But remember, we did not mic pits like we do today. We can put them anywhere today because of mics, wired or wireless. But not back in 1999. (unless the battery plays no louder than 9" lol)
My snare instructor marched that year. He's showed me the show, very embarrassed by it. Essentially, the director wanted shows that elicited emotion, not something necessarily enjoyable.
My instructor marched snare that year and he's told us about the show multiple times. Looking back on it, he seems slightly embarrassed about it but still enjoyed performing it. The point of the show was to evoke emotion, and it did exactly that. Whether or not it was appropriate is up for debate, but the director clearly wanted to push boundaries with it and succeeded in doing so. So, controversy set aside, I personally think the show achieved its intended purpose, even if it may not be appropriate for WGI. It pushed boundaries and did what the director wanted it to. Like it, don't like it, it's not a huge deal, I just hope I won't see anyone discrediting the members of this group, seeing as they still put 100% into it despite the show's controversial nature. Lots of words, didn't mean to get on a soapbox or anything, just wanted to give input from myself and, more importantly, someone who marched that year. Thanks for reading, - Kid with too much free time (Sidenote: There were multiple occasions in which audience members cried when the show ended and were dead quiet before they actually applauded, not just at this performance.)
I’d like to know what you and the rest of the members thought about the concept in general. I have seen all the Carolina Thunder shows (multiple times). Lots of cool and entertaining stuff! I really wish this group stayed around. I can only imagine what kind of craziness they’d bring to the table as the activity evolved over the past 20 years.
I should make something clear, I played the year after this show but I did see the show and got to know member along the way. I started in the line in 2000. Most of the members of 99 were still members. The idea came from the Director. Let's just say he was artistically out there. Scotty Sells just liked pushing the limits. When I asked the old line what they thought, to me it seemed, like they were into it. Doing something beyond what WGI was presenting at the time or ever for that matter. Someone said, something to the effect of, "not all art is meant to happy or pleasant." The 2000 show was Igor Stravinsky in odd time all over the place. If that helps you understand the mindset of the program. It is true the names spoken were real people of those events, spoken in a loop.I'd like to say that the drums were that high for some reason but I believe some of them couldn't go lower. The center snare played his drum high in the 2000 show too.
I think this video misses the forest for the trees. My instructor was a quad player this year. This show was always part of the lore he told us about his indoor experiences. I believe he was a member every year that they existed and I've had the privilege to meet many other members of this ensemble. This show definitely left an impression on all of them. (Fun fact: One of the drummers from "Between the Buried and Me" was a member of this ensemble). This show was meant to be incendiary. It was meant to be intense and in your face. It was meant to make you think and make you uncomfortable. After that performance, you could hear people sobbing in the audience. I love a good entertaining indoor show, but my favorite shows have always been those shows that challenge me. RCC 2012, RCC 2015, etc... Just a different perspective.
Yeah man, I've been getting a good amount of feedback from ppl who marched this show. They all said the same - the experience marching this show impacted their lives, as well as those who saw it. It's cool to hear the members were all about it.
I remember having a copy of this show on one of those old WGI fan favorites DVDs. We would always watch them when we traveled the 16 hour long bus ride to Dayton. And every time there was always a new group of rookies who were shocked that someone would do a show like that. Its shows like this and Northmont High Schools 1997 Colorguard production of Dantes Inferno that really taught me that you could honestly make a show about ANYTHING.
I’m in a group called Vegas Vanguard and in 2013 they did a show on the challenger space shuttle and our director had actual sound clips from the news playing during the first half
@@cameronfountain9039 Huntington North Highschool 3 years ago I believe. There probably aren't any videos of it as we're not the biggest school, but we did go to D.C. this year and perform for Veterans Day.
I’m a little late to the comment party, but Eric, you asked about the 2000 show. I was with Thunder for that year, and we did Stravinsky’s “A Soldier’s Tale.” So we continued to push the envelope with odd meter time signatures, a spinning wall, and me the narrator performing in French. So, we continued to make people mad with our show concept. Because it wasn’t “normal” and they couldn’t understand what was happening, and so reacted the way people do when they don’t understand something: with fear, hate, and derision. Eric, I’ve become a fan of your channel. I was in the military for a little while, and did a year each in WGI, DCI, and DCA, and have done a bit of teaching. So we have some common experiences, and I have enjoyed your videos...until this one. Your analysis is way off the mark. You are of course free to have your own opinion, but you should reconsider your view. This show broke new ground in the indoor percussion world. Through the 90’s, most drumline shows were just a ram fest, everyone competing to see who could play the most wack beats. Carolina Thunder was one of the groups that led the way in transforming the activity to the idea of “percussion theater.” Now, you see outlandish, super-artistic shows all over the place. And they are celebrated, where 20 years ago, they would have been cursed at and derided as “weird.” When I marched Thunder in 2000, most of the 1999 members had came back, and they were universally proud of the work they had done that year. BTW, the 99 show caught the attention of some Emmy-winning TV producers, who made a mini-documentary about the show and it’s concept. It was narrated by Sir Patrick Stewart. Yep, ‘ol Captain Picard voiced a documentary about this show! We were pretty proud of that. I wish there was a copy on RUclips! Another note for any of you reading this who are fans of Christian rock bands: at the start of the show, the guy in the ripped white tank top who tries to touch the fence is Michael Anderson, the drummer for Building 429. He marched snare for Thunder each of the four years, then joined B429 the week after he graduated college.
