2023 BOA San Antonio Super Regional (Nov. 3 & 4)

[Saxplayer6]

Hey if anyone has a vid of Wylie East can you send it to me? Thanks 😁

[Ruprecht88]

1 hour ago, goombatrony said:

It was a question- and the profile and previous posts would seem to indicate that. So to answer your question, no there was no assumption. 

“Would seem to indicate that” sounds like an assumption to me. Not a good look to also trash a program that may have no relation whatsoever to the initial comment, or any program for that matter. I do get where you’re coming from, as long as you’re not barking up the wrong tree. And I’m going to assume you’re a Rouse parent from your posts, if that’s okay. 

[goombatrony]

42 minutes ago, Ruprecht88 said:

“Would seem to indicate that” sounds like an assumption to me. Not a good look to also trash a program that may have no relation whatsoever to the initial comment, or any program for that matter. I do get where you’re coming from, as long as you’re not barking up the wrong tree. And I’m going to assume you’re a Rouse parent from your posts, if that’s okay. 

Not assuming anything on my end and to clarify your assumption, I am not affiliated with any of these bands. It was an observation. And with that being said, I am going to end this conversation and not allow fuel to be added to the fire. Besides, this should be a friendly place for discussions. 

[goombatrony]

Now change of topic from big bands to smaller bands. Did anyone else see the performance by Krum HS? That was IMO, and excellent display of how to perform with a smaller band. And that piano on the field. It was just brilliant and they sounded and looked great!! 

[BandFan50]

Kinda hard to change topics off of that, from what I've seen this user could just be a big vista fan, nowhere does it state that they themselves are affiliated with that program

[Ruprecht88]

3 minutes ago, goombatrony said:

Not assuming anything on my end and to clarify your assumption, I am not affiliated with any of these bands. It was an observation. And with that being said, I am going to end this conversation and not allow fuel to be added to the fire. Besides, this should be a friendly place for discussions. 

Yes this should be a place for friendly discussions. In that vein, maybe consider deleting your not-so-friendly one disparaging a program. If you’re not assuming, let us all know what we don’t know. I firmly stand by my assumption about you, I think it’s pretty solid. 

[david19c]

I went to a smaller, lower-income school in Austin but got to see Vista Ridge come into the spotlight in 2018. I am not affiliated with the band but was inspired by their growth and change and had become a fan of them. I do not lie when I say that Cedar Ridge parents have been disrespectful to me and my program. I do admit that my comments concerning Cedar Ridge and Rouse were out-of-hand, and that my concerns about the microphones are founded from a jealousy that my program could not afford shotgun mics to also enhance our sound. Once again, I am not affiliated with Vista Ridge and apologize for any harm to their reputation. 

[BandFan50]

5 minutes ago, david19c said:

I went to a smaller, lower-income school in Austin but got to see Vista Ridge come into the spotlight in 2018. I am not affiliated with the band but was inspired by their growth and change and had become a fan of them. I do not lie when I say that Cedar Ridge parents have been disrespectful to me and my program. I do admit that my comments concerning Cedar Ridge and Rouse were out-of-hand, and that my concerns about the microphones are founded from a jealousy that my program could not afford shotgun mics to also enhance our sound. Once again, I am not affiliated with Vista Ridge and apologize for any harm to their reputation. 

Some stuff was uncalled for but marching band is an emotional activity and very competitive, we've all been where you are at at some point whether publicly or privately, ty for the apology, you just seem like a very passionate fan of an amazing program 

[Ruprecht88]

2 minutes ago, BandFan50 said:

Some stuff was uncalled for but marching band is an emotional activity and very competitive, we've all been where you are at at some point whether publicly or privately, ty for the apology, you just seem like a very passionate fan of an amazing program 

Totally agree. 

