus seeeping State for the longest time (not a knock on them, their shows were fantastic, just very similar). BOA favors bands that go out of the box, such as Broken arrow and CTJ, constantly finding new ways to perform and do it at a high level. This causes the activity to get better as a whole, as we’ve seen with the drastic growth in the level of bands in Texas going into BOA SA, as it forces bands to go out of the comfort zone and make their own mark on the activity. Whether this is preferable to UIL’s demand of execution is up to opinion, but many bands with band directors who hail from the world of DCI prefer BOA for that reason.

Claudia Taylor Johnson easily. It’s definitely an acquired taste, but there’s an effect these uniforms bring to the field that none other are able to. Last year’s were already phenomonal but now it’s a more vivid color, along with having a more vibrant plume.