Regarding having the front ensemble in back: I've seen a lot of shows from the late '90s and early '00s that put the keyboards in the back. I think this was a trend in that era experimenting with different placement of the "front" ensemble to help better represent the visual presentation. If you're mic'ing the pit and sending it through a pit it doesn't really matter where you place them.
At the beginning of this season the front ensemble was angled onto the field on the left side of the fifty and that was a wreck, we had to fix it like the first week, imagine being in the back we already get enough hate
There was a high school indoor group in Tennessee 2 years ago that i remember did a pearl harbor show, they even had some effect stuff for the racks to emulate the sound of people banging on the ships' walls as they sank. There was also a marching band, Westmoreland HS, last year that did a show about schizophrenia
Being Jewish (grandson of a Holocaust survivor) but also being a lover of indoor, not quite sure how to feel about this show. For one, I’m sure there were no anti-Semitic intentions in the design or execution of this show and I can see the artistic intentions but at the same time, definitely an ill-advised show concept that shouldn’t have been done. With this, I too played Music for Prague 1968 my senior year of college. I believe Husa wrote the piece after he came to the United States and the subject matter wasn’t the Holocaust but the Soviet invasion of Prague in 1968. Great video as always Eric.
Also Jewish here. It doesn’t seem antisemitic at all. They wanted to capture horror and succeeded. But it does seem like the drum line equivalent of Oscar bait.
Our winter perc show involved me getting shanked by our entire battery, getting dragged across the floor, and then killing to kill two others, one as the finale of our show in slow motion. Foothill HS A Class 2019 was fire.
It’s only weird bc it’s not a “normal” show. Thunder didn’t care about the judges or audiences opinion bc it’s a good show with a message and people are scared of the truth and history’s past.
Considering the show doesn't seem to be glorifying the holocaust, I don't see the issue. If anything, it's just drawing attention to how shitty it was. Art isn't always supposed to be sunshine and rainbows. I never understood why people had such an issue with dark themes in art. Art is supposed to provoke emotions, not just good ones. I quite frankly wouldn't have a problem with a 9/11 show either, for the record.
“I’m uncomfortable/I don’t like it, therefore it bad.” It’s a childish, entitled mentality from people who think that the world revolves and should cater to them.
@@ferretyluv are you suggesting that this show shouldn’t be allowed in case a show with a bright theme went on afterward? Just put something else afterward lol
I don’t think that this is a bad show, I think that the show is more of a reflection of the era that it was performed. Granted, I missed a big chunk of stuff from the late 90’s though mid 2000’s but I’d go out on a limb to say this show mustn’t have been too long after the type of shows where you performed a few random charts in your marching band uniform and there was no formula like you have to say into breaking a show up into about 3 movements. This was probably cutting edge and pushing the envelope at the time which is cool because I kinda feel without shows like this one, we wouldn’t have some of the real cool shows that we’ve had over the past decade +. I don’t know, just my thoughts. 🤷🏽♂️
Not old enough to have marched this program but I am from NC and know a handful of people that have marched this show, so this is one that’s always in conversation within my circle of drumming geek buddies... Though while yes, representing a subject as dark and disturbing as the holocaust and concentration camps is never a viable design option I would ever consider today, I do think this is a prime example of the impact and importance of taking risks in this activity especially for the time back in the late 90’s.... we see a lot of groups take risks these days as far as musical and visual demand, trying to push the envelope and showcase things that crowds and judges have never seen before, but rarely do you see groups take risks in what their actual show theme is and how that theme will make people react and feel (sort of like here). It’s definitely the case and very clear that the designers of this show WANTED people to be disturbed... they WANTED you to question why... they WANTED you to go “what the hell?!”.... it’s just such an impactful tactic as far as drawing in feelings and emotions from an audience, even some of the non typical emotions like disturbance, fear, uncomfortableness, mourning, etc. Essentially, back in the beginning years of this activity seeing shows like this wasn’t really an odd occurrence at all; judges liked this sort unfiltered approach back in the 90’s when it came to show designs and themes that were on the controversial end, and to this day I feel like we take a lot away from that sort of conviction and high risks factor in terms of theme material.... All the points in this video from all three dudes are absolutely more than valid and I very much enjoy all EMCProductions videos; I just wanted to come on here and share another perspective since this is a show I grew up watching and have a tiny bit of insight on!
I see it as less offensive and more artistic, grabbing both attention and interpretation; A show based on history, a dark show reflecting a dark time. As far as the "killing a kid with a gun" during the show, there're lots of shows where colorguard members stab each other with swords. The girl in the red coat was an obvious nod at Schindler's List, a movie in which the girl in the red coat is killed.
I remember watching this show live! That's saying something 20 years on. It definitely stood out amongst all of the standard drumline shows of that era. I remember the announcer saying something about this show being shown at a holocaust museum. And that crying at the end was one of the drummers. It was definitely intense. Obviously haha
Doesnt apply as much, but this year one of the ideas of our fall show was about 9/11. It wasnt as direct as this but it's still there. If you want to see it look up, Westbrook 2019 fearless
I respect the heck out of you, but I think this video is a really bad take on this show. It was a show meant to depict a very uncomfortable and terrible reality of our past, and your approach from the beginning of the video made it out to be some kind of joke... not to mention the open attack on all of the design aspects that were common at that early stage of WGI perc. The show itself, while not refined by modern standards, is extremely solemn, dark, and powerful... but I feel like this video is a total insult to the members/staff, and anyone who is exposed to this show through your reaction video will see the show in a way other than intended. I say all of this in hopes to create a legitimate dialogue! I find most of your content THOROUGHLY entertaining, but this one misses the mark for me. All the best, and say hi to Kei for me!
