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Reviews taken from RAMD. Kinda messy right now, but I'll fix it later. If quotes are
taken out of context (e.g. from another corps review) it is set off with ellipses.
Saturday
June 23 La
Mesa, CA (DCI Pacific II/III) 3rd - 58.80 -
The Velvet Exclamation Marks, er...I mean Impulse OK, these guys are downright
entertaining (oh yeah, they can play, too!) While they cling on to some of the
trademark VK type of antics, they are quickly coming into their own. Their show,
"Island Extravaganza", starts off with the theme from "Gilligan’s
Island" and goes into the timeless music from "Bali Hai". The
guard spins 'dolphins' (if anyone from Greenpeace is reading this, relax.
They're not REAL dolphins!). These dolphin-shaped apparatuses (I looked that
word up!) are somewhat like scimitars. The pit wears shorts and Hawaiian shirts
(why couldn’t I have been so lucky when I marched?). To me, what set them
apart (in addition to the Hawaiian shirts, spinning dolphins, etc.) was their
middle voices in the horn line. What disappointed me was their lack of impact
for the size of their corps. I was expecting a bit more, but I'm sure that will
improve. OK, now for the drum line. Take 2000 Cadets, sprinkle in liberal
amounts of BLAST, and stir in the heart of VK. There was so much going on, I'll
try to hit the highlights. The cymbals play this split part by setting their
cymbals on pieces of plywood. This creates a moving, woosh and is quite
effective. The only problem is that they do this while behind the pit, and it is
easily missed. The tenors do this part where they play with a brush in one hand
and a mallet in the other. This creates a unique separation between the right
and left hands as each part is independent of the other. There is nice use of
ethnic percussion from the pit throughout. Now for the cool part; there are some
concert toms on the front sideline. The snares line up two deep at each drum.
The guy in back reaches around both sides of the one in front. Now you have two
players on the same drums. And the ones to either side are also 'sharing' there
respective drums. It makes the ones in front look like they have four arms! The
snares drums, which have been placed on stands and are in an arc on the field.
They do this triplet roll as the players run around each other, a la 2000 Cadets
tenors. They also kick their right leg and reach under and strike the drum, kind
of like a between the legs basketball dribble. Unlike the Cadets, their featured
soloist isn't a snare drummer, it's bass drum #1 who does a little of the
"Anything you can do, I can do better" thing. They had these plywood
walls that were about 6' x 2' set up at the concert toms, but the slight breeze
knocked them over (with the toms!) before they were used. Staff removed them and
reset the drums before they were to be used. I don't know what the effect was
going to be, but I’m sure it will be unique. Once again, very entertaining
stuff. Tom Doogan Impulse
Drum & Bugle Corps Now
I didn't really understand the backfield props. There was a HUGE white mountain
(?) labeled VOLCANO, and 3 smaller white satellite pieces labeled Manny, Moe,
& Jack. (The PEP Boys for those of you who don't get the reference.) What
those had to do with the show I didn't get however. The "volcano" just
sat there, as did the boys. Maybe they just weren't ready yet and will look
different in July. Also during one of the tunes the colorguard carries these big
white boards in front of themselves. They don't do anything but walk around with
them. I'm sure there's something planned for these later in the season as well. Bottom
line is Impulse is all about drum corps entertainment with some good humor, but
never becoming stupid or overly cheezy. See this show if you can! OK.
That's my intro and 4 corps down. It's 11pm the next day already, so I'll post
this now, and finish up the show in a follow-up. Mike Margraf <mailto:Margraf@NetHere.com> Sunday
June 24 West
Covina, CA (DCI Pacific II/III) Impulse
- 5th place - 57.60 Dave P. Friday
July 6 Stockton,
CA (DCI Pacific) IMPULSE
(64.90 - 4th place, Division II) Saturday
July 7 Concord,
CA (DCI Pacific) Impulse:
1 word = !!!!!! ~Nick "the Slick" <mailto:markley49@earthlink.net> First
up was Impulse (6 - 63.25) - Larry Impulse
-- Great to see someone carrying on the VK tradition. As this corps develops, I
hope they also remember that VK had some great brass & drum lines. Until
they were in their final years, VK always had a strong show complimented by
great humor, not the other way around. That said, Impulse's show was nice, with
some funny moments. Horn sound was rough and unbalanced at times, and the guard
needs some work. Lot's of work is needed on music & marching fundamentals.
Great to see them out there trying, though. Harvey "Bud" Phelps <mailto:HPhelp01@sprintspectrum.com> Wednesday
July 11 San
Diego, CA (DCI Pacific) Div
2 Crowd
really reacted to the fish flags in the ballad. (Big fish windsocks for those of
you who haven't or won't see them.) Ballad loses me a little bit.. but then
there's another threatened eruption... till Wilson's returned. GREAT BIG drum
feature. For a non-drummer, this was the most fun drumline of the night to
watch. Big fat exposed tenor feature with 6 great players moving around the
drums like crazy. Nice small ensemble leads into closer. Closer really rocks.
