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From an entertainment standpoint, I would've had Cedar Park in Finals instead of Coppell. But in the end, the Prelims judging panel got the top 14 bands right. I can't even imagine how hard it was to rank those bands in Finals. What a line-up. By far, the best BOA Regional that I have ever been to. Expect a review of some sort in a couple of days. I'm still tired!!!

The Santa Clara Vanguard is holding 2 pre-audition screening opportunities on November 12th. The intent of these sessions is to allow interested individuals the opportunity to demonstrate their skills without the commitment of flying to California for the November Audition Camp. Individuals that show potential will be asked to attend the 2nd audition camp in December to participate in the formal audition process. Please note these sessions are for Brass players only. The pre-audition screening opportunities will be held in Texas and at the BOA Grand Nationals in Indianapolis, IN. The screenings will consist of both visual and musical evaluations. Be sure to check out the Brass Audition Expectations to make sure you are prepared to show your best. There is no registration fee for the pre-audition screenings. If you are asked to attend the December Audition Camp, you will be required to pay the one-time $75 audition fee at that time. Remember. if you attend a pre-audition screening session, you do not need to attend the November camp. Texas Pre-Audition Screenings Saturday, November 12, 2005 10:00am - 3:00pm Cedar Park High School 2150 Cypress Creek Road Cedar Park, TX 78613 Click here for more information.

UIL Area F October 29, 2005 - Crump Stadium, Alief ISD (Houston) Ozen HS - 1:00pm Channelview HS - 1:15 Vidor HS - 1:30 Crosby HS - 1:45 Galena Park HS - 2:00 Dickinson HS - 2:15 BREAK Lumberton HS - 2:45 Santa Fe HS - 3:00 Friendswood HS - 3:15 Angleton HS - 3:30 Port Neches-Groves HS - 3:45 Little Cypress-Mauriceville HS - 4:00 Exhibition: Blinn College, 4:30 Awards Ceremony following Exhibition performance Judges (MUSIC) Dana Pradervand, San Antonio Mark Veenstra, Cypress Steve Wessels, Cedar Park (MARCHING) Scott Mason, Coppell Ronnie Rios, Harlingen

Yeah, that lineup looks great. But that didn't happen. You still can't deny the fact that this year's Arlington Regional was one of, or if not, the hardest regular BOA Regionals of the season. I don't think Brazoswood will win music again in San Antonio, but you have to give them credit for what they did in Arlington.

Dude, re-read my post again. I was talking about this year's Regionals, not last year. Cedar Park was sixth in Houston. Brazoswood won Music at an extremely stacked Arlington.

Harlingen South is doing it. I want to see that show. It sounds pretty interesting.

But, if you remember correctly... That was last year. This year is this year. Cedar Park placed sixth at the BOA Houston Regional. And, Brazoswood won Outstanding Music at the BOA Arlington Regional.

October. I like Whitacre's works so much more than Ticheli.

Owasso HS of Oklahoma will not be at this year's San Antonio Super Regional. Here is a list of bands that have signed up.... http://www.bands.org/public/events/regiona....info/tx.sa.asp

Speaking of band shows...check out Kennesaw Mountain HS, GA 2004. The best show that I have ever seen about marching band. I thought Kennesaw Mountain's concept was a brilliant idea. I know some people thought they were 'sucking up' to BOA by playing the BOA theme song and having the announcer voiceover in the middle of the show, but what other way could you do a show about your very own band? Hence, the show title, "Evolution". From a design standpoint, Kennesaw nailed the show down to the very little detail. It amazed me. From the picture backdrops, to the basics block/Dr. Beat at the beginning of the show, to the "Somewhere Over the Raindow" moment, and to the closer which had various parts of their 2001-2003 shows. I'll admit, the show choked me up the first time I saw it. It was absolutely emotional. Probably because it brought back so many memories of my marching band days in high school. Granted, I only graduated three years ago (2003), but it seemed like yesterday that I was still in HS.

It's not just BOA. It's marching band. The activity is evolving. You see those types of shows in any marching band circuit.

The Avon that is attending the Pontiac Regional is not the one from Indiana. They are from Ohio.

Nah, I didn't mean it as an intense rival where you two hate each other. I was talking more about football.

Churchill & Reagan play each other. Both are in the same school district (North East ISD - San Antonio). And if I'm not mistaken, they are huge rivals.

