cordefrancais

It's on the Delta House Forums posted by one of the Asst. Directors. Dr. Ramon Vasquez is *back* at Spirit, now as Brass Caption Head. He was our fabulous Trumpet Tech in '06 before he worked with SCV last year. Ray is awesome!

I rarely check these boards because I'm not from Texas, but I do feel the need to reply to this comment. I agree with you; Spirit's hornline had issues with attacks and releases this year (there's a reason why we didn't get 12th or above in brass), BUT I would never place the blame on the technique taught by the staff. Chip Crotts wasn't able to be around in '07 as much as he was in '06, and during the season there were points when there was only one brass staff member on tour. I think the releases were an issue of inconsitency by the members. Being consistent is what separates the upper echelon from the lower echelon. I don't think everybody applied the information given to them, therefore resulting in some rough spots were I shudder a bit on the Finals recording (especially a lead trumpet at the end of the 3rd mvt.). Chip Crotts is a great teacher, and I think the horn line at Phantom Regiment is going to be pleased with him working alongside JD Shaw

Sorry for the delayed response. Our production is not on such a large scale. We have six main pieces. We have seven trumpets, five mello/horns, six trombone/euphs, and two tubas. We have a moderately sized battery and grounded percussion section. We have four true visual ensemble people, and the brass players will also be doing visual stuff too. We have our own design team including a music performance grad student running the music rehearsals, two people doing choreography/drill, two people arranging the brass music, one person arranging the percussion book, and I'm the "president" who does all the behind the scenes stuff like making sure everyone is doing their job.

I, being the college student with no life on a Friday night, watched the Field Pass for today. It was very informative, and I was surprised with the openness over financial issues. Almost makes me want to drive six hours north to check out the meetings in person, heh.

I saw Blast! live last year. I had watched the DVD before seeing the actual show. At my university, we're trying to put a full-time ensemble following this exact concept. We have the numbers and talent, but we don't necessarily have access to the equipment we need.

Money from the APDs go directly to the corps. Whenever you want a show, I highly suggest going that route.

I saw Madison '03 live at finals. Awesome cymbal line, and one of my favorite shows of the night.

Failure based simply on a show announcement? Ouch.

Has anyone here actually listened to the Cadets '06 show designer's comments on the Finals DVD? It's eye-opening and informative. You'll hear the word "mistake" used by the commentator. I think that shows that the Cadets were trying something innovative. Whether or not people received it well is all part of the trial and error process. I wish the best of luck to the 2007 Cadets. Here's to another great season of drum corps.

Why do I march drum corps and not own a single DVD of any show or any finals? Maybe my parents will actually buy it this year because I never saw the multicam. Boo.

haha. That was definitely "Go Hector!" I was one of the people in '05 he asked if I could yell it...Unfortunately, I had to view the show in the endzone of Gilette Stadium. I didn't say anything because that silent guard feature was my favorite part of the show.

I think it's the intro that pulls me in. The little bari/mello/soprano trio grabs my attention. For the rest of the show I'm blown away by dynamic contrast, especially the leading climax into Bottle Dance. Gotta love the "SCV" formation.

SCV '92: Fiddler on the Roof Not the cleanest musically or visually. In fact, it's a 7th place show....but it's my drum corps hype Yes to Bottle Dance.

Fact: Most upper drum corps don't have much difference in individual talent. It's the design and execution that brings things together. I say this because in the outside world, especially for music majors, the guy who marches Cavaliers could be sitting in a chair position lower than the person who marched Teal Sound for three years at college.

I'm a fan of the Holton MDC, but you can play whatever you think makes you sound the best. A lot of my friends like the Giardinelli's, but that also goes along with the Conn 8D cult. I'm a Yamaha rebel. O/T: Nice to see you like my horn icon I made a few years ago