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Cavalier's 2006: The Machine Phantom Regiment 2003: Harmonic Journey Phantom Regiment 2006: Faust Our directors just got the '06 DVD shipped in today after ordering it months ago! The finals version of 'The Machine' is absolutely crazy! I have to say that is one of my favorite shows of all time, and I just don't know whether I liked Cavies or P. Reg's show more. But 'Faust'... that music just blows you away, and the classic showmanship combined just gives you goosebumps. 'Harmonic Journey' is my favorite from '03, that music is up there with 'Faust,' but it's just not as intense, which is why it's dropped to my 2nd favorite Phantom show... Honorable Mentions: Santa Clara Vanguard 1989: Phantom of the Opera This show is still timeless. Wonderful all around. The fact that they used the same theme the year before also makes their first place finish just sweet. Mmmm justice Phantom Regiment 1989: New World Symphony Another classic that's great, very close in the quality to SVC's show that year. Excellent sounds! Velvet Knights 1988 : Magical Mystery Tour (Part II) VK show that includes marching in converse sneakers. Nuff' said Star of Indiana 1992/1993: American Variations/Music of Barber and Bartok American Variations just hits a tone with me because it's just a great tribute to our nation, and it's so... I dunno, just amazing. And Star '93 was crazy revolutionary. Love it!

Our 2nd band hall was turned INTO a locker room for our JV and freshman athletic teams. We used the 2nd hall for our concert/symphonic bands (which were done away with when the hall was taken away), sectionals, storage, etc... Apparently, the administration just came in and said "Hey, we're turning your bandhall into a locker room, have a great marching and concert season!" No warning or anything. That second hall had huge office/storage space which helped keep everything really organized, but because of the abrupt nature of how the directors were notified, they had to quickly move everything into the small attic of our current band hall. Now it's just... not a good situation as far as organization goes. But now that old bandhall has showers, lockers, unused offices, and a janky smell of misc. Axe scents hanging around all the time. It's really unfortunate to see the sad shape of that old building now.... Our current directors said it was such a great thing to have, and was kept in great shape too. Now we have one hall which is new-sh, but no place to hold multiple sectionals, and storage is a major issue. We also have a 110-piece concert band! Luckily we all work well together most of the time, so the size isn't so much of an issue when playing tough music. It sucks, but we're managing. Our school district is also trying to pass a bond for a new HS, our current one is decades old, so that probably will equal some great facilities in the next 2 or 3 years. All is not lost!

Allen. I've heard several coaches who absolutely hate the fact that Allen plays so loud, players can't even hear each other. I love it... and I am jealous

Dynasty, I can see your avatar. I'd give it a 7.

I've been thinking of some new fundraising ideas for my band, and I have a few but would like to make a much more comprehensive list. What fundraisers does your band use? Which fundraisers bring in the most money for your band, and which is the most popular? Thanks for the help!

And I agree with you to a large extent! I remember when I first came upon Skramp's Place, the first thing I thought was "is this even LEGAL!? Who cares, this is awesome!" Oh well... someone else is just going to have to get these movies online somewhere else... let's hope Skramp put these on Google Video.

I personally don't mind singing or chanting in a show as long as it doesn't get in the way of the music or overall concept. I tend to not like those shows that have stupid dialogue that has to feed you cheesy narration so that the audience can actually figure out what your show's theme/story is. This isn't always the case with me though. One year Richland opened a show where the narrator was depicted life of a child quickly growing up to an adult. I didn't mind that much, but the narration was in the beginning of the show though. I also don't mind props. I like my props in moderation, though. More than anthing though, I love a show with some crazy drill spots that are marched cleanly with some cool, flasy GE spots as well. If a band can give me some cool drill off and on throughout the show, and give the audience some really sweet GE, I won't complain about props or voices whatsoever! EDIT: I just realized that this article is a few months old. All I read was the initial thread post, and the one above mine, which was only a few days old. Sorry

I wish! My HD is only so big! Now, if we made this a team effort, maybe we could actually do this!

It's a 5A state year, and Reagan's show was much more fine tuned for the UIL Marching contests. LD Bell is also relatively new to the BOA scene. I don't know how long they've been in attendance, but I believe it has only been about 5 or 6 years (anyone know for sure? Correct me if I'm wrong!). Anyway, the explanation for Reagan's so called "not doing too well compared to previous years," is probably due to the fact that much of what bands put into their shows for BOA just doesn't translate the same in UIL. This is mostly due to differences in the amount of possible points that can be given to a band for marching, music, and visual. The point system in both events is just different, as are both contests. Overall though, I'm in agreement that one of these two bands will win Grand Nationals in the near future. Whether or not it'll be next year or the year after that, I don't know, but it would be pretty awesome.

