2019 Santa Clara Vanguard | Vox Eversio

[@ThisisTechie]

This is amazing music wise but... design is something else.

[@kaylaforsythe1402]

Same story as Crown 2014 and 2018 honestly.

[@french7515]

Kayla Forsythe yes!!

[@french7515]

Musensive meeehhhh

[@carterwaite4665]

Kayla Forsythe Crown 2018 has their worst music of the decade

[@ThisisTechie]

Kayla Forsythe CC 2014 is honestly pretty good after you listen and watch a couple of times but I can definitely see it’s not for everyone.

[@cloudjumpermusic2808]

Yeah they sound really cool, but let's remember it was their VISUAL score that beat Crown...I'm surprised the judges could even tell what the dang form looked like to be honest.

[@clarkfitzgerald8814]

What forms? Lmao

[@rgfilms8851]

I think it was all the intense choreography that crown didn’t have as much of

[@uvn6210]

The bigger surprise for me was that they had crown beat in the CONTENT subcategory. I don’t really understand the rationale on that because crown had by far some of the most demanding drill. From my understanding, content is where corps are rewarded for difficulty, so SCV beating crown there for me is a total headscratcher.

[@danny2595]

@@uvn6210hard choreo will ALWAYS have an advantage over hard drill. As a performer who has marched shows with hard drill but easier choreo and vice versa; the latter is almost always more demanding

[@uvn6210]

@@danny2595 yeah I’ve learned a lot since I made this comment two years ago and difficult choreo requires so much more full body control and attention to detail.

[@aaronlaughlin2389]

vanguard shows have just gotten more and more aggressive since 2017

[@subbot8077]

I mean 2017 was the most aggressive imo but I see what you mean lol

[@nickniehaus1763]

Sub Bot idk metropolis was pretty aggressive

[@micah3986]

Them high notes

[@micah3986]

that they took out

[@diminuendo61]

@@subbot8077 2017 was such a badass show

[@RX7-111]

When the high brass comes in at @1:46 it reminds me of classic dci

[@awesomerikd168]

That’s exactly what I thought! Especially with the slow marching

[@jacrispy5881]

Leo Garcia (the trombone soloist & bari soloist both that year and the year before) is a genius

[@tcp164]

Ja’Crispy it’s tuff to hear that he’s not doing dci anymore

[@ephronium]

we have leo p and now we have leo garcia

[@brianharrell1470]

Pretty sure he was the year before that too for the Ouroboros show too. As a baritone player, I have nothing but mad respect for how that guy plays!

[@chromathederg]

I'm so happy that he is a band tech at my highschool, I swear he is the reason that I'm marching scv 2023

[@TheMountainMan-wz8xf]

@@brianharrell1470 He also marched Force of Nature. Now he's on the brass staff over at Guardians where I marched. Such a nice dude. Very passionate, it's obvious he loves what he does.

[@chitrumbo112]

Not nearly as visually stunning as '18, but this music is some of my favorite that Vanguard has ever played. That drumline and those soloists were absolute fire. Hated the tarps and the gray uniforms kind of disappear into the props. I would've like the corps switch costumes with the drum majors. Would've stood out more against the props. SERIOUSLY great show music though. I can't stop listening to the recording.

[@Splooie010]

Same man, exact same feeling. Hated the direction they went visually, but their recording, or at least audio from a vid, is something I keep going back to again and again! Not sure what's the plan visually this year, but you can bet they haven't slipped up on the music.

[@kevinong9471]

It seems like one of the corps’ recent changes is always having the drum major in black (17, 18, 19). Honestly, can’t say I get why, but it seems like a direction they’re trying to stick with.

[@dctrbrass]

Same feelings for me too. Nice writing musically, though.

[@TrAnMu]

What a musically cool and visually hideous show this was.

