Donezo

Coppell and Allen are attending as well. Good luck finding seats and parking!

Allegedly Tom Shine has said this was inspired by Poteet 1997. That move almost got Poteet disqualified in state prelims and a similar move almost got them disqualified in 1999 state finals! Contest officials were apparently unclear as to what constituted an "instrumental cadence."

Any word on who's going? All I know thus far are Marcus and Poteet. I imagine most of the perennial competitors like Wylie, Allen and Sherman will attend. Perhaps Keller will return to defend their title?

Poteet and J. J. Pearce are coming as well. I would expect a few more big 4A names to pop up soon as this is a popular contest for 4A's in non-state years.

Have you ever had the chance to catch Muse live? They put on an absolutely incredible show. Favorite music acts at the moment: Peter Bjorn and John M.I.A. Rilo Kiley The Pipettes Private Jose Gonzalez Lavender Diamond Kate Nash Massive Attack New Order (old school.......)

Yeah, the score win for Babel last year was really puzzling, especially since Gustavo Santaolalla (deservedly) won the year before for Brokeback Mountain. Javier Navarrate was robbed!!! I really hope Dario Marianelli wins for Atonement. I highly recommend giving it a listen (or better yet, seeing the film.) However, I am disappointed in the music branch for overlooking Alexandre Desplat's beautiful work in Lust, Caution. I imagine the film's NC-17 rating kept voter away though, as it really should have been a shoo-in for costume design as well. I'm also disappointed that Johnny Greenwood's work in There Will Be Blood was disqualified at the last minute (apparently he had composed some of the score before he worked on the film. Dumb rule.) Not only is it one of the best scores of the year, he's in freaking Radiohead! How awesome would that have been?!

They are always drawn out, but I really want to see Paul Thomas Anderson win his first Oscar! And see Cate Blanchett lose twice. Shh...... LOL, I realize that sounds horrible. I just think she is the one person in the industry who is most guilty of deliberate Oscar baiting. I swear she's trying to outdo Meryl Streep before she turns 40!

http://www.oscars.org/80academyawards/nominees/index.html Atonement and There Will Be Blood!!! Discuss!

Just for reference, here are all the area audition sites. Keep in mind that TMEA areas are different from UIL areas. Area A (Regions 1, 2, 16, 24): Abilene Christian University Area B (Regions 5, 6, 7, 22): Midland High School Area C (Regions 3, 4, 21, 25): Richardson High School Area D (Regions 8, 9, 20, 26): Midway Junior High School Area E (Regions 11, 12, 18, 27): Judson High School Area F (Regions 10, 17, 19, 23): Lamar University Area G (Regions 13, 14, 15, 28): Alice High School

Since I am done with finals and I beat most of my friends back into town, I watched my state DVD yesterday. I'm not a huge fan of this new video company. The microphone placement is a little awkward and some individual sounds pop out that probably weren't audible live. I ranked as I went along (excluding Poteet for objectivity's sake) and here is my take on finals: 1. Dickinson 2. Friendswood 3. Hendrickson 4. Connally 5. Aledo 6. Roma 7. Vista Ridge 8. Dripping Springs 9. Sherman Great performances all around!

Poteet's holiday concert was last night, at which they performed four pieces from their 2008 honor band program: "Commando March," Samuel Barber "Fiesta del Pacifico," Roger Nixon "Shadow Rituals," Michael Markowski (new to the the UIL Prescribed Music List this year) "Shortcut Home," Dana Wilson (also new to the PML) In February, they will also be performing John Mackey's "Strange Humors" and 2-3 other pieces. I'll post what they are when I find out. P.S.: Does anyone know what Marcus is playing at Midwest? I've been wondering about that for a couple of days...

Wow! It must be nice having that kind of administrative support. *jealousy*

Area B 3A is also super stacked. It contains 2006 state gold and silver medalists Canton and Wills Point and 5th place finalist Argyle. Talk about intense. I'm really interested to see what The Woodlands will do next year. They have gone to GN the past three 5A state years, but this year could possibly mark the end of that system (unless they go three times in a row.) I wonder if they will do something a bit more conservative geared towards a high placement in state finals (a la Reagan 2006) after not making it with the "Hide and Seek" show.

I agree with you about the top-to-bottom disparity. The results from area finals last year attest to that. However, I can think of a few areas where Sachse, DeSoto, and Lake Highlands could advance. From what I saw this year, Sachse and Lake Highlands were both stronger than Rowlett. If things keep up this way next year, Area C will be much more interesting than it was in 2006.

I believe 5A Area C advanced 4 last time around (Rowlett tied Brazoswood for 14th in prelims.) But you are right about people underestimating it. I don't think many were expecting Coppell or Berkner to be in the top 10 until they both put out fantastic performances in state prelims. And on the 4A front, J. J. Pearce just barely missed out on state finals after totally flying under the radar all season long. If Richardson High moves back down to 4A (as rumored) expect 4A Area C to have an even greater presence at State Marching Contest.

Yay! I'm glad L.D. Bell is inspiring the TxBands community to check out Pan's Labyrinth. I saw it last winter in its theatrical release and I was absolutely floored by how great it was. It's probably my favorite film of the 21st century so far. Marcus probably put on my 2nd favorite show (after Bell.) Cute, but not excessively so. Their rendition of "Make Our Garden Grow" gave me chills.

Hmm.......I too was asked to remove a pretty innocent post about Marcus yesterday for the same reason.

I thought Bell cut "The Engulfed Cathedral." Didn't they open with Pan's Labyrinth at GN? My favorite part of Bell '07 is the snippet of "Blue Cathedral" at the end of the opener. Nice nod to the '04 show.

Wow! That is the best Dickinson band I've seen in a long time. It's amazing how you guys can put out so much sound for a band so small. Kudos!

I believe there are links to Poteet and Hendrickson state finals videos in the video thread. I recommend checking them both out.

So not only did L.D. Bell win.......they basically told everyone to bend over and take it. Nice.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO LD BELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think the bands are still entering the field which is no small feat. Some of these bands are effing big.

I'm almost positive Poteet is playing "Strange Humors" in their Honor Band program. They're doing a couple of preview concerts in the DFW area, but I'm not sure of the dates. I will get back to you.

Eek! Bell is starting. Make us proud! I think I'm going to be sick to my stomach.............