rsb3

Yep, Stan Mauldin's the guy I was talking about.

Was your director the guy who made Holliday the powerhouse 1A that it's been for the past decade or so!? That's awesome. Holliday has been one of the most recognized 1A marching programs for a loooong time, they're excellent. Mel Hadderton is doing a wonderful job with Holliday now. They've been absent from SMC for the last 2 or three years. Mel helped get them back in the top 5 @ the SMC within her first year. They were ranked 3rd in the state last year! It's really interesting to see just how small of a world it actually is, finding a student under a former Holliday director! You're very lucky. Working under a director with large AND small school experience is so invaluable.

I love band. I think it's a great activity for anyone to experience, but I want to know how ya'll feel about marching band today. I'm a member of a small school, with a great tradition of excellence. My band is in the same boat as many 3A's and below. I love the productions that these larger bands do, with fantastic music, amazing guard work, crazy cool sets to march, and even props. My question is: How do you feel after watching small school bands, who don't have shows written for them and often use stock shows, or a large musical staff to assist, props, etc? I don't want to give off the impression that I'm critical at all, if I could be a part of any of the bands most of you are, I'd do it in a heartbeat! What your bands successfully accomplish is amazing, and something to be admired. I guess I'd just like to know what the general opinion is of small school bands like mine that love band just as much, and work just as hard. I'll say right off, when we watch videos of bands like L.D. Bell or Westfield (and so many others that I can't think of off the top of my head), my band is just amazed and complimentary. Many small schools just don't have the resources to pull off a show like Duncanville, but how do those of you who have been in the 4A's and 5A's look upon the shows like those of Holliday HS, Sundown HS, or even Canton HS and the small schools just like them? Again, I don't want to give off the idea that I'm trying to expose some sort of flaw within BOA or even 4A and 5A marching bands, it's not my intention at all. I just want to know how small schools are perceived by the big dawgs! Thanks for the insight!

We've been finished for a while as well. Now we're just cleaning and adding some nice GE. Hope all goes well for you and your band though. Don't worry though, I think you'd be surprised about how many bands are in your exact same situation! Good luck at region, I'm sure you'll do just fine!

I'm a HUGE DCI fan. I really want to get into drum corps by the time I graduate. My biggest hesitation for trying out is that I really don't understand how these kids balance school throughout the year and keeping up their attendance at camps. How do you go about getting into the drum corps world successfully?

Wichita Falls annually holds a pre-UIL marching contest every year, usually one week or so before Region contests begin. From what I understand, only area schools usually attend this contest (Rider, Burkburnett, Hirschi, etc...). This year's competition was held on Monday, the 9th. Anyone have scores or information on how this competition went?