Good morning. Eric, I'm surprised with you and disappointed. Only a couple of weeks ago weren't you calling on people to call out videos titled "worst marching band ever?" Granted this is 20 years old and the participants are no longer "kids" but I'm sure they still take pride in their production and performance. Question the suitability of the material for the format and venue, but don't mock technique of what are obviously teenagers at the time of performance. The participants aren't responsible for the programming of the show. That's the show designer's responsibility.
This was performed at the Nutter Center at Wright State, which was the home of perc finals prior to UD. I have a MD bootleg of this show as well as some of the lot. Fun times!
In my first indoor show we killed off our memebers with a gun prop and sounds that we brought to highschools and dayton for world championships. Point Winds Theater Start the Movement
While I know that this would DEFINITELY NOT fly today, I think this show is very interesting. While this era in history was absolutely horrible, I find the era interesting to learn about. I do NOT condone the acts of the Nazi party AT ALL, but I think it's interesting to learn about it.
My marching band show in 2017 my junior year of high school was called Red and it was about communist Russia and it was super depressing. It later had to be written and have modifications to it because it seemed pretty dark and depressing.
How is this offensive? It is within out history. It is no different then watching a tv show or movie trying to depict this time in a realistic way. Acting like non of this ever happened in history does not help any progress as people. Filtering things like this does not help anyone. I have never played anything like that but if I did I would have been extremely proud. I thought it was an amazing idea and concept. Everyone will have different views. Some might find it disgraceful or disrespectful. In all honesty, history is history. It should be talked about. It should be referenced. All in whatever way people express themselves. If they were making fun of this time frame then all is justified but I didnt get this impression from this performance. I thought it was great.
I was working with another group that was competing against Carolina Thunder and yeah that show got every reaction you could think of. I thought I remember WGI putting out some sort of statement for the following year asking groups to refrain from choosing dark themed shows? Something like that. Anybody able to verify that from this time period?
A Scotty Sells creation. An eccentric guy. Spirt 87-88. SCV 90. Taught SCV and Crown (1996). I remember some other staffers mentioning the vibe this year was pretty unhealthy...
Good morning. Oh my god. This was insane. Like actually insane. Is there anything else out there that even comes close to rivaling this? Also I thoroughly enjoyed this group review
Also I agree it’s pretty fuckin raw but honestly it just feels like the WGI retelling of a holocaust film, like they kept that same tone present in Schindlers lots of the boy in stripe pajamas, that same feeling of misery and desperation and suffering. Like it translated very well. And that same kind numbing feeling of sheer horror. Honestly I think the music works very well in that respect, that it’s so placid and foreboding in the beginning and ends but so frantic and chaos filled and balls to the walls no breaks through the middle
1999 was definitely a different time. Between impeaching Clinton in 98, Star Wars Episode 1 being a grand disappointment, and the impending doom of Y2k, I'm not suprised such a controversial show was constructed and performed. Then 2000 came around and life carried on. Well atleast for a little while. But thats gonna have to be a future episode. (Great oppertunity for a parody with you sitting in an easy chair in one of those dressy old style lounging robes with a sophisticated pipe reading from the big book of dots)
As someone who was raised jewish and saw this show in person… it definitely swayed me by the end at first i was like just do on the waterfront like everyone else … then at the end i was like alright that was cool… then mission viejo came on and no one cared
By all rights, this whole thing should have collapsed under its own weight. This is pageantry art by nature, and so many of these shows which try to be deep and meaningful, while showing off playing ability, find themselves at cross purposes and fail to succeed at both. Though agreed this entire concept was foolhardy and basically no one should ever do this again, this show comes as close as it possibly could to affecting a profound emotion relative to the subject matter. The lack of musicality in quiet moments and instead, relentless pounding meant to evoke the death camps, works in its favor, as does the extremely nimble marching which reminds me of the agility of the Hingemaker in Schindler's List. And so, though indoor drumlines really should never do a show like this, one actually has to respect that in 1999 one not only did, but did it well.
Our high school did a D-day themed show and while we had similar themes (and people crying in the audience) we still did it with a certain integrity and respect in mind. One of the best stories of the season was when a drum major saluted at the end of the show, and a veteran in a Vietnam hat saluted back. You can push the envelope and have a meaningful show while still showing respect for the pain that history has cause. Also, it’s Apex High School 2019 for those wondering
This reminds me of the Dante’s Inferno Guard Show around this same time. It looked like they really hung people during the show. Creepy and a bit to far imo.
