I do have to say our precision in marching seemed MUCH BETTER on AstroTurf

Thomas, most of the competitions I've had turf, but it varies. Most stadiums had a grassy turf surface, it felt pretty natural but it was consistent, but I've been in 1 stadium where the turf was really new and taken care of and basically felt like real grass. And then on the other end, I've been in maybe 2 or 3 stadiums that had that carpet-like AstroTurf. I don't mind them, it's just a really different surface than what I'm used to, same with natural grass once we got back from away band camp. No matter what though, I always use the walk out to my first set to get a good feel for how it's going to be. Anyway, there's a very complicated answer to a simple question lol

It's a very true one though. Lol
Turf does feel a little better to march on, especially when it is dry, well kept like you, Connor, said, and not hot it's great and does allow precision marching! When it's 90+ degrees outside, even when you're not wearing your uniform it's horrible because it bakes your feet and the rubber turf turds are hotter than the sun it seems, do you can't lay down on it...

Would any of you know the difference between marching on wet turf vs wet grass? I've only done wet turf...

I've had both, and wet grass was definitely worse. Wet turf isn't great either, but it doesn't get muddy like grass does. Especially on a high school field that gets a lot of football traffic and in the middle of the season, it was a bad combo

One thing we specifically practiced the first time, dropping things lol the bounce is much different lol

Okay, that makes a LOT of sense. Lol
Have you ever had to march finals while it was raining?

Bounce?

We've never had to march a show in like real heavy rain, but there was a practice this past year where there was a lot of dew, and it made everything slippery. We had a ramp and stage as one of our props, kind of the same size as the Cadets had in 2014, and at one point during practice our rifle soloist, who had a toss as he ran down the ramp, slipped and fell and ended up breaking a rib. Nobody was allowed on the ramp the rest of that week, and he marched our championships with that broken rib

My freshman year, the drumline got to go up on ramps during our drum solo. It was lit. Except for those dewy mornings and everyone would slip...
This past year though, at finals at contest, we were the first band on after a thunderstorm, so the field was horribly wet and it was still sprinkling, so we couldn't wear plumes.

Welcome Platinum Cadets, Loon High, and Silent Cacophony. Thanks for joining.

Its always fun to see how one comment changes the nature of an entire conversation completely.

To add my own cents into this conversation, my school has been blessed with both a natural grass field and the chance to practice at our local stadium, Pennington Field, on turf ground every Tuesday and Friday during the marching season. Furthermore, whenever our football team is not using the fieldhouse, we're also in there especially if we want to rehearse during the afternoons where the temperatures get close to, if not even break through completely, the 100 degree mark.

The natural grass field always begins as a grass field, but with further use by both our band and the PeeWee Football Leagues during the fall, it turns into a massive mud pit. Worse still is when the weather decides to unleash rain and further degrade the field. The turf at Pennington Field is a lifesaver late in the season because of its consistency. I cannot speak enough on how much, however, the band hates the little bits of turf that infect our stuff whenever we use Pennington ("field herpes") or the fieldhouse for practice.

Amazingly ENCORE! is poised to take home gold and silver medals in all divisions. Across all divisions, 14 bands are poised to make finals. I believe, it's safe to say that it was a very successful second season for ENCORE! Thanks for being dedicated to the activity and making ENCORE one of the best marching band leagues on FMA.

Any ideas on the venue for our league events next season?

Hi, because nobody came forward with ideas, I decided to choose a European tour of summer festivals and events. Starting in Greece and ending in France. Enjoy :)


June 26 (Opening day): Nafplion Music Festival - Nafplio, Greece

June 28: Istanbul Jazz Festival - Istanbul, Turkey

June 30: Early Music Days - Fertőd, Hungary

July 2: Prague Proms Festival - Czech Republic

July 5: Tour de France - Saumur, France

July 7: Running of the Bulls - Pamplona, Spain

July 9: Umbria Jazz - Perugia, Italy

July 12: Galway Arts Festival - Galway, Ireland

July 14: Early Music Festival - York, England

July 16: Cologne Lights - Cologne (Köln), Germany

July 19: Ghent Festival - Ghent, Belgium

July 21: Salzburg Summer Festival - Salzburg, Austria

July 23: International Open Air Jazz Festival - Warsaw, Poland

July 24: Classic Open Air - Nuremberg, Germany

July 26: Jazz à Vienne (Championship) - Lyon, France

great choices!!! and GO ENCORE!!! Great finals!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I humbly apologize for being inactive as a member of ENCORE's BoD team. Though I have been busy wrapping up with the final days of my senior year in high school, I should have also let you guys know that I was going to be busy instead of just disappearing on everyone like a ghost.

