In my ten years of marching band playing the euphonium, some of the most difficult music I ever read were old marches. I only had two chances to do countermarching and I thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread. To all the people who think countermarching is boring, what you fail to realize is that it is this style of marching that led to your beloved corps-style. Instead of hating, learn to respect the history and traditions of marching band.
Lol thanks "optimus" for the compliment. I remember that year, not only was marching to a 6/8 march at 120 hard to do, but my little move that I made up to get back into formation was pretty scary. I think I ran into everyone in that little gap at least once during practices that year, lol. Marching practice.... good times.... good times....
Wow, that's pretty cool that Vidor still marches military. That's rare nowadays. They probably could some serious damage if they marched corp with the size of their band and guard though, lol.
I don't think military style will go away. It has such a rich tradition in East Texas. Moreso, the community supports the traditional military style. I've heard of some towns when a new director tried to change the band to corps, the community protested and had that director removed and replaced with someone who taught military style.
I think Longview HS in north east Texas has 60 straight years of Division 1s at marching contest and 39 straight years of sweepstakes.
Depsit etraditions and such the feeling I get form watching a top HS military style band is nothign compared to the feelings I get from SFA or LD Bell
Oh totally...you cannot compare the two. The completely different styles of marching. I marched in a corps band in high school but have deep respect for military bands. I liked Reagan from San Antonio personally.
I love BOA stuff too but i hate amplification...i hate narration. An amplified pit is ok but no too much synthesizers. I think narration takes away from the whole performance. I hate that DCI has amplification too. I want to listen and watch the music, not listen to a story.
Sometimes the narration and overbearing pit that is turned up too loud is unnecessary but besides that "military" style of marching band is not my cup of tea....ohh the cliche..If I had to judge it of course there woudl be many pluses in marching technique and set precision but in the general effect....not so much...
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
WOW.... what can I say? These competitions must be really boring and not crown appealing at all. Come watch a FMBA show and it's a totally different and way more exciting type of shows. I guess this isn't to bad. But we march in blocks for our warm-up. Just check out some good schools in Florida (Tarpon Springs HS, Mariner HS, Estero HS (my school), Flanagan HS, Jupiter HS) Just check out Florida Bands in general. Pretty sure any Florida student would be bored to death in these shows.
This is an example of a military marching band. UIL (the organization that oversees all academic, athletic, and music contests) can be exciting. Our region in Texas is not exactly the best but we do have some impressive corps style and military bands, Vidor included. I've heard of Tarpon Springs because they are consistent finalists at BOA. Military is not boring. They are very precise and i'm sure many other bands cannot marching in straight lines or play those marches with precision.
You definitely have to be smart enough to walk and chew gum, so to speak, to march military. Where it got fun (I marched in the Vidor band) was the lights-out drill we did for Homecoming.
I loved playing Cross of Honour!! I especially liked the beginning, I remember I had a left stepover stepoff it was hard at first cause I was a freshman.
LCM stands for Little Cypress-Mauriceville. They are a high school in Orange, Texas. They have a decent marching band but definitely cannot compete with the other 4A schools throughout the state. I would have rather seen Vidor go to state in 2007 than LCM.
Were going to state next year.We have to if we dont ill kill the freshman lol. Last year we wer so close. i think we deserved it we werbeast last year. oh well mr touchtone better have a monster of a show saved up.
yes he better. He needs to do a Charles Smith drill when he was director for 30 years at Vidor.
You should check out some of the old drill i've posted. I haven't seen any military bands do anything like what he did. He's the reason the "Band of Bands" is what it is today.
Yes i think you should have advanced to state. If there were more bands at area, then they would have taken 4 bands to state and that would have been you guys. I'd like to see a military band at state in the 4A Contest.
The drum majors in this video are really good. I like the way they counter march and conduct the band at the end. They only had female drum majors when we competed against them, glad to see they have both now.
BTW I am VHS Alumni Class of 2004 and former 1st Lieutenant of the Mighty Pirate Marching Band and Tenor Sax section leader. But I also am a professional musician, a student of music and a lover of quality performances, whether corps or military. If you don't like military, go watch something else. We don't care if you like drum corps better (at least spell it right...its not core...dummy)go tell someone who cares.
