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Granted they are a fantastic group, but in the list of sequestration priorities...no.

eh - Crown pretty much gets an instant pass on everything. If BD did the same voice over they would get crucified. Same with Cadets. It is what is is - they are the "new darling" - if they win a few more times it will be quite different.

I agree the Marine Drum & Bugle Corps is fantastic; I agree that the Navy Blue Angels are fantastic; but I also agree that at this juncture in American history with drastically limiting the touring of the USMC D&B Corps and the grounding of the Blue Angels; and THIS is why. However, if DCI still wants to have the Marine Drum & Bugle Corps play at Finals they certainly can do so; DCI needs to do what NASCAR does for military aircraft fly-overs which is pay for their service and not burden the taxpayer. (sorry Boo, but that is what I wrote to my U.S Senators and Representatives).

I completely agree that it's high time corps like Reading and Hawthorne at the very least make a trip to another region. It makes perfect sense for Reading to travel to Minnesota, and for Hawthorne to perhaps go south. Yes, I understand the financial aspects of such a trip, but as has been pointed out in previous posts, the non-Northeast corps do it every year, many multiple times. If the Northeast corps really have "the good of the activity" at heart, it's important that they back it up with action.

I marched in the 80s. I have been on this board before under a different screen name. I swore to God I would never come back, and that I would never go to another show again....AFTER vocals were instituted. The use of the Yowza, and the singing that the Cadets did drove me away. I truly can't watch those shows EVER. That said. This year my son asked me about taking him to see a show. I relented. We went. I was floored at the sound. I was anti amp, anti electronics, and still HATE vocals, always will, but there is no comparison to what I am hearing out there on that field. We can all debate the songs and them being chopped up bits, etc. I am talking about the beauty of the sound, and how well its woven. I am almost to the point that if DCI wants to try woodwinds, then so be it. I have no doubt some corps will go full on overboard and alienate half of the world with their overuse for a year. Then they will learn how to use them wisely and it will be incredible. I bought the Cadets pretour cd and am astounded by the sound. If this is what it sounds like with all the changes in place, then change on. I missed about 5 years of corps over my stubborness. I have some catching up to do.

Amazing post... Can't think of the right words. Thanks for that rare (from us BITD types, anyway) opening up on this forum. I started in 1960. Imagine what I felt when my youngest entered drum corps on synthesizer. Oddly, all I felt was proud. Keep writing - I for one will keep reading.

A line-up similar as such in Racine would be standing room only. The Cabs, as example, do have a following in the area. Racine is one of the most drum corps savvy towns in America.

Probably because of it being Madison's 75th, I ended up going to 6 performances this year including all three DCI Championship rounds, more than I've gone to in many years.. I have to say that my mind has been brought around as well at least partially. The corps seem to have found the "sweet spot" for Amps and singing and being in Lucas Oil brought out a deep rich sound like I've never heard before. I readily attribute that to the presence of synths on the bottom, but the brass sound just gets better every year and while I think g's produce more sound, I'm over it now and would prefer the beautiful much better tuned and balanced sound of a Bb line. In fact G lines are becoming almost unbearable for me to listen to now. I'm still of the opinion that the activity has been co opted by a few powerful figures for their and their own groups benefit and that it is leading to the eventual melding of DCI into the Marching Band world, but I cannot deny the music is so much better now. In fact I find that I dont even need to see the visual anymore, audio recordings are sufficient.

For some reason I got choked up reading this.

