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October 28, 2008

BOA Las Vegas REDUX

So the weekend in Las Vegas was great all around: great weather, great "band" stadium, and some competitive groups. The weather was in the low 80s during the day and a nice upper 50s in the evening which made was great for performing. The Owasso band is use to playing in 90+ weather at the beginning of the season so the temps did not affect the group (that and the conditioning the band went through this year). The UNLV stadium had one of the best sounds coming off the field that I have heard in a while and I've been in quite a few through my years. Some might call it slightly boomy, but I enjoyed being able to hear the details in the basslines even when they were past the back hash.

As for the groups, let me say this: there are a lot of good drumlines in the Nevada/Utah area - my hat is off to them...I was impressed. That said, I have to mention three groups at the contest that blew me away: Clovis West (CA), American Fork (UT), and Upland HS (CA). The maturity of sound in these three groups was fantastic! Clovis West had a great ensemble sound, American Fork with its 8 snares, 5 tenors and monster bassline, and Upland with a sick snareline that wasn't afraid to stick its neck out and throw down some beats. If you get a chance to see any of these groups in the next couple of weeks, I urge to go check them out.

Again, I wish I could have checked everyone out that day, but I had a job to do. Even though the drive was long, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Las Vegas (and St. George) and it was a great BOA contest.

Posted by Ryan on 09:24 PM

October 21, 2008

BOA Las Vegas This Weekend

What a crazy Fall so far. Life has been busy lately and HS marching band has a lot to do with it. So the culmination of all this "busy" arrives this weekend in Las Vegas. I am flying in Thursday to meet up with Owasso HS (OK) and heading up to the St George contest Friday night and then the Bands of America contest on Saturday.

Hopefully we can get some shots of some other groups and check them out in the lot (if possible).

Posted by Ryan on 10:05 PM