my high school did a show about the holocaust my senior year lmao. it was in 2016, the show was based off of Anne Frank’s story. it wasn’t that like in your face about it but it was pretty wild lol
I do not think the premise (idea) of the show is bad, but the execution was not good. I think if a person were to consider repeating this show, a few things need to be considered: 1) What are you communicating to the audience? Are we saying the prison camps were bad? Are we saying never forget? We must be doing more than showing what something looked like. How can we convey the message? I do not think that speaking the names is a great way to do that. 2) How can we present our message without becoming too offensive and disturbing. A little bit of both is fine, pretending to shoot a child is probably not. Dragging bodies on the ground also not good. In theater, normally the lights would go dark and then people would get up and walk away. In opera people die all the time. Perhaps consider seeing how death is dealt with in those shows. It can still be a heart-wrenching show, but we need to define strict lines. 3) In my perspective, the point of doing a show like this is to honour veterans and remember the terrible oppressive circumstances, going so far as to show some of the ugliness. Not to traumatize the audience. As humans we quickly forget how bad things were during WW2. Most 'muricans do not even know who hitler is. There's great educational content but it should be presented extremely carefully and accurately.
they knew that they could but they never thought to ask themselves if they should.......but in all seriousness i didn't know how to react.... was this a show that the people were proud to be apart of? what was the thought process behind it?
This was my crowd! I love how you don't "make fun of people on this channel" yet you mocked the whole performance? One thing you can't say is that they played horrible? They stepped out of the same ole same when this show was done. They actually put a lot of heart into it. If I recall you can pull some of your 20 year old videos out and we can pick those apart as well? What you don't want to do that? Ohh ok
And I thought our Drum Major was a Nazi....
He may he authoritarian but I highly doubt he would go to those lengths.
Hey-o!
What's most impressive is the 93.4 they scored with this...
I was thinking that too?!?
Well imagine being the guy that gives like a 70 or 80 to the Holocaust music 😂
How
I know everyone is gonna say this but...
“Front ensemble shouldn’t be in the back” *glances at MCM 2017*
Ikr you can’t hear them enough as it is
Cavin Lee i don’t think that was the point
“Front ensemble shouldn’t be in the back OR front and they ought to spread into pods if they want to...” - Matrix 2018
But remember, we did not mic pits like we do today. We can put them anywhere today because of mics, wired or wireless. But not back in 1999. (unless the battery plays no louder than 9" lol)
MCM1998
My snare instructor marched that year. He's showed me the show, very embarrassed by it. Essentially, the director wanted shows that elicited emotion, not something necessarily enjoyable.
My instructor marched snare that year and he's told us about the show multiple times. Looking back on it, he seems slightly embarrassed about it but still enjoyed performing it.
The point of the show was to evoke emotion, and it did exactly that. Whether or not it was appropriate is up for debate, but the director clearly wanted to push boundaries with it and succeeded in doing so. So, controversy set aside, I personally think the show achieved its intended purpose, even if it may not be appropriate for WGI. It pushed boundaries and did what the director wanted it to.
Like it, don't like it, it's not a huge deal, I just hope I won't see anyone discrediting the members of this group, seeing as they still put 100% into it despite the show's controversial nature.
Lots of words, didn't mean to get on a soapbox or anything, just wanted to give input from myself and, more importantly, someone who marched that year.
Thanks for reading,
- Kid with too much free time
(Sidenote: There were multiple occasions in which audience members cried when the show ended and were dead quiet before they actually applauded, not just at this performance.)
It’s been many years, many years, I think it’s ok to bring the topic up like this now.
@emcproductions I played In that WGI line. Let me know what you want to know. Carolina Thunder. Check the 2000 show too.
kazmanshan nice bro
Who's idea was that. And what did the members think about it
I’d like to know what you and the rest of the members thought about the concept in general. I have seen all the Carolina Thunder shows (multiple times). Lots of cool and entertaining stuff! I really wish this group stayed around. I can only imagine what kind of craziness they’d bring to the table as the activity evolved over the past 20 years.
I should make something clear, I played the year after this show but I did see the show and got to know member along the way. I started in the line in 2000. Most of the members of 99 were still members. The idea came from the Director. Let's just say he was artistically out there. Scotty Sells just liked pushing the limits. When I asked the old line what they thought, to me it seemed, like they were into it. Doing something beyond what WGI was presenting at the time or ever for that matter. Someone said, something to the effect of, "not all art is meant to happy or pleasant." The 2000 show was Igor Stravinsky in odd time all over the place. If that helps you understand the mindset of the program. It is true the names spoken were real people of those events, spoken in a loop.I'd like to say that the drums were that high for some reason but I believe some of them couldn't go lower. The center snare played his drum high in the 2000 show too.
kazmanshan Nick...
I think this video misses the forest for the trees. My instructor was a quad player this year. This show was always part of the lore he told us about his indoor experiences. I believe he was a member every year that they existed and I've had the privilege to meet many other members of this ensemble. This show definitely left an impression on all of them. (Fun fact: One of the drummers from "Between the Buried and Me" was a member of this ensemble).
This show was meant to be incendiary. It was meant to be intense and in your face. It was meant to make you think and make you uncomfortable. After that performance, you could hear people sobbing in the audience. I love a good entertaining indoor show, but my favorite shows have always been those shows that challenge me. RCC 2012, RCC 2015, etc...
Just a different perspective.
Yeah man, I've been getting a good amount of feedback from ppl who marched this show. They all said the same - the experience marching this show impacted their lives, as well as those who saw it. It's cool to hear the members were all about it.
Super late reply, but BTBAM having members with marching arts roots makes TOO much sense. Love it
Damn.
