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Post by boahistorybuff on May 11, 2023 10:50:24 GMT -6
To Take A Journey
When I watch a lot of the shows today, I get the sense of being taken on a musical/visual journey by the band. While some may say taking the audience on a journey began during the years when theme based shows started emerging, the concept of walking the audience through a journey (life's journey, a journey through history, the paths we must choose in life, etc) gained popularity in the 2000s. In 2002, Ronald Reagan HS did just that with their show "The Journey Within". From just opening in 1999, Ronald Reagan HS's marching band rocketed to the top echelon of Texas marching bands within the first couple years of its existence, even winning their first BOA Regional in 2001. In 2002, Ronald Reagan made their first trip to BOA Grand Nationals. They made finals and finished in 11th place. Through much of the 1980s and 1990s, Texas bands had a bit of a reputation for being a little more on the traditional side. While that was already changing in the early 2000s, that sentiment may have still been felt by some. If it was, Ronald Reagan certainly helped shatter that perception. Reagan had a very progressive and just plain wonderful show design. The changing plume colors was a big hit and much talked about at the 2002 Grand Nationals. I will say that while it was a simple little trick, it really made a big impact. Sometimes something so subtle can really resonate with the audience. Here is the 2002 Grand National Finals performance by the Ronald Reagan marching band, their first appearance in Grand National Finals.
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Post by jakeymam12 on May 11, 2023 15:23:04 GMT -6
I’m not sure if this has been posted yet, but here’s a YouTube channel providing up to nearly 40 year old videos of American Fork’s marching band. youtube.com/@afhsmbhistory
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Post by boahistorybuff on May 11, 2023 18:02:04 GMT -6
I’m not sure if this has been posted yet, but here’s a YouTube channel providing up to nearly 40 year old videos of American Fork’s marching band. youtube.com/@afhsmbhistoryI did not see this. Awesome! Thank you.
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Post by boahistorybuff on May 12, 2023 18:06:55 GMT -6
A Show of Historic SignificanceThanks to jakeymam12 , I have found a video that I have long been looking for; American Fork's Grand National Finals performance in 1995. From the late 1970s through the 1980s, Utah had a few bands participate in MBA/BOA. Two Utah bands won a regional title; Skyview (1979) and Mountain Crest (1986). Skyview was a finalist at least once in the Summer Nationals of the 1980s. In 1984, they took a stab at Grand Nationals. While they fell short of making finals, they did win the award for best flags. In 1995, BOA expanded the number of bands making finals from 12 to 14. This along with the exhibition performances made this a very long finals night. The year after this is when they expanded to the Semi Finals format. In 1995, nabbing that 14th spot and landing in finals in their first trip to Grand Nationals was a band from Utah by the name of American Fork. This was the first time (and so far only time) that a Utah band has appeared in Grand National Finals. It is interesting to note that American Fork became a much stronger band from the mid 2000s onward and have since won numerous BOA Regional Titles and have appeared in GN Semi Finals several times. They landed in 13th place in Semis in 2022, almost making their second appearance in Finals. Obviously the competitive scene is much much stronger than what it was in the mid 1990s. Nonetheless, this 1995 GN Finals performance of American Fork still carries a good deal of significance as it remains the only time to date that a Utah band has made Grand National Finals. Here is that performance.
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Post by boahistorybuff on May 21, 2023 5:05:37 GMT -6
They Were Only Getting Started
I highlighted in an earlier post how in one season, the Avon "Marching Black and Gold" skyrocketed to the top echelon of bands in both ISSMA and BOA. That year they won the Indiana Class B State Title and then made Grand National Finals for the first time, finishing 9th (3rd overall in Class AA). In 2002, Avon defended their title at state, winning the Class B State Title for the second time. They did well at the BOA Indy regional finals (and claimed the Class AA Title). At Grand Nationals in 2002, without Tarpon and Kiski in attendance, Avon won the Class AA Title. They ended up in 14th place in Semi Finals, so unfortunately they failed to make GN Finals. This actually marked the first time that the Class AA winner had to perform in exhibition instead of being among the finalist group. Obviously that little set back did not detour future success from this band. The very next year a growing Avon school district and band allowed Avon to jump into Class A at ISSMA (where they won their first Class A Title) and Class AAA in BOA. Yes they made GN finals in 2003 and have not looked back since.
The 2002 Avon performance online is the state championships. There were certainly characteristics/styles in this show that have since become apart of Avon's identity. After watching Avon for over 20 years now, one word always comes to my mind; power. Although certainly not to the level of the Avon of today, I did get that vibe from Avon in 2002. Here is 2002 Avon.
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Post by boahistorybuff on May 25, 2023 14:01:01 GMT -6
A Show That Resonated With Me Personally
In 2002, Norwell HS from Ossian Indiana won the Indiana Class C State Title. Then at Grand Nationals, they won their first of two back to back Grand National Class A Titles. It was this 2002 show that really struck a chord with me. Norwell performed music from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem. This was the show that my band did my Freshman year in 1988. We all have fond memories of our Freshman year in marching band; everything being so new and getting experiences you never had before. Even though we had more success with the show we did my senior year in 1991, our Requiem show was my favorite. It was a very difficult show to learn. We had some struggles throughout the season. Everything came together for us the last couple weeks of the season and we had a strong show in Grand National prelims (minus the lopsided cross at the end). We were a bit disappointed that we did not make Finals (the band had made finals the year prior). Despite that, we were all really pleased with how we performed. We all felt really good coming off the field after that performance. Even looking back now, the Requiem show is still my favorite to watch. Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser came to talk with our band after the finalists bands were announced. He told us it was an extraordinary show and that it did not score what it deserved because it may have been a decade ahead of its time. At the time we did get some flack for, as some other bands claimed, performing funeral music. But Dr. Tim may have been right. 14 years later, I finally saw another band do this show. Norwell did an equally difficult visual routine with this music, which really impressed me. Both of our bands were nearly the same size performing this show (Norwell had 82 and we had 93). The only big differences (aside from the props and organ that Norwell used) was that Norwell included the song Pie Jesu in their show (we did not) while we performed Libera Me (which Norwell did not). In both shows you will hear, Kyrie, Dies irea and Hosanna (all selections from Webber's Requiem). While I showed my band's 1988 show several pages back, I am going to show it again because I loved it so much. I am of course also going to show Norwell's performance. I guarantee this show was also a tough one to learn for them too and I really liked their performance. The Norwell performance is from the ISSMA State Championships (their Grand Nationals Semi Finals performance is not on line, but as you can imagine was a bit cleaner). So hear they are:
2002 Norwell "Requiem: A Modern Elegy by Andrew Lloyd Webber" at the ISSMA State Finals
1988 Flushing "Andrew Lloyd Webbers Requiem" at Grand National Prelims in Pontiac, MI
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Post by boahistorybuff on Jun 2, 2023 10:28:35 GMT -6
A Long Awaited Achievement
I was tempted to call this post "Better Late Than Never". It is, in my opinion, the hardest fought Grand National win in history; 2003 Westfield.