My predictions: 1. L.D. Bell HS, TX 2. Ronald Reagan HS, TX 3. Winston Churchill HS, TX 4. Richland HS, TX 5. Owasso HS, OK 6. Westfield HS, TX 7. Haltom HS, TX 8. The Woodlands HS, TX 9. Marcus HS, TX 10. Brazoswood HS, TX Outstanding Music Performance: L.D. Bell HS Outstanding Visual Performance: L.D. Bell HS Outstanding General Effect: Ronald Reagan HS Ladies and gentlemen, this Regional is stacked!!

I can't believe I forgot about this... The IP Address feature on the TXBands Forums. Bell Band Director and booboo have the same IP addresses. Take a look at it. Bottom left hand corner. Impersonating other people, I see? We don't condone that type of behavior.

I disagree. I feel the competition in the top five was tougher last year. Not only did you have three Grand National Finalists in attendance, the point spread between the 2-5 spots was pretty small. 1.70 points. The spread this year surpassed that at 2.50.

Man, the stuff that Trinity kids say really. Not classy at all.

After looking at the recaps, I'm not really surprised by anything that I saw. *Winston Churchill winning the General Effect caption by 2-3 points? Not surprised at all. They deserved it. GE was up the wazoo. Creativity, imagination, coordination between music and visual, continuity, and understanding the intent of the program were all there. Visual Ensemble and Music still need to be worked on, but the improvements will come along as they have success with the show. I'm looking forward to what Churchill has to offer in the coming weeks. The closer still needs to be put on to field! Extreme Effects is alive and well. *Execution wise, Stephen F. Austin is fine. Placing first in Music & Visual in Prelims, and second in both captions in Finals. They were fine in General Effect Visual as well by placing third. General Effect Music was what hurt them. Eleventh in Prelims and eighth Place in Finals. I can see why. At the Houston Regional, it seemed like judges were looking for shows with a complete thought. (IE: variety of effects, originality, musical staging and etc) With the commentary that they received on Saturday, there's no question that the design team will go back to the table and fix whatever problems they have. For me, the staging during the impact point of 'Adagio for Strings' needs to be fixed. There's almost a month to work on the show for the San Antonio Super Regional. That's plenty of time. Stephen F. Austin will be rockin'.

I was told false information at the regional. Stephen F. Austin received no penalties in Prelims & Finals.

