Marcus 2010: Illuminaries

[drummerjoe]

  one2think said:

I don't know why you would lose any respect. I have heard from many people that their director is crazy about all members not posting anything online under any circumstance whatsoever. I can't say this person is or is not from marcus, but their comments shouldn't affect how someone views a band.

 

Let me rephrase: I have lost respect for Joeyz.

[Joeyz]

Okay, I guess that's fair. Why? Is it that you think my opinions are invalid, or is it the way I presented them? I'd like to know if it's the latter so that I could present myself differently next time. However, if you just completely disagree with me, there's not much I can do

  drummerjoe said:

Let me rephrase: I have lost respect for Joeyz.

[drummerjoe]

  Joeyz said:

Okay, I guess that's fair. Why? Is it that you think my opinions are invalid, or is it the way I presented them? I'd like to know if it's the latter so that I could present myself differently next time. However, if you just completely disagree with me, there's not much I can do

 

Well every show has it's bad parts, and proclaiming all of Marcus's hard parts is nothing special. Sorry, everyone does it about their band, gets annoying after a while.

[Joeyz]

I didn't mean it that way - it just seemed worth reminding people that Marcus DID have hard parts. Some seemed to imply that the show was simply easy through and through, and I just dont see that.

  drummerjoe said:

Well every show has it's bad parts, and proclaiming all of Marcus's hard parts is nothing special. Sorry, everyone does it about their band, gets annoying after a while.

[one2think]

  Joeyz said:

I didn't mean it that way - it just seemed worth reminding people that Marcus DID have hard parts. Some seemed to imply that the show was simply easy through and through, and I just dont see that.

 

I agree, Marcus handled rallantandos very well. Slowing marching down at the same pace is very difficult to do amongst 300+ kids

[drummerjoe]

  Joeyz said:

I didn't mean it that way - it just seemed worth reminding people that Marcus DID have hard parts. Some seemed to imply that the show was simply easy through and through, and I just dont see that.

 

I see.

[longhornsax]

Marcus wins the biggest contests in the state, along with a 3-peat of UIL and people still aren't satisfied? What does it take? People want them to change what has them dominating Texas marching band at the moment? I think it was said before - don't fix what isn't broken.

[RedJoker25]

  Joeyz said:

To say that Marcus is a program more fitted for BOA than UIL seems backwards, and quite obviously incorrect, beeing that they've been consistently more successful in UIL than in BOA. While I agree with finding props disagreable, I only find fault in it when the band uses it to distract from their band technique or easy drill. Marcus has neither, and therefore I find there props nothing but a very extravagant way to incorporate spots for their members who don't earn spots. I would also like to add that, while you COULD make the argument that their props are a weasley way to earn GE points in BOA, the two visual judges at UIL are specified very specifically as MARCHING judges, and therefore are not affected by prop effects. Just because you were too easily distracted by the props to notice marcu's pristine technique and difficult marching responsibilties beneath music far more challenging than most other bands does not mean that the judges were simiarly distracted.

 

 

This reply was not exclusively for you, RedJoker, but more broadly to anyone faulting Marcus for their props.

 

I wasn't saying that I didn't like the props or that they should stop using them, just that sometimes enough is enough. As I'm sure most people realize, based on posts about judging discrepancies (not this thread), judges are people too. When a bunch of lights suddenly go on, it may distract the judge temporarily, no matter how much they've been trained. When you need a perfect show, sometimes even a split second mistake could be the difference between first and second. Marcus has the talent. Just wish they could let it shine more often, without light-up props.

Edited November 4, 2010 by RedJoker25

[daldhowe]

  RedJoker25 said:

I wasn't saying that I didn't like the props or that they should stop using them, just that sometimes enough is enough. As I'm sure most people realize, based on posts about judging discrepancies (not this thread), judges are people too. When a bunch of lights suddenly go on, it may distract the judge temporarily, no matter how much they've been trained. When you need a perfect show, sometimes even a split second mistake could be the difference between first and second. Marcus has the talent. Just wish they could let it shine more often, without light-up props.

 

 

If I cared enough to post something about the Marcus show.......I would!

[wilburtuba]

We saw Marcus at the state finals and after hearing all the hype and hooplah I must say we were not that impressed.We saw a few there that we liked better.Just my opinion.

[Bandlover]

I can see both sides of whats being said here; one of the bands I loved watching this year was 4a Dripping Springs, they play complicated music while marching a fast drill, that is what seems to set them aside from other 4a bands. In the case of Marcus, what they do works and it works well for them, they clearly were the winners.....Great Job

[phobo811]

Are there any videos of Marcus or Bell this year out on Youtube or something?

[ThaximusPrime]

  phobo811 said:

Are there any videos of Marcus or Bell this year out on Youtube or something?

 

This is the Marcus show at UIL State. I couldn't find anything on Bell yet.

