June 23, Sacramento, CA

Thanks to Christina Mavroudis on RAMD for this review!

Good morning, 

"Ahhh--mmmm."  That's the sound of one satisfied drum corps
fan. What a blast! Wish the nights were longer ---couldn't wish
for longer days as temperatures broke all records this weekend
reaching a scorching 105 in the Bay Area. Friday, June 23rd
was Sound Expo in Sacramento sponsored by the Mandarins
and Pacific Procession sponsored by Vanguard was Saturday.

Where to start? OK---story time, kiddies! Just sit right back...
As you may or may not know, I'm a parent volunteer with Spirit
of Sunnyvale Youth Band. They're touring this year with the
corps during what's called First Tour ending with the Summer
Band International Championships the day after Drums Along
the Rockies.  Enough background. We arrived in Sac after a
long haul and quickly began setting up for dinner. Across the
lot, I could see the familiar yellow t-shirt of Cybercorps, and
jogged over to say 'hi'! It was the guy listed as "Dad" on the
back of our shirts. He and his group were having their own
little Blue Devil tailgate party. Nice folks. Wish we could have
chatted more, but the tables needed setting.

The Quons, a delightful family (you can always spot the Mr. 
with his orange socks!) put together a dinner in Sacramento 
Friday evening for not only Spirit, but the Vanguard Cadets. 
They have a son in each of the units and many of the Spirit 
performers have 'moved-up' to the Cadets.  Nice way to bring 
the kids together.

The baking sun was not kind to some of the performers in the 
last run-through before dinner break, but a little dinner perked
them up before the first show out here. As I doled out the rice
(lovingly prepared by Chef Quon), I was lucky enough to inquire
the name and instrument of each kid. This embarressed my 
daughter no end, but it makes for a special season: I can look 
out on the field now and actually recognize faces. It puts a human
factor into that uniformity. 

Sue Johnson, DCW writer and SCV alumni, help out to my right  
passing out salad. As the kids came my way, I noticed a few only 
had one leaf of lettice, a sprig of parsley and a mini-carrot stick. 
"What's that?" I asked amused. "Token salad," she smiled. So 
here's to that "Uneasy Parent"----we're looking after your kids!
Or we're at least making sure they're getting their veggies!

After dinner, I was able to get an interview with George Brown,
new director of the SCV Cadets (see transcript at a later date),
and met their DM--both down to earth guys. 

Trucking over to the Press Box, I ran into Neil Hamilton and Tom
Matthews. Talking in the baking sun, and then seeing Spirit
entering the field, I waved my good-byes and then decided to 
make it to the field to snap pics. Though a bit shaky and scared,
the kids seemed to make it through the show in one piece, much 
to the delight of the concerned staff. The guard's futuristic uniform 
simply glowed, sun reflecting off the prismatic head-piece and other
accessories.  

Spirit's Drum Major was a real trooper. When
our other drum major had to quit due to family matters, Besty,
a six year alum of the organization, stepped in just five days
prior. She did a terrific job especially with all those changing
time signatures and tempos. Imagine learning, then conducting
a band or corps with only five days of rehearsal?! Finally, the
real shocker for me was learning that the incredible tenor --the
lone tenor I might add-- is only 12 years old. Check them out
next time you go to Concord, Ogden, Glenwood Springs,
Cheyenne, or Denver. One last note on Spirit: the announcer
kept calling them the Sunnyvale Youth Band which was not
making anyone pleased. When we finally handed him a 
correction through the press window, he thanked us saying
he had no other information. 

Heading up stairs, and it was a Stairmaster nightmare climbing
those steps, I realized the press box was not only Humid City,
but lacked seating. Three unfortunate judges were leaning on
the thrust tables, their backs in akward positions. I decided to
stake out a seat in the stands. And it wasn't too difficult. Due to
lack of publicity, the show's attendence was very sparse.  

Yes, I was in error. Jackets were not required that night. The 
temps did not go down, the humidity did not disapate, and 
there was not such thing as wind that night. But you watch--next
year will be Freezer Hell. really. ;) Oh---kudos to the show
folks who timed the passing trains perfectly. Too bad they
couldn't regulate the humidity

Seated in time, we were entertained by Blue Devils C corps.
Conducted by Ricky Odello (son of..), they performed "The
Flintstones", In-a-gadda-da-vida", "The Lion King" and 
"Yellow Submarine".  3 pit, 6 guard (sophisticated), 9 horns,
and 12 drummers including...yes...they're back...the little
cymbals. One of them took center stage to play a high-hat
cymbal using the big kids high-sticking. When one of the 
sticks went flying, he just played with the one  hand. They 
have a different  look that matches an over- all theme this 
year with BD: very Spanish with tassels, and other touches.

