Favorite NCBA Parade Band performances of all time

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Chrome12
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Favorite NCBA Parade Band performances of all time

Post by Chrome12 » Wed Oct 02, 2013 3:37 pm

Hey everyone,

I used to march in NCBA in the 90s and still watch a few shows when I'm in the area and have the time. Things have really changed since then! I notice that the best bands today don't quite match up to those of year's past, but I think that's due to budget cuts and things like that... I also notice that parade colorguards have become much more flashier and 'loose' compared to the tight, militarized style that dominated the 90s.

For me, I loved Fairfield High Scarlet Brigade when the program was at its prime. Huge band blocks, very precise musicality and sound, and a colorguard that set the standard for many years. Just watching them march down the street like an army was a spectacle, but hearing the band play was inspiring and if you were competing with them, very intimidating.

In 1999-2000 they performed 'Carry On' and that is probably the biggest parade band I've ever seen. I saw this live and the sound they produced just filled the entire street.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPVgw863b8Y

In 1991-1992 they performed 'The Great Little Army' and this is probably the blueprint of what a parade performance should look like and sound like. Look at that colorguard!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHaG8_iy6ok

I also remember Solano Junior High from Vallejo, CA being a breakout star in NCBA in the 90's. I think they had some sort of connection to Fairfield High during that time and it surely shows. In 1993-1994 they performed 'Glorious Victory' and look better than most high school bands of today. Very impressive for junior high kids.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abkz3xY8Edk

What are some of your favorite NCBA parade band performances over the years and why?

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Re: Favorite NCBA Parade Band performances of all time

Post by clarinetking » Wed Oct 02, 2013 5:25 pm

My favorite band was also the Fairfield High School Scarlet Brigade Band. You are right...they have gone in the tank since I left. My favorite you tube video of my band was the 98 version or Arromanches by Regiment I (we marched two bands that year).

Thanks for the kind words.

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Re: Favorite NCBA Parade Band performances of all time

Post by tao707 » Fri Oct 04, 2013 1:34 am

speaking of solano junior high. heres one from their undefeated season of 1995.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka7_Zei-tqw

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Re: Favorite NCBA Parade Band performances of all time

Post by Chrome12 » Fri Oct 11, 2013 5:46 pm

tao707 wrote:speaking of solano junior high. heres one from their undefeated season of 1995.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka7_Zei-tqw
Also performing 'Arromanches'. Thanks.

No one else has any favorites to share?

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Re: Favorite NCBA Parade Band performances of all time

Post by MasterT » Sun Oct 13, 2013 4:18 pm

I enjoyed Wilcox High School's 1995 performance of "Army of the Nile" at the Vintage Reserve Band Review. They took Street Sweepstakes without winning a single sweepstakes caption! :shock:

In fact, if I recall correctly, three different high schools won Music, Marching, and Showmanship (JCYS can tell you about it first-hand)...and then here comes Wilcox sneaking in for the win. That type of thing doesn't happen anymore...but I guess they were good enough in all captions to take home the big prize.

Hat tip to JRZ for a phenomenal marching season that year, who has been doing some awesome work with San Benito HS for the last 12 years (entering his 13th). I believe that Vintage Reserve was professionally recorded, but I can't find it on YouTube. If anyone has a copy of it, please post it to share! :D

Okay, onto more concrete performance examples...

- I remember hearing Vallejo HS nearly taking sweepstakes at the 1998 Vintage Reserve Band Review...with a 93.45. And I thought "how does a 70-member band pull something like that off?". And then I finally saw them perform "March Onward": http://youtu.be/CP0rHaOaBlY

Some say they are innovators of the street, others argue that it's too fieldshow-esque. Still fun to watch, creative, and never at a loss of things to look at.

- Elk Grove High School in 2009 proved to be a huge breakout year for them as they brilliantly performed "A Slavic Farewell". Focusing on street only, Elk Grove had a wonderful season, winning Marching Sweepstakes at the Del Oro Spectacular.