This = integral. Do what the vets do, and do what the staff asks. Don't argue, show interest in constantly improving yourself each rep, push through any fatigue or soreness you get from a weekend-full of rehearsing, and be social with vets. If staff ask you to play or march a way that is foreign or different from what you do in your current school or what you've previously been taught, try your best to adapt quickly. On the flip side, don't get frustrated: your goal should be to be better every single rep, not necessarily be perfect from rep #1 (although obviously perfection = awesome, you want to show the staff that while you're learning a new skill set or technique you are also striving for perfection and improving every chance you get). I've seen members who sucked on something in the morning block, but impressed the staff with their constant improvement (and by evening block they had it down). Remember you're currently on the outside looking in, so don't feel bad if there is brothers/sisterhood amongst the vets & staff that you're not a part of; when you're at your most frustrated or tired remember that feeling of being on the outside & how much you want to be a part of that - use that to give you that extra 'push' when you really need it! Also, remember the basics of taking care of yourself: eat meals & snacks, drink plenty of water & gatorade, relax when you can, exercise good hygiene, etc. Since it's only early September, I HIGHLY recommend you start some sort of exercise program now to get in shape: lift weights, run, etc. They better your endurance & the better in shape you are, the easier it will be for staff to recognize that you can physically hold your own. Last thing: HAVE FUN! Remember why you're doing what you're doing: probably not to win a ring or pad a resume, but to learn a ton, make new long-lasting friendships, and to enjoy yourself. Performances won't be for quite awhile, but remember the whole reason for all of this is to have a blast playing in front of thousands of people come June. While you're working hard remember to enjoy the little moments of playing in a huge horn arc, or full ensemble, or whatever. Good luck!

I sympathize with you, honest; my income in the private sector has fallen over 35%. I do not want to turn this into a political debate and get the thread locked, so I will tread lightly here. As a taxpayer, when I see our national debt now at $17,000,000,000,000 and rising at whopping $10,000 per second, that is per second, that is a 'grave' issue for me. I certainly desire to continue paying tax dollars 'for needed security and defense', but at this juncture I am also fine with not seeing/hearing the USMC D&B Corps or the Blue Angels perform at the taxpayers expense. Again, if DCI wants to have the USMC D&B Corps perform at Finals great; they should pay for the service just like NASCAR does for the military aircraft flyovers, and not lay that cost burden onto the taxpayers.

I know this will be an unpopular sentiment, but when it comes to budgetary issues I'm fine with the US govt. not paying for the USMC D&B corps not racking up expenses by attending DCI. I love the unit, as I love all of the military music organizations; I try to support them every time a group is publicly performing in town (which in our military town is not rare). But there are FAR better ways for the US government to spend money than paying for USMC drum corps to go to Indy for Finals exhibition. (FWIW, there are also other aspects of military spending that I prefer get cut long before any music organization, but in the grand scheme of things USMC drum corps playing at Finals = not exactly top priority spending-wise)

The Racine County Fair, as example, is in a little burg called Union Grove.....20 plus miles from Racine. With that being said, the Kilties' show (Kiltie Klassic) at Historic Horlick Field is always well received as a "stand alone" event and has regular community support. Preliminary plans are for holding it Saturday evening, August 2, 2014. Not only are the Kilties celebrating the 80th year since the corps' founding in 2014, but on that date (August 2nd) it would mark the 100th drum corps show held at Historic Horlick Field since it was constructed.

However, it was tolerated by just about everyone because it... ...worked ...was humorous and brought many smiles to many faces ...waited until within the very final minute of the show If anyone wishes to read more about this very show, it was featured just this past Monday in the weekly column I write for a different drum corps website.

Thank you... 1) for being the parent who is concerned about your kid, is willing to sacrifice for his best, and willing to listen as well as speak. 2) for being balanced enough to reconsider and humble enough to say "I need to grow." 3) for being a fan of the members and realizing that their experience may be different from your likes and experience but their hunger for excellence and entertainment is the same. 4) for letting us in on what might have stayed the private musings of someone who chose not to be bitter but better. Thank you.

AND WE LOVE YOU!

