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Post by eddiejopp1974 on Nov 14, 2021 13:17:31 GMT -6
Congrats to Broken Arrow for Grand National Title number 4. Their performance was AWESOME! All finalist bands were incredible. Congrats to Broken Arrow on another BOA GN title, well deserved. To honor the band’s illustrious history at the event let’s take a look back to the pride’s first trip to grand nationals. It was 1998 and I am sure that BOA history buff can recall what an impressive field it was that November. BA had won the St.Louis regional in 1997 and again in 1998. This was the first GN of the semifinals era that would have the finals move from 10 to 12 highly coveted spots. Broken Arrow had a great program that featured Candide by Leonard Bernstein. The group would place 9th in semifinals with a score of 90.15 giving them their first birth into grand national finals. They would perform in the last spot on Saturday night and finish 11th with a score of 88.35. Marian Catholic would win best music and place 4th with a 94.55, Plymouth Canton took visual and finished 2nd with a 96.3,Lassiter earned best general effect and was crowned grand national champion with a 97.55. Center Grove got the bronze medal with a 94.75. The Centerville jazz band rounded out the top 5 with a 93.9. Just a quick look back at some Broken Arrow and BOA history. Congratulations to BA on number four. Eddie Jopp
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Post by clarinet75o1 on Nov 14, 2021 13:30:19 GMT -6
I'm sure the kids don't feel the same. Maybe you shouldn't return? Are you really so sure about that? No, you simply disagree. This was an awful finale. I'm sure more kids agree than disagree with that statement. It appeared like a local contest with an extremely weird musical choice for the montage video. Zero energy. Dead. A shame. At least it's over. I think it’s disappointing that they did not have a retreat experience because that was my favorite part of making finals. However, I think most of those kids are just excited to be there after the awful year everyone had last year.
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Post by nomorehoney on Nov 14, 2021 13:48:53 GMT -6
Well overall, I'm sure the students participating were just happy to be back at nats, retreat or not.
Imagine how good it must have felt to be a broken arrow student when their score was announced. Well deserved imo. I hope they're proud!
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Post by trumpette123 on Nov 14, 2021 13:58:20 GMT -6
Well overall, I'm sure the students participating were just happy to be back at nats, retreat or not. Imagine how good it must have felt to be a broken arrow student when their score was announced. Well deserved imo. I hope they're proud! My younger sibling who made finals got her retreat at UIL state, she was bummed she didn’t get a retreat here, but this was the highlight of her freshmen year 🙂
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Post by trumpette123 on Nov 14, 2021 14:28:52 GMT -6
On another note, what was your guys’ favorite moment this weekend? Mine has to be CTJ and addition of the vocalist with Billy Joel, stuck in my head 😅
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Post by bandalum on Nov 14, 2021 14:38:34 GMT -6
On another note, what was your guys’ favorite moment this weekend? Mine has to be CTJ and addition of the vocalist with Billy Joel, stuck in my head 😅 the saxophone soloist for the woodlands, on the live steam they were zoomed in and he was wailing away and the way he pointed and raised his hand Up at the end and tipped his hat was SOME SHOWMANSHIP, and he was so *in it*
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Post by bassoooon on Nov 14, 2021 14:38:43 GMT -6
On another note, what was your guys’ favorite moment this weekend? Mine has to be CTJ and addition of the vocalist with Billy Joel, stuck in my head 😅 The piano opening to CTJ's show for me. That is my favorite movement of my favorite sonata - it gets me every time. The other show that comes to mind is Nordonia and their bassoon trio and tuba solo. Incredibly talented performers, and so entertaining!
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Post by hoosiertexan on Nov 14, 2021 14:40:28 GMT -6
On another note, what was your guys’ favorite moment this weekend? Mine has to be CTJ and addition of the vocalist with Billy Joel, stuck in my head 😅 the saxophone soloist for the woodlands, on the live steam they were zoomed in and he was wailing away and the way he pointed and raised his hand Up at the end and tipped his hat was SOME SHOWMANSHIP, and he was so *in it* Those woodland and flower mound kids really played their roles so well this year
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Post by marchingmaniac on Nov 14, 2021 14:47:24 GMT -6
On another note, what was your guys’ favorite moment this weekend? Mine has to be CTJ and addition of the vocalist with Billy Joel, stuck in my head 😅 The ending of Flower Mound's show was incredible to watch and seeing the crowd get so excited for them was the cherry on top. CTJ's ending is up there as well, I loved the vocalist's "How wonderful life is when you're in the world" leading into the massive hit at the end! The new drill for the ending totally wrapped up the show in such a fantastic fashion. I wish it had gotten a higher score.
