World of Pageantry

I told you this one would be more controversial. I'm not putting down my reasons this time. Top 10, in random order:

Mission Viejo*
James Logan
Riverside King
Ayala
Etiwanda*
Mt. Carmel* **
Rancho Bernardo*
Upland
William S. Hart
Clovis West*

* = on my list of the "Best CA Bands of the 90's," as well
** = Revised as of 12/6. Removed Chino, added Mt. Carmel

El Dorado? They were consistently good on the street and had incredible musicianship on the field, including great use of very talented soloists.

peapod wrote:El Dorado? They were consistently good on the street and had incredible musicianship on the field, including great use of very talented soloists.

El Dorado would definitely get an honorable mention. They were pretty awesome in the 90's, too. (Richard Watson, I believe, was their director, and I remember their strong jazz sound.)

Another honorable mention for the 00's would be Fountain Valley. Strong in WBA, SCSBOA, BOA, and even WGI (Friendship Cup).

Hi, Alan. At least toward the first half of the 2000s, I thought Fred C. Beyer and Valley View were awesome bands.

Couple of things that might rustle some jimmies: Chino is a consistently solid band, but I don't know if I would have included them in a list of the BEST. However, they were solid throughout the decade, whereas Etiwanda was dominant until about 2005, and Riverside King hadn't really emerged until then. Also, you listed Mt. Carmel in the 80s and 90s, but not the 2000s? I think its a lot easier to have a great band in only one aspect, since you don't have to split rehearsal time between parade and field. To me Rancho Bernardo is the best because they were always near the top on the field AND in the street.

airons0678 wrote:I told you this one would be more controversial. I'm not putting down my reasons this time. Top 10, in random order:

Mission Viejo*
James Logan
Riverside King
Ayala
Etiwanda*
Chino
Rancho Bernardo*
Upland
William S. Hart
Clovis West*

* = on my list of the "Best CA Bands of the 90's," as well

I want to play!! My 12 FAVORITE shows of the 90's:

Valley View 99: Stormworks: a masterpiece of sight and sound. HS SCV.
Etiwanda 95: Music of Pat Metheny: Forward thinking, sleek, chic, you name it.
Poway 93: The Caged Bird: Almost everyone I knew then HATED this show. I feel it's the CA equivalent to Star 93.
Mission Viejo 98: "Serenade": won WBA with this. Never seen anything like this up till this point.
Clovis West 94: The Age of Anxiety: Jaw dropping on all levels. A little too synth-y.
Fred C. Beyer 94: The music of David Holsinger: On the field the theme was some kind of race, including numbers on the back of the color guard.

Ill be back later to add the other 6.

This would be limited to the years 2000-09, correct.
This list seems to be best field bands of these years.
Can the author of this post clarify?

Jim Bunselmeier wrote:This would be limited to the years 2000-09, correct.
This list seems to be best field bands of these years.
Can the author of this post clarify?

Ah, yes. This would be bands from 2000-2009. There is another thread for 1990-1999.

Alan

wjs05 wrote:

airons0678 wrote:I told you this one would be more controversial. I'm not putting down my reasons this time. Top 10, in random order:

Mission Viejo*
James Logan
Riverside King
Ayala
Etiwanda*
Chino
Rancho Bernardo*
Upland
William S. Hart
Clovis West*

* = on my list of the "Best CA Bands of the 90's," as well

I want to play!! My 12 FAVORITE shows of the 90's:

Valley View 99: Stormworks: a masterpiece of sight and sound. HS SCV.
Etiwanda 95: Music of Pat Metheny: Forward thinking, sleek, chic, you name it.
Poway 93: The Caged Bird: Almost everyone I knew then HATED this show. I feel it's the CA equivalent to Star 93.
Mission Viejo 98: "Serenade": won WBA with this. Never seen anything like this up till this point.
Clovis West 94: The Age of Anxiety: Jaw dropping on all levels. A little too synth-y.
Fred C. Beyer 94: The music of David Holsinger: On the field the theme was some kind of race, including numbers on the back of the color guard.

Ill be back later to add the other 6.