"Show designers must give fans music and shows they can identify with" Which shows specifically and which music specifically do you think audience members can't identify with? Your only example can't possibly be Blue Devils... A large portion of the music used this year was used in the past. There is a mix of classic and modern pop, classical, jazz, broadway, movie score, concert wind and a number of styles and designs to appease a wide breadth of audience. I was pleased that I have a number of shows that could identify with through design and musical elements... So the question is which "fans"? which music? which shows? "Audience Friendly Shows are viewed as non-competitive" How can this be true if the fan favorite award (when they did it) the past few years has been a top 5 corps (Carolina Crown)? Tell me, was SCV's 2013 production of Les Mis not Audience Friendly or is 4th place viewed as "non-competitive? "being loud or stationary for too long is automatically written off as un-muscial and/or uncompetitive" This is only in your mind. Blue Devils 2009 should put this idea right to bed. LOUD and SITTING STILL for a long period of time... won 1st. "the look, sound, approach, and even the cut of a corps uniforms is relatively standardized across the country, just different colors." Is that why Carolina Crown's 2013 uniforms were widely embraced as catatoniclly boring and unoriginal? and no one made a fuss about it because, as you claim, it is a standardized look and color. Or maybe The Cadets are actually behind the curve since they have maintained the same look, color and style of their uniform since the 30's and any variations made were never part of a controversy. I know I always get confused and can't distinguish between The Cavaliers and Phantom Regiment (their "hats" are practically the same.) Look, you need to really stop and enjoy what you have in front of you. You get so caught up in what you think DCI ISN'T instead of what it IS. And if you actually did that you'd realize that its not as bad or UN-entertaining as you think. You literally have to let yourself enjoy it and stop distorting what you're viewing with your nostalgic past. "Don’t we want a unique corps that wears a cape?"

Lee Rudnicki here is pretty much echoing what some of us have been saying for quite some time now. Lee is not the only one that has cache and stature in the activity that are saying this either. The question is if his assessment will have a postive effect that changes things for the better. There is a lot at stake now, and the margins for error are much tighter. DCI can't afford to not grow its fan base. While Corps experiment, the economics and the mathmatics of this enterprise go on unimpeded. The laws of real world Economics and of Financial Mathmatics don't stop while we are discussing what Corps should do in the future. And there is no Performing Arts that has a viable future if it disregards an audience or potential audience. There is very little nobility to having an unsustainable bank account because of a lack of audience growth even if we personally think the product is excellent and better than before. Golf claps for top Corps is not something to be admired nor encouraged. It is not good for the performer who puts in the time, energy, and cost to the effort. Nor is it noble to have a future performer to learn tohave a disregard, apathy, or worse, a distain for an audience.In the end, a performer who performs but without a connection to an audience is left empty and can only look inward for some level of satsfaction with that result. At its most basic levels, music is non verbal communication. Music needs to communicate with its audience. If it does not, it is not the fault of the audience that payed to come to receive that communication.

And we just can't say..."Great article Lee! Loved what yo had to say!" No, we have to rub salt into a wound. Lee wrote an excellent article and yet one has to use the word "failure." Does anyone really fail? Or do we make a mistakes and hopefully learn from them? Lee is probably more successful in drum corps and in life than any of his hope to be. Seems to me some members of DCP just want to throw mud around or push people down. Bully! Harsh term but the truth. Heck, I was called a bully for standing up for the corps of today. Got kicked out of a site on FB on which I probably had more time in a school bus than others had marching. Anyways, stop trying to make yourself smarter than the next and work together. BE NICE!!! Maybe drum corps is the way it is today because of all the negativism!

With 2013 Season drawing to a close, The Bushwackers are already gearing up for the 2014 Season! Open House: 11/24 11:00am~5:00pm. Location: TBD. Please join our Open House Event Page for constant Updates! https://www.facebook...10455065790327/ Are you a Brass, Colorguard, Percussion member that want to talk specifics? No Problem! Brass Interest Page: https://www.facebook...54699957874003/ Percussion (Both Drumline and Front Ensemble) Interest Page: https://www.facebook...56757174520709/ Colorguard Interest Page: https://www.facebook...57305674469141/ You can always sign up for more information on our website at: http://bushwackers.o...n-request-form/ Join the Resistance. Bushwackers 2014

Since Parades actually pay money, I guess that being a parade corps is a way to exist.