I have mentioned the early years of Westfield before, but I will rehash some of the highlights. In 1976, due to overcrowding at Spring HS, Spring South HS was opened for 9th and 10th graders. In 1981, the school was opened as a four year high school and renamed Westfield. Shortly thereafter, Philip Geiger was hired as the marching band director. Given that the Spring ISD had among the best music education programs in the state of Texas at the time, the Westfield marching band rose to become among the best bands in both Texas and the US over a very short time period. Back in the 1980s, although a lot of Texas bands began to adopt the corps style of marching, they held onto a lot of their traditional (half time) style elements. While the best bands in the state played with wonderful ensemble quality sound, the visual aspects of their programs seemed (in my opinion) still tailored to a football half time show audience. Simply put, I don't think most of the Texas bands back then would have been able to compete well with the top level BOA (MBA) bands of the day on the visual front as the best bands at BOA/MBA had visual routines much more in line with drum corps. Westfield came along and changed that. During the course of the 1980s, they hired Steve Brubaker, the drill designer for the Cavaliers, to design their shows. This and the fact that they played very complex/difficult music selections really set them apart from other Texas bands. By the end of the decade, Westfield won several UIL State Titles. It is no doubt that they influenced other Texas bands with their more heavily inspired corps style shows. Many attribute the legendary 1993 GN Finals performance of Spring to the rise of Texas bands. However, it was Westfield that came first. The director of Spring in 1993, Bill Watson, was actually the assistant director at Westfield in the late 1980s. He took the same approach to Spring as Mr. Geiger did with Westfield. During the 1980s, Westfield also found much success at BOA/MBA. I believe their first MBA regional was in 1983, when they made finals. In 1984, they won the BOA Texas regional. From 1984 thru 1999 they placed either first or second at every BOA regional they attended. In 1985, Westfield became the first band from Texas to compete at BOA Grand Nationals. They made finals by finishing 4th in Prelims. In Finals, they climbed up to second place, won best percussion and won the Open Class Title. Not bad for their first trip to Grand Nationals.
In 1990, Westfield skipped the Texas UIL State Championships and attended their second BOA Grand Nationals. It was the first time I had seen Westfield or any Texas band in person. Let's just say I was hooked. They were my favorite band in finals, such power and awesome music. Westfield again came in second place. This time, however, they were only 0.05 points behind first place and they won the music performance award. There were many who felt their music prowess should have won them the title. Others, however, felt the clean visuals and overall effect of Plymouth-Canton made them deserve the title. It was the first instance I ever witnessed of the Texas vs Midwest (now just Indiana) debate. Westfield remained a very strong band through the rest of the 1990s. They did however face some tougher competition; notably from neighboring Spring and then Winston Churchill later in the decade. In 1995, Westfield made their third trip to Grand Nationals. After Prelims (no Semi Finals this year), Westfield ended up winning the Class AAA Title (and turns out they were first overall). They were heavily favored to win the Grand National Title in Finals. In my opinion, they gave the best show they ever put forth on the field in Finals. However, they would have to settle for second place again as they got beat by Center Grove. Despite winning music performance, much like 1990, it was the top band's visual and overall effect that put them on top. This again reignited the Texas vs Midwest debate (even though just two years prior Spring TX won over several strong Midwest contenders). I will say that in my opinion, 1995 Westfield was the best Grand Nationals show of the 1990s that did not win the title.
By the late 1990s, it was becoming doubtful whether Westfield would ever return to Grand Nationals. In the 2000s, changing demographics within the Spring ISD (which Westfield is a part of) and a much stronger competitive field in Texas, caused Westfield to slip in placements. Westfield did however perform shows that were much more progressive, using things like props, amplified vocals and more innovative visual staging techniques. At the early season BOA San Antonio in 2000, Westfield finished 10th in finals which was a huge shock at the time. I have not found a video of this show, but here is the audio (not sure if it was from the BOA regional or not).
At the 2001 late season BOA Houston Regional, Westfield did place a respectable 5th. Here is that performance:
In 2002, at BOA San Antonio (the year before it became a super regional) Westfield place 4th, again a respectable placement but several points away from first. Here is that performance:
In 2003, it was announced that Westfield would be attending Grand Nationals, their first trip since 1995. Based on the previous three years, Westfield looked like a strong finals contender. However, it seemed as though their days as a potential Grand National Champion were behind them. The story goes that Westfield bowed out of participating in UIL for a full year so that they could exceed the practice requirements for UIL participation. That says to me that they were gunning for a Grand National win. I am sure they worked enormously hard this season. At the early season BOA Houston regional, they finished 2nd, their highest finish at a BOA Regional since 1999. Then at the late season BOA San Antonio (the very first Super Regional), Westfield won. This was their first regional win since 1996. They beat second place LD Bell by nearly a point. Suddenly, Westfield was back in the talk of a potential Grand National Champion. Would they finally get that title, or would they again have to settle for second place. Westfield's show in 2003 was titled "Because We Are..." It featured each section of the marching band with several solo and ensemble features (the bassoon feature may be one of the most memorable). While I still think that their 95 show was overall better, the solos and ensemble features in this show were far superior. There were also a couple moments (in the ballad when the vocalists come in and during the ended of the show) where I think they had some of their best overall general effect moments ever. At Grand Nationals, upon the conclusion of Semi Finals, Westfield won the Class AAA Title. They won music but Ronald Reagan took GE, so everyone knew that Finals was going to be close. Westfield delivered in Finals. This was the year that the scores and placements were not read aloud. So unfortunately it seemed a little anti climatic when Westfield was announced as Grand National Champions. Westfield won both Music Performance and General Effect. Once the scores were released, boy did Westfield cut it close. They won by only 0.05 points over second place Ronald Reagan because Westfield received a two tenth point penalty. Yes, a penalty came very close to costing them the title. Westfield was also 8th overall in visual performance. I don't think another Grand National Champion had a lower ordinal in either music or visual performance. A little grain of salt here, 2003 was the closest in score of any Grand National Finalist group. So while they were 8th overall in visual performance, they were actually less than a point lower than the top visual performance score. One thing I will say, it worked out in the end. This is a band that needed to be included on the Grand National Champions list. Westfield simply had enormous influence on BOA and Texas bands in general in the 1980s and 1990s. 2003 would unfortunately mark the last time Westfield would ever win a region title or ever appear at Grand Nationals. They did have some strong seasons through the middle of the decade. Further socio economic changes and the retirement of long time director Philip Geiger would cause the program to fall from the top echelon of Texas bands by the 2010s.
