We now have public confirmation that TJ has touched grass

Coppell’s 22-23 bass 5 was Mandarins’ bass 5 this year. Brought that fire to Sacramento!

9:49 “I love grass” God I love TJ 😭

Grass rating is super important. Don't sleep on having solid grass.

TJ! LETS FUCKING GOOOO

Marched snare in 99 when we were just a baby corps (albeit a winning one). This is the coolest thing to see. Thanks for the breakdown.

Thank you for your time and wisdom, TJ!

Shout out to the good grass

This was a fun lot. I love seeing Mandarins thrive..it's been a long journey to this level of success and execution. Shout out to all the dudes that put in the hard work on the line, and shouts to the staff for helping the vision manifest.

I love the fluidity of the tenors not only here but with the Cavies and the Cadets too of flowing around the drum heads like painters using their brushes to add flair to their palette!

I’m all for giving the sheets to the judge! Judge’s decision definitely need to be based on an understanding of what the sheets require the members to do and sprinting across the field while they do it!

Yeah I couldn't agrre more about the quality of bass lines being stronger than ever. Another great vid guys!

The tenor with the white sunglasses 🕶 is like just rolling along to his beats 🎧😎👏🏻

i also appreciate some good grass.

We ❤ Teej! Also, the best grass is found in the burbs of OH.

Re: basslines. I do think basslines have gotten remarkably cleaner. However: 1) they often are cleaner as a subsection, but not aligned with the upper battery, in comparison to a decade ago. 2) since bass drum has really become an instrument for itself, we have many different approaches towards sound quality. Unlike say, 2002, we don’t agree anymore on what good sound quality is. This isn’t a bad thing, it just means that the Mandarins bassline sounds and looks way different than Boston, for instance. 3) we have gotten so good at splitting that many bass drummers unintentionally approach unisons and splits as different skillsets, you can often hear this difference. 4) writers are getting craftier. When writing is better we forgive dirt more, or we give more credit for demand because it sounds sick. None of this is directed at Mandarins btw, they were dope. Just a lil bass drummer perspective you feel me. I think with how rhythmically solid basslines are getting we will start seeing more emphasis on sound quality again as opposed to pure connectivity

Man those basses are playing TASTY TASTY TASTY beats under Tenors during snareline rolls!!!!! Bass drum parts and playing execution has gotten head and shoulders better this year than in years past!

Please comment below with your favorite kind of grass: I would say a nice bluegrass found in Ohio is my favorite. Nice and green, thick and lush. Don't get much of that in GA, so I'm going to vote for Zoysia in my area. Just a little thicker than Bermuda. What's yalls?

Can you send me the sheet on THESEOLETS AND THOSEOLETS?!?! LOVE THAT NEW RUDIMENT VOCABULARY!

Love Ben Pyles writing and the whole late 90's/early 00's SCV Casella vibe going on. Do we know the extent of what Jim did to consult for them?

5:15 Oh it was very good for me TJ

14:19 Yesss! I’ve always wondered why they don’t do this. To me it seems like the difficulty of a book is not arbitrary. In other words you could determine the theoretical physical demand and rhythmic complexity of a drum book by some sort of analysis of the sheets.

Have you guys ever thought of putting the reaction vids on streaming services? I know you have for some but was wondering if you guys have considered making it a routine thing

We love TJ

Gotta miss the full marimba and marching tympani’s circa Blue Devils 76!

For the algorithm. 🤙

I appreciate the “blabber “…

Need a grass rating every video 🫵🏻

(CHECK ALL OF MY COMMENTS BEFORE DECIDING TO ARGUE WITH ME. I COULD STILL BE WRONG BUT YOU CAN AT LEAST SEE WHERE I’M COMING FROM) The tuning tends to be low because I know a couple universities on the west coast keep them lower and the mandarins share equipment with sac state so they might just decided to not change from their tuning