[@carterwaite4665]

TrAnMu not even musically cool

[@huntergrimes9094]

Carter Waite the music was great

[@arnavnanga2211]

Hunter Grimes not really. technically difficult for no reason and sounds like random noise more than music

[@huntergrimes9094]

Arnav Nanga there is beauty in its chaos

[@carterwaite4665]

Hunter Grimes nope. If it’s not exciting of interesting, the music arrangers have failed at their job. Doesn’t matter how well it fits the ridiculous theme

[@Zachary-ro6eg]

Is no one gonna talk about the insane quad split

[@jjh2456]

Zach ary that’s how they won the Sanford.

[@DatGuyWithNoName]

I mean honestly... any decent bassline could probably play those splits. The piss clean arounds before that are much more impressive.

[@michaeldenise1984]

@@DatGuyWithNoName well sure maybe in this section. Musically the bass parts make A LOT of sense. Cant deny how good that split at the very end sounds. Im also all for crazy bass parts tho. I transcribed the bass feature from this show and learned all the parts. Some of the hardest music ive ever played. Its all musical context.

[@ethanpuckett9081]

Im still not sure why tarps and 3 story high props were necessary to be honest... and the pajamas

[@naterandolph580]

The show is about non-conformity

[@ethanpuckett9081]

@@naterandolph580 I would buy that as an explanation, except that just about every corps is wearing jumpsuits/pajamas, so i would hardly call that non-conformity. Plus, what do the tarps and props really add to the show except giving the drill writer less space to work with?

[@brandonfreed4486]

Ethan Puckett SCV has a video explaining the props and overall design.

[@freyravin9068]

Clearly he doesn't know what the heck he is doing! Not with this show! It's an oops, missed that one.

[@jonathant3425]

One of these days old style DCI will be back. Old traditions always return. It just takes time.

[@keyowilson5695]

A few things... First, the design team was VERY smart. The intent of the show was to be different and force society to conform to that which is unusual, including the uniforms. The fact that many fans loathe the uniform was exactly the point. And that's not all.... this clip begins in the brass band selection piece "Audivi Media Nocte," which allows the soloists to show off on instruments not belonging in the drum corps arena. But what happens musically? The technical motif that both soloists play eventually spread through the rest of the ensemble, like a virus, if you will. They end up conforming to both of the soloists, if that makes sense. But by the time the rest of the activity "conforms" to SCV, they'll be in a much different place...

[@nickniehaus1763]

Keyo Wilson it’s as if the designers are dci hall of fame, oh wait... respect gaines always

[@nicholaswaldron5616]

Dang I never thought of it on that deep of a level but it makes SO MUCH sense. Makes my appreciation for this show even greater.

[@spiccyboisupreme8536]

also it helps that the music is funky as all hell

[@dizdawgjr34]

@@nickniehaus1763 this is the way

[@thephantasticfool]

Thank you for saying it

[@fadededed]

This part grooved hard, idk why people don't like it at all. Awesome work SCV!

[@jakebaker1051]

Faded ikr it grew on me so much

[@awesomerikd168]

The more you listen to it, the better it gets, I’ll tell ya

[@danagiles5100]

a 'bone and 'phone duet...still way too awesome

[@donnaconrad4297]

Trombone solo was awesome and I have to give credit to the tenor drums, they were every bit as good

[@yonnes42]

1:17 and on that was beautiful to the ears

[@not_a_generic_name6183]

Man Taliesin Jaffe is great at trombone

[@elliotwoo6127]

lmaooooo

[@disgustangy4901]

That is not someone I would’ve expected to be referenced here.

[@areciboy]

Audivi Media Nocte is SUCH a cool piece and Oliver Waespi is a genius. Love how SCV uses brass band music so much

[@ricardolopez-dr7eg]

Anyone hear the horn snap at 1:38

[@willcrowder2250]

That's a sticks in

[@mel-px7hl]

Will Crowder definitely a snap. Battery is prepping for their pickup if you look closely.

[@john-sy1bw]

Ohhh i get it. The tall towers with the ladders are like a raised yard line. Of course!