Moving your post over to the 1990-1999 thread. I'll respond there...

horns2thebachs wrote:Couple of things that might rustle some jimmies: Chino is a consistently solid band, but I don't know if I would have included them in a list of the BEST. However, they were solid throughout the decade, whereas Etiwanda was dominant until about 2005, and Riverside King hadn't really emerged until then. Also, you listed Mt. Carmel in the 80s and 90s, but not the 2000s? I think its a lot easier to have a great band in only one aspect, since you don't have to split rehearsal time between parade and field. To me Rancho Bernardo is the best because they were always near the top on the field AND in the street.

Yeah, the 00's (2000-2009) were the toughest decade to do, for sure, whereas it was pretty easy to identify and differentiate the best of the best from the 1990's (and probably the 1980's, too). It may be because a lot of the bands from the 00's seemed to "catch on" with what makes a band great with bigger funding, bigger staff, 'exclusive arrangers' like Key Poulan and Jim Wunderlich (which is not necessarily new)...and then you had some directors jumping ship, like Ramiro Barrera from Clovis West to James Logan (and yet still Clovis West wasn't "bad") and Charles Gray from Rubidoux to Riverside King, and Valley View's rapid decline. Then there was SCSBOA's revamped judging and SCSBOA Championships (1A-6A), as well as WSMBC (WBA) becoming more California-centric with more and more bands participating from southern California. Lots of change happened from 2000-2009!

airons0678 wrote:

horns2thebachs wrote:Couple of things that might rustle some jimmies: Chino is a consistently solid band, but I don't know if I would have included them in a list of the BEST. However, they were solid throughout the decade, whereas Etiwanda was dominant until about 2005, and Riverside King hadn't really emerged until then. Also, you listed Mt. Carmel in the 80s and 90s, but not the 2000s? I think its a lot easier to have a great band in only one aspect, since you don't have to split rehearsal time between parade and field. To me Rancho Bernardo is the best because they were always near the top on the field AND in the street.

Yeah, the 00's (2000-2009) were the toughest decade to do, for sure, whereas it was pretty easy to identify and differentiate the best of the best from the 1990's (and probably the 1980's, too). It may be because a lot of the bands from the 00's seemed to "catch on" with what makes a band great with bigger funding, bigger staff, 'exclusive arrangers' like Key Poulan and Jim Wunderlich (which is not necessarily new)...and then you had some directors jumping ship, like Ramiro Barrera from Clovis West to James Logan (and yet still Clovis West wasn't "bad") and Charles Gray from Rubidoux to Riverside King, and Valley View's rapid decline. Then there was SCSBOA's revamped judging and SCSBOA Championships (1A-6A), as well as WSMBC (WBA) becoming more California-centric with more and more bands participating from southern California. Lots of change happened from 2000-2009!

Wow, the 2000's, my take:

Quite frankly, was not a fan of Etiwanda's aesthetic change. Mission Viejo's best shows, IMO, were 2000, 2006, 2008 and 2009.
Logan was just a BEAST. The arrival of Ayala and the DOMINANCE of Rancho Bernardo on the street; their performances were as highly anticipated as watching a field band. Color Guard that was divine and the BEST sound ever produced on street(IMO).

Are you only referring to field bands? Street bands? Both field and street? Southern California only? Both Northern and Southern California?

To just say band/California.........I think it is too broad of a topic, imho.

Cardinal Regime wrote:Are you only referring to field bands? Street bands? Both field and street? Southern California only? Both Northern and Southern California?

To just say band/California.........I think it is too broad of a topic, imho.

All California, all performances street/field or just field. I don't think it's too broad of a topic, though it does get more sketchy, I think, 2000 and onward, because a LOT (and I mean a LOT) of bands left the street to focus on field-only, and a lot of new "circuits" popped up and created championships of this and that sort on the field. (Yeah, Diamond Bar eventually converted to street-only, but they're a rare case.) 1980's and 1990's you could ALMOST lump everyone field/street, except the Fresno bands and other parts of the state that were field-focused (performance opportunities), though they might have even had a Christmas parade, or something.

Jim Bunselmeier wrote: This list seems to be best field bands of these years.

Not necessarily. For example, Riverside King's strong suit was street, and Rancho Bernardo was consistently of top caliber on street. True, it does bring up questions about why bands like Mt. Carmel are not included, who was and is also consistently superb on both street and field.

North Park Middle School