2019 Band Productions

[LeanderMomma]

  On 9/2/2019 at 3:11 PM, BlueCircle said:

Leander is SO FUN. Wow.

 

Also the opener reminds me a lot of Crown.

They are fun! This show is so crowd friendly. Can’t wait to see the Britney Spears portion put to actual drill. That trumpet though. He had the crowd eating out of his hands. At a FOOTBALL game!

[gregorydf01]

  On 9/2/2019 at 3:43 PM, ctex1994 said:

My thoughts of videos I've seen so far, mostly from Austin Area  - 

 

Leander - Lots of potential. I could see this being a contender at Grand Nationals. Obviously dirty and not sounding super great at times, but the design is so good. They have 11 weeks to clean it up. Britney Spears section is so well put together. Almost seems like a blue devils show in design. 

 

Vista Ridge - Not the vista ridge from last year. The ditched the fan friendly vibe for a visceral and more modern vibe. Not nearly as clean as they were this time last season, but the show seems way harder. I predict they will do well. 

 

Weiss - Solid step up in design. Way more BOA than the previous 2 years. The band does not sound super hot though....percussion aside. 

 

Round Rock - Seems solid, though maybe not creative enough to challenge for finals at BOA Grand Nationals or San Antonio. We will see how it progresses. They have always been a good band, just struggled with design lately. 

 

Westlake - Very solid start for them. Colorguard is a big strength. The band has some pretty intricate work with the props. The band is playing much louder than years past. Opener is very fast paced and pretty clean for this point in time. Will be interesting to see how they do at BOA Houston. 

 

Keller - Playing super well. Starting to sound almost Hebron like! Show seems a little boring and drill maybe not the strength but the band sounds amazing. 

 

Bowie (Saw them at a football game) - Reminds me of LD Bell from the late 2000's. Very mystic if that makes sense. They have a singer. Band seems pretty loud in person. They will challenge for BOA finals again. 

 

Cedar Ridge - Band seems small. Still putting out some volume. I worry that they may be too small to make finals at San Antonio. Percussion is outstanding as always. 

 

Cedar Park - Band seems small here as well. They seem weaker than years past at this point. Guard seems like a step up though. I have confidence they can clean it up. 

 

Pflugerville - Seems like they are falling off a bit after they lost a director to Leander. 

Good post and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the shows so far!   FYI; The Vista video was from Friday 8/16 and two weeks earlier than the games this past weekend, probably why it did not look as far along as last year at this point.  

[Rubisco]

Loving Leander this year. I'd say that from the trombone solo to the end of the opener is pretty magical, because that's when both the music and the visual start to build in their intricacy, and the energy and excitement start to crest. (Plus it has that cute little atom drill with the electrons flying around it!) Rifle line is doing a good job. Flags, well, they'll get there. Sound is a bit unfocused at times, with some heroics, but I suspect that will fade as the kids become more confident marching and playing the show. The Britney segment will be a highlight of the season. I wasn't sure it was going to work, but it totally does. Just a complete ball of fun. I'm happy that they're able to use Britney's actual voice throughout. Maybe my only complaint is that it's a little solo heavy, but the soloists are outstanding.

 

Definitely my favorite of the videos posted here, but as people have mentioned, not all of them were taken at the same time.

[Rubisco]

Did Kevin Nix leave Hebron just this year, or had that already happened last year? Who did the drill for Hebron last year?

[LostChoirGuy]

I'm so glad people said something about the Leander one, because for some reason the first time I watched it, I saw Weiss and I saw the "Toxic" standstill portion, but in skipping over the drill team, I also skipped over the entire first part of the show and didnt even realize it. I just went back and watched it and I love what they are doing.

[SpartanBandAlum]

I’m not allowed to say much, but Porter’s not messing around this year

[DeepEllum]

  On 9/2/2019 at 5:37 PM, Rubisco said:

 

Did Kevin Nix leave Hebron just this year, or had that already happened last year? Who did the drill for Hebron last year?

He left midway through 2017 season so his last full show design was 2016. Don’t know about the exact drill writers anymore.

[DrumCorpsGeek]

  On 9/2/2019 at 1:18 PM, LeanderMomma said:

No idea but those colors grab ya, don’t they?

 

It's Lincoln-Way, IL

[bandtingz]

  On 9/2/2019 at 3:43 PM, ctex1994 said:

My thoughts of videos I've seen so far, mostly from Austin Area  - 

 

Leander - Lots of potential. I could see this being a contender at Grand Nationals. Obviously dirty and not sounding super great at times, but the design is so good. They have 11 weeks to clean it up. Britney Spears section is so well put together. Almost seems like a blue devils show in design. 

 

Vista Ridge - Not the vista ridge from last year. The ditched the fan friendly vibe for a visceral and more modern vibe. Not nearly as clean as they were this time last season, but the show seems way harder. I predict they will do well. 

 

Weiss - Solid step up in design. Way more BOA than the previous 2 years. The band does not sound super hot though....percussion aside. 

