Drum Corps Shows

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Which corps, Oboe?

BK was on the same field with Vanguard and BD; the speed and structure of the performance was not quite in the same class. If they don't tighten up they don't have a prayer. Magic and the Cadets are also showing really good scores this early in the season, and there are other strong scores from the east coast and midwest.

BK has a really good website and in past years have had a comparative scoring chart. It's a good way to keep current.

There's another San Diego show later this month, and we get the Blue Devils C corps. I'm really looking forward to it, they are so darned cute. I always smile myself silly when they take the field, and they get the best applause of all the Div III corps. (For the uninitiated, they're little kids. And dead serious about this drum corps thing. Adorable.)

BK offered my son a spot, rather lightly, once. His cousin David was playing baritone in the BK, one of their sops broke his leg, and Ant was there with his trumpet at my sister's house. However, having seen a practice and not being into heat, sweat, and pain, he declined.

His sister loves it. She's the Esperanza mello player, hasn't been home in three days...

[1st_oboe]

I was with the Southern Oregon Crusaders (now know as the Oregon Crusaders)in 01.

The position I was offered with BK was on Contra or Baritone. They had 3 people quit the week before they left for the tour, so they were desparate for people. The VP of the Corps offered me a full sponsorship, so all I would have needed to do was find a way to get to Denver.
BUT Around that same time, I was offered a good solid job, and I had to take it. I had an accident in December (broke my finger, had to have emergencey surgery, and an overnight stay in the hospital), and have about $2500 in hospital bills (even after insurance paid...) that I have to take care of.

Oh well, at least I'll get to see them in Boise next week.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Shows this weekend:

Friday there are shows in DeKalb, IL, and Greeley, CO.

Saturday shows in DeKalb, IL, Denver CO, and San Diego, CA

Sunday shows in West Covina and Stroudsburg, PA.

The San Diego and West Covina shows are Div II/Div III shows, the big Div I corps will not be there, but the Blue Devils C corps (that's the little kids) will be in San Diego. They are beyond belief adorable and worth the attendance all on their own. Donna, OT, anyone else in the area, you have been informed.

Denver. It's the Drums Along the Rockies show and has a very nice selection of Div I corps. Ben, if you haven't got your ticket, you're laggin'

DeKalb is the Midwestern championships. Two nights and there is a huge lineup of corps appearing. There will be 5, count them five senior corps on the 12th; they march less spectacularly but tend to play better music. Being older, and all.

I will be at the San Diego show, watching my Esperanza and trying (again) to spot my daughter. You'd think I could spot my own kid, wouldn't you? And Smiling, Smiling, Smiling at the BDC

[OperaTenor]

Hi Selma,

I'm going to have to miss this Saturday. Rehearsing in PV most of the day, then a concert at Trinity Episcopal in Escondido at 7pm. Have fun!

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Esperanza hits the road on tour tonight. They are going to live on busses and gym floors for four weeks, driving, rehearsing, driving, rehearsing, performing, driving, etc.

They will be at several shows scattered around where you eastie types can see them, if inclined. They are scheduled into shows at:

July 26, start time 7:30 pm
Wayne Valley H.S.
551 Valley Rd.
Wayne, NJ

July 27, start time 6:30 pm
Keystone High School Stadium
Knox, PA
http://www.keyknox.com/SMILES/DrumCorps.htm

July 28, start time 7:00 pm
North East High School Stadium
1901 Freeport Rd.
North East, PA 16428
http://www.leregiment.org

July 29, start time 7:00 pm
Erie Veteran's Memorial Stadium
26th & State Street
Erie, PA
http://www.leregiment.org

July 31, start time 7:00 pm
Salem Stadium
1005 Roanoke Blvd.
Salem VA 92153
http://virtualsalem.com/dci/

August 1, start time 7:00 pm
Tarboro High School
1400 Howard Ave
Tarboro, NC 27886

August 3, start time 7:00
Sandalwood High School
2750 John Prom Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32246
http://tealsound.org

August 4 to 10th
dci finals in Orlando Florida

<sniffle> I'm so proud. My babies are going off to entertain all you eastie coasties.

Seriously, anybody who's in band, has a kid in band, used to be in the band, plays drums or brass even NOT in the band, or just likes a kick-ass field show - GO SEE A SHOW!

Even drum majors outta love the show!

Enjoy.

[OperaTenor]

Selma, did you just say "kick-ass"?

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Is there an alternate phrase? Abuse-donkey just doesn't sound right.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

<sniffle>

I'm so proud. I've been watching dci.org all morning, and it's official.

Esperanza has won the Division II finals. WOO-HOO! Despite a short rain break (again) just before they went on.

Semifinals were rained out, after the first few corps performed. Preliminaries had a two-hour unscheduled rain break. Two of the other road shows were rained out. You east coast lot sure put up with some lousy weather.

My kid's corps won! They WON! Top three spots were very competitive, there's fractions of a point between them, but they WON!

Deb called, and if you think I'm excited, you ought to hear the kids!

[OperaTenor]

Abuse-Donkey! Uh, you know what I mean.....


Really, congratulations to you, Gil, & of course Deb!