With a respectable score of 55.9, Pacific Crest looks like
their five year plan is progressing nicely.  Their show, "Metro
Scape" was written by Dale Leaman (Brass caption head,
and Show Coordinator) and was written as a memory of
his last day in the work force before he quit to write music
full time. The titles and actual music fit each other perfectly.
"Bottom Rung of the Corporate Ladder". "Double Lattes and
the LA Times". "Heavy Traffic Reported". "Lunch Date with 
My Desktop". "Alternate Route Suggested". And "Back Home". 
"It's an inside joke" said Dale of their warm-up song, "What
Kind of Fool am I?" They fielded 10 percussion, 5 pit, 19 horns,
5 guard (they're working on this), and a drum major, Mike 
Hamada, who just rocks out with this music. Fun to watch. 
The guard is dressed in pink and bring out blue, orange,
and finally purple flags during the show.  They have a super
sop who tears the house down with several solos. Finally, at the
end, we are once more treated to the 'sneak attack' ending. 

As for the five year plan, Dale explained, is based on the 
premise that they never are in the red. This is their third year 
and they're doing all the California shows. Next year, year 
four, they will do all the Western shows. In year five they will 
compete at DCI. This slow build works,  he says, because
they clear any bills by the end of each season. They are also 
actively seeking community support and corporate sponsorship.
(They have two already.) Sounds like sound business
wisdom.   

Well---this post is long enough. Let me get it out. I'll continue
with the rest of the show later. 

Now where were we....Ah, Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets. They got a 67.2 
and won Division II. (While we know the corps are scored on a different sheet,
it was amusing to note that Cadets "beat" their big brothers by .7 that night.)
Their show is music from "Red Pony", "Fall River Legend" and "Wyatt Earp".
They had 7 pit, 15 guard who wore rose colored shifts which faded to white
at the hem, 27 horns and 17 percussionists. Opening flags are gold and 
burgandy--just gorgeous. The neon green flags latter in the show, however,
don't do anything for me. Their final flags are purple and blue---nice, but too
reminicent of their rival Blue Devils' logo.  Great job by all and looking 
forward
to seeing the show solidify. It looks like this Division II race is going to be
tight.

(BTW---as I mentioned in a previous post, Pacific Crest is competing in
Division III however, for some unknown reason, there is only Division II out
here in the West.)

Blue Devils B scored 61.7--good enough for third place. They did music
from the "Mambo Kings" (listed as Mombo in the program ;) and fielded
14 horns, 14 percussion, 7 pit, and 14 guard. The guard wore new costumes
featuring tight black body suits with burgandy inseam panels (a la Marauders)
lace bolero vests, and one long burgandy glove. The opener is a salsa 
number which just cooked. The guard was featured on fans, and silver 
sabres. 

It's a pity that once again, most of the drum corps community will not see any 
of these groups again this  year---both BDB and PC have never been to DCI
finals.  Luckily, SCV Cadets are making plans to attend finals next year and 
Mandarins will make their yearly voyage to finals this year. 

Speaking of Mandarins---they had the best drum cadence next to Vanguard A.
Their theme is "Cinematic Impressions" with selections from the movies "Speed"
and "Frankenstein."  They fielded 19 brass (!), 11 per., 7 pit, 10 guard, and 
ta-da-a drum major! The pit is off the front side (not center). Guard wore the same 
costume as in the past few years--but it still works. "Speed" has a wonderful
moment with echos from side to side and features a  hot drumline. During
the ballad ("The Wedding Night" from "Frankenstein"), drums are out, but it's
one of the prettiest moments of the night.  They placed 2nd with 65.8.  Drill
was not tight, and the guard had some unfortunate drops, but with time (as
the next day proved), this is going to be a top show. 

