radchad

I really enjoy watching Richland's show. And I REALLY wanted to see Churchill. I heard the show is beautiful. Does anyone know why Churchill isn't going to GN this year?

D: Reminds me of Marcus's show in '05. During retreat, their guard would not sit still. I was sooo irritated and distracted. Lmao. I definitely agree. With such a clean show, Marcus could definitely go and kick some major butt at a competition like Grand Nationals. It's just so hard to compare Marcus and Bell. They are two COMPLETELY different bands. Both do COMPLETELY different shows. It'd be crazy to see them perform back to back.

So what about WGI? Who's going? What guard are you in? Who can you not wait to see? I'm in the Ars Nova "A" Guard. So I will definitely be in Dayton.

80% of the placings, in my eyes, were complete crap. It just seemed like the judges took aspects into account that DO NOT matter at this kind of contest. They seemed to forget how hard people worked, and that it's about the performance. The judges actually told a few bands that THEIR DRILL is the reason they were placed so low. Um, excuse me. Since when do you give a band a bad placing because of drill? It's about how THEY EXECUTE AND PERFORM THE DRILL THAT IS GIVEN TO THEM. You should NEVER dock a band because of drill. However, this does not include bands whose music and drill do not match up. Major props to Sachse. They sounded fantastic in finals. Great trumpet sound. They looked really clean, too. They should have been in top 5. Major props to Mansfield. Probably the best performance of the night. Great sound. Clean. Very entertaining. They should be proud to end the season on that note.

Just pointing this out... Summit only beat Mansfield by 5/10's of a point. That's how much there was between 5th and 9th place. Summit lost some luster from last year.

Btw, I'm rooting for Richland, Bell, and Woodlands. :] I have a question. Does anyone know why Churchill isn't going this year?

Are you sure it's not a 90 Band MINIMUM for Grand Nationals? That's what I had always been under the impression of.

I have a question. The Dallas Experience Camp for the Crossmen is the same weekend that the Texas tryouts are for the Bluecoats. I was really hoping to try out for both. Do I HAVE to go to the Crossmen Experience Camp in order to tryout in San Antonio? I was just wondering if anyone knew specifics.

Well, compare it to last year. Out of the 6 Texas bands that went, 4 made finals. All 6 made it to semis. That just goes to show you the talent here in Texas, especially put up against many bands that don't have the 8 hour rule. I think, basing it off of what I have seen this year, we can expect Bell, Richland, and Woodlands to do extremely well. I think we're looking at at least 4 in finals again.

I agree. Some bands are more theatrical than others. I think it works really well for some bands. Others have their own interpretation of a marching show, whether it be more traditional, more electronic, or more metaphorical. Every band has its own unique way of performing a show, which is why it is so hard to really know who is "the best" ya know?

Many bands have props at the back of the field, or around the field for many things. A few years back my high school had big purple backdrops around the outside of the field as a means of space fillers. We did a lot of our stuff in the middle and towards the front, so the back was really bare. This way, there'd be less "green" space to distract someone from the actual band. Other bands also put props at the back or something to bring out their theme a little more. If you were doing a show about space, you could place each of the planets at the back of the field. While they aren't used, it goes along with the theme and helps give the viewer a better feel of what the band is trying to portray. There's no rule that you HAVE to use any prop that is on the field. Sache high school had big backdrops that have pictures of an airport(I think) on them that aren't touched the whole show. Does this mean they shouldn't have them? Lake Highlands has big backdrops of a baseball stadium. Does this mean they shouldn't have them? Lmao. Did that make sense?

Are you sure about the harder book comment? (Just wondering.) I have seen both Bell and Marcus many times this season, and I have to say Bell's seems way more complex. Which is why I think Marcus outshines Bell at each of these contests. Don't get me wrong. Both bands are awesome. I'm in no way dissing either of them. I don't know if any of you will know.. but. Is there a reason the tubas in Bell's band sit on the sidelines for half the show? Haha. Just one of my curiosities.

I was shocked at just about every placing. I saw every band perform. Westlake deserved the win. Great sound. Awesome job. Yeah. Other than them and Bowie, I don't understand where everyone placed. x_x I must see different than judges. Props go out to: Westlake's musical performance. Mansfield's guard performance. Sache's show concept. Keller's 2 point jump to second.

I agree. It seemed to me that the design lacked the spark and originality that deserved that much hype. Haha, I am a biased when it comes to the Cadets. I find that year to year, much of the drill remains quite similar and there is never anything spectacular to remind me of the show.