[award]

  ThaximusPrime said:

 

This is the Marcus show at UIL State. I couldn't find anything on Bell yet.

 

 

Here's Bells

 

[ThaximusPrime]

  award said:

Here's Bells

 

 

How did I miss that. Both videos are from the same user. Thanks for posting that. I tear up watching Bell's closer every time. The theme music to the HBO Miniseries "The Pacific" definitely pulls on the heart strings.

[NewMexicoBandsman]

I may be beating a dead horse in saying this, but I really agree with Joeyz, as well as many others out there, who say that the props are NOT a major influence on Marcus's UIL success. They DO have an impact on BOA, (they help add to the feel of the show, and therefore boost GE marginally) but to seriously suggest that an experienced director, whose been brought in to give his professional opinion on the bands' visual capabilities, is going to be too distracted by the pretty lights to give a valid opinion, is, well, silly.

[Joeyz]

Exactly. The judges are there to do a job - judge the MARCHING of the performers. Perhaps they might glace back for a moment or two - but they are far too professional to stay distracted long enough that it might make an actual score difference.

[The Brass Messiah]

Well I wish this topic didnt exist as clearly when it comes to Marcus, people are not afraid to speak their minds, and Im going to ask one thing, Is that fair to the students who worked so hard, and earned their accolades to feel disliked?

[daldhowe]

  The Brass Messiah said:

Well I wish this topic didnt exist as clearly when it comes to Marcus, people are not afraid to speak their minds, and Im going to ask one thing, Is that fair to the students who worked so hard, and earned their accolades to feel disliked?

 

 

You're correct, but it was a self-indulgent topic to begin with and should never have been started.

[idesofmarch]

Adam - you make me laugh!

 

  selby said:

This. To me, this is the most upsetting thing about Marcus' program. Their shows for quite a few years now, have relied on music, more than marching (don't get me wrong, they do both well, but at different levels), and shows with a theatrical feel, especially with the large props. But their shows are starting to feel tired and seem very repetitive, both in concept and performance. Obviously judges at UIL and BOA disagree, however it would be very refreshing to see them try something new and break out of their mold.

[Xenon]

  daldhowe said:

You're correct, but it was a self-indulgent topic to begin with and should never have been started.

Actually, it wasn't self-indulgent; it was started by a student at LD Bell.

[TxRaider13]

  Xenon said:

Actually, it wasn't self-indulgent; it was started by a student at LD Bell.

 

 

Amazing how one topic opens up the room with all of these haters/lovers. I have no dog in this fight, I simply sat my butt down at the Alamo Dome and enjoyed the best contest the State has offered in a long time. I enjoyed every school from 1st place Marcus to 36th place Americas HS from El Paso. Every school played, or marched something I enjoyed. And yet, people just can't accept the results, they have to argue that school x was better than school z....Somethings never change

Edited November 5, 2010 by TxRaider13

[The Devil's Advocate]

Here's a question for those acquainted with the Marcus band program.

 

Those kids playing the shadows were remarkable. Their choreography, staging, etc. were great. Here's the question: were those the band kids who would normally be the alternates? Usually, the kids who are alternates are freshmen who are a little too uncoordinated to march. The shadows had the poise and control of experienced performers. Were the shadows drill team members?

 

(I'm not trying to slam any kids; I'm just very impressed.)

[award]

  The Devil said:

Here's a question for those acquainted with the Marcus band program.

 

Those kids playing the shadows were remarkable. Their choreography, staging, etc. were great. Here's the question: were those the band kids who would normally be the alternates? Usually, the kids who are alternates are freshmen who are a little too uncoordinated to march. The shadows had the poise and control of experienced performers. Were the shadows drill team members?

 

(I'm not trying to slam any kids; I'm just very impressed.)

 

 

I know from a reliable source that the shadows were the band members that did not have a permanent marching spot in the show. So to answer your question, yes they are the alternates.

[one2think]

  The Devil said:

Here's a question for those acquainted with the Marcus band program.

 

Those kids playing the shadows were remarkable. Their choreography, staging, etc. were great. Here's the question: were those the band kids who would normally be the alternates? Usually, the kids who are alternates are freshmen who are a little too uncoordinated to march. The shadows had the poise and control of experienced performers. Were the shadows drill team members?

 

(I'm not trying to slam any kids; I'm just very impressed.)

 

Hearing from a few different areas on the forum, it seems like yes they were the alternates. I would think that as soon as they knew about the alternate position, they would delve right into the area of coreographing. Considering they were only used in about half the show, I would think they had a lot of training.

 

One thing I believe marcus promotes very well is training and fundamentals. it appears to be a stressed upon point to their horn line (try to find someone sticking out), and as well as their alternates.

 

The moves also appeared to be simple arm waves in the air anyways.

 

I agree, very impressive.