[@smothi7366]

If someone is interested in the original: Audivi Media Nocte by Oliver Waespi

[@imjaylon8375]

design of 2018, aggression of 2017 great combination

[@Griffin그리핀]

Love this show. Just the style is so new and aggressive.

[@awesomerikd168]

1:17 What you came here for

[@FrostbiteP1ano]

Yeah you right

[@ethanpierce324]

Nah lol. 0:08

[@yonnes42]

💙💙💙

[@TheMrGoon]

Naw they didn’t show what i came for

[@clarkfitzgerald8814]

YES! My friends and I made fun of that part so much after the Atlanta show but for all of the right reasons. It's sounds so cool but is also so absurd with it's stupid amount difficulty.

[@jimjamuk1973]

A year on and I've only managed to watch this show once and have no plans for a second time even though it's scv.

[@furiouslyscoped8185]

Peeta mellark on soasaphone everybody 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@alternative_piccolo3130]

fantastic show, wish i could find the whole thing

[@percy445]

really a gorgeous tribute to togetherness while still maintaining individuality and self-expression. i loved this show so much

[@loganmorton1543]

I got hyped af for this show at NightBeat because the pamphlet said that “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica would be in the show, but sadly I barely hear the song at all. Kind of like “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails for Blue Knights. At least you can sort of make out the song in that show, but still not really. Mandarins’ (2017?) show “Inside the Ink” will always be one of my favorite DCI shows, since “The Sound of Silence” sounds absolutely amazing in it.

[@katharinemay4040]

They used the Postmodern Jukebox arrangement of it, that's probably why. I was disappointed for the same reason.

[@beefjerkyexpert8022]

I just lost the game

[@MrLemondog]

KZbin Username damnit.

[@beefjerkyexpert8022]

Mr.Lemondog 128 sorry

[@elainasmith1700]

Wow come on

[@queijoduke]

I too have lost the game

[@ThereaalSP]

Cmon bruh

[@AComplexMex]

Wish they picked to show the screamer part

[@willcrowder2250]

0:12 Jesus Christ.

[@nickniehaus1763]

One of, and if not but maybe, the most difficult brass books ever

[@jojopuppetstudio]

Could some explain to me what the meaning of this show is? I love Santa Clara but have no idea what the meaning behind the show is😕

[@DCI]

Check out this 6 part podcast series we did about the best musical moments of 2019. We went through all 25 corps on the CD and went into depth on our favorite moments as well as get into the design and why they did some of the things they did. Vanguard is on Part 4. www.dci.org/news/best-musical-moments-of-2019-part-6?

[@erikwaterson361]

It’s basically about non-conformity and counter-culture.

[@katharinemay4040]

I marched this show and neither did we lol

[@ikshields]

This would've looked so cool in SCV'S actual uniforms...😔

[@chromathederg]

These are the "actual" uniforms, they change every year so every year is the new actual uniform

[@tcp164]

So sad leo wasn’t asked back for the 2021 SCV season

[@Moon-fg7co]

Dude is the best, I wonder why tho?

[@tcp164]

Grand Sponsor he showed up at his callback camp an hour late crossfaded

[@thephantasticfool]

@@tcp164 bruh, that's not really your business. Should remove this comment

[@chromathederg]

@@tcp164 someone who talks to leo, that is not the truth, he was asked to be in the staff for the open class corps guardians and took that opportunity instead, he is back there again for the 2022 season

[@frankestock6275]

I gotta say, I didn’t like most of the show when I saw it, but this hit is amazing

[@cornellwaters9089]

🎼 Thank You!

[@exothermic1942]

0:17

[@exothermic1942]

1:05

[@RicardoHernandez-ue5kx]

Audivi Media Nocte mentioned !!!

[@neilpalmer5577]

Love the music but visually its horrid.