[1st_oboe]

Wonderful news Selma. Congrats to you and yours! I'm anxiously watching the Div 1 finals online. Can't wait to see it on PBS here within the next couple months.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

I understand that the PBS stations will start airing the Div I finals sometime after the end of this month. Probably use it for a fundraiser.

-*-*-*-
Hijack alert!
How come the Discovery channels, and Home and Garden, and the History channel, and the Food channel can make money and offer oddball programming and PBS still has to beg for nickels eighteen times a year? Is it actually possible for them to be the only ones who don't make money producing TV?

And is it actually true that accepting commercial sponsors corrupts the purity of the programming, when they have all these obvious corporate sponsors for various shows (but they call them something else) and they get an "acknowledgement" at the end of the show that looks and walks and quacks like a duck, ah, commercial.

I'm as bad as Haggis. Hijacking myself.

End of hijack.
-*-*-*-*-

I'm not waiting and I'm not putting up with the begging, either. I ordered the Div II/III finals DVD/CD set, and the Div I Finals DVD. I'll get 'em as soon as PBS does, won't have to put up with appeals for funding, and I can pause it when it's time to make more popcorn.

I'll let y'all know when they come, you can all come over and watch, too. BYOB, I'll do popcorn.

[1st_oboe]

Finals Results:
1 Blue Devils 98.80
2 The Cavaliers 97.25
3 The Cadets 97.10
4 Phantom Regiment 94.75
5 Santa Clara Vanguard 94.70
6 Boston Crusaders 90.95
7 Bluecoats 90.75
8 Madison Scouts 89.55
9 Crossmen 86.90
10 Carolina Crown 86.65
11 Magic of Orlando 85.60
12 Spirit from JSU 84.40
Argh! Spirit beat out my BK for the 12th spot in the finals by .15, then scored lower in the finals than BK's losing score yesterday. (Confused yet?) Oh well... We'll have a home field advantage next year.

[1st_oboe]

Ooh... It's getting closer. DCI posted the summer schedule today.

***Selma, what are your thoughts on this:***

http://www.dci.org/news/news.cfm?news_id=cf8f2be9-3090-4940-9061-5a98775032ff&corps_id=ee90541e-b13a-4cb0-a91d-87ea26d1f545

Climbing into Div I is awesome, but I'm not so sure about having a limited tour schedule. Didn't Esperanza have a pretty extensive tour last year as Div II?

Aaron

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Yes. Yes, indeed. Going Div I is both exciting and a bit nervewracking. It's a bit like a band that does really, really well playing concerts on Sunday evenings in the park suddenly playing the same venue as the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The band may be the same but there's this change in the surroundings.

Esperanza's show last year was as close to the Div I shows in both difficulty of the music and intricacy and speed of the movement as the staff and the kids could manage, and I think it went very well indeed. E will be in with the big dogs this year and I don't really expect to see them on the field on Finals night, but I hope to, and I do expect that they'll do their best. (I expect that their best will be pretty darn good, too.)

The Regional Div I is, according to Alan, the next step for E; and bear in mind that that's how the Mandarins and Cascades are operating. The parental plans just now are all about the support for the corps (I have a bunch of uniforms to assemble. My cat is "helping".) The kitchen equipment and the low brass equipment are up for major equipment replacements and we have other infrastructure development to deal with. It's a big undertaking.

Esperanza WILL live up to its name. The kids a practicing hard and they hope to do well on the road and in Denver. I'm buying tickets in the stands. I know I'll cheer them at quarter finals and I hope that I can cheer for them in Finals.

The tour schedule is not carved in stone yet, we'll see how everything developes later. Meanwhile, I have this cat among the tunics...

Selma

[piqaboo]

"cat among tunics..."


Ah, but what is spring without sequins and glitter in the carpet and on the front step??

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

No, no, sequins and glitter is the color guard. Bonnie and Lauren are doing them. Corps tunics are polyester twill and silvered jersey.

I had my serger serviced and got it new knives. It's good to go. I have miles and miles of black and maroon thread. Extra needles. All I need now are extra hands and, maybe, another pot of coffee. No, on second thought, I think I'll turn off b.com and go to bed.

Cripes, how'd it get so late. It must be the cat's fault.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Esperanza did the annual Mother's Day concert yesterday. Last year they played something by Glass and this year the first two pieces are Glass compositions (somewhat adapted for field brass) Something about airplanes on the roof and a Heroes symphony bit.

Then they played the ballad for us (sight reading it still because it only got handed out that morning) and it was a tad ragged but I think it'll work up into something really lovely. They don't have a closing piece yet, but they will by Memorial day.

I already bought tickets for Denver, I'm going to finals.

And all the drum corps tunics are out of my sewing machine space and out from under my cat.

Summer must be nearly here. All the kids had tans.

[OperaTenor]

Are you sure one of them wasn't Glass' 4'33"?

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Was that Glass? I thought it was somebody even more less tune-ish.

Sound level was a little high for that piece. Nope, it was the airplanes thing and the heroes thing.

[piqaboo]

4'33" is Cage, n'es ce pas?
I processed to that piece......