So I see where people are bashing military, Vidor, Nederland and whatever else. That in my opinion is childish and immature, grow up and have a sense of pride that there are people out there trying to preserve your craft. These performances are by HIGH SCHOOL musicians, and fine ones at that that love what they do. So back off.
That was my junior year...dang its sad :( but heck yes, we should have freaking gone to state last year! stupid galena park - we totally kicked their butts :) does anyone have that show recorded?
Yeah I'm from Huntsville. Us and Vidor were the only 2 military bands to make it to the area finals last year. Kind of surprising neither of us made it though...
We were seriously close to making it to state last year. Like SERIOUSLY close. I don't quite remember the score but we weren't very many points away. this video was my freshman year. i didn't march cause i was a rotator. =[
Y'all were very close...3 points to be exact. I would have rather Vidor go to state than LCM and i marched corps in high school. LCM had a composite score of 21. Vidor had a 24 and were second-alternate to state. You guys were second-alternate to state back in 2003 too.
I really enjoy watching these videos of Vidor and the other southeast Texas bands you have posted. I went to French High in Beaumont from 1969 to 73, and remember competing against Vidor, PN-G, and Nederland at contest because they were always very good. We received ratings of 1-1-1 all four years and I was head drum major my senior year. Do you have any videos of French from these years? My two kids were in the Langham Creek band in Cy-Fair. Terrific band but I like the military style better.
aw ... I miss this band so much. I went my freshman year and part of my sophomore year but then I moved. I ended up in a non-military band and my Vidorian friends never let me live it down, especially when I did color guard, lol. No one from my new school understood how awesome marching military is though.
WOW! I didnt know there were schools out there who still did this. Want to know why they arent in UIL competitions past region... just look at the way they march. old school
They are...mainly the Class 1As, 2As, and 3As. Vidor, a 4A school, does go to area contest everytime it's a state year. They did last year and made it into the finals of the area marching contest. Of course when you have schools like Dickinson and Frienswood in the same Area, then you won't make it to state. Nederland just chooses not to participate at Area. All of east Texas (NE, East, and SE) still has military bands and they are the predominant style in Region 21.
I graduated from VHS in 1969...they always get a 1 which is the highest honor in band contests...VHS MIGHTY PIRATE MARCHING BAND IS THE BAND OF BANDS!!!!!!!!!! and always will be!
Love this band...IT IS THE BAND OF BANDS AND ALWAYS WILL BE...Nederland is horrible and has always been jealous of Vidor....at least they named nederland correctly..."The dogs" that they are
I wish Nederland would go to the area marching contest. Why don't you go? Is it because that military can't beat corps bands? At least Vidor goes and has done well that last few times they've gone.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
but seriously, you cant sit there and say that this vidor band plays well while marching. its super edgy. kind of gross sounding. and im not saying that nederland is amazing. but only much better.
ok first off I'm kind of sad to see you bashing Vidor, because I have met you. The reason Vidor says Nederland isn't good, is because honestly you guys haven't performed well in front of us, at least none of the years I've been there. I'll give you guys lots of credit in concert season because you guys are beasts then, but marching you guys haven't shown us a band that's far better, not saying this was a good show from Vidor. I respect Nederland however and wish you would critique, not bash.
the only thing that i have to say to you is that when your band actually does go and beat vidor then i can understand if you diss us other than that you need to shut up and deal with our amazingness......jealous much???????
A. I was seriously messing around when I said that stuff. Th\is band marches relatively well! Though, the playing is mediocre. There alot of individuals sticking out. I believe that this band is "playing at" the music, not actually playing it.
B. In 2006 Nederland Band advanced to 6th in the state taping contest, in which Vidor didn't advance past regionals. So, yes we did beat vidor, and No I'm not in the least bit jealous.
