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MilBandDude

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MilBandDude last won the day on November 30 2021

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  1. For me, it was Marcus High School's 2021 State UIL Finals entitled The Missing Piece. I was lucky enough to be working that day shooting close video. I knew they were 8th after preliminaries and did not expect much. Since I was doing close video, I was able to see their faces pretty well, and you could tell they had just decided to go all in that evening. It was going to be a train wreck or something special, and they delivered. The faces of those 2 Mellophone soloists at the end have always stuck in my mind of what all band members at every school at every level put into the programs every year. The best Bronze Medal performance I have ever witnessed. Fixed the Link 2021 Marcus Band UIL Finals Performance
  2. I do not think it is easier by any means, but if a program is winning consistently, whether it be marching band, sports or the business world, you have to look at what they do and consider adjusting your program if they have something that makes sense. I mean inclusion of props was controversial back when it started. Like it or not I think Dance Programs make sense in today's UIL and BOA judging. While Dance is not easier I do think they are cleaner and safer to produce. If you are not throwing rifles or sabres or some other prop then you cannot drop said prop or have some other unforeseen event occur. Dance is so much more fluid, graceful and dynamic. When I look at Vandegrift's Dancers I can't tell if they are in the right place doing the right thing at the right time or not. All I know is they look really really good no matter what they are doing. As far as moving to Dance Programs. There are already veteran Dancers in every school that attend outside programs since an early age. All you would need to do is take the time to recruit them into band. Of course it would also take buy in from the school district. It would not be something that would have to happen in one season, but it could be integrated into the program over time. Even then you could still have a hybrid Dance Color Guard Program if desired which is what I think makes sense. Everything these kids do in high school band is hard and I am sure they would figure it out just like everything else they have to do every year. I think every 10 to 15 years a program comes along with a new idea that works and people say its a fad or flash in the pan or a joke, but those are the people that get left behind.
  3. Yes, but question was about traditional Color Guard which Vandegrift does not use. Are more bands going to abandon Color Guard in favor of more Dance centric programs now that Vandegrift has showed so much success using it?
  4. They are so good because they have a dedicated Dance Department with credited Dance Classes. Dance at Vandegrift are considered career classes. They take their Dance Program outside of the band very seriously.
  5. I wonder if they should just add a caption called best of show or most entertaining or program I would love to watch play one more time? 😀
  6. So what do we think Vandegrift’s run of strong showings in both BOA and UIL, especially these last 2 years, without traditional Color Guard mean for the future of Color Guard? Vandegrift thinks so much of it that they have a dedicated dance department and credited dance courses at school. At one time I would have thought you could use a Dance Company and do great at BOA, but perhaps not UIL. With the change in UIL judging I am starting to think it might be the way to go for other bands. To me dance, even though it is difficult, is less likely to show errors or issues being more fluid and flowing in nature. Color Guard just adds a level of possible issues to a program and could muddy the waters during a programs run. To me Vandegrift has figured out the only thing that matters are getting the points needed to win. You are not trying to be better than the other bands at anything in particular or entertain anyone especially the judges. Just make sure you program is smooth, precise and clean and you'll get the points needed. I am not saying this as a knock on Vandegrift, but as a compliment. To me they are ahead of all other Texas bands in knowing what it takes to win and I think the exclusion of Color Guard in favor of a Dance Company is a big part of their success.
  7. Here is my take on the money gap issue. Yes it is an issue to a point, especially at BOA where they put so much more emphases on showmanship. Money buys you custom show specific uniforms, buys the best show music and choreography, buys the best private teachers, buys the best group teachers, buys the best instruments and keeps them in top shape, allows for the best travel conditions, buys the best custom made props, buys the best electronics and attracts the best band directors. Is there a gap? Of course there is a gap, just like most professional sports faced years ago before they implemented salary caps. You cannot fix the issue by limiting the money though because it is spent in so many places other than props or uniforms. Plus, you have the issue of most states not having the 8 hour rule like Texas does for example. In Texas you get 8 hours per week period and trust me they watch it. Most of the bands at the top of the BOA have little real limits to practice time even into the summer. Like in pro sports this issue will become more and more pronounced as the haves get more and the have nots get less. Success breeds success after all. You also have the smaller issue with band sizes. Look at the top bands and they are typically at or over 200 members. Smaller bands with 150 just have issues matching that blasting style that BOA like so much these days. Also don’t forget that bands that live in Indiana or very close have an advantage that they are always playing on home turf. Some bands have to scrap and scrounge for the money to get to Indianapolis every 4 -6 years and then travel 16-20 hours by bus and then play almost as soon as they arrive. Others just roll out of bed and play at Lucas Oil every year. And don’t think home field advantage is not real because a place like Lucas Oil Stadium is marked up differently that High School or College fields and that does affect the bands. Money for stuff is an issue, but I think having to travel so far, band size and being handicapped by the 8 hour rule really hurts some. The only thing I can think of, and I know it will never happen, is have 2 categories for BOA. One could be Show Band and the other could be Marching Band. Show bands could be anything goes within each states own rules. You want Grand Pianos, a Choir, custom themed uniforms, Banjos, add your schools symphony orchestra, put up a circus tent or a giant inflatable Panda then go for it. Marching Bands could be limited in what they can put on the field in some way. They could still have props, but not to the extent of the Show Bands. More scoring emphasis could be put on actual marching and actual music and less on general effect unless by general effect you mean how a bands marching and music make you feel.
  8. I was there for both BOA & UIL this weekend. To me it is not just the UIL or the BOA scoring being wrong. They are different, but I like having both different. In my experience BOA is more about the "show" while UIL seems more about the "performance." I do not see discrepancies from show to show. Yes there is Bias to a degree, especially in BOA, but that is not all of it. I notice that UIL will punish you more for imperfections while BOA is more forgiving if you put on an entertaining show. You are talking about incredibly talented marching bands that are performing at a very high level. Sitting here in person live listening to and watching these bands you realize it does not take much of a miscue or lack of energy for scores to change one performance to the next. And you really have to be live right in front of them to really score them. We forget that these are still just teens, some fresh out of middle school, doing precise and complicated work under extreme pressure and teens can be fickle or moody one day to the next. Its not about having a bad performance. Its about the smallest miscues or the tone being just right one night to the next. When bands are so closely matched it just does not take much for scores to change in UIL. Sitting here and listening and watching these bands I think just looking at the top 3 they got it right. Hebron. Are you kidding me? What else can anyone say. They just brought their A-Game in every area this weekend. They were hungry and focused in every aspect of their performance. They were nothing short of amazing all weekend. Those kid's were just laser focused. 100% deserved it. Vandegrift was just so percise and flowing with their performance. Their shear size and what they can do with that size with the music and movements was stunning. They were such a easy pleasing enjoyable watch and listen. I REALLY loved watching and listening to their performance. Everything just felt so right. Any other year and it was there for them, but Hebron was just so good. Marcus? Wow! Yesterday they were good, but today they were great. I had no idea such a small band could have that much impact and power. Their music just flowed over and through you with such emotion and energy. One thing that impressed me was how well they played the soft parts. You could tell those kids just decided to go all in on this day and hold nothing back. Their music was just so pure and clean and they flowed with such grace and precision. They had by far the best pure music of any band I heard this weekend. I was close enough to see teary eyes on a good number of those exhausted kids when they finished and I'll admit I did too a little at that point. On this one day these 3 earned and deserved their spots.
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