Not surprised by the BTBaM thing, their drummer is crazy.
Mom: hey honey how was indoor
Girl in red dress : oh fine got shot or whatever 😂
I saw this show live twice. You didn’t know if you should clap or cry when it was over.
You should cry because it was f'n awful.
@EMCproductions I played tenors in this show. If you’d like to know the whole story, I’m happy to talk to you about it.
Joe Page let me know if he reaches out to you!
Glad to see that 20 years on our performance is still making memories. Thanks for sharing.
I would like to see you react to old drum corps footage from the 70’s
fourth place, fourth reich
💀
I remember having a copy of this show on one of those old WGI fan favorites DVDs. We would always watch them when we traveled the 16 hour long bus ride to Dayton. And every time there was always a new group of rookies who were shocked that someone would do a show like that.
Its shows like this and Northmont High Schools 1997 Colorguard production of Dantes Inferno that really taught me that you could honestly make a show about ANYTHING.
As a percussionist, the 3rd movement of Music for Prague was...quite interesting to play
I’m in a group called Vegas Vanguard and in 2013 they did a show on the challenger space shuttle and our director had actual sound clips from the news playing during the first half
Cameron Fountain my high school did the same a few years ago
Kaleb Stevenson what school and year was it?!
@@cameronfountain9039 Huntington North Highschool 3 years ago I believe. There probably aren't any videos of it as we're not the biggest school, but we did go to D.C. this year and perform for Veterans Day.
Is Robb Sirat still with Vegas Vanguard? He was BD's center snare in 84 when i was in the corps.
Dude wtf?! Why?!! Did they follow it up with Columbine next year?
Another show with fences across the whole field is Air Academy band 2019
So does our Grand rapids Minnesota high school 2019 and broken arrow 2019
Lilboots 2of4 from colorado?
Yes from Colorado
@@BradyKacon you saw that too? I temeber the judges couldnt get in. And the cymbals doing the pit viper was amazing ngl.
Look up walled lake central 2019
I'm gonna say it
Who in their right mind thought this was a good idea?
Who ever made this show
Probably
A nazi
A clarinet player
A clarinet
I’m a little late to the comment party, but Eric, you asked about the 2000 show. I was with Thunder for that year, and we did Stravinsky’s “A Soldier’s Tale.” So we continued to push the envelope with odd meter time signatures, a spinning wall, and me the narrator performing in French. So, we continued to make people mad with our show concept. Because it wasn’t “normal” and they couldn’t understand what was happening, and so reacted the way people do when they don’t understand something: with fear, hate, and derision. Eric, I’ve become a fan of your channel. I was in the military for a little while, and did a year each in WGI, DCI, and DCA, and have done a bit of teaching. So we have some common experiences, and I have enjoyed your videos...until this one. Your analysis is way off the mark. You are of course free to have your own opinion, but you should reconsider your view. This show broke new ground in the indoor percussion world. Through the 90’s, most drumline shows were just a ram fest, everyone competing to see who could play the most wack beats. Carolina Thunder was one of the groups that led the way in transforming the activity to the idea of “percussion theater.” Now, you see outlandish, super-artistic shows all over the place. And they are celebrated, where 20 years ago, they would have been cursed at and derided as “weird.” When I marched Thunder in 2000, most of the 1999 members had came back, and they were universally proud of the work they had done that year.
BTW, the 99 show caught the attention of some Emmy-winning TV producers, who made a mini-documentary about the show and it’s concept. It was narrated by Sir Patrick Stewart. Yep, ‘ol Captain Picard voiced a documentary about this show! We were pretty proud of that. I wish there was a copy on RUclips!
Another note for any of you reading this who are fans of Christian rock bands: at the start of the show, the guy in the ripped white tank top who tries to touch the fence is Michael Anderson, the drummer for Building 429. He marched snare for Thunder each of the four years, then joined B429 the week after he graduated college.
Regarding having the front ensemble in back: I've seen a lot of shows from the late '90s and early '00s that put the keyboards in the back. I think this was a trend in that era experimenting with different placement of the "front" ensemble to help better represent the visual presentation. If you're mic'ing the pit and sending it through a pit it doesn't really matter where you place them.
At the beginning of this season the front ensemble was angled onto the field on the left side of the fifty and that was a wreck, we had to fix it like the first week, imagine being in the back we already get enough hate
There was a high school indoor group in Tennessee 2 years ago that i remember did a pearl harbor show, they even had some effect stuff for the racks to emulate the sound of people banging on the ships' walls as they sank. There was also a marching band, Westmoreland HS, last year that did a show about schizophrenia
Oh I remember going to those
I didn't March in this show I marched with another group out of Maine but I was there and saw the show in person. It was pretty powerful.
Would love to have your thoughts on the show I marched in but it is not online anywhere. I actually have a vhs tape of it.
I understand this show isn't glorifying the Holocaust, but I still think it's very distasteful.
Fdsa and kinda hilarious 😄😆
JakeClashes It's not funny. Whatsoever. Stop being childish.
@@stanfoo1175 awww I'm sorry man :(
Sometimes my anti-Semitic side rears its ugly head :(
@@stanfoo1175 but did u see the part where the girl in the red got capped 😂😂
I don't think it's very fitting for a WGI show. 'Nuff said.