Here is the 2003 Grand National Champion performance by Westfield HS.
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Post by dbalash on Jun 2, 2023 10:52:45 GMT -6
A Long Awaited AchievementI was tempted to call this post "Better Late Than Never". It is, in my opinion, the hardest fought Grand National win in history; 2003 Westfield. I have mentioned the early years of Westfield before, but I will rehash some of the highlights. In 1976, due to overcrowding at Spring HS, Spring South HS was opened for 9th and 10th graders. In 1981, the school was opened as a four year high school and renamed Westfield. Shortly thereafter, Philip Geiger was hired as the marching band director. Given that the Spring ISD had among the best music education programs in the state of Texas at the time, the Westfield marching band rose to become among the best bands in both Texas and the US over a very short time period. Back in the 1980s, although a lot of Texas bands began to adopt the corps style of marching, they held onto a lot of their traditional (half time) style elements. While the best bands in the state played with wonderful ensemble quality sound, the visual aspects of their programs seemed (in my opinion) still tailored to a football half time show audience. Simply put, I don't think most of the Texas bands back then would have been able to compete well with the top level BOA (MBA) bands of the day on the visual front as the best bands at BOA/MBA had visual routines much more in line with drum corps. Westfield came along and changed that. During the course of the 1980s, they hired Steve Brubaker, the drill designer for the Cavaliers, to design their shows. This and the fact that they played very complex/difficult music selections really set them apart from other Texas bands. By the end of the decade, Westfield won several UIL State Titles. It is no doubt that they influenced other Texas bands with their more heavily inspired corps style shows. Many attribute the legendary 1993 GN Finals performance of Spring to the rise of Texas bands. However, it was Westfield that came first. The director of Spring in 1993, Bill Watson, was actually the assistant director at Westfield in the late 1980s. He took the same approach to Spring as Mr. Geiger did with Westfield. During the 1980s, Westfield also found much success at BOA/MBA. I believe their first MBA regional was in 1983, when they made finals. In 1984, they won the BOA Texas regional. From 1984 thru 1999 they placed either first or second at every BOA regional they attended. In 1985, Westfield became the first band from Texas to compete at BOA Grand Nationals. They made finals by finishing 4th in Prelims. In Finals, they climbed up to second place, won best percussion and won the Open Class Title. Not bad for their first trip to Grand Nationals. In 1990, Westfield skipped the Texas UIL State Championships and attended their second BOA Grand Nationals. It was the first time I had seen Westfield or any Texas band in person. Let's just say I was hooked. They were my favorite band in finals, such power and awesome music. Westfield again came in second place. This time, however, they were only 0.05 points behind first place and they won the music performance award. There were many who felt their music prowess should have won them the title. Others, however, felt the clean visuals and overall effect of Plymouth-Canton made them deserve the title. It was the first instance I ever witnessed of the Texas vs Midwest (now just Indiana) debate. Westfield remained a very strong band through the rest of the 1990s. They did however face some tougher competition; notably from neighboring Spring and then Winston Churchill later in the decade. In 1995, Westfield made their third trip to Grand Nationals. After Prelims (no Semi Finals this year), Westfield ended up winning the Class AAA Title (and turns out they were first overall). They were heavily favored to win the Grand National Title in Finals. In my opinion, they gave the best show they ever put forth on the field in Finals. However, they would have to settle for second place again as they got beat by Center Grove. Despite winning music performance, much like 1990, it was the top band's visual and overall effect that put them on top. This again reignited the Texas vs Midwest debate (even though just two years prior Spring TX won over several strong Midwest contenders). I will say that in my opinion, 1995 Westfield was the best Grand Nationals show of the 1990s that did not win the title. By the late 1990s, it was becoming doubtful whether Westfield would ever return to Grand Nationals. In the 2000s, changing demographics within the Spring ISD (which Westfield is a part of) and a much stronger competitive field in Texas, caused Westfield to slip in placements. Westfield did however perform shows that were much more progressive, using things like props, amplified vocals and more innovative visual staging techniques. At the early season BOA San Antonio in 2000, Westfield finished 10th in finals which was a huge shock at the time. I have not found a video of this show, but here is the audio (not sure if it was from the BOA regional or not). At the 2001 late season BOA Houston Regional, Westfield did place a respectable 5th. Here is that performance: In 2002, at BOA San Antonio (the year it became a super regional) Westfield place 4th, again a respectable placement but several points away from first. Here is that performance: In 2003, it was announced that Westfield would be attended Grand Nationals, their first trip since 1995. Based on the previous three years, Westfield looked like a strong finals contender. However, it seemed as though their days as a potential Grand National Finalist were behind them. The story goes that Westfield bowed out of participating in UIL for a full year so that they could exceed the practice requirements for UIL participation. That says to me that they were gunning for a Grand National win. I am sure they worked enormously hard this season. At the early season BOA Houston regional, they finished 2nd, their highest finish at a BOA Regional since 1999. Then at the late season BOA San Antonio (the very first Super Regional), Westfield won. This was their first regional win since 1996. They beat second place LD Bell by nearly a point. Suddenly, Westfield was back in the talk of a potential Grand National Champion. Would they finally get that title, or would they again have to settle for second place. Westfield's show in 2003 was titled "Because We Are..." It featured each section of the marching band with several solo and ensemble features (the bassoon feature may be one of the most memorable). While I still think that their 95 show was overall better, the solos and ensemble feature in this show were far superior. There were also a couple moments (in the ballad when the vocalists come in and during the ended of the show) where I think they had some of their best overall general effect moments ever. At Grand Nationals, upon the conclusion of Semi Finals, Westfield won the Class AAA Title. They won music but Ronald Reagan took GE, so everyone knew that Finals was going to be close. Westfield delivered in Finals. This was the year that the scores and placements were not read aloud. So unfortunately it seemed a little anti climatic when Westfield was announced as Grand National Champions. Westfield won both Music Performance and General Effect. Once the scores were released, boy did Westfield cut it close. They won by only 0.05 points over second place Ronald Reagan because Westfield received a two tenth point penalty. Yes, a penalty came very close to costing them the title. Westfield was also 8th overall in visual performance. I don't think another Grand National Champion had a lower ordinal in either music or visual performance. A little grain of salt here, 2003 was the closest in score of any Grand National Finalist group. So while they were 8th overall in visual performance, they were actually less than a point lower than the top visual performance score. One thing I will say, it worked out in the end. This is a band that needed to be included on the Grand National Champions list. Westfield simply had enormous influence on BOA and Texas bands in general in the 1980s and 1990s. 2003 would unfortunately mark the last time Westfield would ever win a region title or ever appear at Grand Nationals. They did have some strong seasons through the middle of the decade. Further socio economic changes and the retirement of long time director Philip Geiger would cause the program to fall from the top echelon of Texas bands by the 2010s. Here is the 2003 Grand National Champion performance by Westfield HS. In my opinion, the worst year of Nationals finals. No really "memorable" shows out of the top 12. I will go to my grave that the bassoon wall wasn't fully playing.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Jun 2, 2023 11:01:01 GMT -6
I somewhat agree. I did however really enjoy Westfield, Reagan and Kiski in Finals.