[@nickniehaus1763]

Neil Palmer visual design amazing but not most people’s cup of tea. Not mine, but you have to respect Gaines and toth

[@carson3370]

I dont even think the visuals like drill and choreo wise are that bad, they just blend in too much with the background with those unis

[@razor1106]

dang i wish they used the end of the second movement clip

[@mrpiklez3703]

Thank god for paul and sandi rennick 🤣

[@TheMrGoon]

I came for a scream, well at least it’s not dci’s fault (Flow marching gets antsy about copyright and I believe there was something with copyrighted music so flow marching muted the part out and did not allow reproduction of it)

[@elliotwoo6127]

Also the staff cut Michael's high G

[@mayler_gaming603]

But no screamer part. Sad trumpet noise

[@knarf714sc4]

Make Drum Corps Great Again!!

[@SickerTrumpet]

Don’t know what the hell vanguard was thinking these years...

[@alexhateyou2176]

Baritone go brrr

[@WBRI_Brianless]

yo go off bro

[@FrostbiteP1ano]

Babylon was great visually and musically this was uh

[@dorisleak1518]

peeta mellark on sousaphone

[@81jeremylbradley]

Is anyone else getting pimples from the show. This was not pretty at all. The sound was great but everything else was a huge distraction.

[@owenhorn7548]

love the music but this show design is…. different

[@d.o.a.c85]

Musically amazing. Design wise, just not good. I mean it’s hard to follow up Babylon, and musically they did it. Design wise they crashed and burned

[@andreasvolland4730]

Why are they playing in rags?

[@jeffgarber5089]

Cirque de...? And having to add electronics to compensate for the lack of low end. Bring back G bugles please.

[@patrick7819]

Idk why y’all hating on the visual I love this

[@cjhathaw]

Awesome Music. Visual....worst in the top 12 imo. Michael Gaines.....u are a drill master.....where’s the drill?!?!?!?

[@kyoza5069]

Musically it sounded good but dear god, you're swinging baritones and having people climb poles? I dunno if I'd feel safe even watching from the stands as a member of the marching arts hhhhhh

[@garpog2458]

Why does this have less than 1k likes

[@Lacheddar1990]

sympathy bronze

[@averybondeson3322]

This should've got 2nd

[@nickniehaus1763]

Avery Bondeson I agree. Personally I liked this and beneath the surface over the blue coats

[@definitelynotcainan3353]

Musically great.. visually an absolute hot mess.

[@jesuspectre9883]

