Am i the only one who..?

Topics and polls that cover the overall marching band activity

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pcballa
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Post by pcballa » Tue Nov 25, 2003 2:55 am

just a couple of thoughts...

to invertedcheeze - don't expect to see the blue devils when RCC hits the field. they're good, but not a drum corp.

to airman - who are YOU to say that people should move on? would you tell all those people who play softball at nights, or soccer on the weekend to move on? not only is marching fun, but it also keeps you in shape. also, it is possible to take on extra activities while getting a degree. i am 22, in my sr year of college on a baseball scholarship, have a part time job, and an internship. thats like having FOUR jobs. the bottom line is, marching isn't just for kids. just like any other sport that you put your all into, it becomes a part of you. it becomes your passion. you don't grow out of your passions. thats the problem with todays world, everyone grows up and loses the kid inside them. you know what... while youre telling all these folks in RCC to move on why not go tell the cast of BLAST! to move on too. its about time they get jobs too. :roll:

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Post by Ryan H. Turner » Tue Nov 25, 2003 12:02 pm

formerpytdad wrote:Ryan,
It was not my intent to degrade RCC in any way shape or form. I just stated that I believe that a 5A/6A band could do any show RCC has done and do it just as well. In other words it was my opinion. As far as my referance to $ it was ment in the ability to purchase an equal amount and quality of instruments.
I fully appreciate your opinion. I know you're not trying to "degrade" RCC, but comparing them with 5A/6A bands was sort of strange in my eyes. But now you've stated a 5A/6A band could do any show RCCC has done and do it just was well. Again--from a straight "technical" standpoint--I would say perhaps you are right. Although I would be hard pressed to find any trumpet players in high school nowadays that could sound as good as RCC's trumpets. And the overall "impact" of sound is due obviously in part to RCC's instrumentation, but also due to the older "average" age of the group and musical ability. So I don't agree any 5A/6A band could have the sonic impact RCC has. Visually though--yes, any 5A/6A band can do what they do and probably much more and much better. But here we really are comparing apples and oranges. And that's why I don't think it's necessarily fair to compare the two types of marching bands...

But cool--I appreciate the opinions...and thank you brother Justin for your "help"...I think I took the other director's opinion at face value and sort of reacted probably a little too quickly. Apparently he's referring to what I used to call up at Pasadena City College many moons ago the "professional student". The one's that just are treading water. Not necessarily band kids at all...just the folks that are not truly "moving on". There ARE those. I agree...but those that actively choose to stay and play with RCC (or any other group--especially senior corps) are to be applauded for having that performance bug and doing something with it, and not letting that fire die out. Not saying the director meant it, but the general feeling among some that "reliving your youth" is in some way to be looked down upon really irks me. :x

See ya!!!!

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...

Post by CameronTheKing » Tue Nov 25, 2003 10:15 pm

Hmm.........wow......



ANYWAYS!!! :D
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My Two Cents

Post by CameronTheKing » Tue Nov 25, 2003 10:33 pm

ALRIGHT! Here's my take on the matter.

RCC's a great unit, but they're by no means (as was mentioned before) a drum corps division I band!

Here's what I think it comes down to: Everybody that watches a show gets out of it what they want to get out of it. Some people look for the overall effect and entertainment value of the show, which can, at times, let minor "errors" (I use that term very loosly) just slide by, since the show's entertaining. Some people look for precision - is every member glide-stepping perfectly in step and in phase? is the music crisp and clean? etc.

There's militaristic bands and "Show" bands.

For Example, at the Mt. Carmel Tournement this year, there were a lot of my fellow bandmembers and booster parents wondering why Rancho Bernardo won sweepstakes again, since they thought that other shows were more entertaining, such as El Dorado's "Chicago" show. After seeing the video of their performance (unfortunately I missed it live, as I had to get in uniform for the awards ceremonies), I know why they won. SCSBOA looks more at precision rather than general effect, and RB was awesome. Their music, granted, has a limited audience compared to, say, "Chicago," but they did their show and did it well, and that's why they won. And for the record, I really liked their show - playing on the theme of "concert band marching."

hmm, seems I've gone off on a bit of a tangent, but you get the idea - different strokes for different folks.

As far as "old" members hanging around - I'm not gonna comment on that, I think there's a bunch of different takes on that and no single one is necessarily right.

I hope this post got some people thinking - about what they believe and about what they say. I'm not taking any particular "side" or advocating a particular viewpoint. And finally, we should be glad that there are so many different styles of groups - variety is good and it's exciting to sometimes just kick back and watch a group of people entertaining you by just doing what they enjoy and having fun.

There's my two cents.
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Re: I HAVE NOT MOVED ON>>>AND I'M PROUD OF IT!!!!!!

Post by flagratgirl » Fri Nov 28, 2003 6:20 pm

laurab wrote:Airman-
My students feeling thay have accomplished things they didn't know they could and thanking me for being there for them and caring about them and pushing them to be the best they can possibly be makes me know that not "moving on" was one of the smartest decisions I've made in my life. HOORAY FOR NOT MOVING ON!!!!!!!!!!!!
sorry to bring this back into focus but i read it and started crying becuase Laura has been the first instructor to actually belive in us in my 3 years of colorguard and i know that most if not all of my guard is glad that we have this walk on coach because she has brought out our true potential and showed us that we can do anything that we want. we went from our band telling us that we are dragging them down to actually reciving complements from them saying they were proud of what we did and they respected us. so im glad that she decided to not move on because she has shown me what i am capable of accomploshing
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