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Post by bandirectorman on Jun 2, 2023 16:05:13 GMT -6
A Long Awaited AchievementI was tempted to call this post "Better Late Than Never". It is, in my opinion, the hardest fought Grand National win in history; 2003 Westfield. I have mentioned the early years of Westfield before, but I will rehash some of the highlights. In 1976, due to overcrowding at Spring HS, Spring South HS was opened for 9th and 10th graders. In 1981, the school was opened as a four year high school and renamed Westfield. Shortly thereafter, Philip Geiger was hired as the marching band director. Given that the Spring ISD had among the best music education programs in the state of Texas at the time, the Westfield marching band rose to become among the best bands in both Texas and the US over a very short time period. Back in the 1980s, although a lot of Texas bands began to adopt the corps style of marching, they held onto a lot of their traditional (half time) style elements. While the best bands in the state played with wonderful ensemble quality sound, the visual aspects of their programs seemed (in my opinion) still tailored to a football half time show audience. Simply put, I don't think most of the Texas bands back then would have been able to compete well with the top level BOA (MBA) bands of the day on the visual front as the best bands at BOA/MBA had visual routines much more in line with drum corps. Westfield came along and changed that. During the course of the 1980s, they hired Steve Brubaker, the drill designer for the Cavaliers, to design their shows. This and the fact that they played very complex/difficult music selections really set them apart from other Texas bands. By the end of the decade, Westfield won several UIL State Titles. It is no doubt that they influenced other Texas bands with their more heavily inspired corps style shows. Many attribute the legendary 1993 GN Finals performance of Spring to the rise of Texas bands. However, it was Westfield that came first. The director of Spring in 1993, Bill Watson, was actually the assistant director at Westfield in the late 1980s. He took the same approach to Spring as Mr. Geiger did with Westfield. During the 1980s, Westfield also found much success at BOA/MBA. I believe their first MBA regional was in 1983, when they made finals. In 1984, they won the BOA Texas regional. From 1984 thru 1999 they placed either first or second at every BOA regional they attended. In 1985, Westfield became the first band from Texas to compete at BOA Grand Nationals. They made finals by finishing 4th in Prelims. In Finals, they climbed up to second place, won best percussion and won the Open Class Title. Not bad for their first trip to Grand Nationals. In 1990, Westfield skipped the Texas UIL State Championships and attended their second BOA Grand Nationals. It was the first time I had seen Westfield or any Texas band in person. Let's just say I was hooked. They were my favorite band in finals, such power and awesome music. Westfield again came in second place. This time, however, they were only 0.05 points behind first place and they won the music performance award. There were many who felt their music prowess should have won them the title. Others, however, felt the clean visuals and overall effect of Plymouth-Canton made them deserve the title. It was the first instance I ever witnessed of the Texas vs Midwest (now just Indiana) debate. Westfield remained a very strong band through the rest of the 1990s. They did however face some tougher competition; notably from neighboring Spring and then Winston Churchill later in the decade. In 1995, Westfield made their third trip to Grand Nationals. After Prelims (no Semi Finals this year), Westfield ended up winning the Class AAA Title (and turns out they were first overall). They were heavily favored to win the Grand National Title in Finals. In my opinion, they gave the best show they ever put forth on the field in Finals. However, they would have to settle for second place again as they got beat by Center Grove. Despite winning music performance, much like 1990, it was the top band's visual and overall effect that put them on top. This again reignited the Texas vs Midwest debate (even though just two years prior Spring TX won over several strong Midwest contenders). I will say that in my opinion, 1995 Westfield was the best Grand Nationals show of the 1990s that did not win the title. By the late 1990s, it was becoming doubtful whether Westfield would ever return to Grand Nationals. In the 2000s, changing demographics within the Spring ISD (which Westfield is a part of) and a much stronger competitive field in Texas, caused Westfield to slip in placements. Westfield did however perform shows that were much more progressive, using things like props, amplified vocals and more innovative visual staging techniques. At the early season BOA San Antonio in 2000, Westfield finished 10th in finals which was a huge shock at the time. I have not found a video of this show, but here is the audio (not sure if it was from the BOA regional or not). At the 2001 late season BOA Houston Regional, Westfield did place a respectable 5th. Here is that performance: In 2002, at BOA San Antonio (the year before it became a super regional) Westfield place 4th, again a respectable placement but several points away from first. Here is that performance: In 2003, it was announced that Westfield would be attending Grand Nationals, their first trip since 1995. Based on the previous three years, Westfield looked like a strong finals contender. However, it seemed as though their days as a potential Grand National Champion were behind them. The story goes that Westfield bowed out of participating in UIL for a full year so that they could exceed the practice requirements for UIL participation. That says to me that they were gunning for a Grand National win. I am sure they worked enormously hard this season. At the early season BOA Houston regional, they finished 2nd, their highest finish at a BOA Regional since 1999. Then at the late season BOA San Antonio (the very first Super Regional), Westfield won. This was their first regional win since 1996. They beat second place LD Bell by nearly a point. Suddenly, Westfield was back in the talk of a potential Grand National Champion. Would they finally get that title, or would they again have to settle for second place. Westfield's show in 2003 was titled "Because We Are..." It featured each section of the marching band with several solo and ensemble features (the bassoon feature may be one of the most memorable). While I still think that their 95 show was overall better, the solos and ensemble features in this show were far superior. There