Totally an audience piece. It builds into a very long & powerful park &
blow at the very end. A screamer sop climbs up on the podium with the DM.
Unfortunately, with the corps playing so loud, I couldn't hear him playing
anything in particular. If he nails something, perhaps a tasty hangover might be
just the ticket here. Most fun show of the night. Keep it up Impulse. ...In
Div 2, I have no idea how Esperanza is competing with Impulse much less beating
them. I guess the story's in the recaps. Maybe they make up a lot of ground in
percussion and colorguard. In terms of horn sound and entertainment value, even
though Esp. has both, they're just not in the same league as Impulse. Other
audience members around me felt the same way... Mike Margraf <mailto:Margraf@NetHere.com>
- The San Diego Mike Impulse:
a corps with a huge drumline, and fairly small guard. i'm friends with some
people on their staff, and learned that the guard and members are young, but
have the dedication and drive to go out there and entertain the fans. Their also
going to Finals, so unlike most Division 2/3 corps in CA, their show won't peak
in July. They're doing a Pacific/Hawaiin show, and it was a lot of fine. Ten
snares in the drumline, and they were pretty clean. I was at a poor spot to
judge balance, but it didn't sound too bad to me. Lots of props in the show, and
i loved the look of the guard (great costumes, and i love the big fish! Also
instead of sabres, they spin dolphins). They were a little dirty tonight, but
look our for them once they hit the DCI 2/3 tour! By the way, they have a killer
snare feature, ala Cadets 95 bass/tenor line (sort of i'll let you guys check it
our for yourselves; VERY cool!). ...like
i said, look out east and mid-west fans, for Impulse. Fun show that i'm sure
you'll enjoy!... doug <mailto:perc2100@hotmail.com> DIVISION
II Ryan H. Turner <mailto:vkdm8687@aol.com> Impulse~ ....
Near me lots of people were cheering at some major impact points[seattle
cascades], especially in the opener. To me it just seemed like everyone else
(excluding div 1 corps) got cheers at the end of a piece only (except Impulse
who got laughs during some numbers at some of their gags)... ...The
corps[Esperanza] was much smaller than Impulse and Cascades... Benny <mailto:scvbenny@aol.com> Saturday
July 14 Glendora,
CA (DCI Pacific) Impulse:
VK reincarnated? maybe someday, I can't believe Jack Bevins is still kicking
around, fun show 2 watch nice idea with "Wilson", like VK when they
first started their Shtick shows alot of emphasis is being placed on audience
reaction rather than tight 4 the judges performance and I like it, their like
the half time show at a football game something to watch during a break in the
competition. I hope they r able 2 keep it 2gether and build something like the
old VK but it will B tough 2 attract members in comp 4 bodies with Pacific Crest Calvin <mailto:Laubster6@aol.com> DIVISION
II I
do have some definite concerns. Impulse is going to "not be taken
seriously" unless they look at the guard specifically. They have some nice
moments, but my comment about the dolphin prop still stands, and now, taking a
closer look at the show, the "tikki masks" (for lack of better word)
section during drum solo is FAR too long with no equipment or movement.
Suggestion: Paint them bright neon colors like the palm tree sets in the back,
bring them out, set them up and them come out from BEHIND them and get back in
the show. Also,
hornline, as talented as they are, need some attention to blend and balance. I
have feeling they don't rehearse with the volcano. If they did, they would hear
the sop and baritone player that are sticking out and bouncing it off that prop
and back to the crowd. I
would be remiss to not mention this next part. Impulse's staff, management,
board, and support crew is COMPLETELY VOLUNTEER!! They do what they can do with
what they got. I have a feeling that there are a lot of "personal
expenses" going into this corps. GOD BLESS THEM FOR THAT DEDICATION!!! Now
let's get that score up and get the judges to take you seriously. Ryan H. Turner <mailto:vkdm8687@aol.com> Sunday
July 15 Santa
Ana, CA (DCI Pacific) Impulse
- 70.35 ...Anyway,
the hornline [Seattle Cascades] was very good, and the drumline was probably the
best in Divison 2 besides Impulse's... --Zak
Winnick <mailto:zak@surfscape.org> Tuesday
July 17 Tempe,
AZ (DCI) IMPULSE:
OUTSTANDING drum line. IMHO - size is overkill. They need to work harder on
thier hornline prep, not quite up to the drum line in performance, but a fun
show, and GREAT performers. Pat Jones <mailto:cavie69@earthlink.net> Impulse Steen <mailto:steen2@home.com>
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