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Post by trombonium on Nov 14, 2021 14:52:34 GMT -6
On another note, what was your guys’ favorite moment this weekend? Mine has to be CTJ and addition of the vocalist with Billy Joel, stuck in my head 😅 I'm super biased but Norwin winning AA was so unexpected to me, and I'm so proud of the improvement they showed over the course of the season.
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Post by trumpette123 on Nov 14, 2021 15:04:52 GMT -6
On another note, what was your guys’ favorite moment this weekend? Mine has to be CTJ and addition of the vocalist with Billy Joel, stuck in my head 😅 The ending of Flower Mound's show was incredible to watch and seeing the crowd get so excited for them was the cherry on top. CTJ's ending is up there as well, I loved the vocalist's "How wonderful life is when you're in the world" leading into the massive hit at the end! The new drill for the ending totally wrapped up the show in such a fantastic fashion. I wish it had gotten a higher score. I agree on both of those!
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banddad2021
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Proud Dad of a Student Marcher
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Post by banddad2021 on Nov 14, 2021 15:14:42 GMT -6
On another note, what was your guys’ favorite moment this weekend? Mine has to be CTJ and addition of the vocalist with Billy Joel, stuck in my head 😅 My favorite moment-watching my son perform for the last time as a Marching GreyHound. He won nats his freshman year, 4th his sophomore year, covid stole his junior year and 2nd his Senior year. As he said "I went into marching band with a Bang and left it with a Bang". I am so proud of him and every kiddo on the Greyhound marching band, just as I am proud of every kid that participated and gave us all something spectacular to view and listen to. But by far my favorite moment--My son's last performance, and going out in style
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dcfw
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Post by dcfw on Nov 14, 2021 15:34:52 GMT -6
but Ronald Reagan would have won we all know that No...we don't. But congrats on your clairvoyance. BTW how'd Regan do this year in UIL and BOA-SA? You just never know until/unless they show up to compete. That said, it would be cool to have BOA Grand Nats alternate between Lucas Oil and AT&T-Dallas. I think that would eliminate some of the Sunday morning quarterbackers and shills that come on here and don't know what they are talking about;-) Right, elsie? Even as a Hoosier here, I'm semi surprised that the sheer number of TX/OK top level schools haven't come together to really push BOA to rotate Grand Nats between Indy and TX (probably Jerryworld)... obviously BOA is HQ in Indy and Indy has made itself kind of a "marching capital of the US" between BOA, DCI top events, etc., but I'm sure they'd love to have a top event like this in Dallas. I have no idea on the politics of all that tho, or if just having the schools is enough pressure or not.
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Post by marchingmaniac on Nov 14, 2021 15:50:10 GMT -6
No...we don't. But congrats on your clairvoyance. BTW how'd Regan do this year in UIL and BOA-SA? You just never know until/unless they show up to compete. That said, it would be cool to have BOA Grand Nats alternate between Lucas Oil and AT&T-Dallas. I think that would eliminate some of the Sunday morning quarterbackers and shills that come on here and don't know what they are talking about;-) Right, elsie? Even as a Hoosier here, I'm semi surprised that the sheer number of TX/OK top level schools haven't come together to really push BOA to rotate Grand Nats between Indy and TX (probably Jerryworld)... obviously BOA is HQ in Indy and Indy has made itself kind of a "marching capital of the US" between BOA, DCI top events, etc., but I'm sure they'd love to have a top event like this in Dallas. I have no idea on the politics of all that tho, or if just having the schools is enough pressure or not. We've talked a lot about this on the txbands forum but unfortunately AT&T Stadium has HORRIBLE acoustics so any competition there wouldn't be a great idea with the way sound works in there. The only other indoor stadiums in Texas are the Alamodome and NRG, both of whom I don't think are equipped in lodging, practice areas, etc. to handle the amount of bands that would attend Grand Nationals.
