erasure101

Hmmm. The music selections seem typical. The design team does not. Interesting.

2000 was quite a watershed year for Texas high school marching band, much like 2012 is shaping to become.

LD Bell is many things, chief among them is consistent. Since when is placing second at a competition cause for impending doom? By your estimation, they should pack it up and call it quits. Admittedly, their level of execution has not reached their level of difficulty. Rest assured that they will peak at the right times. In all actuality, finishing 2nd at the St. Louis Super Regional may be the best thing to happen to LD Bell. The journey is the destination.

I don't see it as (over-)confidence. Perhaps they are focusing their rehearsals/performances to exhibit the best possible show. They are a seasoned program and I'm sure their staff are very calculated. I hear that Broken Arrow is only attending Grand Nationals; I'm sure they definitely know what they're doing.

From the teaser, it sounds like the show will be quite intense. "This Bitter Earth" is a 1960 song made famous by Dinah Washington. It was written and produced by Clyde Otis. The song is a key piece in the 1977 film Killer of Sheep.

I just found this on the LD Bell band website. Patriotic gesture and their 2010 Field Production. http://dfife.com/honor/

North Shore's show was okay. I can say that some of the band students at North Shore that sat close to me in the stands were quite unruly and unbehaved. When another band is performing, it is common courtesy to be quiet and enjoy the show. I was not impressed with their behaviour.

Doesn't Jay Bocook arrange for Lassiter? I can totally see Coppell (and Ducanville, for that matter) being the TX answer to Lassiter.

FYI..... (4) Electronic Equipment. Electronic equipment may be used under the following provisions: A. All electronically produced music including narration and sound effects must be performed live and in real time by eligible students. B. Pre-recorded music, instrumental or vocal, may not be used. C. The placement of electronic units must comply with the 5-minute set up and 2- minute tear down limitations. (5) Amplification of instruments or voice may be used with the following restriction: A. All equipment, such as mixers, sound boards, etc. must be operated by eligible students. B. AC power cords and AC supplied amplification units must be located outside the sidelines and endlines. C. The placement of amplification units must comply with the five-minute set up and 2-minute tear down limitations. (6) Violations will be subject to penalties in accordance with Section 27 and Section 29. (7) Judges will be expected to address the appropriateness and frequency of use of electronics and amplification as a part of the adjudication process. (8) Local Ground Rules. Failure to comply with local ground rules and regulations outlined by and/or approved by the region executive committee may be cause for disqualification or other penalties as listed in Subchapter R. Such rules must be sent to all participating schools at least 14 days prior to the contest date. It's funny rules get bent when the level of competition gets higher. www.uil.utexas.edu/policy/constitution/music/08_09sec1105_07.pdf

One has to remember that some of the usual players did not attend the Arlington. Regional, most notably, LD Bell, Churchill, Reagan, Austin Bowie, The Woodlands, SFA, Westfield or Brazoswood. If two or more of these bands would have attended, the finals lineup would have been different.

Each block is peppered with good bands. Should make for an interesting contest. Barring any unforseen circumstances or work schedule, I will be at this contest. Which TXBANDS.com moderators will be there?

You raise some valid points and this contest does seem like it was very close. However, each judge awards points based on each band's performance. Why not reward the band with the highest number of points, rather than tally each judge's score based on how they scored everyone else? The ordinal system should not be used to justifiy how high or how low a band is scored.

Wasn't The Woodlands scheduled to perform at this contest per their myspace profile?

Granted their music may have been dirty, but their musical book was light years ahead of what anyone else was doing. It was learning experience all the way around. They still did quite well, despite their challenging music.