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So, I've been asked to remove my original post about the Marcus Band Program. I was told that because I do not know the Marcus director, Ms. Drinkwater, I have maybe misrepresented their band program in my above statement, despite my intentions. Let me explain my above post, to clear up any confusion about my original post. When I attended BOA Arlington, I asked several band parents exactly how Marcus brings such a beautiful sound to the field. What I posted above is exactly what the parents told me. No, I don't know Ms. Drinkwater, or any students in the Marcus band... but I just posted what those band parents told me. I was also notified that I may have taken credit away from the middle school directors. I never meant that at all, obviously, they are doing a superb job! I hope nobody else feels that I have done so, either. All I was saying was that the Marcus band parents I talked to, said Ms. Drinkwater was heavily involved in the feeder program prior to becoming the Head Director for the Marcus band. Those parents also said that those middle schoolers were, in fact, playing some amazing music. I was also notified that the middle schoolers were more of a subject of an emphasis on fundamentals. I just assumed that when I said "the middle schoolers play top notch repertoire," it was understood they are receiving an strong emphasis on fundamentals. My original post regarding the Marcus Band Program purely complimentary towards everyone involved with that program. While I am confident that I didn't misrepresent the band program, I certainly understand the concern which was brought to my attention, and appreciate the politeness! Again, misrepresentation was certainly not my intention. I will delete my original post, because I feel that the member who brought this to my attention obviously feels strongly about it, and I respect that. I do hope that no one feels like they've been misrepresented, I apologize if they do. If you feel that I've misrepresented you, anyone is welcome to reply to my posts and correct me. Nobody's perfect, especially myself. I think this is a great community. Thanks for being so nice! I wish more people would say "hey, you might want to keep this in mind," like the individual who messaged me. Very mature, very polite, very respectful. I'm still a Marcus Band fan though oh, and, Congrats LD Bell and all the other Texas bands @ Grand Nats, you've made us proud.

Oh, I had no idea this had already been posted on the BOA forums. I just stumbled upon these videos last night on YouTube. Regardless, it's amazing. I wonder how many hours they work to achieve this precision?

These are the most perfectly executed shows I've ever seen... they're like HS drum corps (although they have woodwinds). Their drill is crazy hard, and so is their music! Oh, and the guard is just... indescribable. You just have to watch these videos... there are more, you have to watch these!

2A finals results! 1. Queen City HS, Queen City 1 1 1 1 1 2. Holliday H S, Holliday 2 2 2 5 3 3. New Boston H S, New Boston 4 3 4 2 4 4. Clifton HS, Clifton 3 4 3 3 6 5. Anahuac HS, Anahuac 5 5 5 6 2 6. De Kalb HS, De Kalb 7 6 6 4 7 7. Panhandle H S, Panhandle 6 7 7 7 5

Any other impressive finalist bands?

Wow, the whole idea of this article is ridiculous in my opinion. There are a multitude of national statistics which prove that students involved in fine arts extracurriculars (specifically music-oriented) have higher grades on average. Secondly, that committee should listen to that director who pointed out the fact that bands up north practice 24+ hours a week. Quite frankly, that should tell everyone how great Texas bands and their directors are when compared to the rest of the nation... we can practice 8 hours every week and still out-score and out-place most other bands across the US. I'd also be mad if those parents quoted in the article were involved with my band program somehow. If I was a director, I'd prefer concerned parents to come talk to me before getting placed on a committee, as well as telling the newspaper that you think I work my kids too hard, despite the fact that I'm bound by rules which fall well below the national average... Just my opinion. Let's just hope the statistics speak to this committee, for the sake of the bands in this area... those are some great programs that would be deeply affected **EDIT** I forgot to say that the parent who said "band isn't life blah blah blah... my kid should be able to take a trip with the family blah blah blah." Yes, band students should be able to spend time with their families on weekends. But they have to keep in mind that by being in band and signing the papers (handbook acknowledgment pages, codes of conduct, etc..), your child makes a commitment. And committing to things long-term is a part of the real world. Do these parents think that when their kids go to college or get jobs that they won't be working crazy weekly schedules for the sake of meeting tough deadlines? Besides, I don't know of any band who doesn't tell their kids what they expect, and what the students should expect for the year... It's not like these parents were just blind-sighted by the practice and performance schedules of these bands. C'mon people!

I dunno if I completely agree, although I do agree to a point. My band directors told me about a high school doing a Cavies show note for note... Now that I disagree with. But adding in some DCI music to your show doesn't bother me too much. I think at this point, marching band has evolved to a similar "look and feel" that DCI notorious for. Besides, DCI has had a huge impact on that evolution. But I agree with you for the most part. Come up with your own, original, marching show. Go right ahead and add a few DCI licks or even whole parts into your show, just don't let it overtake it and become the focus for your show!

Anyone know the Area A results? I haven't been able to find these anywhere... the schedule online says that finals begin @ 6:30, so I know the finals line-up has been announced!