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Post by It's Just Band on Nov 14, 2021 16:30:53 GMT -6
Even as a Hoosier here, I'm semi surprised that the sheer number of TX/OK top level schools haven't come together to really push BOA to rotate Grand Nats between Indy and TX (probably Jerryworld)... obviously BOA is HQ in Indy and Indy has made itself kind of a "marching capital of the US" between BOA, DCI top events, etc., but I'm sure they'd love to have a top event like this in Dallas. I have no idea on the politics of all that tho, or if just having the schools is enough pressure or not. We've talked a lot about this on the txbands forum but unfortunately AT&T Stadium has HORRIBLE acoustics so any competition there wouldn't be a great idea with the way sound works in there. The only other indoor stadiums in Texas are the Alamodome and NRG, both of whom I don't think are equipped in lodging, practice areas, etc. to handle the amount of bands that would attend Grand Nationals. I always figure that if they ever move Nats, it would be good in St. Louis
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Post by paddy on Nov 14, 2021 16:47:23 GMT -6
The tough thing about moving away from Indy is more than just the stadium, it is the infrastructure that comes with it.
The dedicated warmup areas under the stadium. The convention center where they set up multiple indoor fields to practice with easy access to a large loading dock area. The compact and walkable downtown with lots of hotel rooms. The ease to get in and out of the city if you choose to stay outside of downtown.
St. Louis has potential but some drawbacks.
Move it to San Antonio and you essentially move it to a place that is isolated from most of the non-Texas schools. Which is fine, but I wonder if the small schools of Texas would show up the way that the small IN, OH and KY schools do.
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Post by dbalash on Nov 14, 2021 16:53:17 GMT -6
We've talked a lot about this on the txbands forum but unfortunately AT&T Stadium has HORRIBLE acoustics so any competition there wouldn't be a great idea with the way sound works in there. The only other indoor stadiums in Texas are the Alamodome and NRG, both of whom I don't think are equipped in lodging, practice areas, etc. to handle the amount of bands that would attend Grand Nationals. I always figure that if they ever move Nats, it would be good in St. Louis Except God knows if St. Louis will decide to keep the Dome a few years down the road.
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Post by trumpette123 on Nov 14, 2021 16:57:56 GMT -6
I feel like a lot of things would have to change in st.louis before that happened. I definitely had a person sitting on the side of the stadium while we walked in for retreat try to sell us some.. “stuff.”
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Post by mhmm on Nov 14, 2021 17:05:49 GMT -6
I pay good money to have my kids play in the band. You cut a blank check to the group to travel in style all the way across the country because you're a very successful businessman and tell me that it's worth a high-school quality montage video, stripped down finals retreat & overwhelming lecturing by public address announcers who should be more focused on clearing the stadium before midnight, rather than drone on and on and on about the same things they droned on and on about in semifinals. The break between semifinals & the semis awards was 10x longer than it ever had to be. All of the kids deserve better. It's the bar that BOA has set in the past & it is not being met now. There is nothing wrong with calling it out. I think we all agree it is a lessened final experience. But I’m sure it has to do more with legal reasons than anything else. I’m sure it will return next year. Let’s just be glad we had GN at all Having GN again this year was a miracle in itself but the finals experience was very disappointing in my opinion, I respected MFA staff for not wanting to deal with that many kids on the field at once but then letting them break ranks in the stands just made absolutely no sense. Not to mention, the montages in the past were all so well put together, there must have been some kind of massive changes in the production side of things. Now all we can do is hope things go back to normal for 2022 nationals.
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Post by redpants on Nov 14, 2021 17:12:07 GMT -6
On another note, what was your guys’ favorite moment this weekend? Mine has to be CTJ and addition of the vocalist with Billy Joel, stuck in my head 😅 The Mustang band making it there at all and then putting on a show that, on paper, makes zero sense (I tried explaining it a few times, people kept nodding in a friendly way and searching for the nearest exit), and which entertained me beyond all expectations. I could objectively tell that it wasn’t super clean but that was the funnest ten minutes by far. I really liked Flower Mound’s take on playfulness too, but Mustang was just so delightfully campy. Not the best show or the show I thought should win but definitely my favorite.