Being Jewish (grandson of a Holocaust survivor) but also being a lover of indoor, not quite sure how to feel about this show. For one, I’m sure there were no anti-Semitic intentions in the design or execution of this show and I can see the artistic intentions but at the same time, definitely an ill-advised show concept that shouldn’t have been done.
With this, I too played Music for Prague 1968 my senior year of college. I believe Husa wrote the piece after he came to the United States and the subject matter wasn’t the Holocaust but the Soviet invasion of Prague in 1968.
Great video as always Eric.
Also Jewish here. It doesn’t seem antisemitic at all. They wanted to capture horror and succeeded. But it does seem like the drum line equivalent of Oscar bait.
Our winter perc show involved me getting shanked by our entire battery, getting dragged across the floor, and then killing to kill two others, one as the finale of our show in slow motion. Foothill HS A Class 2019 was fire.
It’s only weird bc it’s not a “normal” show. Thunder didn’t care about the judges or audiences opinion bc it’s a good show with a message and people are scared of the truth and history’s past.
Considering the show doesn't seem to be glorifying the holocaust, I don't see the issue. If anything, it's just drawing attention to how shitty it was. Art isn't always supposed to be sunshine and rainbows. I never understood why people had such an issue with dark themes in art. Art is supposed to provoke emotions, not just good ones. I quite frankly wouldn't have a problem with a 9/11 show either, for the record.
Shiva Rayner Finally someone that actually understands art
I feel the same way myself. Also this was 21 years ago, things were different then.
“I’m uncomfortable/I don’t like it, therefore it bad.”
It’s a childish, entitled mentality from people who think that the world revolves and should cater to them.
The problem is when the next act is supposed to be fun and happy and they go on after this. Super awkward.
@@ferretyluv are you suggesting that this show shouldn’t be allowed in case a show with a bright theme went on afterward?
Just put something else afterward lol
I don’t think that this is a bad show, I think that the show is more of a reflection of the era that it was performed. Granted, I missed a big chunk of stuff from the late 90’s though mid 2000’s but I’d go out on a limb to say this show mustn’t have been too long after the type of shows where you performed a few random charts in your marching band uniform and there was no formula like you have to say into breaking a show up into about 3 movements. This was probably cutting edge and pushing the envelope at the time which is cool because I kinda feel without shows like this one, we wouldn’t have some of the real cool shows that we’ve had over the past decade +. I don’t know, just my thoughts. 🤷🏽♂️
HeyEric when are you going to react to the audition
Not old enough to have marched this program but I am from NC and know a handful of people that have marched this show, so this is one that’s always in conversation within my circle of drumming geek buddies...
Though while yes, representing a subject as dark and disturbing as the holocaust and concentration camps is never a viable design option I would ever consider today, I do think this is a prime example of the impact and importance of taking risks in this activity especially for the time back in the late 90’s.... we see a lot of groups take risks these days as far as musical and visual demand, trying to push the envelope and showcase things that crowds and judges have never seen before, but rarely do you see groups take risks in what their actual show theme is and how that theme will make people react and feel (sort of like here). It’s definitely the case and very clear that the designers of this show WANTED people to be disturbed... they WANTED you to question why... they WANTED you to go “what the hell?!”.... it’s just such an impactful tactic as far as drawing in feelings and emotions from an audience, even some of the non typical emotions like disturbance, fear, uncomfortableness, mourning, etc. Essentially, back in the beginning years of this activity seeing shows like this wasn’t really an odd occurrence at all; judges liked this sort unfiltered approach back in the 90’s when it came to show designs and themes that were on the controversial end, and to this day I feel like we take a lot away from that sort of conviction and high risks factor in terms of theme material....
All the points in this video from all three dudes are absolutely more than valid and I very much enjoy all EMCProductions videos; I just wanted to come on here and share another perspective since this is a show I grew up watching and have a tiny bit of insight on!
I see it as less offensive and more artistic, grabbing both attention and interpretation; A show based on history, a dark show reflecting a dark time. As far as the "killing a kid with a gun" during the show, there're lots of shows where colorguard members stab each other with swords. The girl in the red coat was an obvious nod at Schindler's List, a movie in which the girl in the red coat is killed.
I remember watching this show live! That's saying something 20 years on. It definitely stood out amongst all of the standard drumline shows of that era. I remember the announcer saying something about this show being shown at a holocaust museum. And that crying at the end was one of the drummers. It was definitely intense. Obviously haha
Doesnt apply as much, but this year one of the ideas of our fall show was about 9/11. It wasnt as direct as this but it's still there. If you want to see it look up, Westbrook 2019 fearless
I think they had a good idea but horrible execution. They should've told a story about how the camp was liberated and the people where free.
I can't tell if this I'd a genuine comment on the show or a terrible pun.
A_UsernameThatWorks
I don't exactly agree with the comment they reviewed, but I do agree that art doesn't have to be happy.
WGI is mostly an American thing, not a Soviet one. And it was mostly Soviets who liberated people from concentration camps.
@@Spoonwood mostly? Bruh the 45th ID almost singlehandedly liberated like three of the largest
I respect the heck out of you, but I think this video is a really bad take on this show. It was a show meant to depict a very uncomfortable and terrible reality of our past, and your approach from the beginning of the video made it out to be some kind of joke... not to mention the open attack on all of the design aspects that were common at that early stage of WGI perc.