[goombatrony]

34 minutes ago, david19c said:

I went to a smaller, lower-income school in Austin but got to see Vista Ridge come into the spotlight in 2018. I am not affiliated with the band but was inspired by their growth and change and had become a fan of them. I do not lie when I say that Cedar Ridge parents have been disrespectful to me and my program. I do admit that my comments concerning Cedar Ridge and Rouse were out-of-hand, and that my concerns about the microphones are founded from a jealousy that my program could not afford shotgun mics to also enhance our sound. Once again, I am not affiliated with Vista Ridge and apologize for any harm to their reputation. 

I completely understand. I too went to a lower income HS in Austin way back in the day and can understand being an avid fan of a great program. I too, apologize if this came across as anything but concerning. I am a big fan of any band program that is trying to make their mark in a good way. Not to mention new to online forums and sometimes let my emotions get the better of me. I have deleted my initial post and hope that this can be friendly moving forward. Like you, I am not affiliated in any way with any of these bands or their programs and am excited to see their progression. 

[Gehrig4]

5 hours ago, 11BandMan11 said:

The Finals performances this year were INCREDIBLE! It astounds me the level of musicianship, performance, visual control, etc. these HIGH SCHOOL students are achieving now! 

How many more BOA San Antonio contests with this INSANE depth of performances will it take before BOA realizes they need to make the San Antonio Super into the same PreLims, Semis, and Finals format as they currently have for Grand Nationals? 

Not throwing shade at any of the other amazing ensembles and contests that occur outside Texas and throughout the country, but if we're all very honest with the depth of competition at the San Antonio contest specifically, any of the ensembles that placed between 15th and 25th at BOA San Antonio and DID NOT make finals this year, would ABSOLUTELY be making Semis at Grand Nats, and many would push and make Finals as well if they went up this year. 

Knowing how much time, energy, money, etc. these programs invest into performing at San Antonio, I would LOVE to see more performance opportunities for more groups! Just my 2 cents! 

Looking forward to seeing #TeamTexas at Grand Nats this year!!!  

Can you imagine what it’s like for these students who are trying to improve and yet so are all the other bands?   It’s got to feel deflating for some - but that said - when you see the reactions of Bridgeland at UIL and some of these bands at BOASA when their name is called for finals - they know they’ve really achieved something special. 

[Austen]

41 minutes ago, david19c said:

I went to a smaller, lower-income school in Austin but got to see Vista Ridge come into the spotlight in 2018. I am not affiliated with the band but was inspired by their growth and change and had become a fan of them. I do not lie when I say that Cedar Ridge parents have been disrespectful to me and my program. I do admit that my comments concerning Cedar Ridge and Rouse were out-of-hand, and that my concerns about the microphones are founded from a jealousy that my program could not afford shotgun mics to also enhance our sound. Once again, I am not affiliated with Vista Ridge and apologize for any harm to their reputation. 

I think we can agree that the kids, instructors, and volunteers at all of these programs work their tails off to put their very best on the field every season. Describing a negative interaction you once had as "Cedar Ridge parents..." would (intentionally or not) attribute the negative sentiment to an entire community. As a Cedar Ridge band parent, I can assure you there's been no coordinated effort to be disrespectful to other bands. Quite to the contrary in fact! 

I can say however that those Vandy parents whistle too loud (you know who you are! 😜).

[Gehrig4]

1 hour ago, goombatrony said:

Now change of topic from big bands to smaller bands. Did anyone else see the performance by Krum HS? That was IMO, and excellent display of how to perform with a smaller band. And that piano on the field. It was just brilliant and they sounded and looked great!! 

That kid could flat out play.   And you could tell he was loving it!!

[Dallas Hobbs]

49 minutes ago, Gehrig4 said:

Can you imagine what it’s like for these students who are trying to improve and yet so are all the other bands?   It’s got to feel deflating for some - but that said - when you see the reactions of Bridgeland at UIL and some of these bands at BOASA when their name is called for finals - they know they’ve really achieved something special. 

It is truly heartwarming when you hear the cheers and screams from a program that has achieved something they’ve never done before, or something they haven’t done in a while. The tears just melt your heart💙. 
 