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banddad2021
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Post by banddad2021 on Nov 14, 2021 17:12:35 GMT -6
I think we all agree it is a lessened final experience. But I’m sure it has to do more with legal reasons than anything else. I’m sure it will return next year. Let’s just be glad we had GN at all Having GN again this year was a miracle in itself but the finals experience was very disappointing in my opinion, I respected MFA staff for not wanting to deal with that many kids on the field at once but then letting them break ranks in the stands just made absolutely no sense. Not to mention, the montages in the past were all so well put together, there must have been some kind of massive changes in the production side of things. Now all we can do is hope things go back to normal for 2022 nationals. The video montage did seem thrown together and im sure there were schools in the final 34 that weren't represented in it. I know Avon and Carmel only had one picture each.. as to the retreat, i agree having them break ranks in the bleachers was dumb. how is it any different than the kids being on the field, other than they are limited to who they could interact with since half the bands were on the other endzone section didnt make a lot of sense, and as others have stated, why so long...... lol
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banddad2021
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Post by banddad2021 on Nov 14, 2021 17:14:30 GMT -6
On another note, what was your guys’ favorite moment this weekend? Mine has to be CTJ and addition of the vocalist with Billy Joel, stuck in my head 😅 The Mustang band making it there at all and then putting on a show that, on paper, makes zero sense (I tried explaining it a few times, people kept nodding in a friendly way and searching for the nearest exit), and which entertained me beyond all expectations. I could objectively tell that it wasn’t super clean but that was the funnest ten minutes by far. I really liked Flower Mound’s take on playfulness too, but Mustang was just so delightfully campy. Not the best show or the show I thought should win but definitely my favorite. Im glad Mustang got the award they did last night, as others have said in different threads, while its not "traditional" it could become something that once they get it nailed could be something we see on a GN final session
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Post by paddy on Nov 14, 2021 17:29:30 GMT -6
I know Avon and Carmel only had one picture each..
Oh the humanity.
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Post by redpants on Nov 14, 2021 17:31:42 GMT -6
Having GN again this year was a miracle in itself but the finals experience was very disappointing in my opinion, I respected MFA staff for not wanting to deal with that many kids on the field at once but then letting them break ranks in the stands just made absolutely no sense. Not to mention, the montages in the past were all so well put together, there must have been some kind of massive changes in the production side of things. Now all we can do is hope things go back to normal for 2022 nationals. The video montage did seem thrown together and im sure there were schools in the final 34 that weren't represented in it. I know Avon and Carmel only had one picture each.. as to the retreat, i agree having them break ranks in the bleachers was dumb. how is it any different than the kids being on the field, other than they are limited to who they could interact with since half the bands were on the other endzone section didnt make a lot of sense, and as others have stated, why so long...... lol Perhaps others enjoy the video montage, I found it rather uninspiring. In past years, lining up for retreat seems to have involved three or four bands crammed like sardines in the tunnels leading from the four corners of the field, and sitting around in there for half an hour or so. You can see it in the YouTube videos of past years’ awards presentations from GN-the videos start with a long period of silence just showing kids in the bowels of the stadium. Maybe that had more to do with it than the part where they were on the field?
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Post by ilikeguard on Nov 14, 2021 17:37:12 GMT -6
The Mustang band making it there at all and then putting on a show that, on paper, makes zero sense (I tried explaining it a few times, people kept nodding in a friendly way and searching for the nearest exit), and which entertained me beyond all expectations. I could objectively tell that it wasn’t super clean but that was the funnest ten minutes by far. I really liked Flower Mound’s take on playfulness too, but Mustang was just so delightfully campy. Not the best show or the show I thought should win but definitely my favorite. Im glad Mustang got the award they did last night, as others have said in different threads, while its not "traditional" it could become something that once they get it nailed could be something we see on a GN final session I was so happy to see Mustang get that award. Were they among the 12 cleanest groups this weekend? No, but you’d be hard pressed to find a band more downright fun to watch. Makes me wish we had a “I just liked it” caption! Now they need to put on a dark show or something so we know they aren’t just a one trick inflatable pony. 😉
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banddad2021
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Post by banddad2021 on Nov 14, 2021 17:38:22 GMT -6