were also a couple moments (in the ballad when the vocalists come in and during the ended of the show) where I think they had some of their best overall general effect moments ever. At Grand Nationals, upon the conclusion of Semi Finals, Westfield won the Class AAA Title. They won music but Ronald Reagan took GE, so everyone knew that Finals was going to be close. Westfield delivered in Finals. This was the year that the scores and placements were not read aloud. So unfortunately it seemed a little anti climatic when Westfield was announced as Grand National Champions. Westfield won both Music Performance and General Effect. Once the scores were released, boy did Westfield cut it close. They won by only 0.05 points over second place Ronald Reagan because Westfield received a two tenth point penalty. Yes, a penalty came very close to costing them the title. Westfield was also 8th overall in visual performance. I don't think another Grand National Champion had a lower ordinal in either music or visual performance. A little grain of salt here, 2003 was the closest in score of any Grand National Finalist group. So while they were 8th overall in visual performance, they were actually less than a point lower than the top visual performance score. One thing I will say, it worked out in the end. This is a band that needed to be included on the Grand National Champions list. Westfield simply had enormous influence on BOA and Texas bands in general in the 1980s and 1990s. 2003 would unfortunately mark the last time Westfield would ever win a region title or ever appear at Grand Nationals. They did have some strong seasons through the middle of the decade. Further socio economic changes and the retirement of long time director Philip Geiger would cause the program to fall from the top echelon of Texas bands by the 2010s. Here is the 2003 Grand National Champion performance by Westfield HS. In my personal opinion, this program was not deserving of the 2003 title. This was payback for the near-misses in 1985, 1990, 1995. Both 1990 & 1995, Westfield should have won the National Championship. They were a Top 4 band this year, but not #1.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Jun 2, 2023 17:32:07 GMT -6
There are certainly a lot of people who share that same opinion.
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Post by dbalash on Jun 2, 2023 17:47:12 GMT -6
The original plan I believe was to not announce 2nd-12th at all, and only released shows at Midwest after a significant amount of pushback.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Jun 3, 2023 4:40:36 GMT -6
The original plan I believe was to not announce 2nd-12th at all, and only released shows at Midwest after a significant amount of pushback. Yes, I remember reading the plan from the old BOA website. Finals was to be simply be a celebration of the top 12 bands. Yes it would be judged, but no scores or placements were going to ever be released. They were only going to announce highest achievement awards and the top score (i.e. Grand National Champion). There was a lot of pushback indeed. It did not help that a rumor spread that the GN Champ was determined due to a penalty. While yes, Westfield did get a penalty, it did not affect the outcome. I think it was a month or so later that the recap sheets were then released. This 2003 decision about finals scores/placements is one of if not the biggest flops in the history of Grand Nationals.
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Post by Subito Fortissimo on Jun 3, 2023 18:56:47 GMT -6
The original plan I believe was to not announce 2nd-12th at all, and only released shows at Midwest after a significant amount of pushback. Yes, I remember reading the plan from the old BOA website. Finals was to be simply be a celebration of the top 12 bands. Yes it would be judged, but no scores or placements were going to ever be released. They were only going to announce highest achievement awards and the top score (i.e. Grand National Champion). There was a lot of pushback indeed. It did not help that a rumor spread that the GN Champ was determined due to a penalty. While yes, Westfield did get a penalty, it did not affect the outcome. I think it was a month or so later that the recap sheets were then released. This 2003 decision about finals scores/placements is one of if not the biggest flops in the history of Grand Nationals. I'm not sure there was anyone outside of BOA's offices that was happy with them doing this. Definitely a good thing that they went back on that decision, though for a few years after they continued to not announce scores at GN Finals retreat only doing captions and placements. I want to say it was maybe around 2009 that they started announcing the scores again.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Jun 4, 2023 12:30:44 GMT -6
Vintage Find From 1982 "The Spectacular Band From Spartan Land"
We are going to take a brief journey back to 1982. I stumbled across this video and thought I would post; not sure how I missed this one. This video is from the 1982 MBA Grand Nationals in Johnson City, TN. This performance is by Comeaux HS from Lafayette, LA. Comeaux has had a long history as a competitive marching band. Their glory years in the BOA circuit occurred way back during the MBA years. In 1980, Comeaux was a finalist at the very first fall Grand Nationals in Jacksonville, FL. They were the first band from Louisiana to make Grand National Finals. They finished in 6th place, which to this day remains the highest finish for a Louisiana band at Grand Nationals. In 1981, they won the MBA Texas regional. This was their first and only regional title and only regional title for a Louisiana band. In 1982, they returned to Grand Nationals and made finals for the second time, finishing in 12th place. This would be their last appearance in Grand National Finals as they fell short of making Finals in their attempt in 1983. In fact, it would be 28 years before another Louisiana band would perform in Grand National Finals.
The video is of Comeaux in Grand National Finals in 1982. Their show was very typical of the late 70s/early 80s style. The guard was more military. Even though 1982 was the first year that MBA allowed keyboards and tympani to be grounded at the front sidelines (start of the pit), Comeaux were still marching all percussion instruments this year. The drill was all symmetrical. Even the back corner entrance was focused along an axis of symmetry, which was then rotated to be centered along the 50 yard line. The musical selections featured an overture-type opener, an up-tempo concert piece which was mostly stand still, a percussion feature and a slower ballad with a more dramatic finish. Aah the good ol' days.