I just went to Skramp's and there is a notice which reads: "Per a mutual agreement, Skramps will no longer be operating. Thank you for your patronage through the years and for making this site what it was.Please continue to support the activity. -Skramp" This is just on the heels of GN! Why did you have to go! This website arguably had the largest repository of high school marching band videos and MP3's. This really stinks...

Welcome to small town life . This is something we all see in Small Town, Tx, America! Yes it sucks, but it ain't changing anytime soon, which is rather unfortunate at times... That girl who flipped her SUV with 3 people in it while also being drunk is extremely lucky they were ok. And if she didn't get a ticket in your case, then your law enforcement has serious issues, that offense wouldn't go unpunished here.

CONGRATULATIONS TO MARCUS! Way to go guys! I'll have to say, I still just can't imagine how wonderful it would've been to have LD Bell the State Champ and go on to win Grand Nats. That would have just been a dream come true for every marching band student across Texas! Marcus, ya'll have done such an INCREDIBLE job this year. Everyone at the state contest this year, both 3A and 5A were so deserving. Nobody should have any doubt in their minds about their band's ability, just making it to this contest is a major statement in itself. Congrats to Canton and Marcus, and props just have to be given to LD Bell as well. Thanks for giving us a contest for the ages! P.S. I'm going out on a limb and calling LD Bell's show is going to be one that rival's Spring's '93 performance come Grand Nats.

Well then you must be about to absolutely shoot somebody then, because this has been going on for YEARS!

Absolutely correct. The UIL judging system stinks. This is not just people being sour (although there are those who just whine because they don't get what they want). Something needs to be done. The problem I see is that there is NO accountability for these guys. While every judge may be a great person, with a great program or reputation behind them, that still doesn't account for the completely off the wall rankings and scores they give. I just can't understand that since this has been happening for forever it seems, that nobody in the UIL office hasn't looked at these rankings and said "dang, that's so inconsistent... Oh Wow! It's just not happening at the state level, it's also happening at our area contests! Maybe we should come up with an effective system!" It just blows my mind... EDIT: I also think that hearing mulitple directors from different schools with great programs say "I've just stopped trying to figure out judging at the Area and State level..." That's just not acceptable...

I know they make them, but I've never seen them distributed widely for the masses. But I could be wrong! Please point me to where I could buy a dvd.

That's what I wanted to say... but I didn't want to say anything that I couldn't confirm since it's such a personal subject. It's really is unfortunate that little incident happened, but it looks like things are really turning out for the better once again! It's just a testament to what students can do when they want something that bad. This has definitely been a great year of triumphs and comebacks (kind of an oxymoron in this case, but still lol)! Now for the bloodbath that WILL be the 5A State Marching Contest tomorrow!

What happened to Argyle? They kind of sliped from their placement in prelims! Not that Canton wasn't deserving, I wasn't there, I was just surprised to see them drop 4 places! No matter though, this had to be one of the most memorable SMC's in Texas history. Congrats to everyone! It was also great to see a military band do so well! That's just so cool, gah I wish UIL made DVD's like BOA because I'd totally buy this years'!

3A STATE MARCHING CONTEST PRELIMINARY RESULTS: 1. ARGYLE HS 2. Canton HS 3. Canyon HS 4. Wills Point HS 5. Rio Hondo HS 6. Crystal City HS 7. Pleasant Grove HS 8. Princeton HS 9. Whitesboro HS 10. Pittsburg HS 11. Hidalgo HS 12. Port Isabel HS 13. Medina Valley 14. Atlanta HS 15. Taylor HS 16. Glen Rose HS 17. Monahans HS 18. Robinson HS 19. Kennedale HS 20. Andrews HS I can't believe that Argyle's going in first! This is a total surprise to me! Way to go Argyle! I realize that this is only prelims though, tons can happen in finals! Good luck everyone!

I'm trying to add some color to my signature, but I don't understand how... When I pick a color for my text, a is placed at the end of the text in my signature. Still, nothing changes.... I'm trying to get my signature to look something like n3rdu5s' if that helps. How do I add color to my signature's text?

So what is it about Bell's show that makes it so "scary" or "freaky?" I've heard all about this ominous theme, but don't really understand. Is there some underlying plot that their music is referring to? What is it?

