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

In reality, dwelling on numbers can affect how you perceive your summer. With different judges, different number gaps, and some scores remaining the same for more than a week, you might begin to think your corps isn't getting better. It couldn't be farther from the truth because I've never seen a show digress by the end of tour. Some corps clean better than others; this is especially true with challenging dirty shows in the beginning of the season. If those challenging shows are cleaned well by the end of the season, it's rare that the show will peak early. If you're going to bed each night thinking that your experience is going to stink because your corps is going to be last place, what's the point? You should be going out and giving your all. If the judges give you a low score, that could be a design issue. In '05, my corps suffered in numbers because of the design of our program. There was nothing a member could do about this. At the end of the summer some people thought everything had gone to waste because we finished 21st after ranking below some other corps we had beaten all summer. Well, did they go out their and perform to the best of their ability? I sure bet they did; I did. My summer was not a waste because we didn't even get into semis. In '06, I didn't pay attention to the numbers because I knew the show was getting better as the horn book and drill cleaned up. My corps ranked relatively the same all summer with no corps below us beating us at any show. Meanwhile, we never ranked above the corps ahead of us. This means coming in 12th at every regional. Performing in finals as a 12th place corps was more fun than I even expected. You go in there with nothing to lose....so we pushed to the very end. I'm very proud of what we accomplished. If we fall out of finals this year, does that mean I'll have a horrible summer? Far from it. I came back this corps for the staff, the people, and the experience. The difference between 1st and 23rd place is not going to affect that.

No total show package has been confirmed by the Cadets. The other corps that mentioned Imogen Heap was VK. We don't know the different approaches being taken nor how this culminates with the visual program. For that matter, we don't know much about what's brewing for '07 by any corps. Placements flip flop the whole season...just look at Finals in '06. One thing I know for sure, it's going to be another kick butt summer for DCI. If you're marching, the placements will be the last thing on your mind. I'm out there to have the time of my life

I'm 99% sure everyone in Texas will have to bring their own brass instruments because the current corps horns are stored at JSU. With new Pearl drums and King horns, checking out instruments will be done at a later date for the 2007 members. Here's the Brass Audition Info and FAQ. So unless they put the horns in the equipment truck and ship them to Clements HS for the day, I'd play it safe and bring your own horn. Like Skippy said, it doesn't matter if it's concert or marching. If you're choosing between and Sousaphone and concert tuba, I'd go with the concert tuba.

I marched a summer of a poorly run corps, so I have a good comparison when I say Spirit is very well run. There will always be B.S. issues on tour no matter which corps your with. Some corps handle it better than others. Some things I was quite impressed with: - LOTS of floor time, i.e. pulled into Madison on the Monday of Finals Week at 9...didn't start rehearsal until noon - quality of instruction, hands down - fed well - staff cohesiveness - dealt with any problems responsibly - the attitude promoted by vets, staff, and the director - rehearsing with a purpose, no unnecessary punishments - getting things done in rehearsal even in short blocks - when there are free days on tour, they actually are free days Other corps friends have marched at that reported good organizations: - Colts - Glassmen - Boston Crusaders - Carolina Crown - Bluecoats - Cavaliers These are all within my own experience. All opinions are mine alone and not representative of an organization.

Bump! Less than two weeks until the audition :-) This is for brass, percussion, and guard. Interested? Just check out Spirit's website.

If anyone has any questions about what it's like to audition, how the summer tour runs, and what a general camp is like, feel free to drop me a line. I'll be a returning member this year. I march mello

SPIRIT Announces Texas Auditions Written by Joel Vincent Friday, 27 October 2006 Spirit from JSU is pleased to announce auditions on December, 16 at Clements High School in Sugar Land, Texas located approximately twenty miles Southwest of Houston. This is an outstanding opportunity for performers who can not travel to Jacksonville for the November, 24-26 Open House during this busy time of the year. The audition camp will be held from 9:00am - 5:00pm on Saturday December, 16. All participants should read the Audition Requirements and submit the 2007 Membership Application along with any additional forms as soon as possible. Please indicate on the membership application: TEXAS AUDITION. The discounted fee for this one day camp will be $50. Participants will need to bring their own instruments and equipment for use during the audition. We look forward to meeting all potential members as we prepare for an exciting 2007 season! For more info, please visit http://www.spiritdrumcorps.org