Can we all stop using vague generalities like "hated", "liked", "loved" the visual design? Your personal subjective affinity is neither here nor there. Instead, let's rip the show apart for its poor design-- its lack of cohesion, its horrific color palette, its technical design errors like glare and blend, and the overall lack of thematic meaning or dramatic arc in the show . Let's get specific. No more "like' or "hated". This isn't third grade. SCV's Vox Eversio costumes were designed to look like a concrete wall with graffiti on them. This was an amateur design error. These are people. They're not things. No one in the thrash rock underground movement would ever wear a concrete colored unitard pajama with pink graffiti sprayed on it like this. (You don't take a show about plumbers and draw huge droplets of water on their uniforms.) Yes, the costumes were symbolic of environmental elements found in underground clubs-- graffiti and concrete walls, but this is a human art form, and people don't dress as walls. Worse, what was meant to be spray painted graffiti ended up looking like pink icing which evokes the exact opposite feeling, a last minute costume construction error-- a technical problem with the fabric and ink. Also, all of the costumes were exactly alike in their graffiti. But graffiti is supposed to be unique and defiant. No two graffiti scrawls are the same. The uniform color and theme ended up capturing little about underground thrash rock in color, concept, uniqueness of graffiti, or even in the shape of the garment. The neon green color guard costumes were meant to evoke the 1980's aerobics trend, possibly in opposition to grungy alternative clubs. bit this was unclear. The brightly colored Jane Fonda workout headbands muddied the intent of the show. Design error number one. SCV added several floor tarps which were supposed to clearly convey the construction element of brick walls, on which we assume graffiti will be sprayed. How red brick meshes with the slate concrete uniforms is a questionable design choice. The technical production of the tarps had several color and surface sheen problems, all of which could have been identified in the early season. That's the real issue. These weren't planned as part of the original design. These tarps were ordered as a last minute Hail Mary design choice, added mid-season, otherwise why would they have discovered the glare problem so late? The truth is this element was considered as a last minute add-on to the existing design. That means that the bricks on the floor tarps themselves were not really integrated into the action of the show from the start, but were tacked on as a separate visual sometime later. The color choice of the floor tarps blended in with the costume color, which is an amateur design error. Design error number two. SCV created multiple, two story staircase shafts, presumably evoking the notion of descending into an underground club. The shafts were bright shiny brushed aluminum, and didn't evoke any feeling of grunge. The shafts didn't transform or integrate into the action of the show other than players hanging off of them like they were gasping for air in a burning building. By the end they were exactly the same as when they started. White ladders were meant to evoke descent into the underground, but they were painted white which evoked more of the feeling of a cheery children's museum. Design error three. Beyond the trappings of technical design elements, the show lacked clarity of purpose. Capturing the emotion of defiant underground music is great, but what is it fighting against? Why are these performers so angry? They appear to be angry, in general, and that's not convincing. The character's point of view-- defiance-- wasn't clear. Who's the invisible enemy? Clearly the use of brass arrangements to capture thrash metal guitar music is a defiant interpretation, in its own way, but usually music revolution is tied to a specific social change or societal dysfunction. Here, there's no social context. Why are they fighting? Who are they fighting? The enemy and era are never clearly defined, we think it's the 1980's, but if so, where are the icons of conformity to be fought against? As a result of the lack of enemy, the show lacks clarity of message. Worse than a lack of message, the show had one basic emotion-- anger, for the entire eleven minutes. The lack of range of emotion usually indicates that there's a lack of substance and depth in a show. It's one note. Thrash rockers often vaulted to stardom after struggling in dank venues for years, and were accused of "selling out" once they became popular. That sellout theme might have been a good starting point for adding an underlying arc for this show. By the end of this show, nothing changed, nothing transpired. The characters were the same, equally defiant. As a result, the show lacked depth and substance. Who are these underground rockers? What are they defiant about? We never find out. There are five components of a well designed show, Universality, Uniqueness, Cohesion, Authenticity and Emotion. The show had some semblance of universality-- everyone has felt defiant at some point, and used music as the backbone of that defiance. Certainly this show was unique in its trying to capture guitar-based music using only brass arrangements, and certainly the soloists captured defiance, in general. The big problem in this show is cohesion. How do the elements fit together to form a specific observation about the world? How does tying a euphonium to a ladder and swinging it around like a tetherball fit into defiant underground music? How do brushed aluminum elevator shafts tie in? How do neon green jazzerciser costumes and headbands tie in? How do red brick tarps tie in if they're not graffiti spray painted by the end. Cohesion was this show's biggest weakness. Authenticity was lacking in the show because there was not a single guitar in the entire show-- but the show was supposed to be about alternative thrash rock tunes like Nothing Else Matters. If the show was meant to capture some other type of defiance other than musical defiance, then it needed to be staged and clarified. Wearing pajamas with pink graffiti is not authentic to underground alternative music. Brass arrangements without a guitar in sight didn't scream authentically thrash rock. As a result, the show wasn't a convincing portrayal of defiant metal music. By the end, the audience wasn't drawn in, emotionally. There was no pattern or logic for them to grab on to, and nothing for them to invest in by the end.

[@williamailloux]

I mean they still came in third. I personally thought the message of the show was quite clear. The show tied in with Babylon in the fact that it’s about using your voice, and having confidence, following up the story of finding your voice in which Babylon told. While they did take quite a bold approach, I firmly believe your image of this production is quite skewed. Perhaps you should dig further than the surface before making general assumptions, and take time to appreciate things more rather than bash on the hard work of several designers, and more importantly the performers that earned a bronze medal that’s not in your hand. 😁👍🏼

[@jesuspectre9883]

@@williamailloux The music was beautifully played. The performers are Broadway quality musicians and dancers. The soloists were absolutely magical and spirited. But I'm talking about the production design and its lack of cohesion. The shiny floor tarps were the tell-tale sign for novices that something was amiss.

