Letter from - and to - Home

I've been some hard thinking about organizations over the last week. I'm drafting a post now, but I had to put this up today. The title is from the middle piece of the Cadets 1991 show. That song gets me all emotional, sometimes nearly making me cry. (Friends tell me they cried throughout the entire show, but I think it was for different reasons!)

After I had been blogging a bit, I came across a book called "The Last Lecture" by a computer science professor named Randy Pausch. Don't be deceived - the title may sound depressing, but the book is really upbeat! When Randy found out he had pancreatic cancer, he re-focused his life, moved his family, geared up for the fight, but still found time to return to Carnegie Mellon University to give the traditional last lecture, the original source of the book.

If you don't know about it, stop reading after this paragraph and come back later ... after you take about 75 minutes to view this video.

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This morning I will climb on an airplane for a quick trip to the Big Easy. I fully expect Southwest Airlines to bring me home tonight, so I'm not about to get weepy. But I do need to say, to my family at home (and not at home) ... I am on the plane today to do something I do pretty well with the hope of being able to help you pursue your dreams.

Family is so, so important. It's all that's left where there is nothing but Bones (right, Crossmen and Alumni?). When things are turbulent in your life, as this last week was for me, family keeps you going.

This is a mid-season thank you drum corps families, too, for what you are doing for your kids. I would talk about it during my time with Carolina Crown, but I haven't lived the experience of turning your kids over to a group for 2-3 months (3 weeks was about it for us!) and holding your breath every night as they move about the country. And you paid for the privilege!

And this is a pre-season thank you band families. Our band director has this right: this is the last 4 years you get to spend with your kid. These are neat years in their growth and development, so you better make it count, because you will never, ever, get it that time back.

I was thinking about the irony here. How often has music been a generational divisor at home? "Turn that down!" "How can you listen to that junk?!"

But then there is band and drum corps. This is the music that brings generations together. And that just just way too cool ...

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Randy Pausch died late last week. He didn't get to see his kids achieve their childhood dreams. But he definitely laid the groundwork for that. I'm going to keep trying to do that myself. Maybe you should do so, too.

Finally - Friday Night Lights! (A Review of the DCI Masters in Murfreesboro)

This week it was Friday Night Lights at the DCI Masters in Murfreesboro, Tennessee!

This is my first actual show of the season, and my first chance to attend this "Top 8" event. And, for the first time in this blog, I'll publish a Review that I have given to friends via e-mail. This will be fun, too, as I include comments by my oldest son, who offers his perspective as a (near) 16 year old band member. I call him "MP" as in Mellophone Player!

There are a lot of good seats in this venue. We sat in Club level seats, but if I had to do it again I’d come down to section RR, between rows 15-20. That is just high enough to see, but just close enough for impact.

Performing first were the Blue Knights. MP noticed three drum majors. I noticed – the “band”. The performance was … good. There were nice BK/Ron Nelson licks with the signature silks ("Amazing Grace" was nice and colorful) and some well-done drill, but to me the design was a guard show with horns. MP said 8^th, and as did I with an 86-87. That was generous. The judges gave an 84.400.

After this show I corrected MP’s slip of the purist tongue when he called BK a band. He has been to shows before, but really this was the first time I think he was being discerning. I said, however, that it was my opinion that he had seen “A good band, but not a good corps.” “How so?” he asked. “Just keep watching.” We didn’t have to wait long.

Santa Clara Vanguard brought “3hree: Mind, Body and Soul” to the field. The concept was well integrated and executed, musically and visually. Opening with challenging music and drill and some cool visual tricks with the uniform (mind), they phased into a more aggressive segment with a lot of kinetic movement (body) and then closed with driving yet emotional music (soul). MP got the difference in design and execution.

I had not seen SCV in a while, and it was cool to explain some of the traditions that link the shows. MP’s favorite show he has marched is “Phantom of the Opera”, and we saw traditions connecting 2008 with 1988. I said 5^th with a 91 (.3!), and MP said 6^th. The judges did not share our view – 7^th with 87.475.

