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August 20, 2009
Jim Casella Steps Down From Cavaliers
In a shocking move, Jim Casella has stepped down from the Cavaliers as Percussion Caption Head. He has spent the last four years in that position and he sites non-work and other professional projects as the deciding factors in his decision. We at Drumline Blog wish Jim and his family the best in the future and thank him for his contributions to this activity.
http://www.jimcasella.com/files/96c788429071824cd37e92aa0ab00a24-6.html
Posted by Ryan on 11:05 PM
August 08, 2009
Blue Devils Win 13th Championship
Picture credit: dsdault
The Blue Devils held off Carolina Crown and the Holy Name Cadets by posting a 99.05 to win their 13th World Championship. Carolina Crown followed with a 97.50 and Holy Name Cadets finished 3rd with a close 97.20. Here are the placements, scores, and drum scores for all Top 12 Finalists:
| 1. | Blue Devils | 99.05 | (19.80 | 1) |
| 2. | Carolina Crown | 97.50 | (19.60 | 2) |
| 3. | Holy Name Cadets | 97.20 | (18.50 | 7) |
| 4. | The Cavaliers | 96.15 | (19.40 | 3) |
| 5. | Santa Clara Vanguard | 95.65 | (18.60 | 6) |
| 6. | Bluecoats | 93.15 | (19.10 | 4) |
| 7. | Boston Crusaders | 90.70 | (18.30 | 8) |
| 8. | Blue Stars | 90.05 | (17.70 | 9) |
| 9. | Phantom Regiment | 89.90 | (18.70 | 5) |
| 10. | Glassmen | 87.75 | (17.60 | 10) |
| 11. | Blue Knights | 86.45 | (17.10 | 12) |
| 12. | Troopers | 85.10 | (17.30 | 11) |
Posted by Ryan on 09:59 PM
DCI World Championships
Tonight is the DCI World Championships for the World Class (Div I) groups. It is being held at the new Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis. So far it has been the Blue Devils in the driver's seat, but you have Carolina Crown sitting in 2nd with the Holy Name Cadets right behind them. Last night the Blue Devils almost walked away with a perfect percussion score of 20.00 by posting a 19.90 - Carolina Crown was right there behind them with a 19.80.
Tonight decides the Fred Sanford High Percussion Award to the highest score using one judge on the field. This is different from Quarters and Semis where you have two judges - one in the box and one on the floor. I'm not so sure with leaving the decision up to one judge and them being on the field. That means the ensemble sound will not be taken into account as much, it will be more technical in nature.
How will it go down? Will Carolina Crown catch BD or will they remain on top? I have my Top 6 in order posted after the jump...
*** THESE ARE MY BEST GUESS, THESE ARE NOT THE ACTUAL RESULTS ***
Top 6 Corps
- Blue Devils
- Holy Name Cadets
- Carolina Crown
- The Cavaliers
- Santa Clara Vanguard
- Bluecoats
Why? The momentum of the Blue Devils will not let the judging panel switch one and two tonight. If it was back and forth I could see it 50/50 but not in this case. I can see the Cadets sneaking past them as they tend to come out for the last show extremely strong, but I don't see the difference between 2 and 3 to be that much.
Top 6 Percussion- Blue Devils
- Carolina Crown
- Holy Name Cadets
- Bluecoats
- The Cavaliers
- Phantom Regiment
What happened here? Well as much as I would like to see some new blood at top, again the combination of the judging community not letting a newcomer just walk in and take the trophy along with a one panel judging environment doesn't bode well for Crown. If it ends up different I will be thoroughly surprised. Also, with the one panel system I can see some other movements that might benefit certain groups, maybe Bluecoats have a chance to jump the Cavaliers who rely on ensemble cohesiveness to achieve their numbers.
Posted by Ryan on 04:48 PM
August 06, 2009
DCI 2009 World Championships Start...NOW
Quarterfinals are tonight! If you are free tonight, make plans to find your nearest participating theater and check out Quarterfinals LIVE. That's almost 400 theaters across the country showing the broadcast that will showcase 22 World Class corps. For the nearest theater, click here
Posted by Ryan on 12:36 AM
August 05, 2009
DCI Van Buren Review
So I took a different approach to the DCI show in Van Buren after realizing last year that the location is not really conducive to running around with a camera. This year I decided it would be my goal to sit in the stands at this venue and actually enjoy some of the shows. Unfortunately, some of the drumlines were making it extremely difficult to stay focused on the goal. When I got out of my car, I was presented with this...