The show itself, while not refined by modern standards, is extremely solemn, dark, and powerful... but I feel like this video is a total insult to the members/staff, and anyone who is exposed to this show through your reaction video will see the show in a way other than intended.
I say all of this in hopes to create a legitimate dialogue! I find most of your content THOROUGHLY entertaining, but this one misses the mark for me.
All the best, and say hi to Kei for me!
Compose a comment down below
*diggi da da diggi da da DA*
literal brainwashing
comment composed
I played Music For Prague in college-actually directed by Karel Husa himself. Unforgettable experience.
That’s awesome
as soon as he said "music for the holocaust" I knew I was in for a treat
Good morning. Eric, I'm surprised with you and disappointed. Only a couple of weeks ago weren't you calling on people to call out videos titled "worst marching band ever?" Granted this is 20 years old and the participants are no longer "kids" but I'm sure they still take pride in their production and performance. Question the suitability of the material for the format and venue, but don't mock technique of what are obviously teenagers at the time of performance. The participants aren't responsible for the programming of the show. That's the show designer's responsibility.
This was performed at the Nutter Center at Wright State, which was the home of perc finals prior to UD. I have a MD bootleg of this show as well as some of the lot. Fun times!
In my first indoor show we killed off our memebers with a gun prop and sounds that we brought to highschools and dayton for world championships. Point Winds Theater Start the Movement
While I know that this would DEFINITELY NOT fly today, I think this show is very interesting.
While this era in history was absolutely horrible, I find the era interesting to learn about.
I do NOT condone the acts of the Nazi party AT ALL, but I think it's interesting to learn about it.
My marching band show in 2017 my junior year of high school was called Red and it was about communist Russia and it was super depressing. It later had to be written and have modifications to it because it seemed pretty dark and depressing.
How is this offensive? It is within out history. It is no different then watching a tv show or movie trying to depict this time in a realistic way. Acting like non of this ever happened in history does not help any progress as people. Filtering things like this does not help anyone. I have never played anything like that but if I did I would have been extremely proud. I thought it was an amazing idea and concept. Everyone will have different views. Some might find it disgraceful or disrespectful. In all honesty, history is history. It should be talked about. It should be referenced. All in whatever way people express themselves. If they were making fun of this time frame then all is justified but I didnt get this impression from this performance. I thought it was great.
You should react to higher school shows sent in by subscribers!
My high school band decided to preform a show called fly on 9/11
I dont get why everyone hates this show, sure it's not the cleanest but it's on of the boldest shows ever made.
The girl in the red dress appears to be a cross between Anne Frank and the girl in Schindler's List with the dress that is always red
I was working with another group that was competing against Carolina Thunder and yeah that show got every reaction you could think of. I thought I remember WGI putting out some sort of statement for the following year asking groups to refrain from choosing dark themed shows? Something like that. Anybody able to verify that from this time period?
238 likes, 0 dislikes, gotta love it
My high school marching show was about immigration. Its called us and them galena Park hs 2019
Talk about the back ensemble
A Scotty Sells creation. An eccentric guy. Spirt 87-88. SCV 90. Taught SCV and Crown (1996). I remember some other staffers mentioning the vibe this year was pretty unhealthy...
36 seconds ago? damn i've never been this early
I’ve gotten 23
I've gotten below 10, but why does it matter?
Good morning. Oh my god. This was insane. Like actually insane. Is there anything else out there that even comes close to rivaling this? Also I thoroughly enjoyed this group review
Also I agree it’s pretty fuckin raw but honestly it just feels like the WGI retelling of a holocaust film, like they kept that same tone present in Schindlers lots of the boy in stripe pajamas, that same feeling of misery and desperation and suffering. Like it translated very well. And that same kind numbing feeling of sheer horror. Honestly I think the music works very well in that respect, that it’s so placid and foreboding in the beginning and ends but so frantic and chaos filled and balls to the walls no breaks through the middle
Northmont winterguard 1995 has someone hung
I love the “GET SMACKED IN THE FACE WITH MUSIC AND FEEL IT” theme of the show it’s just constant notes and rhythms getting thrown at you.
Anyone else see that snap at 5:37, in time with the crash🤯
WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR BIRTHDAY CAKE VIDEO PLEASE I LOVED IT!
Please react to my high school band. Straughn high school band. Do the most recent show (2018). Please
1999 was definitely a different time. Between impeaching Clinton in 98, Star Wars Episode 1 being a grand disappointment, and the impending doom of Y2k, I'm not suprised such a controversial show was constructed and performed. Then 2000 came around and life carried on. Well atleast for a little while. But thats gonna have to be a future episode. (Great oppertunity for a parody with you sitting in an easy chair in one of those dressy old style lounging robes with a sophisticated pipe reading from the big book of dots)
As someone who was raised jewish and saw this show in person… it definitely swayed me by the end at first i was like just do on the waterfront like everyone else … then at the end i was like alright that was cool… then mission viejo came on and no one cared
Me realizing that’s in my city 😳
“Springtime for Hitler” did it better.
FYI that song is from Mel Brooks’ “The Producers” and is HILARIOUS, particularly the remake with Will Ferrell.
Can please someone please give me a link to watch the show on? I can't find it
I’m surprised this group never did a Soviet Gulag show 😂😂😂
ay carolina is the home team. they made a good show.
I thought WGI Indoor Percussion in recent years was messed up!! This is...Holy Shit!!!