Richland is going to do really well at Grand Nationals this year. Their show is very interesting and pulls you in from the beginning. The musical selections are great, and I applaude whoever wrote their drill. Definitely some of the best drill I have seen so far this season. Richland is back. :]

Mansfield Legacy isn't going anymore. That is where I tech. Since it is outside the district or something dumb like that, the school won't pay for the busses. So it would have to come out of the pockets of the band parents, and that can't happen. So. Haha.

Well I have to agree with what you said. I have more moments than actual shows. I loved the 2006 Devils show live. I don't really like it on video. So I don't know. Haha. If we're talking the best, I would say no. It's just one of my favorites. :]

NoNo. Not at all. I was just saying that they deserved what they got.

Phantom deserved top three. After reviewing that show over and over again in comparrison to the three corps that did make top three, PR deserved top 3. I also think the Bluecoats were shafted. Now, the drill design lacked in parts, but I think the Guard was way overlooked all season. I think they had one of the strongest percussion ensembles this year as well. And the brass line was kick ****. One of these reasons I think was the overhyping of Crown. I admit, they came out of nowhere, but the only part of their show I cared for was the music. And we all know just music doesn't win a show. Bluecoats deserved at least top 5. That's it, really. I heard people say the Crossmen, Madison Scouts, and Boston Crusaders were. I don't really agree. Watch their championships performances again and then decide. Lmao. Dan Potter was interviewing the band director at the high school I tech at earlier this season. I managed to shake his hand and asked him what he thought about the bluecoat's placing this year. He goes.. "They were robbed of a good placing." I found that quite humorous.

From what I have seen... You either like George Hopkins or you don't. I don't, but it's not really for the whole PROP and VOCALS thing. (Although, I think both years it could have been toned down a bit.) There are other situations that George Hopkins has been involved in that make me angry. I won't get into those, though. xD Anyway. I was really rooting for the 'Coats this year. They've had AWESOME show concepts in the past few years. I think the ONLY thing lacking is drill design. Parts of it didn't fit or didn't make sense. Hopefully they kick butt next year. And SCV. I definitely agree with what you said. They've handled all the staff changes over the past few years really well. D: I was horrified in '05 when they lost a lot of their staff. I felt bad for 'em, yet they still managed 8th place at championships? I can't quite remember. I am trying out for the 'Coats and SCV this year. So we'll see. :]

'99 Santa Clara Vanguard - Inventions for a New Millenium. That show moves. Excellent drill writing. Amazing execution. '96 Phantom Regiment - A Defiant Heart. The music in this show is probably one of the best musical performances in DCI history. The dynamic effect was genius, and the GE was crazy. Drill could have been better, but this show rocks. '04 Cavaliers - 007. This show deserved to win that year. Genius drill writing, guard work, and theme. The band protrayed the theme excellently and brough out some of my most favorite drill moves in marching band history. The ending is just crazy. Hauling butt and playing wicked music. Major props. '01 Blue Devils - Away Day Blue. Awesome percussion. The dynamic effect in this show was just insane. This was my first live DCI show. The drill was crazy at times, too. Love this show. '06 Phantom Regiment - Faust. Gah! AWESOME show.. period. Amazing music, amazing guard, amazing technique. This show just blows my mind. From the 190+ beats a minute french horn rips and triplets, to the baritones playing trumpets as well. Bah. They should have won! '07 Bluecoats- Criminal. I don't care what anyone says. This was a crazy-original show. The guard was soooo awesome this year. They definitely were overlooked. The concept was amazing. Loved the music. EXCELLENT brass line. Vocal parts were genius. Loved the opening of the brief case. :] '06 Blue Devils - Godfather Part Blue. This show live was.. GAH. Boy oh boy. Drum Corp and the Godfather. Can't beat that. Genius drill writing is all I will say.

I paid extra attention to the things that would get you a penalty. In finals, I am pretty sure Marcus had pit equipment over the red line. They weren't the only ones, either. I could be wrong, so don't quote me.. lol.

? Who hates who for having their own opinion? I asked them a serious question, then stated what I saw. I was hoping to get a response to see what they thought as well. It's called discussing. Excuse me for coming off as "rude." Did I sound hateful or spiteful? Rereading it, I don't exactly think I did. If I did, I appologize, but I was merely stating my opinion in response to that post.

Sorry to quote your post, but what exactly were you watching when you saw westfield? Yes, I'll give you the euphonium solo. It was excellent and beautiful. Many parts of the music were quite fantastic as well. However, they were extremely dirty drill wise. Lines were horrible, transitions were non-existent. There were a few tuning issues in the music as well. I didn't have them in finals. When I saw finals, I did not think they should have been as high up as they were.

Whether or not the entire last part was the Soldier Boy dance.. Hebron was very clean and they sounded pretty good. Hebron should have made finals and Westfield shouldn't have. Westfield = Dirty prelims performance both musically and visually.