Some thoughts on yesterday's Houston Regional. Shockers: *Brazoswood placing in the top three going into Finals. I had them in the bottom half of the top 10. But, I'll give credit where it is due. They were one of the cleanest bands, musically, of the day. Visually, it was the complete opposite. Nice sound as usual though. IMO, a very underrated hornline. Intonation and clarity were all there. If Brazoswood can just work more on their visual design and colorguard, they will be a powerhouse band. No doubt about it. Brazoswood 2001 was just that. *Surprise band of the night: Hendrickson HS. I was floored. They did show about building a house with the music inspired by Pachelbel's Canon in D. Music and marching were all there..impressive show design as well. If they keep this up, they will be a band to look out for here in Texas. A definite contender for the Texas UIL 4A State Championship, for sure. Congratulations Hendrickson! Other thoughts: *Cedar Park: Fine performance in Prelims. Very neat onfield introduction as well. Finals run seemed off though. Which could be a factor as to why dropped to sixth place, but it's okay. You're playing Respihi here!! Wonderful brass sound. But, was it me or did anyone else have trouble hearing the woodwinds throughout the entire show. Regardless, These kids can play. Also, I hope the flute player that fell in the closer is okay. It looked like she hit the turf pretty hard. Nice recovery though. Looking forward to seeing the show in San Antonio. Wonderful arrangements of some ridiculously hard music. Respighi is NOT easy. *Clear Brook: I really love the direction that this band is going in. Massive improvement since I saw them in high school in 2000. They did the Star of Indiana's show from 1992. Nice, strong sound. They pulled it off very well. Percussion, holy smokes. Did Jim Casella arrange the percussion book? The drum feature sounded like the Santa Clara Vanguard's in 2004. I love it. As for the space banners, it all ties together. You're minutes from NASA. Great job guys. *Cypress Falls: Wonderful job on the recovery. Even with the electronic feedback and mic problems, it didn't stop them. They ignored the problems and focused on the playing and marching. Their music came from the best of three worlds: Key Poulan, Richard Saucedo & Mark Higginbotham. It was an interesting combination. Very cool line effect with the ribbons during the ballad. Nice GE moment. Colorguard delivered in Finals and added that extra 'umph'. Troyka must've been proud of your performance. Congratulations. *James Bowie: Finals much much better than Prelims. To the mellophone and oboe soloists during Symphony No. 1 & 2 and Concerto for Violin, good for you! It gave me goosebumps. Whoa now, Second Essay was fantastic. The trumpets were going insane. It actually reminded me of Winston Churchill's 1998 show. Nice intonation and blend. Fine, fine, performance. *Klein: When I saw them in Prelims, I knew this was going to the evening show. I'm a huge fan of Thomas Newman and they performed his music exceptionally well. Then again, Dick Clardy is their director. Nice drill design and pit work in the intro. I enjoyed it Klein! *Stephen F. Austin, thank you for an emotional run in Finals. I felt it in the stands. SFA was in unfamiliar territory...performing third in Finals which meant that they placed in the bottom half of the Finalist bands in Prelims. And, they did not disappoint. To SFA: You nailed the impact points and Medea was a lot more controlled in Finals. The music just clicked. Adagio for Strings left me on the verge of tears. It wasn't in your face loud, but it got the job done. I would like to see the band centered around the 50 during Adagio. I don't really get why they were out on the left side of the field. Anyways, if you heard the loud, "YEAH!!!" after the chord, that was yours truly. I wanted to scream some more after that, but I'm sure the whole crowd would have told me to shut up. :-) Thank you for the emotional moment. As for the Angels, what can I say? What a classy group of ladies. The way they carry theirselves on the field is just undescribable. It's a breath of fresh air. Percussion was rockin' as usual. Holy smokes. As the your band motto states, "Be Remembered". To me, you were remembered. *The Colony: After years of absence from Finals, it looks like things are going in the right direction for The Colony. Not as strong as band from years past, but still a good showing. They did the music of Copland, Britten, Hindemith, Stravinky and Vivladi and blended them altogther. I liked it. To TC, keep working on the improvements and you'll be fine. Congratulations on advancing to Finals. *Winston Churchill was ON in Prelims. Holy cow. The colorguard was ridiculous. I have never seen stuff like that in a marching band or even a drum corps show, ever. The "Just Do It" groove section with the guard feature was too cool. Too cool. The colorguard and drumline are centered on the 50-yard line with the guard doing ridiculous work, while a voiceover in the background is saying, "Do it, just do it..." There was a huge buzz in the air after they performed. I haven't seen or heard a reaction like this for Winston Churchill in quite a while. It was great. The Finals run, not as strong as Prelims, but still worthy of a Regional title. Somewhat surprised that they swept all captions. Musically, volume was an issue for me. I expected louder impact points and a full ensemble sound. That was a problem for me last year with WC also. The compositions are great though. It reminds me of the intensity from L.D. Bell 2000, and the eerie sound effects from Spring 2000 mixed together. Contrasting styles. It's great. Once all is said and done, this is going to be one heck of a show. This show is HARD. No doubt about it. If they can nail it every single time, Churchill will be dangerous. Congratulations Winston Churchill. Welcome back! You deserved the win. On another note, Cedar Park, Brazoswood, Stephen F. Austin, James Bowie all did a 30-45 second standstill in their closers, and Churchill ended right after the ballad. They still have to put the closer on the field. My Rankings - Actual Rankings 1. Winston Churchill HS - Winston Churchill HS 2. Stephen F. Austin HS - James Bowie HS 3. James Bowie HS - Cypress Falls HS 4. Cypress Falls HS - Stephen F. Austin HS 5. Brazoswood HS - Brazoswood HS 6. Cedar Park HS - Cedar Park HS 7. Hendrickson HS - Hendrickson HS 8. Clear Brook HS - Klein HS 9. Klein HS - Clear Brook HS 10. The Colony HS - The Colony HS ---------- FINALISTS REPERTOIRES: Brazoswood HS - Clute, Texas 'Icarus' by Key Poulan Mvt. I: Daedalus Mvt. II: With Wax and Feathers/Departure from Crete Mvt. III: Too Close to the Sun Cedar Park HS - Cedar Park, Texas 'From Many Comes One' Feste Romane, Movement I-IV Church Windows, Movement II Saint Michael the Archangel and Belkis - Queen of Sheba, Mvt. IV Orgiastic Dance Clear Brook HS - Friendswood, Texas 'Summon the Heroes' Star Spangled Overture Amber Waves Star Spangled Reprise Cypress Falls - Houston, Texas 'Lines' Music by Key Poulan, Richard Sacuedo, Mark Higginbotham, and Shawn McAnear Mvt. I: Blurring the Lines Mvt. II: Toeing the Line Mvt. III: Crossing the Line Hendrickson HS - Pflugerville, Texas 'To Build A House' Music by Mark Waymire based on Pachelbel's Canon in D Mvt. I: The Foundation Mvt. II: Hammer and Nails Mvt. III: Windows Mvt. IV: Raise the Roof James Bowie HS - Austin, Texas 'Essay' Music by Samuel Barber Essay I: Symphony No. 1 & 2 Essay II: Concerto for Violin, Opus 14 Essay III: Second Essay for Orchestra Klein HS - Klein, Texas 'Illusions' Music by Thomas Newman Stephen F. Austin HS - Sugar Land, Texas 'Dance Symphony' Grohg by Aaron Copland Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber Medea by Samuel Barber The Colony HS - The Colony, Texas 'Spring: A Season of Change' Music by Britten, Copland, Hindemith, Stravinsky, Vivaldi Winston Churchill HS - San Antonio, Texas 'E/FX - Extreme Effects' Music by Mark Higginbotham & John Pollard ------ I apologize if this wasn't into great detail. I tried the best I could. It was a long and hot day. The sun fried me! And, I ate way too much food. But, that's another discussion for another day. :-)