 

Round Rock - Seems solid, though maybe not creative enough to challenge for finals at BOA Grand Nationals or San Antonio. We will see how it progresses. They have always been a good band, just struggled with design lately. 

 

Westlake - Very solid start for them. Colorguard is a big strength. The band has some pretty intricate work with the props. The band is playing much louder than years past. Opener is very fast paced and pretty clean for this point in time. Will be interesting to see how they do at BOA Houston. 

 

Keller - Playing super well. Starting to sound almost Hebron like! Show seems a little boring and drill maybe not the strength but the band sounds amazing. 

 

Bowie (Saw them at a football game) - Reminds me of LD Bell from the late 2000's. Very mystic if that makes sense. They have a singer. Band seems pretty loud in person. They will challenge for BOA finals again. 

 

Cedar Ridge - Band seems small. Still putting out some volume. I worry that they may be too small to make finals at San Antonio. Percussion is outstanding as always. 

 

Cedar Park - Band seems small here as well. They seem weaker than years past at this point. Guard seems like a step up though. I have confidence they can clean it up. 

 

Pflugerville - Seems like they are falling off a bit after they lost a director to Leander. 

I think Cedar Park, Weiss, and Round Rock are all levels above what they were last year, so it should be interesting to see how they'll do later in the season! 

 

Has anyone heard anything about Rouse? 

[FaultLineBlues]

  On 9/2/2019 at 3:43 PM, ctex1994 said:

My thoughts of videos I've seen so far, mostly from Austin Area -

 

 

 

Cedar Ridge - Band seems small. Still putting out some volume. I worry that they may be too small to make finals at San Antonio. Percussion is outstanding as always.

 

I will say that I believe that they have a larger band this year than they did last year, and last year they made San Antonio and State finals, so I don't think the size will be too much of an issue for them.

[BlueCircle]

The Leander “Toxic” section is so good I keep wanting to listen to it!!! WAY better than how BD used Britney this summer.

[LeanderMomma]

  On 9/3/2019 at 2:39 AM, BlueCircle said:

The Leander “Toxic” section is so good I keep wanting to listen to it!!! WAY better than how BD used Britney this summer.

I’m so anxious to see the drill for that portion. Maybe this Thursday at the Pfield...

[LeanderDaddy]

Newby here! So excited for the upcoming year. Leander is going to be amazing.

 

Looking forward to seeing what all the great bands do on the field.

[crossblue82]

Oh...my...God. I can’t wait to see where this ends up in 11 weeks. Toxic definitely has that DCI vibe going on. This is going to be something special. What I am seeing so far will have cross appeal between adjudicators and the crowd. I can only guess that some amazing rendition of 1812 will blow our socks off to conclude this show. I really like the direction this is going so far.

[SATXBandDad]

CTJ’s preview show is tomorrow night and I’m beyond excited!! I get chills listening to them play at practice and it’s going to be awesome to see the whole show in full uniforms! CTJs never in it to win it, just to make great music but this year is going to be something special! So excited to see all the bands this year! Marching season is here!!!

[LHSax]

The contenders are beginning to emerge...

 

It's amazing how recognizable Leander's style and sound has become. They have really established an identity, and this seems like typical Leander on steroids. Indianapolis will eat this up! The music admittedly may be a bit overly ambitious, but I appreciate them really taking a risk with it and I think this is intended to peak in Indy. Everyone's talking about Toxic, but I think the end of the opener has the potential to be magical if the right balance can be found.

 

I've seen some rehearsal snippets of CTJ floating around (and I anticipate we may see more soon if the preview show is tomorrow) and this is likely the most excited I've ever been about a CJT show. I've always appreciated the skill level and talent of CTJ, but I've never been the biggest fan of their show design (just personal preference). This one seems a lot more accessible and I think will definitely be in the Indy medal hunt. 

[CTJBandPops]

  On 9/4/2019 at 4:04 PM, LHSax said:

The contenders are beginning to emerge...

 

It's amazing how recognizable Leander's style and sound has become. They have really established an identity, and this seems like typical Leander on steroids. Indianapolis will eat this up! The music admittedly may be a bit overly ambitious, but I appreciate them really taking a risk with it and I think this is intended to peak in Indy. Everyone's talking about Toxic, but I think the end of the opener has the potential to be magical if the right balance can be found.

 

I've seen some rehearsal snippets of CTJ floating around (and I anticipate we may see more soon if the preview show is tomorrow) and this is likely the most excited I've ever been about a CJT show. I've always appreciated the skill level and talent of CTJ, but I've never been the biggest fan of their show design (just personal preference). This one seems a lot more accessible and I think will definitely be in the Indy medal hunt. 

I watched the video of last nights run for CTJ and I agree - I think it is incredibly clean for this time in the season and with so much time to polish, this show should be in the medal hunt in Indy - looking forward to tomorrow nights preview show in the full show uniform -  

[natertater21000]

Everything I've seen so far makes me beyond excited but also nervous. Texas bands have a historically bad habit of biting off more than they can chew for grand nationals. I'm not saying anyone I've seen so far has for sure done it, but everyone is vulnerable to doing it. Even flomo had this issue in 17. It's times like these I look back to the woodlands in 2013. Nothing (and I say this with complete resiect to that ensemble) is terribly difficult. It's hard no doubt, but it toes the line perfectly between being just difficult enough to nail the content requirements and still being achievable at an absurdly high level within the time of one season. I'm really hoping for this perfect combo to come through for every Texas band.