I know Avon and Carmel only had one picture each.. Oh the humanity. my point was/is, if you are going to do a montage like that, try and have every school represented if at all possible. It just seemed thrown together at the last minute
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Post by verysaxy on Nov 14, 2021 18:01:12 GMT -6
Now they need to put on a dark show or something so we know they aren’t just a one trick inflatable pony. 😉 OR that could become Mustang’s “thing” A lot (not all) bands have a signature style when it comes to show design that it becomes their “thing”. For example, most people know a Carmel show when they see one. The long, drawn out opener leading up to a massive hit with Carmel near perfect sound is just one of many characteristics of a Carmel show. Flower Mound does art shows (yes, The Band Show WAS an art show!). More recently, Reagan is starting to find their style and it’s working for them! As a program they’ve improved tremendously over the past three seasons. The Woodlands has taken a very theatrical approach to design over the past couple of seasons. Some of these themes are more specific to the designer (It’s fairly simple to spot a Vento show based on props alone), but Mustang’s case is rather unique with the inflatable costumes. As Mustang begins to make bigger and bigger splashes on the BOA scene (we all know they’ll only get bigger from here), it wouldn’t surprise me to see Mustang continue this trend of fun, entertaining, cologuard-wearing-inflatable-costume, campy shows. It WORKS with this band. At the end of the day, it’s smartest to keep doing what you’re already doing if what you’re already doing is successful!! As I said, not every band has a running theme with their shows (and that’s ok!) Avon & CTJ come to mind as top tier programs with no specific style. My point is, I would LOVE to see Mustang just embrace the fun and run with it. At this trajectory, they could be in Grand Nats finals very soon (and boy would I love to see some inflatable aliens at retreat!)
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Post by ilikeguard on Nov 14, 2021 18:06:28 GMT -6
OR that could become Mustang’s “thing” A lot (not all) bands have a signature style when it comes to show design that it becomes their “thing”. For example, most people know a Carmel show when they see one. The long, drawn out opener leading up to a massive hit with Carmel near perfect sound is just one of many characteristics of a Carmel show. Flower Mound does art shows (yes, The Band Show WAS an art show!). More recently, Reagan is starting to find their style and it’s working for them! As a program they’ve improved tremendously over the past three seasons. The Woodlands has taken a very theatrical approach to design over the past couple of seasons. Some of these themes are more specific to the designer (It’s fairly simple to spot a Vento show based on props alone), but Mustang’s case is rather unique with the inflatable costumes. As Mustang begins to make bigger and bigger splashes on the BOA scene (we all know they’ll only get bigger from here), it wouldn’t surprise me to see Mustang continue this trend of fun, entertaining, cologuard-wearing-inflatable-costume, campy shows. It WORKS with this band. At the end of the day, it’s smartest to keep doing what you’re already doing if what you’re already doing is successful!! As I said, not every band has a running theme with their shows (and that’s ok!) Avon & CTJ come to mind as top tier programs with no specific style. My point is, I would LOVE to see Mustang just embrace the fun and run with it. At this trajectory, they could be in Grand Nats finals very soon (and boy would I love to see some inflatable aliens at retreat!) I definitely would not mind Mustang being the Designated Fun Show Band. They’re too dang good at it!
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Post by principalagent on Nov 14, 2021 18:22:12 GMT -6
I love my home state of Texas. And I love Hebron. But Broken Arrow had this one after watching both live this weekend and last. Hebron takes music, Broken Arrow takes visual (helped by the box), but Broken Arrow probably also takes GE, buoyed by VGE. I can see them splitting MGE judges, as they were both tops for different reasons. What does helped by the box mean? Sorry, newbie here… I meant that Broken Arrow would have gotten a higher Visual Performance Ensemble score--as the judge for that caption (and the other ensemble and all general effect captions) is in the press box. Hebron would have been competitive on the field (Visual Performance Individual) and I can see a good number of judges giving them .1 or even .2 ahead of BA with a good run. Part of the reason why BA was so strong this year is because their show was perfectly designed for "the box." In fact, BA won every box judge in prelims (own panel and combined) and finals. If their Semis run didn't get off to such a slow and rattled start due to electronics, I think they would have won the box all weekend.
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Post by marchingdaily1 on Nov 14, 2021 18:34:48 GMT -6
I know Avon and Carmel only had one picture each.. Oh the humanity. my point was/is, if you are going to do a montage like that, try and have every school represented if at all possible. It just seemed thrown together at the last minute Filming, uploading, downloading, sorting, watching, editing, exporting…for 99 bands is no small feat. I thought the recap was a great touch to end the weekend, it might not have captured every band, but it captured a lot of smiles and emotions!
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