After five days of complete chaos, I am home. You have no idea how fortunate I am to still have an apartment to go back to. I hope everyone that lives on the Gulf Coast made it out safely. Leaving Angleton on Wednesday afternoon was a mess. It normally takes an hour to get to Houston, but on Wednesday it took 5 1/2-6 hours. My friend even called me on Wednesday and told me that he was in his car for 13 hours and had only traveled 25 miles. Insane. Evacuating one of the largest metropolitan areas in United States is no easy task. Although we dodged the bullet big time on this one, I feel bad for those East of us. It's very very unforunate that Louisiana has to suffer through another hurricane. Again, I hope everyone has a safe trip back and that your homes are okay. By the way, I called BOA earlier and the Houston Regional is scheduled to take place. But if any changes occur, they will post it on their website and band directors will be notified ASAP.

Jackson, Mason to serve as Vanguard Percussion Caption Heads/Arrangers The Santa Clara Vanguard is pleased to announce that Mike Jackson and Brian Mason have joined the staff and will take over responsibilities as the Percussion Caption Heads and Arrangers. In addition, Mike and Brian have announced that the snare line will return to playing "traditional grip". Mike Jackson is the Battery Arranger/Caption Head for the Vanguard. Mike has been the percussion arranger/instructor for the WGI World Class Champions Mission Viejo High School since 1989 and the percussion arranger/instructor for the WGI A Class Champions Loara High School since 1994. From 2002 to 2003, Mike served as the percussion arranger/instructor for the Black Knights Drum Corps, and led them to their first WGI Independent World Class medal. Currently, Mike serves as a design consultant for the WGI Independent World Champions, Riverside Community College. Mike has been serving on the WGI Percussion Advisory Board since 1997 and is currently a Steering Committee member. He is a founding member of the Southern California Percussion Alliance and currently serves on their Board of Directors. Brian Mason is the Front Ensemble Arranger/Caption Head for the Vanguard. Brian is a highly respected innovator of the contemporary marching percussion ensemble. In high demand as a clinician, designer, and adjudicator, Brian has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Japan, Canada, Korea, and Mexico. Brian gained worldwide recognition for his percussion writing and teaching with the Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps and the Phantom Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps, claiming numerous awards and honors with both organizations during his tenure. Currently, Brian is a member of the percussion faculty at Morehead State University, in Morehead, KY, and is the director of the award-winning Marching Percussion Ensemble. Mike and Brian take over the percussion section from Murray Gusseck who instructed the line for 9 years (94, 96-99, 02-05). SCV would like to genuinely thank Murray for his tremendous efforts and dedication to the percussion section over the years. Auditions for the 2006 Vanguard will take place over Thanksgiving Weekend, November 25th - 27th in Santa Clara. If you are interested in auditioning for the percussion section be sure to read through our Audition Information and make sure you RSVP. If you have a specific question please send an email to Mike (mjackson@scvanguard.org) or Brian (bmason@scvanguard.org). http://www.scvanguard.org/about/news.php?id=1127089555 -------- The addition of the Mike Jackson & Brian Mason is great for the Vanguard. Mike is an incredible writer and teacher. He has done some amazing things in the percussion world....most notably his indoor high school group, Mission Viejo HS of California. Looking forward to it!

Erik Johnson retires The Cavaliers announce the retirement of percussion arranger Erik Johnson. Johnson was a marching member of The Cavaliers from 1984-1985 and a staff member, writer and arranger from 1995-2005.

The saying "out of the box" means....out there, completely different than everyone else. And Ronald Reagan's 2001 "Out of the Box" show was just that. It was completely different than what anyone in the activity has done before. As for the 2002 "Journey Within" show, most of the music was from Cirque du Sol