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Post by bandirectorman on Jun 5, 2023 10:44:50 GMT -6
Yes, I remember reading the plan from the old BOA website. Finals was to be simply be a celebration of the top 12 bands. Yes it would be judged, but no scores or placements were going to ever be released. They were only going to announce highest achievement awards and the top score (i.e. Grand National Champion). There was a lot of pushback indeed. It did not help that a rumor spread that the GN Champ was determined due to a penalty. While yes, Westfield did get a penalty, it did not affect the outcome. I think it was a month or so later that the recap sheets were then released. This 2003 decision about finals scores/placements is one of if not the biggest flops in the history of Grand Nationals. I'm not sure there was anyone outside of BOA's offices that was happy with them doing this. Definitely a good thing that they went back on that decision, though for a few years after they continued to not announce scores at GN Finals retreat only doing captions and placements. I want to say it was maybe around 2009 that they started announcing the scores again. I know more than one 'finalist' director who advocated for an exhibition over a finals competition, which I suspect is what led to the 2003 decision. I attended that Grand Nationals in some of the finest seats to view the performances in the RCA Dome from an acoustical standpoint, thanks to Michael Davis who was previously or currently on the BOA Advisory Board. It was such a letdown to not even announce the Top 3 bands, let alone all 12. They were truly attempting to de-emphasize the competitive aspect, as some directors who had won the competition (and even a few who did not), thought that the educational aspects were being compromised & the competitive pressure to WIN or place well was not good due to their rabid band parent organizations or administrators, who think that their school should always finish in first place. I don't know the motivation of one of the people mentioned, but let's just say that they are one of the few icons in the activity who has had some success on the national level and whose place in history was well secured by then. I love competition, but it's very easy to see why people who have won feel the need to prove themselves time and time again. It allows for less of a perception of a decline, should a strong finalist program begin slipping year-to-year. They were very wrong. Not wrong to try something new, but wrong to think that actual paying customers would stand for a competition in prelims/semifinals to reach finals, only to not have any clue what the final results were at the event until several weeks later.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Jun 7, 2023 9:36:44 GMT -6
Early Use of Amplification
This video will step way back in time again. It shows several videos of John S Battle HS from Bristol, VA (just over the Tennessee State Line) from 1979 into the late 1980s. John Battle was a highly successful small school band program back in the day. Their BOA (MBA) participation days were pretty limited despite being an accomplished band program for several years. I know in 1980 they attended one of the MBA Regionals (not sure which one). They were a finalist and from what I understand actually won the award for best brass/winds. I am not sure if the 1980 video is from a BOA regional or not. In 1981, they attended the MBA Grand Nationals right in their back yard in Johnson City, TN. They made Finals and tied Rocky Mount NC for 11th place (I am not sure what the tie break rules were back then). In the video, Battle's 1981 field show starts around minute 15. It is obviously at ETSU in Johnson City, so I thought this was Grand Nationals. Based on the ending, however, it may not be. Looks like it may be another competition? I do know that that was definitely the show they performed at Grand Nationals in 1981. As far as I know, that Grand National Finals appearance was Battle's last MBA/BOA appearance (it is possible they may have participated in some other regionals in the early 1980s, I am just not certain). I do know that they did not attend Grand Nationals in 1982 or 1983, despite them still being held in Johnson City.
Back in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s, it was common for some bands to march an amplifier around on a cart (everything had to be marched back then). A bass guitar was typically the instrument of choice to be amplified. John Battle also used a microphone to amplify woodwind soloists. In 1981, they used the microphone to amplify a vocalist as well. (In 1980, I believe Seminole or Pinellas Park FL also did this). That vocalist sang Over the Rainbow and was dressed in a Dorothy from Wizard of Oz costume. This was still a very new and uncommon concept back in these days. If you watch later seasons of the Battle band you will see that using a vocalist become a common feature with this band. Here is the video showcasing some vintage shows of the John S Battle marching band from Bristol, Virginia.
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Post by dbbandalum on Jun 7, 2023 10:22:01 GMT -6
Early Use of AmplificationThis video will step way back in time again. It shows several videos of John S Battle HS from Bristol, VA (just over the Tennessee State Line) from 1979 into the late 1980s. John Battle was a highly successful small school band program back in the day. Their BOA (MBA) participation days were pretty limited despite being an accomplished band program for several years. I know in 1980 they attended one of the MBA Regionals (not sure which one). They were a finalist and from what I understand actually won the award for best brass/winds. I am not sure if the 1980 video is from a BOA regional or not. In 1981, they attended the MBA Grand Nationals right in their back yard in Johnson City, TN. They made Finals and tied Rocky Mount NC for 11th place (I am not sure what the tie break rules were back then). In the video, Battle's 1981 field show starts around minute 15. It is obviously at ETSU in Johnson City, so I thought this was Grand Nationals. Based on the ending, however, it may not be. Looks like it may be another competition? I do know that that was definitely the show they performed at Grand Nationals in 1981. As far as I know, that Grand National Finals appearance was Battle's last MBA/BOA appearance (it is possible they may have participated in some other regionals in the early 1980s, I am just not certain). I do know that they did not attend Grand Nationals in 1982 or 1983, despite them still being held in Johnson City. Back in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s, it was common for some bands to march an amplifier around on a cart (everything had to be marched back then). A bass guitar was typically the instrument of choice to be amplified. John Battle also used a microphone to amplify woodwind soloists. In 1981, they used the microphone to amplify a vocalist as well. (In 1980, I believe Seminole or Pinellas Park FL also did this). That vocalist sang Over the Rainbow and was dressed in a Dorothy from Wizard of Oz costume. This was still a very new and uncommon concept back in these days. If you watch later seasons of the Battle band you will see that using a vocalist become a common feature with this band. Here is the video showcasing some vintage shows of the John S Battle marching band from Bristol, Virginia. It's crazy to me that John Battle, the smallest school in the Tri-cities area, was the first band from that area and the only VA band to make GN finals. It's even crazier to think about when John Battle's marching band program is almost non-existent today. It doesn't surprise me that DB didn't attend GN in the JC years because their competitive program wasn't very good and they focused more on concert band in those years. However, it DOES surprise me that bands like Tennessee High and Science Hill didn't attend. Tennessee high had arguably the best marching band in the area during the 80s and 90s, and they are only a 15 minute drive from John Battle. I'd bet that if Tennessee high attended in 81, they would've placed in the 8-6th place range. Basically, it just surprises me that of all the good bands in the Tri-cities area/TN VA Appalachia region, John Battle was the one to take the crown as the 1st.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Jun 9, 2023 9:53:09 GMT -6
A Vintage Video From the Aloha State
In the 2010s, the BOA world was introduced to marching bands from the state of Hawaii for the first time. Mililani HS and Maui Hs both attended Grand Nationals. Mililani HS even made Semi Finals in 2017. I think many of us were impressed that an island state from so far away had such good high school marching band programs. I stumbled across this video of Moanalua HS from 2003. I thought the performance was pretty good. I think in terms of 2003 standards, the style may have been a little dated (I got more of a late 80s/early 90s vibe with this show). I suppose that is probably not too surprising being so far away from the continental US. I think it is also pretty obvious that the winds caused some struggles for the color guard. I suspect had their been no wind that this guard would have been much cleaner; I actually quite enjoyed the guard routines. So here it is, I don't have much else to say as I am not very knowledgeable about the competitive history of these Hawaii bands.