[@thephantasticfool]

@@jesuspectre9883 thank you for the compliment 🙏

[@brianhale2977]

Gray uniforms hard to see, big red splotches dwarfing the corp, and big rarely used ladder things distracting from an otherwise impressive show. What a shame.

[@definitelynotcainan3353]

It's as if they are going out of their way to be as douchy as possible. HATED this show. And how the hell could a design staff of THAT pedigree EVER think that grey and pink pajamas would look good on a field under lights?

[@metalskeleton569]

the clip they upload is arguably the least interesting part of the show

[@miless17]

Time to bleach my eyes

[@dbackjac1]

Trombones ??? WTF ever happened to real drum Corps ?

[@MrKrabs-mb4eg]

how are you this late to find out trombones are in dci?

[@Hannya-]

これは争いや暴力ですか？音楽には聞こえません。

[@qzz64nbv9kps6zrn]

@everyone

[@JoshinDallas]

Trombones and interpretative dance in drum corps. Kill me now.

[@Error-4O4]

You have incurred the wrath of the trombone section. The trombone solo was sick and contributed to the theme of counter culture. The show is called the voice of the revolution after all

[@cloudjumpermusic2808]

Has anyone else realized how much this show rips off the Bluecoats show from 2016?

[@carterwaite4665]

Cloudjumper Music it rips off more from babylon

[@Moon-fg7co]

How?

[@freyravin9068]

Am I the only one who thinks this piece would be better without the trombone & sousaphone? It was masterfully played nonsense by both musicians.

[@seanpease370]

Frey Ravin trombone has a unique timbre to it, but it seems like the sousaphone was used for more of a “hey look, we’re going against the norm” vibe.

[@freyravin9068]

My issue wasn't so much to do with the instruments, it has to do with the garbage solos the played with them. It, in my opinion, only muddled the musical piece. Dont get me wrong, I love vanguard, but the show didn't reach its potential.

[@thephantasticfool]

Literally the original piece has trombone and tuba so you can tell the original composer that

[@furiga2172]

first!

[@euphplayer21]

This was honestly the most disappointing show of the 2019 season. I was expecting them to hopefully build on from Babylon but the show wasn't that good.

[@brandonmiller1438]

This show was a disaster

[@evanwashburn140]

No, your comment is a disaster. No matter what you think visually, the musical aspect is there. These corps put tons of talent and effort into their show so don't trash on them. Go hate someone else's piece of art and leave the drum corp community.

[@seanpease370]

Talent is definitely there. The design of the show is awful though...

[@littlemow]

visual wise? yes. music wise? nah.

[@ethanpuckett9081]

@@evanwashburn140 Visual is half of the show, and it was awful. I think it's perfectly reasonable to dislike a show when its visuals are THIS bad, regardless of the quality of the music. Perhaps you should be more open to peoples opinions and not be a gatekeeper.

[@evanwashburn140]

@@ethanpuckett9081 Okay Boomer😂.

[@UCCJGUY]

This is my least favorite part of the show. Literally, this could be cropped out and the show would be perfect. DCI, are you trying to make people NOT buy this?

[@DCI]

This section of the show, literally defines the message of the show. "Vox Eversio" means "the voice of revolution". In our podcast series that dug into the music of the top 25 corps, Michael Boo noted that this section starts with one trombone, a non-traditional drum corps instrument. He's then joined by a sousaphone, another non-traditional drum corps instrument, before the rest of the corps starts to join in. That trombone is quite literally the voice of revolution.

[@Error-4O4]

IMO this an the ballad were my favorite parts.

[@superhavenet6096]

DCI fights back

[@PlagueJ]

Trombone solo should have gone to someone else lmao