Man, this was an AWESOME contest! Finals was great. LD Bell's show will be great, no doubt about it... but it definitely feels incomplete and kind of unexciting as of yet. I talked to some of Bell's band parents, and they still have 3 movements to put on the field. I have full confidence the final product will be another amazing LD Bell production! Marcus was just awesome. They have an amazing sound. It's just so pure. I can't think of any other way to describe it... They were by FAR the best show tonight. Botanika is a great production. The lady bug is a great touch! It's very obvious that their Director is a female because the details in this show are plainly that of a woman's touch, and there isn't a dang thing wrong with that! It's just so good with those details! Coppell was awesome too! Their sound was beautiful. Now, when I say "their sound was beautiful," I don't mean to imply that other bands tonight had "bad" sound, because EVERYONE sounded good tonight... others just sounded exceptional, and Coppell was one of those (also including Marcus). Their drill was super clean, one of the cleanest of everyone tonight. This show was one of my favorites! I honestly hated that Hebron didn't make finals... they've got a wonderful show called "Waves," and it's just downright cool. They were kind of messy, but I seriously felt they did better than Owasso and Berkner. Owasso just had some awkward drill that didn't fit with their music in my opinion. Some of their members also had some REALLY messy transitions between sets... Berkner was also a little messy compared to their fellow finalists. I liked their show, but like Haltom, Richland, and Westfield, it just didn't stand out to me much. They had some tuning issues, along with some low/high brass horns sticking out audibly above the ensemble sound. Anyway, I think Hebron deserved a spot in finals. Their show left an impression on me. I hate that they didn't get to perform again. Their show is going to be really good though! Overall, everyone did a fine job tonight. This was my first BOA event to see live, and it was a blast! All the parents around us were too friendly, and reminded me why band parents are the real fans... they're in it for ALL of the kids, even the ones that aren't their own! Good job to everyone, I only saw the end of prelims and all of finals, but what I did see was so cool! Thanks!

Did anyone see Holliday HS perform? How was it? I realize that they're a 2A school, but since their director changed, they've had some great shows. They're doing Medusa this year. Any good?

Get ready, because it could very well happen again. Will's Point is also awesome. They had a beautiful show last year, the drill was great, but the sound was just spot on. Their color guard also adds some great visuals to their shows. Definitely. Last year they were scoring higher than some major 5A and 4A bands at pre-UIL contests. I expect the same again this year. This isn't the right Canton HS I don't think. That sounds like the Arranger's Publishing Co. West Side Story show... and the sound from that band is way too bad for it to be Canton (even if it IS outside). So get ready ladies and gentlemen, the 3A powerhouses are coming to town!

Me and a friend are leaving around 1 on Saturday after our weekend rehearsal. Hopefully we won't miss too much! But as of now, I'll be there!

In 3A, I'm going to go with Hidalgo. They had an amazing program before Canton dominated the SMC, legendary actually. They're finally starting to emerge as a powerhouse 3A. In 4A, S.H. Rider High School has a new director in his 2nd year at the school. He's completely revamped the program, giving them a much more modern technique and show design in general. In 2 or so years, I'm sure they're going to be fighting for area final spots.

Eh, I wouldn't classify myself as an equivelent to the Band President. Not sure how ya'll do it (I may very well be comprable to a Band president in your band), but All the Head Band Manager does is take care of equipment and uniforms, as well as lead the team that helps him. We still have a band council, which the Head Band Manager sits on... but the Pres. in our band conducts band business, updates the boosters at meetings, etc... they don't have much to do with the equipment/uniform stuff at all.

The summer is quickly approaching (but not fast enough), and that means it's time for my band to choose student leaders. I will be trying out for Drum Major soon, but because I was our Assistant Band Manager this past year, if I do not make the cut for DM then I will move into the Head Band Manager position. This means I've got to sit with the directors and discuss which students (who applied) will be the best band managers for the next school year. For those who may not know what a "band manager" is, maybe because there's another term for it in your band- they're students who primarily help load the trailer keep inventory on our uniforms. I kind of want to tweak the system that's been used for band managers in the past. To be specific, I really want a "team" more than "hey you've been appointed to this, so go do this now" feeling. Also, I have friends in other bands where their loading crews and uniform crews have positions such as lieutenant and so on. Another goal of mine is to form a small team that can be easily managed, but still gets things loaded for football games quickly, efficiently and most of all, safely. How does your band take care of your band managers? Are they given titles like captain, lieutenant and so on? Any other extra information on these student positions would be awesome as well! Thanks!

In our band, the drumline's usually trying to jack around in some shape, form, or fashion. People then proceed to grumble. In English. Then the hispanic individuals (they proclaim themselves as the "Mexican Mafia") sometimes get mad at the members of the "Anglo Alliance." Insults sometimes fly in both Spanish and English. This really isn't a huge issue though, it's usually just a small number of people. Overall we've got a nice, big, Spanglish speaking family

Yep! That's EXACTLY why DCI/BOA prices are so drastically different than other DVD titles. The factors you speak of (too many to list or get into) pretty much count for the $100 price tag. And yes, it does suck... maybe we should all just make a TxBands General Media Fund for us poor members who can't buy the CD's and DVD's. Who's with me!?