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Post by bandirectorman on Jun 9, 2023 14:33:01 GMT -6
A Vintage Video From the Aloha StateIn the 2010s, the BOA world was introduced to marching bands from the state of Hawaii for the first time. Mililani HS and Maui Hs both attended Grand Nationals. Mililani HS even made Semi Finals in 2017. I think many of us were impressed that an island state from so far away had such good high school marching band programs. I stumbled across this video of Moanalua HS from 2003. I thought the performance was pretty good. I think in terms of 2003 standards, the style may have been a little dated (I got more of a late 80s/early 90s vibe with this show). I suppose that is probably not too surprising being so far away from the continental US. I think it is also pretty obvious that the winds caused some struggles for the color guard. I suspect had their been no wind that this guard would have been much cleaner; I actually quite enjoyed the guard routines. So here it is, I don't have much else to say as I am not very knowledgeable about the competitive history of these Hawaii bands. This show reminds me of Webster 1997. Far better than Webster. It's one of those that would have made BOA Grand National Finals on a weak bottom-half of finals year like 1997 or 1999.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Jun 12, 2023 10:59:02 GMT -6
When Electronics Fail
In the 2000s, vocal amplification become hugely popular in the BOA world. Sometimes, to a directors worst nightmare, electronics can fail. When they fail in Grand National Finals, huge nightmare. Probably the most famous case of this was 2000 Union HS. Another prime example is 2003 Tarpon Springs. Their show was titled "Time: Imagine the Possibilities". Back in the 2000s, show themes about Time, Clocks and Life's Journey Through Time were hugely popular. Tarpon Springs had several years in the early part of the decade when their shows walked us through a timeline of history and in this case the timeline of ones lifetime. At the 2003 BOA Atlanta Regional, Tarpon finished 3rd overall, placing just behind their in-state rival at the time Seminole. Two week later at the BOA St Petersburg regional, Tarpon finished ahead of Seminole to claim the regional title. The following week it was off to Grand Nationals. Tarpon obviously gave a strong show in Semi Finals to make Finals (they were 6th in Semi Finals). They also narrowly edged out Kiski for the Class AA Title, which was actually a bit controversial as many felt Kiski was robbed. In Finals, disaster happened for Tarpon. Vocal narration was a key part of their show. While the vocal narration began at the start of the show, an electronics glitch caused the vocal recording to stop. The issue was not resolved until the latter half of the performance. I am sure that had some impact on the mental focus of the band during their finals performance and kind of made this show feel a little flat. It really hurt their general effect scores, which caused them to finish in 12th place. Since Tarpon Springs's 1997 debut at Grand Nationals, this remains their lowest placement in Grand Nationals. Here is the 2003 GN Finals Performance. If anyone has their Semi Finals performance (showcasing how this show was supposed to be performed), please post.
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Post by TXHillCountryBands on Jun 14, 2023 13:21:39 GMT -6
Other than Spring’s 93’s stellar and unquestionable performance, Lassiter 2002 performance speaks for itself! BOA Top 3 of all time imo. I know some BOA liberal “expressionist” may want to see LD Bell 07’ as a contender but I would argue Woodlands 2013 rounds out the TOP 3 (non township type) PRE- 2013 productions.
PCMB(PCEP 99) and LD Bell 07 definitely Top 5.
I still can’t stop watching Lassiter during their reign. That ballad…Amazing!
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Post by boahistorybuff on Jun 14, 2023 15:50:32 GMT -6
Other than Spring’s 93’s stellar and unquestionable performance, Lassiter 2002 performance speaks for itself! BOA Top 3 of all time imo. I know some BOA liberal “expressionist” may want to see LD Bell 07’ as a contender but I would argue Woodlands 2013 rounds out the TOP 3 (non township type) PRE- 2013! PCMB(PCEP 99) and LD Bell 07 definitely Top 5. I still can’t stop watching Lassiter during their reign. That ballad…Amazing! These are definitely three shows I can and have watched over and over again. I am glad you have Lassiter 2002 in this group. Yes, Lassiter 1998 was very good, but Lassiter 2002 was crazy good and I dont think it has always got the attention it deserves.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Jun 24, 2023 3:25:32 GMT -6
Dome of the Heavens
This was the title of Carmel's 2003 show. My take was that this was presenting us a story about celestial bodies from a children's book. The visuals and music all tied together with the theme, a very quintessential 2000s type show. Based on the ISSMA Class A State Finals results, where Carmel placed 5th, this show did not resonate as well with the Indiana judging system as it did with the BOA judging system. By the time the BOA Indy regional came around (early November), Carmel won the regional title over the top level Indiana bands who had all beaten them at the state championships. After finishing 4th in Grand National Semi Finals, Carmel ended up placing third in Finals, a small fraction of a point ahead of Kennesaw Mountain and LD Bell. Personally, I have always had some mixed feelings about this show. I really liked the pit arrangements and the piccolo features. I also liked several of the drill moves. There were times, however, that felt I wanted a little more out of this show and times I felt the overall music could have been a little stronger. Anyway, here is the 2003 Grand National Finals performance of Carmel. Enjoy!
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Post by boahistorybuff on Jul 3, 2023 8:58:12 GMT -6
They Pulled It Off in the End
In 2003, Marian Catholic performed a show titled "Facets". Now I never saw their performances prior to Grand Nationals, but there were rumors floating around that Marian was having a tough season. Now of course Marian was known for performing extremely difficult shows, both musically and visually. This season in particular looked to me to have been an extraordinarily hard show to perform and learn. The drill designs alone were quite difficult. Now add that to advanced level of the music they were playing, full of tempo variation and mixed metering. Most high school students would have difficulty performing this in concert band let alone in marching band. The BOA Indy regional was late in the season. So Marian pulled off a 5th place performance at the regional and won the visual performance award in finals (which from what I understand was a bit controversial). This 5th place performance was behind the top 4 Indiana bands of the day. While making GN Finals was competitive this year, Marian pulled it off and landed in Finals. This marked their 20th consecutive appearance in GN Finals. Had the scores and placements been read during the awards ceremony, there may have been some shock in that Marian ended up in 10th place, which at the time was their lowest finish ever at Grand Nationals.
For me, what I loved about this show was the visual designs (I wish the hi cam version had been on line). I know this is a bit trivial, but I also liked their uniform designs this season. I also think that had Marian had another two weeks to clean this show, it could have made a much bigger impact. I guess for me, I was not feeling the effectiveness of the music as I would have liked. Nonetheless, what an incredibly difficult show.