That said, as I await orientation at The University of Texas at Arlington, I will do my best to devote a bit more effort and time in making sure that our league is one of the best in FMA!

Good luck to everyone in S53!

Good luck!!!

Though I know I'm supposed to do this on the Press Release section of the forums, I feel that whenever I take the time and effort to actually introduce my shows, it never really get noticed. Therefore, I'm going to try and simply keep my show releases for ENCORE! eyes only!

Much like their drum corps affiliates (Invictus), Der Reich has also suffered much misfortune in Season 53. Though the marching band was not unlucky enough to suffer food poisoning at the hands of a dubious cook or suffer repeated vehicular mishaps, the group did suffer heavily when they journeyed through territory that was known to have been a frequent hideout of fanatical neo-Nazis and other radical racists. Because of the fact that Der Reich still uses SS-inspired uniforms from a previous WWII show, it was not surprising that during an overnight stay in a rural town, much of their uniforms and other equipment was stolen. Luckily, none of the members were not attacked or harmed during the raid.

After these events, the group is currently accepting any design considerations for their uniforms; the directors acknowledge that their first performances will feature their members in simple black moisture wicking shirts and black athletic shorts. If by the third week of Season 53, new designs are not recommended, then the directors will have no choice but simply order a brand new set of their SS-inspired uniforms.

Since their return in Season 50, Der Reich's directors have generally followed Invictus' model in which music was the most prioritized aspect of their performances. However, in a bold move for Season 53, Der Reich will be prioritizing their percussion instead in their show entitled "It's A Trap!"

Percussion director, Ludwig Schneider, said: "One of the many things that broke up the borders between East and West Germany in the late 1980s was the introduction of American cultural elements to many German youths. Hip hop was just one of many genres utilized by many German youths to voice their discontent with the stiff and rigid conditions still in place due to decades of Cold War. Der Reich will pay tribute to Hip hop with our production this season by investigating and performing selections from one of the most popular subgenres of hip hop to date, 'trap music.' Personally, because 'trap music' is so heavily reliant on a consistent beat of 140 BPM, I believe that in order for the group to be highly successful this season, the percussion HAS to be nothing short of perfect. We hope you will enjoy our production this season!"

Song List:
"Trap Queen" by Fetty Wap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_kF4zLNKio

"Panda" by Desiigner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5ONTXHS2mM

"DJ Turn It Up" by Yellow Claw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX4g0sxDCEw

"TRVP Hands" by Prismo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bhydTxNzts

"Real Life" by Josh Pan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUiRSgI1jsM

"7-11 (Club Killers Remix)" by Beyonce
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlNHHLmW42M

Hey ENCORE! I still have 10 slots left in my show on July 11th. I'm accepting all applications, so if you apply and there's room you're in!

Thanks to the person who joined all of ENCORE's events and then left to create his or her own league. Thanks for taking up space in our events. Let's hope they don't fill up and prevent others from joining.

Wow! I really wish people would read, or even easier, TALK and ASK in the forums before joining a league. It's not cool to eat n run! Personally, I feel the director level should be raised and the group should be Div I or II at least. Leagues are a big responsibility which require much time and effort. I've seen too many leagues created, only to fail, all because the person never realized how much work and commitment it takes to be successful.

It's a shame a lot of people don't know what they're doing. Almost half of the leagues created on this website have one member or less, and I would assume a good majority of those are not leagues that became dead over time, but rather didn't get started in the first place. In the end though, it's a user's own loss when they create a failed league. It's just annoying when they end up affecting other users