It’s also important to realize that while your group is doing what it can to improve, so is every other group! I hope programs realize, if they haven’t already, that their efforts are worth it and that sometimes you fall short of your goal only because someone else happens to reach theirs.

[mama_bear]

8 hours ago, Hard Core Band Fan said:

Many bands use shotgun mics and have been for a long time. It's mainly for projecting their woodwinds during woodwind features and aren't used throughout their show.

Really?? Anyone got a count on which finalists/bubble bands DON’T use this type of amplification?? Seems like it would really help the softer instruments contribute to the show

[Ruprecht88]

17 minutes ago, mama_bear said:

Really?? Anyone got a count on which finalists/bubble bands DON’T use this type of amplification?? Seems like it would really help the softer instruments contribute to the show

Most do not. Only 3 of the 14 finalists did. It’s totally within the rules and simply a choice. It can actually be pretty challenging to get right and avoid a tinny sounding brass, similar to blending bass synth levels to avoid making it clearly defined as synth and not the winds. It’s an art all of its own. 

[whitewing09]

I remember a story about how Bell parents used to hand out lollipops prior to Bell’s performance so that their fans would enjoy the candy during the performance instead of yell. I kinda wish more band parents did this. I’m all for supporting the students, but It got really distracting when parents would yell during their own students’ shows.
 

-something cool happens in guard- 

-parent yells during woodwind feature-

[whitewing09]

Also, I can’t say which band was doing this because I didn’t see their shirts, but there were band kids consistently talking through the shows, which was supremely annoying. Little comment periodically is fine, but some of these students were having full on conversations. 

[tubapop]

10 minutes ago, whitewing09 said:

Also, I can’t say which band was doing this because I didn’t see their shirts, but there were band kids consistently talking through the shows, which was supremely annoying. Little comment periodically is fine, but some of these students were having full on conversations. 

I really had to restrain myself from confronting the row of kids behind me during finals. Paid 300 bucks for tickets only to have a bunch of talkers behind me. I've asked people to shut it at other band contests before. But I'm working on being a kinder and gentler person 😄

[whitewing09]

5 minutes ago, tubapop said:

I really had to restrain myself from confronting the row of kids behind me during finals. Paid 300 bucks for tickets only to have a bunch of talkers behind me. I've asked people to shut it at other band contests before. But I'm working on being a kinder and gentler person 😄

I, too, practiced my serenity.

[Hard Core Band Fan]

13 minutes ago, tubapop said:

I really had to restrain myself from confronting the row of kids behind me during finals. Paid 300 bucks for tickets only to have a bunch of talkers behind me. I've asked people to shut it at other band contests before. But I'm working on being a kinder and gentler person 😄

I've had to do that to a bunch of band directors and guard instructors before. You would think they would be the first to respect others watching the shows.

[Miyazuu]

15 minutes ago, tubapop said:

I really had to restrain myself from confronting the row of kids behind me during finals. Paid 300 bucks for tickets only to have a bunch of talkers behind me. I've asked people to shut it at other band contests before. But I'm working on being a kinder and gentler person 😄

First of all...$300?!

Secondly, my partner sometimes like to do the half head turn like 😐 and look back at them when they're talking and then just turn back to watching the show. It usually ends up with them being quieter lmao.

[tubapop]

12 minutes ago, Miyazuu said:

First of all...$300?!

Secondly, my partner sometimes like to do the half head turn like 😐 and look back at them when they're talking and then just turn back to watching the show. It usually ends up with them being quieter lmao.

It was 4 of us, and we got seats on the 50

[Hard Core Band Fan]

15 minutes ago, Miyazuu said:

First of all...$300?!

Secondly, my partner sometimes like to do the half head turn like 😐 and look back at them when they're talking and then just turn back to watching the show. It usually ends up with them being quieter lmao.

I used to look back and stair at them until they shut up. And then I would thank them.

[MilBandDude]

21 hours ago, BandFan50 said:

The dance team is more of a tradition to the program at this point

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?