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Post by dbalash on Jul 3, 2023 10:15:09 GMT -6
They Pulled It Off in the EndIn 2003, Marian Catholic performed a show titled "Facets". Now I never saw their performances prior to Grand Nationals, but there were rumors floating around that Marian was having a tough season. Now of course Marian was known for performing extremely difficult shows, both musically and visually. This season in particular looked to me to have been an extraordinarily hard show to perform and learn. The drill designs alone were quite difficult. Now add that to advanced level of the music they were playing, full of tempo variation and mixed metering. Most high school students would have difficulty performing this in concert band let alone in marching band. The BOA Indy regional was late in the season. So Marian pulled off a 5th place performance at the regional and won the visual performance award in finals (which from what I understand was a bit controversial). This 5th place performance was behind the top 4 Indiana bands of the day. While making GN Finals was competitive this year, Marian pulled it off and landed in Finals. This marked their 20th consecutive appearance in GN Finals. Had the scores and placements been read during the awards ceremony, there may have been some shock in that Marian ended up in 10th place, which at the time was their lowest finish ever at Grand Nationals. For me, what I loved about this show was the visual designs (I wish the hi cam version had been on line). I know this is a bit trivial, but I also liked their uniform designs this season. I also think that had Marian had another two weeks to clean this show, it could have made a much bigger impact. I guess for me, I was not feeling the effectiveness of the music as I would have liked. Nonetheless, what an incredibly difficult show. This was an extremely rough season, one that included the following: - Getting beat by Lake Park by 7+ points at the Lake Park Lancer Joust and barely holding off Lincoln-Way East in 3rd.
- Davenport Central, IA only 2 points behind at Downers Grove South, and Joliet West barely behind them.
- Prospect ahead by 3+ at the Illinois Marching Band Championships at U of I
- Lake Park winning ISU (their last one).
- Somehow winning visual at the Indianapolis regional.
- 7th after prelims, 8th after semis, 10th after finals.
This was a show that caused Bimm/Lambert/judges much consternation - from delays in music/drill, to rehearsals not going the way they're supposed to. I know I have an explanation sheet somewhere in the mess that is my house. Things to watch for: - Triangles, triangles and more triangles.
- "It is enough!" Originally was "es ist genug" early season. This is also a Bach/Burmeister reference (O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 60), which you can hear at about 7:07 in the video.
- 1 2 3 4 5+. Comes back multiple times in the show, including the coffee can percussion at the end.
- Coffee can percussion - I want to say we added this after ISU, in time for regionals, but I think we changed the drill again in between regionals and Nationals.
- Contrary to popular belief (thanks, pedazos), I am NOT the one facing backwards at the end when everyone is facing front field.
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Post by indyguy8362 on Jul 3, 2023 23:03:36 GMT -6
imagine going back in time and showing these kids a show like BA21- it’s hard to think about the craziness we cant even comprehend that will be happening in 2050 shows.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Jul 4, 2023 4:17:44 GMT -6
imagine going back in time and showing these kids a show like BA21- it’s hard to think about the craziness we cant even comprehend that will be happening in 2050 shows. I certainly agree. BA21 was exactly 30 years after my high school senior year. If we were shown that show in 1991, we would have marveled at the shear production value, the massive changes in visuals like the body movement and different marching style and of course the quality of musicianship. When you look at these videos of past Grand National Finalists from 20, 30, 40 years ago, it is obvious that the quality of the music and cleanliness of the visuals from the top level bands of today is exponentially better. I can't even imagine what bands will be doing 30 years from now. At my age I just hope I am still around to see it.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Jul 8, 2023 12:52:20 GMT -6
A Vintage Video from 1992 Recently Hit the Web
This is a video I have long been awaiting to appear on the web. Before it made it to the web, it had actually been a very long time since I had last seen this show. The video is the Class Championship performance (Prelims, with no Semis back then) of Westerville South HS, Ohio. They performed "In the Spring at a Time When Kings Go Off to War". Much like most of the Westerville South shows of this era, this was a somewhat dark show with a lot of intensity, which I absolutely loved. I did not realize it at the time (in fact I completely forgot about this fact until it was mentioned on these forums) that this show may have been the first instance of a precursor to the preshow. The band basically came onto the field as Chuck was reading the announcements and then the show began within seconds after he said they may take the field. Yes, compared to what the pre shows have become today, this is pretty basic. Remember, however, this was a completely brand new concept at the time.
Westerville South made finals and finished 4th with this show. This would be their first of three consecutive 4th place finishes in Grand National Finals (their highest finish at Grand Nationals).
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Post by boahistorybuff on Jul 12, 2023 7:42:03 GMT -6
Offcenter
That was the title of the 2003 show by the Seminole HS 'Warhawk' Marching Band from Seminole, Florida. If I were to rank Florida bands based on their success in BOA, I would put Seminole 3rd behind Tarpon Springs and JM Tate. Seminole was a finalist (8th place) at the very first fall Grand Nationals in 1980 (a fact that has always been left out of the bands accolades). I believe that was their only MBA/BOA appearance in the 1980s. They returned to BOA competition in the early 1990s and had two incredible seasons in 1993 and 1994. They won BOA Atlanta both years and made Grand National Finals both years, finishing in 7th (3rd in Prelims) in 1993. Although 1994 was their last appearance in Grand National Finals, Seminole would go on to make several appearances in regional Finals at both the Atlanta and Florida regionals over the next couple of decades (and have been in the Florida regional finals the last two seasons). Of course they have had a lot of ups and downs since their early 1990s success. They were quite good in the early 2000s, particularly the 2003 season. At the 2003 BOA Atlanta regional, they finished 2nd behind Kennesaw Mountain (and ahead of their in state rival Tarpon Springs). Later in the season, they again were runner-up to a regional title. This time Tarpon Springs edged them out of the St Petersburg regional title. Seminole went to Grand Nationals this year and finished in 13th place in Semi Finals. Although there was a point separation of nearly 1.5 with the 12th place band in Semi Finals, Seminole finished ahead of long time perennial finalists Lake Park and Plymouth-Canton (it was a bit shocking not seeing both of those bands in Finals).
The video is of Seminole's Prelims performance at Grand Nationals. For those that are aficionados of 1990s era DCI, some of the musical selections and drill moves may look familiar. This is probably why to me this show felt like a late 90s show. I have however always felt that this show should have been in Finals.
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