I especially liked the new gold stripes on the side of their pants, use of gloves, and the gold sousaphones were a great touch (and sound) to their overall street package: http://youtu.be/j2IPCrYekcw
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Re: Favorite NCBA Parade Band performances of all time

Post by JCYS » Sun Oct 13, 2013 4:30 pm

MasterT wrote:I enjoyed Wilcox High School's 1995 performance of "Army of the Nile" at the Vintage Reserve Band Review. They took Street Sweepstakes without winning a single sweepstakes caption! :shock:

In fact, if I recall correctly, three different high schools won Music, Marching, and Showmanship (JCYS can tell you about it first-hand)...and then here comes Wilcox sneaking in for the win. That type of thing doesn't happen anymore...but I guess they were good enough in all captions to take home the big prize.

Hat tip to JRZ for a phenomenal marching season that year, who has been doing some awesome work with San Benito HS for the last 12 years (entering his 13th). I believe that Vintage Reserve was professionally recorded, but I can't find it on YouTube. If anyone has a copy of it, please post it to share! :D

Okay, onto more concrete performance examples...

- I remember hearing Vallejo HS nearly taking sweepstakes at the 1998 Vintage Reserve Band Review...with a 93.45. And I thought "how does a 70-member band pull something like that off?". And then I finally saw them perform "March Onward": http://youtu.be/CP0rHaOaBlY

Some say they are innovators of the street, others argue that it's too fieldshow-esque. Still fun to watch, creative, and never at a loss of things to look at.

- Elk Grove High School in 2009 proved to be a huge breakout year for them as they brilliantly performed "A Slavic Farewell". Focusing on street only, Elk Grove had a wonderful season, winning Marching Sweepstakes at the Del Oro Spectacular.

I especially liked the new gold stripes on the side of their pants, use of gloves, and the gold sousaphones were a great touch (and sound) to their overall street package: http://youtu.be/j2IPCrYekcw
I do remember that day. As I recall, Merlin Chesnut's Vallejo took Music, I think LPO took Marching and Show, but Wilcox got the Overall. The very next week at the Fairfield T of C, it was a flip flop where LPO took music, Vallejo took Show (and overall by .05 over LPO) and Del Oro took marching. I think the final score was LPO 92.4, Vallejo 92.45.

LPO was quite different in my first couple years there, we were marching 63 kids in mostly white uniforms with a mace drum major that year...and only 5 sousaphones.

If I had to pick a favorite Nor Cal performance, it would be pre-NCBA...the 1987 Del Oro Band in Ron Jones last year doing "Sinfonians" while marching step 1 drill at the old Manteca band review. Made me completely rethink my idea of street band.

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Re: Favorite NCBA Parade Band performances of all time

Post by Bakensobek707 » Sun Oct 13, 2013 6:04 pm

Might be a biased choice here, but I loved the 2004-2005 Benicia High's of Jugenfruhling with the Festive Overture Fanfare. This was, also the prime size of Benicia. Since then the size has lowered. :(
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Re: Favorite NCBA Parade Band performances of all time

Post by The 8th Darling » Mon Oct 14, 2013 5:00 pm

Anything from the Merced Marching 100 from 1979 to 1999.

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Re: Favorite NCBA Parade Band performances of all time

Post by Chrome12 » Mon Oct 14, 2013 6:27 pm

MasterT wrote:I enjoyed Wilcox High School's 1995 performance of "Army of the Nile" at the Vintage Reserve Band Review. They took Street Sweepstakes without winning a single sweepstakes caption! :shock:
I love that march. I've been looking for a copy of Fairfield High Scarlet Brigade performing Army of the Nile in 1996-1997. Anyone have it?
MasterT wrote:I remember hearing Vallejo HS nearly taking sweepstakes at the 1998 Vintage Reserve Band Review...with a 93.45. And I thought "how does a 70-member band pull something like that off?". And then I finally saw them perform "March Onward": http://youtu.be/CP0rHaOaBlY

Some say they are innovators of the street, others argue that it's too fieldshow-esque. Still fun to watch, creative, and never at a loss of things to look at.
Vallejo High was very impressive in the 90s. Sadly the current program has fallen in quality since then. But back in the 90s they were a small little powerhouse band and colorguard. They always went toe to toe with bands much bigger than themselves and sometimes even beat those bands in certain captions and Sweepstakes awards.

My favorite Vallejo High parade performance was also 1998 Onward:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkYtjRif6so

I'd say that Vallejo High, Fairfield High, Benicia High music programs have all had better days judging from what I've recently seen of them. Hopefully they'll be able to get back to their former high levels of performance.