It was Carolina Crown just setting up for their warm up...
After hanging around a few minutes and realizing I needed to get back on track, I literally followed the railroad tracks towards the stadium. Again, I was presented with another roadblock luring me away, this time it was the Santa Clara Vanguard.
I stood there for about five minutes listening to the little devil sitting on my shoulder saying, "look at this primo location, with two outstanding drumlines warming up. You would be an idiot to pass this up". Would I? I had to press on so back to following the tracks. After negotiating for the best ticket left in the stack, I proceeded to head to the stands but I again started to doubt my decision as I read the sign on the gate, "No re-entry"....it was all or nothing at this point. I grimaced as I looked for my seat among the masses, listening to things such as "I can't wait for the next band"....oh what had I gotten myself into? I was sitting in the epicenter among the grandmas, band moms, and the uninitiated! They didn't know what they were missing in the parking lot, the whole other show, and I doubted they cared. But then the first group came out, not the first group in the lineup - remember my loitering in the lot? So the first group to come out is Spirit which was an entertaining show. Not something I would normally go for, but it was satisfying in that it didn't try to pose a deep question or tug at the heart strings. It was just a good old fashioned 11 minutes of drum corp. Hey maybe these people in the stands were on to something?
So next up was the Colts. Their show was well designed when it came to the music, but seemed to lack the visual polish of a Top 6 corp. Nonetheless, the total package came off strong and the drumline is much improved from years past. Everything seemed to have a better flow in the writing and playing...oh the playing, the roll quality was fantastic from the snareline. The Colts drumline had the perfect balance of musicality, demand, quality of sound and technique. My hat is off to them this year.
The Blue Knights were up next and they did not disappoint. This was actually the show that impressed me the most since I typically do not connect with Blue Knight shows. I'm not sure what it is, but their shows in the past have not grabbed me. 2009 is a different story. It's hard to pull off a show that depicts "cold" when it's almost 100 degrees but they did a fine job. The hornline was fantastic and just when you thought they had given you their all, they turned it up even more! I use to only think the elite groups were able to do that with the same quality of sound while raising the intensity level - not anymore! The drumline writing complimented the horn book well and never distracted the listener from the main musical themes. They were a strong drumline and had some very impressive drum exposures during the show.
Santa Clara Vanguard was next. It was a non stop "Best of" show containing classic Vanguard that hit all of the right notes. There were areas of serious playing, comedy, raw emotion, and nods to tradition all wrapped up in a package only SCV could produce. The drums looked sharp in the dark green stain and they played closer to the traditional SCV style than in recent years - I see this as an improvement. Why not go back to roots, the very thing that got you where you are in the first place? This is a show worth seeing again and again.
The last group of the night was Carolina Crown. I have to be honest and say that they were the primary reason for going to this particular show. It would be the one and only time I would get to see them this Summer so I jumped at the chance. "The Grass is Always Greener" as the show title gives the design team a lot of open-ended ideas to play with and they did a nice job exploring those. I can't say I picked up everything on the first read, but the variations on what is on "the other side" proved to be enjoyable to watch. Hornline was strong like last year, up to the same level? Maybe, but the music is a different style so its hard to compare. The drumline? Smokin'. They have improved every year since Lee Beddis has taken the reins. This is the pinnacle of a multi-year build up and they are drumming for the trophy - it is non stop notes, yet still very musical. They are not hiding and they are in a way calling out to other groups to do the same (see visuals in show for explanation).
A few things to note about the drumline. The drum finish is outstanding with the green stain. The bass drums got new heads that look like the green stained wood grain, a neat effect. The other thing to note is the tuning of the snare drums. Up close, they sound midrange to on-the-slightly-low-side but from the stands it blends well as an ensemble (which is most important).
Overall, a great evening in the stands and I am actually glad I grabbed a seat for this one. Do I prefer the lot? Sure, it provides a much more intimate view of the drumline and the notes they are playing (and it's free), but you have to take in the end result to see how it all fits together. This gives you better sense of where you can expect corps to finish at Championships. Carolina Crown? Top 3 in my book this year. Good luck to everyone for the remainder of the season.
Posted by Ryan on 12:40 AM