Is this because it's a state year for them? (I'm thinking you're probably going to answer yes lol)

Ok, someone please answer this question for me: Is Ronald Reagan going to Grand Nats? I just went to the BOA site and looked under the "enrolled bands" link, only to find Ronald Reagan NOWHERE! Am I just missing something? At first I thought I just missed it, but I honestly can't find it on their performance schedule for the day...

Princeton had a really interesting show. I liked their "Titans" theme. The show was obviously loud and intense throughout. I admire the fact that they have staff who are so musically talented that they can write music like this (I'm almost positive that this was an 'in house' show, written by their directors). I know some may not think much of this band's show music, but I find it extremely impressive that a band has a young staff that can write like this. Anyone who can compose for band in my opinion deserves respect. While the judges were verifying results for finals competition, they handed out participation awards for every band. Princeton's drum major just moves forward for his award, pulls off his shako and **POOF** this huge afro pops out. It was awesome. Very funny. Whitesboro almost didn't make it to the state marching contest from what I heard, but I can't confirm this either. I'd have to go back and look onto our Prelims ranking sheet of all the bands before finals. But I'm pretty sure they got hit with some inconsistency in the judging department. They apparently made a HUGE comeback during their finals run. I've never seen them perform, but I've heard some recordings... man, they can play very musically. I was impressed when listening. Wills Point had a really nice show. It wasn't too over the top intense. I liked it, very refreshing. The thing that stood out most in the beginning was their huge color guard. Each guard member starts out weaved throughout the forms kind of, and immediately pick up these shiny pink, long flags whose poles only extend to about the wrist. It was just a cool effect. WP's marching was EXTREMELY clean. Every aspect of their forms had hardly any problems from what I could see. Their drill had many curves which just looked awesome. This show was executed so well. After watching WP perform, I really can only describe this show as classy, both visually and musically. Argyle did have one of the hardest shows musically. But when you've got a large number of music majors from UNT dropping by to help the kids out after hours, they'd better be able to play like they do. It's really impressive actually to hear the winds to play these amazing musical runs during certain points of the field. Their music reminded me of a Ronald Reagan show. I remember it was arranged by Aaron Guidry if that helps anyone. Argyle's marching was probably the dirtiest of the top 5. Their marching drill was tough, and they did execute it very very well. There are several DCI moves found throughout this show. I just liked seeing this band perform, they're doing such a great job. I also noticed they didn't have a colorguard, which was interesting, although you really didn't notice it until the end of the show. You find yourself saying "Wow, that was a great show. That was just coo-- they didn't have a colorguard!" Canton of course just had an amazing show. I only saw a short portion of it, but what I did see was very nice. These guys have been to the SMC since 1998. They know what it takes to get there. These kids just play and march the heck out of everything, and with great quality as well. I havent' ever seen Hidalgo, but they used to be the guys to beat in 3A. From the stories I've heard about Hidalgo, they were apparently Canton times two, then something happened to their director. But these guys are back from the dead, which is really nice to see. Let's hope they can get themselves back to where they were years ago! Sorry for the long post, but I was at this contest and saw 3 of the 5 bands in the top 5, so I couldn't help it!

This is just awful... To even think about all of the hard work and dedication put forth by the Americas HS members kind of puts a lump in my throat. While Bel Air will represent them well, I just can't see it being the same... What really makes me feel bad for these guys is not only the hard work they've put in as a whole, but also those band seniors who have to graduate not seeing the Alamodome on their last year in band, especially after being so close. I've heard several opinions which have said that this was a director's fault, which I'm going to partially agree/disagree with. While the director should have known about this ineligible students' presence, every band student know just how stressed out directors are on contest days. I can see how this easily slipped their attention. But at the same time, it's kind of sad to think that one person knowingly violated UIL's no pass - no play policy (I refuse to believe that anyone who's ever been in any extracirricular activty does NOT know what the UIL's policy is on participation) which resulted in total disqualification. Very unfortunate indeed. To all AHS members reading, we know you're true champs who deserve every bit of the recognition you've earned this year and in the past. Stay proud, you have nothing to be embarassed or ashamed of, even in the wake of this truly disheartening news... Keep your tradition of excellence up! Bel Air, good luck at state. Ya'll do a find job representing your area, the best of luck to you. Be sure to kick some butt for AHS and the other bands back home, I'm sure they're rooting for you!

I love PR's current white look, but those khaki uniforms they used a few years back looked awesome to me. I loved that homage to their early years, something about that updated classic just hit it off great for me. Not a fan of their black uniforms, sorry. I loved the show, just not the uniforms! I know I'm in the minority, sorry guys.