You can thankfully add Chops, Inc. to that lineup now that they've announced their return to the field. I do agree that Racine would be a great place for a show like that and it would likely get a huge crowd.

How do you know that I pull my own chain? OMG, you have photos or a video from a hidden camera don't ya!?! I am now completely embarrassed!!! :not me:

Pay attention to the vets, both during rehearsal and outside of it. You can figure out a lot of things that will make life a lot easier by just paying attention to the way they act, the things they do, etc. Think "when in Rome." EDIT: But don't force it. Be yourself, and be open to suggestions from both the staff and the vets.

I can't repeat what Bucky said to me when I met him, just before this photo was taken. But It's funny as.... :)

I do think high school programs have improved over the years, and today many of the young people in drum corps are products if these excellent programs, but if you look at areas where drum corps was strongest back in the day, it's not where the hotbeds of drum corps once were and two examples would be Massachusetts and New Jersey. In the DCI era, Massachusetts had three well known and well loved drum corps: Boston Crusaders, 27th Lancers, and North Star. There were other very good corps as well, namely Holy Family Defenders, Pembroke Imperials, St. Francis Sancians, IC Reveries, and Beverly Cardinals. Though they competed prior to DCI, some may recall names such as St, Kevin's Emerald Knights, the Majestic Knights, and Queensmen. There were also many local favorites. When 27th Lancers folded in 1986, there were very few corps left and I believe since 1987 Boston Crusaders have been eth only corps to compete in World Class (East Coast Jazz and Citations were Open Class) Now Massachusetts high schools od have some very good marching bands who compete, I don't know that any of them compete in YEA or BOA. and while there have been some excellent bands, none have been at the high competitive levels of the drum corps Massachusetts produced. In New Jersey, the saying sued to go "If you were in the top 5 in New Jersey, you were in the top 10 nationally..." That was a bit before my time, and I am not sure Corpsreps or From the Pressbox would agree, and while l I know there are some excellent bands from New Jersey, I do not believe they dominate the scene. It's also interesting that Florida and Texas have a host of excellent bands, but Florida has yet to maintain corps for a substantial period of time and whiel Sky Ryders called Texas home for a while and Crossmen have relocated to Texas, Texas has not had a native born corps last all that long. Excellent band programs do produce many of today's marching members, but they have little of anything to do with the demise of drum corps, rather they filled the gap drum corps left after they disbanded.

First off... Congratulations to the Ghost Riders !!! I was standing in the tunnel as you folks were playing, you sounded GREAT ! The reality is, there probably is not just one or two reasons as to why the Mini-Corps participation has dwindled. Could be the economy, could be the location, could be DCA's lack of interest in it (money again), could be all the above or non of the above... What I can speak of stems from my (our) experience as a Mini-Corps participant. Money certainly plays a large factor in it. Without getting into detail, we spent just shy of $9,000 this year on getting our show to the competition. This does not include our members individual costs for plane tickets, lodging and food during our stay. Nor does it include the cost of our instruments (most members have purchased there own instrument) gas getting to and from bi-weekly rehearsals (Jan thru May), weekly rehearsals (May thru DCA) and monthly camps. Most of our members travel 50 to 80 miles one way to rehearsals and camp is in the middle of the state (a three hour drive for most). And lets not forget the practice time needed in-between !!! In short... Mini-Corps participation is a HUGE investment in time and personal expense. I know for me... Cost personally is of little consequence. Not because I'm particularly wealthy (because I'm not) but because it gives me the opportunity to continue doing an activity that I both love, enjoy, and yes, get to compete a bit. For me, right now... It's worth it ! To some, it may not be. Combine that with other factors and well, you have a recipe for declining participation. For us as an Alumni Corps, participation in general is way down from when we first started. I'm pleased at the favorable comments said about the Freelancers show spoken here... It makes me smile ! This is exactly what were trying to do. Both entertain the crowed, maintain our signature style and even be competitive. All that with "G" Bugles !!! and as many traditional Drum pieces that we can get in the show. Thank you very much for the "kudos" ! The cost aspect is just going to be there... That's life... Music Licensing etc... is here to stay. Good, bad, or indifferent. Perhaps DCA and DCI can put there collective brain power to use and come up with a solution, but I'm not going to hold my breath. One thing I know for certain. If the audience wants to have Mini-Corps Competition, the fans will need to speak up and let there voices be herd... As well as attend the shows !!! After all, who wants to have all that expense, rehearsal time, and fly across the country to perform a 10 minute show in front of a couple hundred folks... Kind of takes the steam out of your sails... Or Sales ! Well be back again next year... Were already working on what the show music will be... AND, were going to be even better than we were this year ! (gauntlets thrown down !!!)