The Bluecoats neatly integrated their show into the warm up and Brandt Crocker’s introduction. But they didn’t’ deliver "The Knockout" they were hoping for, because part way through a show heavily dependent on narration, the sound system failed, exposing a weakness in a show that could no longer carry under its own musical and visual power. A single engine fly-over during the choral voices didn’t help. MP commented on the battery’s (particularly the bass drums) integration into the visual boxing ring, saying, “I thought that was unique.” We said 7^th, but the judges said 6th, scoring 88.200 (to my 90).

Unlike SCV’s thematic execution, this Blue (the only one missing tonight was the Stars!) made you focus too much on the boxer, afraid you would miss something, with the end result being that you probably did anyway. By contrast, you keep looking all over the field to see how SCV brings 3hree to you in a new way. I guess that’s my “GE” bias showing; I’m sure the technical aspects are showing up in the recap.

I saw the Cadets practice live, and was looking forward to the performance. However, this seemed "off" from what I had watched earlier this month (see July 6th post). Extensive rewrites were apparent as the script, music, visuals and colors seemed disconnected right from the start. Mr. Crocker even seemed confused (as opposed to when he introduced the Bluecoats) and I think the audience felt the same throughout the first half of the show. By the time the corps clicked (“snapped?!”) into gear with the “Wall Street” section the audience had changed from WCDT to another station, reflected in the flat reaction at the end. The wink was a nice addition, but I almost missed it as there were two focal points. Are the Cadets trying to do too much? I don’t think so. But they have to sort out what they are trying to do. I said 6^th with 91, MP 5^th. The judges about agreed; 5^th with a 90.825.

I really anticipated the Phantom Regiment’s "Spartacus" (see May 7) and I was not disappointed! Sometimes we are let down when something we remember nostalgically (1982, my first show ever) is not relived. Phantom didn’t try to recreate so much as reinvent the show. The design innovations of the last 25 years were clear, and I sense more (color?!) is coming in the next two weeks. This show has not peaked!

MP really got into the show, seeing the difference in design and execution. “I am Spartacus!” he shouted! So did I, and we agreed on a 4^th place and 92. The judges, it turned out, said 3^rd with a 93.200.

And if they were third, and that means Carolina Crown was 4^th. But having been there at the start of the corps 19 years ago, they are always first in my heart! When I heard the on the phone show (see July 6th) I could not quite see where the visual would be going. Now, with the total package, it was just a lot of fun – a classic with a nice twist!

But, okay, maybe fun like cotton candy. Tastes great, associated with nice memories, but not really filling. Regardless, the fans ate it up like, well, cotton candy. MP and I talked about how they followed the classic emotional ride: start and build, slow a bit (the brass choir in the "Clair de Lune" classic with a "West Side Story" twist was angelic and crystal clear), then push on to an “up” finish. I said 3^rd with a 92.5, MP said 2^nd, and the judges said 4^th at 92.625. I didn’t think Phantom Regiment had caught them tonight, but I won’t disagree with the placement.

But, when fans down front unrolled big banner with the words “Oh Yeah Baby!” you had to agree. MP, biased toward all things Carolina, especially this corps, said “I definitely loved it! I loved the way they incorporated 'Finis' into everything they do, such as the ripples where everyone was doing the same thing until it got to the end, where they do something just a bit different!” Yup. He's catching on.

The "Green Machine" took an abstract concept and made it work. It wasn’t a distinct story but a clear theme, Samauri, and was very engaging. I found the audio effects fascinating, but MP said, “The best part was the drill, with the body work and the jumping. I can’t wait to see them again!” I didn't quite feel the same way, but I still said 2^nd with a 93.5. MP said 1^st, and the judges put the second place score at 93.275, a sliver above.

If I say a show was “conventional yet unique” you’d probably say, “That’s absurd!” That’s the Blue Devils, with their absurdity show. Again, an abstract concept well executed, with visual “sparks” throughout. “I don’t know,” said MP, “I liked the guard and the sticks.” But during the performance he whispered a thought to me that showed me his appreciation of how the corps uses the “sound of silence”.