C. wtf..I posted this comment like a year ago. lol.
Well,i just graduated from nederland.. and i was in the band. its pretty pointless and a waste of time for a military band to attend area contest because a military band will NEVER get sent to state. the marching isnt bad at all. but the sound is a problem. its pretty unblended. i hear individual players sticking out through most of the performance. some squawky clarinet players and a nasty sounding trumpet. nederland is far from perfect. but we actually sound somewhat like a band when we march.
A 1A Military Band, Overton, won the state marching band contest. I think the best 4A military band would probably be Lindale. They were 3rd in the area marching contest up in the Dallas area. If there would have been at least 15 bands at area, they would have gone to state. When i went to Jasper, we went to area contest at SFA in 2002. The three bands that went to state from our area were Rusk, Lindale, and Cleveland. Kingwood has been to the state marching contest and they're 5A
I would agree with Rocketfan86 on this, Lindale, Overton, New Boston, Longview, and Nacogdoches, Bands not to be dealt with...Nederland Is great too...As is Vidor...But they Both have their days...and Region 21 is just military to the core...They are reaching heights in Region 21 that I would never expect from a predominately military Area
^How so?...military style music is not as interesting as symphony and orchestral excerpts from candide overture and similar excerpts...It is simply not the same....It was very cool to see a military style band though...vidor was disciplined and had nice files and visuals...but who advanced to state? 3 bands playing pieces of "classicality" and story tellign songs from festive to candide and all these clahsing emotions....
I guess you're right. The band directors in Vidor have never provided any instruction or training regarding story "tellign" songs and "clahsing" emotions.
With the exception of the typo I was saying story telling songs...as in using the contrasting(clashing) parts of the piece and tell the story of despair or happiness through the bands marching and playing.....read closer...and clearly not.
I love my schools band so much. Band of bands! The Mighty Pirate Marching Band! I'm so proud to be apart of it.:D
muffinsPWNcupcakes 1 year ago
In my ten years of marching band playing the euphonium, some of the most difficult music I ever read were old marches. I only had two chances to do countermarching and I thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread. To all the people who think countermarching is boring, what you fail to realize is that it is this style of marching that led to your beloved corps-style. Instead of hating, learn to respect the history and traditions of marching band.
bassbaritoneguy 1 year ago
Lol thanks "optimus" for the compliment. I remember that year, not only was marching to a 6/8 march at 120 hard to do, but my little move that I made up to get back into formation was pretty scary. I think I ran into everyone in that little gap at least once during practices that year, lol. Marching practice.... good times.... good times....
campisebob 1 year ago
Also, my compliments to Chris and Josh on the duet
optimustuba09 2 years ago
Nothing gets my blood boiling like a well performed military drill
optimustuba09 2 years ago
This is the CHARLES R. SMITH BAND OF BANDS.
dksrm 2 years ago
And I'm very proud to say I was a part of it for three years! :D
jmil2tx 2 years ago
Wow, that's pretty cool that Vidor still marches military. That's rare nowadays. They probably could some serious damage if they marched corp with the size of their band and guard though, lol.
stephenmesker 2 years ago
This style has no appeal factor except for the pivots and sharp motions....but marching band is so much more.
xHuntedGunzPCGx 2 years ago
I don't think military style will go away. It has such a rich tradition in East Texas. Moreso, the community supports the traditional military style. I've heard of some towns when a new director tried to change the band to corps, the community protested and had that director removed and replaced with someone who taught military style.
I think Longview HS in north east Texas has 60 straight years of Division 1s at marching contest and 39 straight years of sweepstakes.
rocketfan86 2 years ago
Depsit etraditions and such the feeling I get form watching a top HS military style band is nothign compared to the feelings I get from SFA or LD Bell
xHuntedGunzPCGx 2 years ago
Oh totally...you cannot compare the two. The completely different styles of marching. I marched in a corps band in high school but have deep respect for military bands. I liked Reagan from San Antonio personally.