[BlueCircle]

  On 9/4/2019 at 5:51 PM, natertater21000 said:

Everything I've seen so far makes me beyond excited but also nervous. Texas bands have a historically bad habit of biting off more than they can chew for grand nationals. I'm not saying anyone I've seen so far has for sure done it, but everyone is vulnerable to doing it. Even flomo had this issue in 17. It's times like these I look back to the woodlands in 2013. Nothing (and I say this with complete resiect to that ensemble) is terribly difficult. It's hard no doubt, but it toes the line perfectly between being just difficult enough to nail the content requirements and still being achievable at an absurdly high level within the time of one season. I'm really hoping for this perfect combo to come through for every Texas band.

I totally agree with you about how finding the balance between difficulty and achievement is of great importance and also great difficulty. Some of the best and most memorable Texas shows of recent (FloMo 16, Vista 18) weren’t all that difficult. The only exception would be CTJ 17 but their biggest competition (Hebron) also had a show with insane difficulty. I truly hope that the two week gap between SA and Nats gives Team Texas the time to make changes and clean up to have the best possible performances in Indy.

[natertater21000]

  On 9/4/2019 at 6:24 PM, BlueCircle said:

I totally agree with you about how finding the balance between difficulty and achievement is of great importance and also great difficulty. Some of the best and most memorable Texas shows of recent (FloMo 16, Vista 18) weren’t all that difficult. The only exception would be CTJ 17 but their biggest competition (Hebron) also had a show with insane difficulty. I truly hope that the two week gap between SA and Nats gives Team Texas the time to make changes and clean up to have the best possible performances in Indy.

I am so excited for that extra week, because the last time we had that extra week... Was 2013 when the woodlands won and round rock and cedar ridge really turned their shows into something special. My perfect end to this season in my head includes #teamtexas forcing the rest of he country to go back to the drawing board. That's a really tall order but I honestly feel like the last two years of Texas band have been THAT much better. We'll see....

[TWHSParent]

  On 9/4/2019 at 6:52 PM, natertater21000 said:

I am so excited for that extra week, because the last time we had that extra week... Was 2013 when the woodlands won and round rock and cedar ridge really turned their shows into something special. My perfect end to this season in my head includes #teamtexas forcing the rest of he country to go back to the drawing board. That's a really tall order but I honestly feel like the last two years of Texas band have been THAT much better. We'll see....

 

It actually was 2015 - Hebron ended up with the highest score in a BOA contest ever in semifinals. Unfortunately they went off 1st in finals and ended up 3rd...

[natertater21000]

  On 9/4/2019 at 6:56 PM, TWHSParent said:

It actually was 2015 - Hebron ended up with the highest score in a BOA contest ever in semifinals. Unfortunately they went off 1st in finals and ended up 3rd...

OH that's right! Can't believe I forgot that one. I really thought Hebron had it in the bag.

[LeanderMomma]

  On 9/4/2019 at 1:32 PM, SATXBandDad said:

CTJ’s preview show is tomorrow night and I’m beyond excited!! I get chills listening to them play at practice and it’s going to be awesome to see the whole show in full uniforms! CTJs never in it to win it, just to make great music but this year is going to be something special! So excited to see all the bands this year! Marching season is here!!!

 

I can't wait to see CTJ on the field and my CTJ momma friends in the stands this fall.  I know that CTJ is going to KILL IT this year!!  

[oddlynormal]

I saw two Houston area bands in 5A at a few football games last week.

 

Porter-The best I've ever seen them.  They have size and great sounds.  I love the musical selections. It's a much more mature approach and they are going to be very musical.  They will contend for a state spot again I'm sure.  They have a strong percussion section.  Quite impressive.

 

Galena Park-LOUD!!!!  They never stop moving and are playing the daylights out of the Mahler Symphony.  They aren't huge, but this is absolutely the largest they have ever been that I can remember.  I saw their preview show a few weeks ago and was very impressed with them. They will be a dark horse for an area finals spot and could sneak into state.  I will say their show is quite challenging which could hurt them in the cleanliness department, but then again easy doesn't win anymore.   

  

The Area contests in 5A this year in Houston will be the best they have ever been.  There will be state worthy bands that are not going to make it.  I have a feeling a Houston band will make finals at state.  Everyone is far stronger this year than they have ever been.  I can't wait to see Crosby, Willis, Shadow Creek and Friendswood.  If Porter and Galena Park are any indication of the war we are about to see then this is going to be a very competitive year.  

[lost]

Every time I see new small video of CTJ my jaw drops. There’s no way they can be this good this early, and yet they are. They are in the medal hunt at every single contest they’ll be attending this season.