RUDIMENTAL REVIEW OF PASIC 97 (Nov 20 1997) General comments: the scores were too high, the majority of the competitors opened and closed the required rudiment much too quick (some played the entire rudiment in 20 seconds, see Art Cappio's article on how to open/close a rudiment), the number of participants was down, probably due to the fact the convention was on the west coast instead of a more centralized location.College Snare Individuals A general comment: just about everyone crushed the roll at the top speed, which caused timing problems into/out of the top speed. Steve Benton (U of N Texas) Steve's solo had some very nice rudimental passages, in fact for rudimental content it was probably my favorite. Unfortunately Steve had 37 execution errors, 1 break in a paradiddle section, and a stick drop. Quincy Wade (U of Nevada) Quincy had 36 execution errors and 1 break. Nice paradiddle/paradiddle-diddle section, nice flam section, a couple of stick flips. Needs more dynamics. Karl Hermann (Arizona St) 20 execution errors plus 2 breaks. Karl had some nice tricks, played a nice flam section. The section where he used the smaller sticks didn't have any demand. Kevin Broussard (U of SW Louisiana) 18 execution errors, not much demand or general effect, solo was boring for the most part. Ryan Sirna (SW Texas St) 24 execution errors, some very nice stick tricks. One stick trick seemed broken, it didn't flow. Very nice flam section where he turned right handed 16th flams into left handed by decresc the R hand and cresc the L. Naoki Ishikawa (U of Tn at Chattanooga) 19 execution errors, Naoki started with a nice fast flam section, and ended his solo with a simple, but high scoring general effect, stick trick section (is this the trick everyone calls the 'paw' trick?). The entire middle section, where he placed a piece of flubber on the snare, wasn't very demanding. Tyler Dempsey (San Jose St) 31 execution errors, including 3 stick drops and one break. Tyler's solo was demanding, but the drops hurt the execution score and general effect captions. He used the most grips (trad., matched, R hand trad, both hands holding trad), but his singles suffered when he played them while holding the R in a trad grip. Eric Hawkins (Morehead St) 22 execution errors and 1 break. Had some nice backsticking, playing singles while crossing the sticks. Overall the solo was lacking in the demand and general effect captions. Jody Thigpen (Collin County) 12 execution errors, the lowest number of ticks. Jody had some fast rolls and backsticking stick-clicks, but there were some slower transitional sections that didn't sell (even though I wrote his solo I admit it needs juicing up). Jody had the best open/close roll of the day. Scores and Placement Judge 1 Judge 2 Mine ------- ------- ---- Steve Benton 82/5 86/7 82/6 Quincy Wade 77/9 87/6 75/8 Karl Hermann 86/4 92/5 83/5 Kevin Broussard 79/7 79/9 73/9 Ryan Sirna 91/3 95/2 84/3 Naoki Ishikawa 97/1 97/1 88/1 Tyler Dempsey 92/2 93/4 83.5/4 Eric Hawkins 78/8 80/8 79/7 Jody Thigpen 80/6 94/3 85/2College Tenor Individuals General comment: I don't know what the judges were watching on the middle three placed guys, but Chris Thompson was the better player. Scores and Placement Judge 1 Judge 2 Mine ------- ------- ---- Chris Thompson (U of Ca, LA) 78/4 85/4 82/2 Jason Kim (U of Ca, LA) 61/5 71/5 65/5 Jonathan Burbank (U SW La) 83/2 89/3 80/3 Benjamin Baertschy (U SW La) 82/3 92/2 75/4 Peter Friedhof (San Jose) 90/1 94/1 88/1 High School Snare Individuals Roger Smith Very clean, had some nice rudimental content, and played with power. The only thing missing was dynamic contrast. David Stedronsky (Marcus HS, Tx) Quit a few execution errors, held the sticks near the butt which makes it harder to control. Backsticking section was too easy, which is to be expected if you hold the sticks where you plan on backsticking. Ross Culberton (North Gwinnett HS, Ga) Nice solo, but way too many errors. Traditional grip looked too awkward. Andy Kopp (Carroll HS, Tx) Roll sounded crushed at top speed, execution errors during flam backsticking. Stephanie Warr (Cabot HS, Ar) Played "Connecticut Halftime". Many execution errors, no general effect. James Christian (Princeton HS, Tx) A few execution errors, but clearly the most demanding solo with highest general effect. Let's see, alternating swiss army triplets, backsticking 32nd note paradiddles, backsticking stick clicks, fast rolls, matched grip and traditional grip. I'm not sure what the judges were watching. Scores and Placement Judge 1 Judge 2 Mine ------- ------- ---- Roger Smith 92/2 81/2 83/2 David Stedronsky 93/1 82/1 72/3 Ross Culberton 83/5 69/5 40/5 Andy Kopp 86/4 78/4 62/4 Stephanie Warr 75/6 67/6 20/6 James Christian 90/3 79/3 85/1High School Tenor Individuals Peter Antunes had an almost flawless performance, played with power and dynamic contrast. Jason Church had a nice solo, but had more than a few breaks. James Christian had the highest general effect score on my sheet, but his solo seemed disjointed at times. Scores and Placement Judge 1 Judge 2 Mine ------- ------- ---- Bryan Smith (Bonanza HS, Nv) 93/2 78/3 68/4 Jason Church (Marcus HS, Tx) 90/3 77/4 78/3 Peter Antunes (Dartmouth HS, Ma) 96/1 91/1 85/1 James Christian (Princeton HS, Tx) 88/4 80/2 83/2