I love BOA stuff too but i hate amplification...i hate narration. An amplified pit is ok but no too much synthesizers. I think narration takes away from the whole performance. I hate that DCI has amplification too. I want to listen and watch the music, not listen to a story.
rocketfan86 2 years ago
Sometimes the narration and overbearing pit that is turned up too loud is unnecessary but besides that "military" style of marching band is not my cup of tea....ohh the cliche..If I had to judge it of course there woudl be many pluses in marching technique and set precision but in the general effect....not so much...
xHuntedGunzPCGx 2 years ago
Fanfare gets me going. haha, we use the same one. ours sounds different though? check out my videos, all crosby,
PR3ST0N333 2 years ago
im trying to be a dick, but lets get some more interesting drill !
curtissboggs 2 years ago
Military is great but who's fighting who ?
AZ091416 2 years ago
your ignorance is appalling
rocketfan86 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
WOW.... what can I say? These competitions must be really boring and not crown appealing at all. Come watch a FMBA show and it's a totally different and way more exciting type of shows. I guess this isn't to bad. But we march in blocks for our warm-up. Just check out some good schools in Florida (Tarpon Springs HS, Mariner HS, Estero HS (my school), Flanagan HS, Jupiter HS) Just check out Florida Bands in general. Pretty sure any Florida student would be bored to death in these shows.
EarnhardtJrDl8 2 years ago
crowd*
EarnhardtJrDl8 2 years ago
This is an example of a military marching band. UIL (the organization that oversees all academic, athletic, and music contests) can be exciting. Our region in Texas is not exactly the best but we do have some impressive corps style and military bands, Vidor included. I've heard of Tarpon Springs because they are consistent finalists at BOA. Military is not boring. They are very precise and i'm sure many other bands cannot marching in straight lines or play those marches with precision.
rocketfan86 2 years ago
You definitely have to be smart enough to walk and chew gum, so to speak, to march military. Where it got fun (I marched in the Vidor band) was the lights-out drill we did for Homecoming.
jmil2tx 2 years ago
haterrrr, get out!
timxgibbs 2 years ago
Comment removed
timxgibbs 2 years ago
NAMMB performance was better but this is still great!
jpeanrkode 2 years ago
omg this was my freshman performance. i was sooooo nervous. but ilov it. im a junior now and we are still working just as hard.
kdino10 2 years ago
I loved playing Cross of Honour!! I especially liked the beginning, I remember I had a left stepover stepoff it was hard at first cause I was a freshman.
BonbonBobos 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
how come all there marching is parade blocks!! my band is better
mattDaMan41 3 years ago
This is called military-style or traditional style marching.
Is your band better? Marching or concert?
rocketfan86 3 years ago
i would say marching
mattDaMan41 3 years ago
what school is yours and i swear that if you say lcm you suck
kdino10 2 years ago
we actually do shows and make formations like in dci..
whats lcm??
mattDaMan41 2 years ago
LCM stands for Little Cypress-Mauriceville. They are a high school in Orange, Texas. They have a decent marching band but definitely cannot compete with the other 4A schools throughout the state. I would have rather seen Vidor go to state in 2007 than LCM.
rocketfan86 2 years ago
oh there small school...
were 5A
mattDaMan41 2 years ago
you never answered my question what school are you from
kdino10 2 years ago
hrhs
mattDaMan41 2 years ago
what is hrhs? don't know the HR part
rocketfan86 2 years ago
Highlands Ranch High School
mattDaMan41 2 years ago
What is the name of this opening fanfare?
MUfasa2001ZI 3 years ago
The fanfare is the beginning of Alfred Reed's "A Festival Prelude", but the video skips over some of it 0:29.
ivancopperfield 3 years ago
Were going to state next year.We have to if we dont ill kill the freshman lol. Last year we wer so close. i think we deserved it we werbeast last year. oh well mr touchtone better have a monster of a show saved up.
hunterjumper6274 3 years ago
yes he better. He needs to do a Charles Smith drill when he was director for 30 years at Vidor.
You should check out some of the old drill i've posted. I haven't seen any military bands do anything like what he did. He's the reason the "Band of Bands" is what it is today.
