It worked back then. Fans were happy and judges were happy. I know it is different now but obviously Mr Wells it having a great deal of trouble with both. We need someone that can take our band program in the right direction. Our football team dominates the field why not the band?
Many of the former band members on this site have said multiple times that the competitions of 20 or 30 years ago are not the competitions of today (quotes posted below).
I just think the judges are looking for more drama and theatrical than they were then. I didn't really care for this years choice but I don't think it deserved a 2 either...unless they were looking at theatrics more than sound..and that would be a shame IMO!
Just been the evolution of the art. We moved from military in the 70s (moving mainly east/west) to milicorp in the early 80s (east/west and north/south) to where we are today (north/south). The band wants to "win" too, and in order to try to compete at the highest level and try to advance in competition (district/regional/state), they need the creative shows. Judges just don't seem to care for for military style anymore.
Obviously, a different kind of competition calls for a different kind of band director and band than the ones of those days.
Let this band cycle out all of the students who didn't have band directors all the way through middle school (which is in no way their fault) and watch. This band is going to hit its stride in a few years - I can see it coming. The underclassmen in the band now have far more talent as a group than my class did when we were underclassmen, and the band has consistently improved every year since then. I'd be willing to bet that, if things continue as they are now, you will see a band program that has surpassed the likes of Nederland, Vidor, Lumberton, and LC-M and is competing with some of those rich Houston bands within the next five years or so.