At the end, before the scores were announced, MP said that we should rank the corps that really got people out of their seats. That was great way to think about the show! I said Phantom Regiment, SCV, Carolina Crown and the Cavaliers. MP agreed with 1 and 4, but thought Crown was above Vanguard. (What a homer!)

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We get to see six of the top 12 again in a few days in West Chester, and I will offer thoughts on that show as well as my final live-in-the-stadium event of 2008, Westminister. Is this what was meant by, "Go west, young man!" I hope so!

Hey, but if you haven't been able to get to a show yet, never fear! Click on the link below! And if you don't get to that, never fear. It will be reviewed too!

This post brought to you by the letter "E"

I was taught that efficiency is doing things right, and effectiveness is doing the right thing. What I just learned, however, is that efficiency is clean, and effectiveness can be quite messy. I learned this watching the Cadets rehearse last week.

The rehearsal, in the rain, was controlled chaos. And having been on tour with corps in the past, I can tell you that any drum corps moving down the road is. It wasn't "efficient", and inefficient is expensive. But in the end, in the art form we call drum corps, will sticking to the efficient at the expense of the effective elevate the corps? (How many "e" words was that?!)

I read in the Saturday/Sunday edition of the Wall Street Journal two other e-words used to describe movies (particularly "Wall*E"): entertaining, and enthralling. Some of this may apply to this weekend's results as well, with the "upset" win (if you can call what I think is an earned win an "upset") of Carolina Crown over the Cadets.

Certainly the Cadets are not without controversy. I think that comes with being on the leading edge of the activity. Looking over shows from 1980 to the present in the All Access feature of their website, they have not so much as pushed the drum corps activity than pulled it along. I always loved the long left behind slogan of "Tradition:Innovation" (and the upward G arrow logo from the Garfield days)!

Carolina Crown, on the other hand, is playing it (somewhat) safe - familiar tunes, but done very, very well. I haven't seen (but have heard!) the show, admittedly, but I wonder how this year's efficient entertainment compare to last year's "Triple Crown", which was to me effective enthrallment? Maybe not, but at this point the judges and the fans are saying it beats effective entertainment (or non-entertainment, if you feel that way about narration!). Certainly, though, the two leading corps seem to be producing what they generally do: effective enthrallment!

It is certainly a new matrix for back-of-the-envelope judging. Maybe now my "how hard is it to do what they did" and "how well did they do it" needs to be adapted.

I am looking forward to seeing how this next week shakes out as the corps converge on my birth-town, San Antonio. I am eager to see them in Murfreesboro! This year may bring some excitement after all!

... and the Pursuit of Happiness

It's July 4th (or Independence Day) weekend, and the Cadets stopped by Maryland today in their pursuit of happiness. I pursued some happiness, too, I guess - I went to watch ensemble rehearsal (in the rain*). I marvel at the specialness of those ordinary young men and women who dedicate hours to perfecting "something".

After watching, I am eager to see the result of the work I witnessed. It was messy work**, I hope that readers can appreciate that working for something makes achieving it so much better.

Sometimes things seem to be so easy that we just "phone it in." Maybe some can do that and be successful. I don't know, though. Where is the satisfaction in that? Is that the pursuit of happiness, no matter what we do? We tend to phone in so much - parenting, voting, working, relationships.

The ensemble was not a full run though, but I got a nice appreciation for what they are attempting to do. I look forward to seeing what comes from this pursuit.

P.S. Hey, Hoppy ... the Zone was a few years ago ... ;)

Audio sampling

"My corps" did phone it in last night, though. Well, kind of! My neighbor is in the Jersey Surf, and his Mom called me as Carolina Crown took the field so I could listen. Technology is great, but limited, yet it was nice to get my first listen of the competitive season.

I had been told that the show was good but "something" was missing, and listening as best as a I could I noticed it, too. I think it is the familiarity ... we are imposing something on the show that isn't there or isn't meant to be there. It's still early, however ... way early.

* Overheard: "How is life on the road?" "It's been good. Just wet. Everywhere."
** Watch for a future post on an insight on efficiency and effectiveness.