Yes i think you should have advanced to state. If there were more bands at area, then they would have taken 4 bands to state and that would have been you guys. I'd like to see a military band at state in the 4A Contest.
rocketfan86 3 years ago
The drum majors in this video are really good. I like the way they counter march and conduct the band at the end. They only had female drum majors when we competed against them, glad to see they have both now.
ivancopperfield 3 years ago
BTW I am VHS Alumni Class of 2004 and former 1st Lieutenant of the Mighty Pirate Marching Band and Tenor Sax section leader. But I also am a professional musician, a student of music and a lover of quality performances, whether corps or military. If you don't like military, go watch something else. We don't care if you like drum corps better (at least spell it right...its not core...dummy)go tell someone who cares.
mydogfartsalot85 3 years ago 5
So I see where people are bashing military, Vidor, Nederland and whatever else. That in my opinion is childish and immature, grow up and have a sense of pride that there are people out there trying to preserve your craft. These performances are by HIGH SCHOOL musicians, and fine ones at that that love what they do. So back off.
mydogfartsalot85 3 years ago 4
That was my junior year...dang its sad :( but heck yes, we should have freaking gone to state last year! stupid galena park - we totally kicked their butts :) does anyone have that show recorded?
jools683 3 years ago
Yeah I'm from Huntsville. Us and Vidor were the only 2 military bands to make it to the area finals last year. Kind of surprising neither of us made it though...
Letterbomb011 3 years ago
We were seriously close to making it to state last year. Like SERIOUSLY close. I don't quite remember the score but we weren't very many points away. this video was my freshman year. i didn't march cause i was a rotator. =[
Nocami 3 years ago
Y'all were very close...3 points to be exact. I would have rather Vidor go to state than LCM and i marched corps in high school. LCM had a composite score of 21. Vidor had a 24 and were second-alternate to state. You guys were second-alternate to state back in 2003 too.
rocketfan86 3 years ago
god how i miss playing for VHS band!!!....
camopookie69 3 years ago
I really enjoy watching these videos of Vidor and the other southeast Texas bands you have posted. I went to French High in Beaumont from 1969 to 73, and remember competing against Vidor, PN-G, and Nederland at contest because they were always very good. We received ratings of 1-1-1 all four years and I was head drum major my senior year. Do you have any videos of French from these years? My two kids were in the Langham Creek band in Cy-Fair. Terrific band but I like the military style better.
ivancopperfield 3 years ago
aw ... I miss this band so much. I went my freshman year and part of my sophomore year but then I moved. I ended up in a non-military band and my Vidorian friends never let me live it down, especially when I did color guard, lol. No one from my new school understood how awesome marching military is though.
ironicsimilarities 3 years ago
WOW! I didnt know there were schools out there who still did this. Want to know why they arent in UIL competitions past region... just look at the way they march. old school
clintbhs02 3 years ago
They are...mainly the Class 1As, 2As, and 3As. Vidor, a 4A school, does go to area contest everytime it's a state year. They did last year and made it into the finals of the area marching contest. Of course when you have schools like Dickinson and Frienswood in the same Area, then you won't make it to state. Nederland just chooses not to participate at Area. All of east Texas (NE, East, and SE) still has military bands and they are the predominant style in Region 21.
rocketfan86 3 years ago
Are they in Area C?
clintbhs02 3 years ago
I graduated from VHS in 1969...they always get a 1 which is the highest honor in band contests...VHS MIGHTY PIRATE MARCHING BAND IS THE BAND OF BANDS!!!!!!!!!! and always will be!
mariecs1969 3 years ago
Love this band...IT IS THE BAND OF BANDS AND ALWAYS WILL BE...Nederland is horrible and has always been jealous of Vidor....at least they named nederland correctly..."The dogs" that they are
lesak77 3 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Ya'll pretty much suck at playing and marching.
like it's pretty awful, Nederland beats the Crap out of Vidor.
the truth hurts, doesnt it?
SarahSauce9191 3 years ago
I wish Nederland would go to the area marching contest. Why don't you go? Is it because that military can't beat corps bands? At least Vidor goes and has done well that last few times they've gone.
rocketfan86 3 years ago
the band wants to go,
but for some reason we dont go.
its probably because our directors hate marching season, and want to go to concert season.
SarahSauce9191 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
but seriously, you cant sit there and say that this vidor band plays well while marching. its super edgy. kind of gross sounding. and im not saying that nederland is amazing. but only much better.