After a 30 minute intermission (loudly boo'd by the audience, but actually
quite needed---ahh, thirst), we were lead into the Open Class division by
that mysterious, yet steadily improving Blue Knights. They placed 3rd with
a 62.0. I say 'mysterious' because nobody really knows what they're up
to until they field. (Have we ever really heard much pre-season gossip
about them?) Their music this year is "Legacy" by James Mack. They
have program advise from Michael Cesario (more about him later) and 
fielded (as read in the program) 64 horns, 31 percussion and 32 aux.  The
theme should actually be "The White Dot---the Blue Knights Legacy". This
white dot motiff is present everywhere. It's on their uniform. It's present in 
a lolipop piece of equipment and flags worked by the guard. Even the 
guard's skirt turns into one big white dot. As for the guard costume---it's
definitely going to turn some heads. They wear white skirts made from a
front and back panels (not connected) trimed in deep pink and orange
strips. A white long-sleeved top keeps their  tummys exposed and
there's a hole centered on the chest. Hair is arranged with the colored 
strips in personalized ways. (usually long, straight and 50% blond). Not
that I was noticing---it was just hard to miss with some of the guard work-
but they are wearing very brief briefs.

The show opens with the musicians scattered around the field and the
guard in a circle in the center. As the music starts and the guard moves
out, the corps comes in until it crecendos and sets in their triangle logo.
The guard does one-handed rifle catches, dances on a dot, and like 
the drumline, do some difficult work. For the finale, exposed horns build
like Freelancer's "Bells" and you soon realize they're playing three
different melodies which are blended perfectly. Watch those snares! 

In second with a 66.5 were the Vanguard.  Now I've done much talking
already about their show, but it really grows on you. The 16 poppies are
now (unfinished) ice-sculptures. The drums have prismatic/holographic
finishes (no more fire). They begin with (at this point) unclear vocalizing
 and the guard doing mime. (Does anyone know what they're saying?)
The pit continues and a marching tick-tock machine comes forward while,
 at the end, a siren, harnessed to a tenor, screames from a hidden vantage 
against the front of the stadium and moves to the back line. After almost
a minute, the horns come in. The guard strips off the beautiful copper gowns
to reveal war suits. This strip-tease is not done behind the sculptures but
exposed on the front sideline. Much whooping from the guys. Tenors
march a fast drill, with the contras, completely seperated from the rest of
the drumline. Those black tubes have been sent to the back, but still
carry all the way to the top of the stadium. (It's two cymbal players on
those tubes.)  The Arabian ballad ends with the corps tight in the front
left corner, someplace we're not use to seeing an entire corps, with a
backfield sop hitting a sweet high note and a contra countering with a
low moan. The ending drill, publicly seen for the first time, has the guard
dressed as little Claras with vintage-designed white evening robes over
their copper body suits. The soft ending we were treated to at family night
is now an intense build, loud and bold. The guard pulled out huge white
flags -two a piece-that fill the field. Let's hear it for in-yer-face sound! 

Did we say LOUD? Can you say BD? Winning by a large margin, those
folks in blue (actually black with blue and silver trim ;) seem to be on their
way to another title. No joke folks----they're mean, they're loud, and they're
out for blood again.  Sweeping with a 75.6 (the top score in the Nation--
until they topped themselves the next day), Blue Devils took last year's
show, and gave it a new twist. I counted 9 snare and a whopping 34 guard.
They begin with a symetric drill that turns into an infinity symbol, but turns
in ways words can't describe. I didn't catch it that night, but at PP, the  
snares had an opening manauver with the right snare exchanging places
with the left partner. This exchange goes through the entire line as they push
frantically forword. It seems like an almost impossible drill. Each of the
guard seem to get solo bits, almost equal to the number of horn soloist. 
During the ballad, with drums off to the front sideline, the horns pull into an 
arc on the left, while the sound builds into an incredible climax. As it
subsides, the arc pulls back leaving one soloist. And then the snares,
now in front of nine angled tenors, give us a wake-up call akin to bombs.
What a sound.  With snares back on, the line uses brushes to match the
percussive instruments utilized by the guard. (flared bamboo sticks hit
together?)  The ending features both snares and tenors intermixed
high-sticking like kodo drummers and the horns giving us what we wanted
from last year: loud, power chords ringing in your ears. 

It was a drum major only retreat (no "America the Beautiful"), and we
scatted out of there quick to get home at a none too decent hour (2:00 AM). 
Little sleep, and awake by 5:30 AM was the start of Day Two: Pacific
Procession. Stay tuned.......

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