Yes... I'm joking you. Do you really have any idea how time consuming video editing is? Hours are spent just to make sure transitions are smooth, audio is correctly lined up, etc... And that just counts for mere seconds out of the full video. Imagine just how many hours are put into making a quality DVD with HOURS of video on it. The DCI and BOA DVD's are different in the fact that they just don't involve a menu screens. Realistically, I would say that $100 is a fair price for those DVD's just because of the sheer volume of video packed onto the disc. When you've got hours of video like the Grand Nats or Finals Night DVD's, lots of editing has to be done so that it actually looks professional. While I don't like paying $100... that doesn't mean that I won't admit that it probably is the correct price. And i'm not a huge fan of illegally downloading music. Also, as far as being willing to pay $2.99 for an APD - I'd do it - I just feel that price is inflated. The actual file format of the DCI tracks bugs me more than the price. I too am happy to support a corps in many ways, hope I didn't give the opposite impression.

If the media portion of TxBands doesn't come back up, I'm pretty sure that people will find their ways to get their hands on the tracks they want. The commonly mentioned problem is the price placed on the CD's and DVD's produced. Although I don't like seeing a $100 price tag on the Grand Nat'l or DCI Finals DVD, I understand why it's so expensive. So much is put into those DVD's. The time it takes to edit, add special features, etc... is just plain time consuming, so I understand the pricing. On the DVD's. From what I've seen, the CD's seem to be relatively affordable. Personally, I wish Music for All and DCI would just put their music on iTunes and other music services. Buying $2.99 recordings from DCI is ridiculous to me... you can't tell me that a recording of Phantom Regiment (a recording where sounds are constantly in different places, causing quality issues every-so-often) is worth more than a single song off of a John Mayer album recorded in a studio. If my logic is flawed, please explain this to me. Even if DCI or Music for All didn't move to music download services, they could at least use mp3's, a file format that could be used on ALL portable music devices (besides, iPods make up about 90% of the portable music device market share)! Plus, they have more to gain than lose by seeling their music on iTunes and similar services. Both activities would definitely gain more exposure, which I think would be great! This crazy marching band/drum corps thing definitely has a niche market,which happens to be pretty widespread (just look pay attention to the crowd shown on the DCI/Grand Nats DVD's). To me, the move to iTunes is a no brainer, it's simply more money and more exposure. As they say in the PR world, "No publicity is BAD publicity!"

I really don't understand why your school district would do that... When new high schools are opened up, districts usually shuffle outgoing 8th graders from one jr. high and 9th graders to the newest campus before the next school year starts. I can see a drop in your band's membership, but not enough of a school-wide drop to drop a classification! How exactly did your school district go about placing kids into the new high school? What grades?

Broken Arrow's guard looked awesome... The uniforms look good, the girls are good at what they do, and the girls have the figure to wear the uniforms. I'm not trying to jab at anyone either... but all too often (at least in 3A) there are these guard members who are in these tight-fitting outfits that just "hug" everything... But BA just had a good looking guard, and after watching the streaming video, they've definitely got their act together. Broken Arrow Marching Band Grand Nationals Media Gallery

How do you manage your time between camps? How expensive does everything get? Should I plan to be able to pay for more than what regular corps expenses due to camps as well (I may have asked this question before... but I really don't remember )?

Do corps give music out beforehand for auditionees to practice? How do you get it?

I'm planning on trying out for a drum corps in the upcoming years. What are some tips ya'll have for going into an audition? What is expected? What do you have to do? How many people usually show up for these camps? And as a side question, I'm planning on trying out on the Baritone (I play trombone currently, but I'm going to pick up the baritone in the coming weeks with a director), what are usually the most competitive sections? If you make the "cut" to go on to more camps, what are some tips for ensuring you stay at your personal best so that you may still compete at the proper level? I also would've put this in the "drum corps auditions 2007," thread, but didn't want to stray too far from the original topic of "who" everyone was auditioning for.

The main reason I don't like concert season is the fact that I usually start to doze off occasionally. The problem is that I'm up late some nights doing homework for AP classes, and then we have lunch right before band, which happens to be the last period of the day (block scheduling, A days and B days, 4 periods a day). Our director gives us an extra 15 minutes to eat as well while the rest of the school has to be back by 1:30. We get 30 or 45 minutes into band and everyone's blood sugar has dropped back down quickly, making everyone drowsy (but it usually only seems to be me when this happens). It sucks... because I really like concert band, staying awake is just a battle every once in a while. Being a trombone, our parts usually can be mastered rather quickly with practice since we're usually the accompanyments. We also have some of the best musicians in our section, so we really don't get tons of work in-class when it comes to tuning or rhythm. We all just usually do our thing right the first or second time, we all know what our director looks for in music and mold to his tastes should he add or work something, so we get it done! (for those of you who don't know, when you eat a large amount of food in a relatively short amount of time, your blood sugar rises. When your blood sugar falls back down to a normal-ish level, you become drowsy. I'm sure many of you have experienced this in some kind of class! But that's just a little explanation of what I was saying above )