SarahSauce9191 3 years ago
ok first off I'm kind of sad to see you bashing Vidor, because I have met you. The reason Vidor says Nederland isn't good, is because honestly you guys haven't performed well in front of us, at least none of the years I've been there. I'll give you guys lots of credit in concert season because you guys are beasts then, but marching you guys haven't shown us a band that's far better, not saying this was a good show from Vidor. I respect Nederland however and wish you would critique, not bash.
mhoff08 3 years ago
the only thing that i have to say to you is that when your band actually does go and beat vidor then i can understand if you diss us other than that you need to shut up and deal with our amazingness......jealous much???????
kdino10 2 years ago
Okay,
A. I was seriously messing around when I said that stuff. Th\is band marches relatively well! Though, the playing is mediocre. There alot of individuals sticking out. I believe that this band is "playing at" the music, not actually playing it.
B. In 2006 Nederland Band advanced to 6th in the state taping contest, in which Vidor didn't advance past regionals. So, yes we did beat vidor, and No I'm not in the least bit jealous.
C. wtf..I posted this comment like a year ago. lol.
SarahSauce9191 2 years ago
Well,i just graduated from nederland.. and i was in the band. its pretty pointless and a waste of time for a military band to attend area contest because a military band will NEVER get sent to state. the marching isnt bad at all. but the sound is a problem. its pretty unblended. i hear individual players sticking out through most of the performance. some squawky clarinet players and a nasty sounding trumpet. nederland is far from perfect. but we actually sound somewhat like a band when we march.
SydneyElizabeth2008 3 years ago
A 1A Military Band, Overton, won the state marching band contest. I think the best 4A military band would probably be Lindale. They were 3rd in the area marching contest up in the Dallas area. If there would have been at least 15 bands at area, they would have gone to state. When i went to Jasper, we went to area contest at SFA in 2002. The three bands that went to state from our area were Rusk, Lindale, and Cleveland. Kingwood has been to the state marching contest and they're 5A
rocketfan86 3 years ago
right on. :)
SarahSauce9191 3 years ago
I would agree with Rocketfan86 on this, Lindale, Overton, New Boston, Longview, and Nacogdoches, Bands not to be dealt with...Nederland Is great too...As is Vidor...But they Both have their days...and Region 21 is just military to the core...They are reaching heights in Region 21 that I would never expect from a predominately military Area
jaredsfa2004 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
their show is veyr boring an dhas no effect, they are bouncing when they march, and they are being rude by marching non-drumcor style.
xHuntedGunzPCGx 3 years ago
Moron.
jmil2tx 2 years ago
^How so?...military style music is not as interesting as symphony and orchestral excerpts from candide overture and similar excerpts...It is simply not the same....It was very cool to see a military style band though...vidor was disciplined and had nice files and visuals...but who advanced to state? 3 bands playing pieces of "classicality" and story tellign songs from festive to candide and all these clahsing emotions....
xHuntedGunzPCGx 2 years ago
I guess you're right. The band directors in Vidor have never provided any instruction or training regarding story "tellign" songs and "clahsing" emotions.
nickoftime76 2 years ago
With the exception of the typo I was saying story telling songs...as in using the contrasting(clashing) parts of the piece and tell the story of despair or happiness through the bands marching and playing.....read closer...and clearly not.
xHuntedGunzPCGx 2 years ago
Ive seen much better from Vidor! The was routine was not very good and the playing was poor.
infiniti370 3 years ago
correction *The routine was not very good and the playing was poor.*
infiniti370 3 years ago 2
What's the march after the opening fanfare called?
Letterbomb011 3 years ago
Yeah! I'm totally in that band
Squib 3 years ago
What is the name of the opening fanfare?
doronphillips 3 years ago
"A Festival Prelude" by Alfred Reed. It's a condensed version...
reversEngiener 3 years ago
hmm, is that Barnums and Bailey's near end I hear?
1OOYears 4 years ago
Ouch, poor kid... I'm sure he felt so embarrassed to have counter marched at the wrong time like that at 1:24
jaredsfa2004 4 years ago