Wow. Great choice for the next photo, Nanci.

Put it Racine, and you'll have a couple thousand..........

over 1500 miles away and you still get me in trouble

I referred to one of the trombone players in the band I was teaching by name... she was first chair tuba for CT and a fabulous player. Unbelievable kid - you would have paid to be her parents. Her name was Mimi. One of the clarinet players got very exercised that I had remembered Mimi's name. She started breaking my ##### from her seat in the band room... "how come you can't remember everyone's name? What is she, special?" As calmly as I could I said, "I'm really genuinely sorry I'm so bad with names. I've been teaching for over 20 years (this was 20 years ago) and I've worked with literally thousands of students. At this point in my life I can only remember the names of the really supermotivated players who power the program, or the total dead weight that hold it back... but I do remember your name Janet." After a split second of the deadest silence the kids did what kids do best, very loudly, and it was a dead issue going forward. One of the names above was changed to protect the ... errrr.... innocent?

jamey will be back. not sure about Michel , hope so

#1. Go watch Santa Clara Vanguards 2009 show "Ballet for Martha". That drill IS the music. Not representing the music, not enhancing the music, it just is the music. The most musical visual program I can think of. Pete Weber does an AMAZING job of this in my opinion. Blending the music and drill so that it becomes one experience, that's what it is all about. In my eyes that is.

I'll bite,................many DCI open class corps could/should/would better serve the members of their organizations by going to a 8 weekend only, regional format, culminating in a national championship event, that is not considered the "little kids table" by many........which is all done very well by DCA.

And you've worn them in the Bal-mer (for non-locals Baltimore) area too.... Great news, we need more fun (and corps) in DCA...

ah, another one of the BD pitbulls heard from :tongue:/>

Because you must decide for yourself whether it is "worth it". Even while one corps in Nashville decided "no", 40 other groups of people all over the country must think it is worthwhile, as they are still running DCI corps. All this talk of drum corps business tactics tends to cause us to lose sight of a basic characteristic of drum corps. The individual corps is not really a business - it is essentially a team competing in an amateur sport. Like any other amateur team (and honestly, even some pro teams), their venture is not inherently profitable. The only reason the team (corps) survives is because the competition attracts people to donate their time, effort, and money to the quest for competitive achievement. It has been that way since drum corps competition began, and it is not going to change. It helps to consider certain business ideas and practices in running a corps. But no amount of business sense will transform the individual drum corps into a profit center. Even in the event of an improved business scenario (lower fuel prices, larger crowds, etc.), corps would use all that money, and still solicit more from donors and supporters to get an edge over their rivals. That is the nature of the competitive beast. One thing your 990 analysis demonstrated was that no matter what kind of "business model" an individual corps has, they all have one thing in common - they all solicit donations. Charitable giving (and often, charitable gaming) are staples of drum corps funding. That is why 501c3 status is a standard part of the drum corps organizational model. History shows that many corps have gotten caught up in the drive for competitive success for a time, expended massive effort and funds, had great experiences, and at some point failed to keep coming back year after year. Meanwhile, there are others that are still here. That is not surprising. For some, the competitive aspect is the dealmaker, and they stay as long as they have a goal to pursue. Others enjoy the process, and they will return regardless of competitive outcomes or outlooks. The longevity of a corps hinges on how many of their people have an enduring interest in performing the work that a drum corps entails.

