jwillis35

A legend of the activity. Sad day. R.I.P.

They were not great. But I am not talking about moving Finals there, just a regional. For whatever issues Orlando may bring Atlanta is not much better, or better at all. There are other places to hold the Southeast Regional. I am not sure Atlanta is the best.

Excellent class this year. All deserving.

As for moving DCI Finals to different locations, even if it was once every 5 years, would come with many pros and cons. Cons or Issues to Consider: Finding cities and a stadium for a reasonable cost Travel, hotels, schools for housing/rehearsals come into play Willingness of the city to market and advertise the events Does this hurt DCI's long term contracts with Indy? Would Indy be OK with a departure once every 5 years? Would DCI need to continue holding Open Class and All-Age Finals in Indiana (maybe Ohio) or would the new location serve all divisions? If they had to keep these events in Indiana with WC corps in another location it would certainly add to the cost. Again, this would only be 1 in 5 years, but that departure could add a lot of cost. Pros More exposure for DCI's premiere event in various parts of the country Possibility of an outdoor stadium once in a while for Finals Breaks up the monotony of doing the same thing every year I am sure there are many more pros and cons. I, personally, do not have a major problem with Indianapolis being the center point for Finals. It's not ideal to sit in a domed stadium but I get all the other positives. I personally feel the thing that needs changed is the Regional structure. Only 3 regionals is too few IMO. Four or five regionals, with 2 or 3 being mandatory, would change the routing of tour, offer more choice, and give a few other cities a chance to hold a major regional. As of now Atlanta is not exactly the best place to hold DCI Southeast. It's a massive metro where travel is difficult. Heck I think Orlando would be better for DCI Southeast. Easier flow of traffic, more hotels, better stadium if you can get Camping World (Citrus Bowl). The University of Central Florida has a decent stadium for a regional. The University of Minnesota or U of Wisconsin (Camp Randal) would be great for a DCI North Regional. Plenty of drum corps fans in those areas. Again, just ideas. I think the regional structure is where DCI could open some new revenue streams and offer more choice without having to leave Indianapolis as the hub for Finals.

No doubt. If a new Regional were added it will certainly take away from Allentown, Atlanta, San Antonio and say Denver (if that were the new site) providing DCI made it so WC corps have to attend at least 2. This might provide more opportunity for Open Class and All-Age units to perform at these regionals. I would also image that on a rotation basis those Western corps would appear at Allentown considering the history of DCI East. The benefit, IMO, is easing travel and also opening up the possibility for new shows before the corps head to Indy for Finals. There is nothing stopping the corps from attending 3 regionals, but they would only need to attend 2. Denver could be the 1st, then San Antonio, then ATL and Allentown. Or... ADD TWO REGIONALS (5 total) and each corps must attend 3. Make 1 mandatory (DCI's oldest and most historic regional, Allentown). Especially with DCI East being 1 week before Finals. For now I personally would love to see a change in the routing of the tour and adding 1 regional (4 total) and making 2 mandatory would shift things around and also provide more opportunity to Open Class and All-Age groups while also giving the WC corps choice on their travel. Now keep in mind, per the OP's suggestion, these are just my ideas on a best of all worlds kind of thing. Back in the 1980s there were no regionals where it was mandatory for all the corps to be there. In fact, I don't think there was a year in the 1980s where all the WC corps attended the same regional (not sure).

In a perfect world, or at least my perfect world :), I would love more variety in schedule. DCI Finals in Indy 4 out of every 5 years. Every 5th year take a look at Madison (Midwest), Denver (West), Houston (Southwest), Buffalo (East), or others. Take your pick. Schedule could be somewhat the same for a Finals in Madison. Things would need to be shifted some with Finals in Denver and Houston, and not as much with Buffalo. If Finals are in Texas then make the Texas tour the final leg The other cities may not require as much shifting Add 1 more Regional to the tour. I would add Denver Drums Along The Rockies or Salt Lake City, University of Utah. I think 4 regionals works better for travel. All World Class corps have to attend at least 2 of the 4 Yes this would change how we calculate performance times for Indy but the speculation of who could score what on any given day would be fun. From a money perspective it splits the country for corps looking to stay east or west or north or south for as long as they can Opens up more possibilities for other shows without having the entire pack follow each other from San Antonio to Atlanta to Allentown to Indy. Open Class Corps have to attend at least 1 major regional Western corps can attend Denver and San Antonio and skip Atlanta and Allentown. Midwest and Southern Corps could mix it up, attending some combination of the 4 Eastern corps could stay East or also mix things up Just ideas.

No doubt. I love early season video...and yes there is always that hope and optimism that each corps is off to a better start. They did sound good.

Heard a clip of their brass line the other day. Dang good if you ask me. Seem to have some serious experience.

One of the things I love to see is how corps improve over the season. I may like the show, love the show, or even not care for the show, but when I see the improvement over the course of the season it thrills me. The human achievement aspect is what I love. I love watching these young people perform and improve. More specifically I really enjoy watching the visual technique aspects lock in and improve. Especially when the leg technique and upper body starts to become more unform. This is one of the things needed to really clean a show. Yes, intervals play a part but the marching (leg work and marching technique) and body control is so important if you want to clean the music and overall visual program. I enjoy watching for these things...even if the show is not my personal favorite. It's a good indicator that the instruction is excellent and that the show is ready to take off.

Nice list. Fun to complete. Where are we supposed to upload our PDF selections? On this site or does your GEM website have a comments section?

I saw this on their Facebook page as well. So happy they will be in the Rose Parade again. They were just in the parade a few years back. Did a great job, too.

Not much of a hot take but I like SCV to come out and win brass, percussion and visual this summer, taking the championship.

BD's Euphonium lines the last few seasons were outstanding. Great sound.

I'm not really good at predicting placements anymore. It's obviously a lot easier once I see the shows and get a read on what each corps is doing. Give me Bluecoats or Boston at this point. I think SCV, Blue Devils, Carolina and Phantom will be in the mix. I would love to see Cavaliers come out firing on all cylinders and crush it this summer. I'd also like to see Troopers knock-out a top 5 show. Imagine Troopers taking 5th at Finals. Crowd would love that. I am also very interested to see what direction Madison Scouts take. I have always loved me some Madison. Hope everyone is enjoying the new year to this point.

Thanks for everything! I am happy for you that you get a chance to step back after all the fantastic work you did in managing this excellent website. This is where so many of us live during the summer. I know Kevin will do amazing work with the site, but we all owe you a debt a gratitude and thanks!