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Re: Favorite NCBA Parade Band performances of all time

Post by musikteecher » Tue Oct 15, 2013 8:25 am

If I had to pick a favorite Nor Cal performance, it would be pre-NCBA...the 1987 Del Oro Band in Ron Jones last year doing "Sinfonians" while marching step 1 drill at the old Manteca band review. Made me completely rethink my idea of street band.
I commented to Ron Jones this weekend I loved watching Del Oro and JFK (Sacto) during the Ron Jones and Nick Angiulo days. On street AND field!! We have not seen or heard style like those days since then.
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Re: Favorite NCBA Parade Band performances of all time

Post by Hostrauser » Tue Oct 15, 2013 9:56 am

MasterT wrote:I enjoyed Wilcox High School's 1995 performance of "Army of the Nile" at the Vintage Reserve Band Review. They took Street Sweepstakes without winning a single sweepstakes caption! :shock:
The same thing happened the prior year (1994) at the Fairfield Tournament of Champions. Del Oro (Marching), LPO (Music), and (I think) Granada (Show) split the caption sweepstakes, and Foothill Sacramento took parade sweeps. In fact, Foothill (S) did not place in any of the auxiliary captions (flags, ID, drum major, percussion) that year... the ONLY trophy they won at the competition was Parade Grand Sweepstakes!

That happened several times in the mid-90s after Golden Valley opened and the mighty Merced Marching 100 got split up. Greg Christiansen went to GV and had them field-only the first couple of years, and Merced's new director went field-only also. Foothill-Pleasanton and Lincoln-Stockton had an off year or two and Benicia had not yet risen to full strength under Roxanna Macheel, so if Fairfield wasn't at a competition Sweepstakes was an absolute free-for-all.

My favorite NCBA Parade performances are without a doubt the mid-90s Fairfield Scarlet Brigade. For one, their guard was just obscenely good. They'd march out 9 shields, 9 rifles, and 18 flags and be cleaner than other top guards a quarter their size. Then their parade block was ~200 strong and you could hear them for blocks. That band could project without over-blowing like few others of this era. Really a throwback to the "old-school" parade band... just power, power, power--but with good tone. I remember "Arromanches" and "Farewell to a Slavic Woman", but the year that sticks with me the most is the year (1996?) they busted out "General Mitchell". I think they marched 225-240 total on the street, with dozens upon dozens of low brass, and when they ripped into that General Mitchell intro people stopped in their tracks and heads swiveled.

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Re: Favorite NCBA Parade Band performances of all time

Post by clarinetking » Tue Oct 15, 2013 10:23 am

Good lord Hostrauser.......thanks.

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Re: Favorite NCBA Parade Band performances of all time

Post by Cardinal Regime » Tue Oct 15, 2013 12:18 pm

Hostrauser wrote:
MasterT wrote:I enjoyed Wilcox High School's 1995 performance of "Army of the Nile" at the Vintage Reserve Band Review. They took Street Sweepstakes without winning a single sweepstakes caption! :shock:
It almost happened again this past Saturday at Franklin.

Armijo-Showmanship Sweeps
LPO- Music Sweeps
Benicia-Marching Sweeps and Parade Sweeps 93.95

Golden Valley runners-up, no sweeps, 93.3

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Re: Favorite NCBA Parade Band performances of all time

Post by tao707 » Tue Oct 15, 2013 12:54 pm

i remember the fairfield 96 march. it was my first ever street comp i ever went to was the vallejo band review and they were their and i was totally amazed by their performance. i think i still have a copy of that review somewhere at my parents house in cali. i think that was the year that vallejo was in those those weird over size jackets and liatards i believe and had ballons in the beginning and marched to stars and stripes forever i think

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Re: Favorite NCBA Parade Band performances of all time

Post by MasterT » Tue Nov 05, 2013 7:27 pm

JCYS wrote: If I had to pick a favorite Nor Cal performance, it would be pre-NCBA...the 1987 Del Oro Band in Ron Jones last year doing "Sinfonians" while marching step 1 drill at the old Manteca band review. Made me completely rethink my idea of street band.
Step 1 drill? :?

Not familiar with that. Would you explain what that was/is?
(or better yet...providing a video link of Del Oro executing that kind of movement)
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