By all rights, this whole thing should have collapsed under its own weight. This is pageantry art by nature, and so many of these shows which try to be deep and meaningful, while showing off playing ability, find themselves at cross purposes and fail to succeed at both. Though agreed this entire concept was foolhardy and basically no one should ever do this again, this show comes as close as it possibly could to affecting a profound emotion relative to the subject matter. The lack of musicality in quiet moments and instead, relentless pounding meant to evoke the death camps, works in its favor, as does the extremely nimble marching which reminds me of the agility of the Hingemaker in Schindler's List. And so, though indoor drumlines really should never do a show like this, one actually has to respect that in 1999 one not only did, but did it well.
That women read 6 million Jewish names in one small book.
It’s a morbid idea, but it’s actually pretty cool
In our 09 show we had the school mascot cross dress and scared the crowd. Lol different time different place
as a jewish person, its not offensive lmao
Greg Dearman (comment about real ppl), was the founder and director of CT, but this show was all Scotty Sells.
I believe North Forsyth’s outdoor 2017 was about Pearl Harbor if I remember correctly
Yea Gage! ❤️❤️❤️
Nice. Youre my favorite music youtuber. I love your videos and i cant wait for 6969
the 23 dislikes are from white girls who are getting offended FOR Jewish people
Presenting the Carrmen Heights Drum and Bugle Corps 2021 show,
THE MUSIC OF THE RAPE OF NANKING!
Our high school did a D-day themed show and while we had similar themes (and people crying in the audience) we still did it with a certain integrity and respect in mind. One of the best stories of the season was when a drum major saluted at the end of the show, and a veteran in a Vietnam hat saluted back. You can push the envelope and have a meaningful show while still showing respect for the pain that history has cause.
Also, it’s Apex High School 2019 for those wondering
Crown played that same music in 1996. Totally worked in Drum Corps
If you don’t like front in the back, you should watch mcm 17 and 18
This reminds me of the Dante’s Inferno Guard Show around this same time. It looked like they really hung people during the show. Creepy and a bit to far imo.
Michel Wimberly I remember that show. Freaky stuff. But very memorable.
Northmont HS 1997, for anyone interested. It's on RUclips.
FWIW, you may want to read Lee Rudnicki's response in the Drum Corps Coffee Shop group on Facebook. Lee was one of the consultants for this show.
Michael Alber he posted here as well.
my high school did a show about the holocaust my senior year lmao. it was in 2016, the show was based off of Anne Frank’s story. it wasn’t that like in your face about it but it was pretty wild lol
Guys give them credit, this show took alot of concentration.
Well my freshmen year we did Phantom's Spartacus. There was slaves beaten and an epic sword fight.
My band director marched when they performed Spartacus, and won worlds, he wears the ring to every contest
Could've gone with the Shostakovich approach musically
One of my directors marched snare.
Nice job keeping it monetized😂
No one gonna call out the fact that the drum major has a Hitler mustache because that's what all ss oficers looked like
Also, kinda reminded me of Frank Zappa's Black Page and Steve Reich.
I do not think the premise (idea) of the show is bad, but the execution was not good. I think if a person were to consider repeating this show, a few things need to be considered:
1) What are you communicating to the audience? Are we saying the prison camps were bad? Are we saying never forget? We must be doing more than showing what something looked like. How can we convey the message? I do not think that speaking the names is a great way to do that.
2) How can we present our message without becoming too offensive and disturbing. A little bit of both is fine, pretending to shoot a child is probably not. Dragging bodies on the ground also not good. In theater, normally the lights would go dark and then people would get up and walk away. In opera people die all the time. Perhaps consider seeing how death is dealt with in those shows. It can still be a heart-wrenching show, but we need to define strict lines.
3) In my perspective, the point of doing a show like this is to honour veterans and remember the terrible oppressive circumstances, going so far as to show some of the ugliness. Not to traumatize the audience. As humans we quickly forget how bad things were during WW2. Most 'muricans do not even know who hitler is. There's great educational content but it should be presented extremely carefully and accurately.
If you're traumatized by a WGI show you literally don't deserve to live. You'll never survive as an adult.
Our PHS showchoir belles et bouxs did a 9-11 show and a civil war show.
they knew that they could but they never thought to ask themselves if they should.......but in all seriousness i didn't know how to react.... was this a show that the people were proud to be apart of? what was the thought process behind it?
OH I REMEBER SOMEONE RECENTLY DID THIS IN MY SCHOOL DISTRICT, terrible idea.
My High school a doomsday/ end of the worls clock last year, where in the closer we had a siren going and then a bomb go off for sound affect.
Are you from an Indiana school? I think I saw one like that last year
No, West Virginia. We aren't that good buts it fun, and Drumline carry the band.
A high school in my area pretended to execute a girl wearing our school jersey for their pep rally, and that got so much bad rep lmao.
Mister Fishsticc my band director asks what sxhool that was
This was my crowd! I love how you don't "make fun of people on this channel" yet you mocked the whole performance? One thing you can't say is that they played horrible? They stepped out of the same ole same when this show was done. They actually put a lot of heart into it. If I recall you can pull some of your 20 year old videos out and we can pick those apart as well? What you don't want to do that? Ohh ok
This goes up there with the 9/11 show choir show in terms of “who approved this?”