LOVE ME SOME CHOPS INC

A worthy opus. When you do NJA, leave out my last NJA show, where I drove 7 hours to West Virgina to do Music Analysis on the field. In the middle of one of the really good bands, the young lady judging Music performance walked up to me during a percussion feature and asked (remember, the tapes were running back then - you have to supply your own really marked West Virginia accent) "Should I be judging this?" I was a bit terse with her. I said, simply, "is it music?" Her reply? "No, it's drumming..." On my tape you could hear me say, quite clearly, "Get away from me..." She had EVERY band out of order, by a bunch. The wrong band won the show. I got home around 9am and called Windy and said, "sorry sir, no mas" After that, just CMBC and Cavalcade (out your way), until I moved up North and did (and still do) MAC in CT.

Will King Komoniwannalaya return with the corps?

:thumbup:

Why not instead have a Saturday show with Cadets, Boston, SCV, Genesis, Spartans, and 7th Regiment? Sounds like a winner to me!

I expect to see huge growth in the new Brass Choir category. Seems like the perfect "reset" button.

Nice to hear some good Drum Corps News. Now if you could bottle some of what you have and send it down to Kansas.

This is very good news!!!

I am looking forward to seeing these "dozens of BRAND NEW corps" at quarter-finals next August.

I think we can leave out whether Hop is good or bad, whether unis are homogenous or not...lets not pick it apart. The bottom line is that shows should be about the fans.....that is if you want the activity to survive and thrive in the future. The DCI triad: members, fans and the design community. The members will come to experience the excellence and tradition of corps and to perform. They are young and will come, and they will perform what the staff gives them. The don't get jaded until they are old like most of us. The fans will come because they love corps. They would come in droves if the shows had broad general appeal. There would be new fans if the show had broad general appeal. The design community. Let's lump design, judging, admins and activity movers and shakers into one big group. They are responsible for our shows and what we see. I really think they have become self serving clubs to a large extent. The have lost track of what puts butts in seats and they don't care or don't know. They might even think they know better than "Joe Drumcorps", or they don't care about him. It is my personal opinion that they have bored themselves to death with corps and are searching for the next best thing and to push the activity "forward". The members will come, the design community is entrenched.....so that leaves the fan hanging out to dry.

Alright, here I go with a dissenting opinion again.... This guy wants modern corps to compete with his nostalgia?! Impossible and uneccessary. All those examples of historical drum corps moments that were popular with fans weren't viewed with a 41 year old DCI drum corps history. It was a time for people where asymmetrical drill was new and exciting... Asymmetrical drill! If you take away the cynical and nastaligic lens that old drum corps guys like to view corps then maybe they'll see it the way I see it. Where everything about drum corps is way better. They are more entertaining, and eye-poppingly amazing than ever. Just because you don't like a BD show doesn't mean the activity is All abstract and obtuse. I mean we have threads here about corps doing "old school" or "retro show". Do you think people in 1981 were saying that? What was retro in 1981? I think atleast half of this class of DCI fans are unfortunately trapped with idea that past always seems sweeter than the present and reliving it by suggesting corps to do retro shows is an indicator of that. I guess the OP is right. How can you find a show like Crown's entertaining when all you can think about is a Bridgeman snare break or constantly thinking "BITD... blah blah blah". Also, the OP said that standing still during your drum solo now would kill your score. Wrong!! What about simply going up and down te 50 yard line? The Cadets drum feature did exactly all those things and they won drums. The stood still, only marched down the 50 and had no body.... Just saying...

"...here to kick arse and chew gum... ...and we're all outta gum!!" Joel "Lothar" Magnuson

How much longer will DCI stay there ,its really not a great place for drum corps .Having been there once with the sound bouncing off the back walls i would never go back.I like to seat as high up as i can ,and i recall the same problem in philly with seating in the lower tier that far back .So the next time i went i bought the second tier no back wall ,much better sound .