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Look two posts up my friend. Lol. :)

There's someone out there that claims to like Nickleback??? That alone raises red flags regarding the accuracy of this study...

theres a total crossover and has been for many many years already. Not just guard wise either. Many of todays and yesterdays designers etc etc and yes judges are one and the same.

I have another suggestion ( I think this is #6 ) for the Regiment's 2015 program, whose title is one I'm sure Mr. Michael C. might find interesting. How about "BACH IN BLACK" with a choice of selections from among Air on the G String ( Orchestral Suite #3 ), Brandenburg Concerto, Cello Suite #1, Concerto for 2 Violins in d, Mass in b and Toccata & Fugue in d. Or perhaps we can save this program for 2016, the 20th anniversary of our 1996 championship and, again, wear all-black uniforms.

Angie's List

Anyone dressing up Drum-Corps style later this week? For me, I will be getting out the 'Cesario bathing in chocolate outfit'. Always frightens the kiddies at the front door...

thank you DCP :-)

That would be nice. In the late 1950s, the British cartoonist, monologist, and tubist Gerard Hoffnung organized some comedic orchestral concerts. From those performances, I am fondest of this setting for tuba quartet of a Chopin Mazurka* but in light of your post, I must mention A Grand Grand Overture, which Hoffnung commissioned from Malcolm Arnold (somehow I didn't realize that Arnold, several of whose works have been played by drum corps, died as recently as 2006). It has been revived in other concerts since. The orchestra is supplemented by three vacuum cleaners, a floor polisher, and four shotguns. The Proms audience is clearly amused, but I'm not sure how it would go over with a SoundSport crowd--though I note that the climax arguably presages what Phantom Regiment did with Spartacus. *That quartet brings to my mind the tuba quartet playing The Sorcerer's Apprentice in the Wauseon H.S. marching band show, which is my favorite low brass moment in marching band this year outside of the Farandole baritone solo by Grove City H.S.

The Islanders became the 7-Up corps by way of Chuck (Sky) Ohlmillers dad Charlie knowing people at the local distributor. He got the sponsorship and uniforms for them.

It was The Lindenaires from Lindenhurst, LI.. Tiny was large to say the least. Think he had a special vehicle to get him around to shows. These small town corps knew how to develop talent. I wrote this here some time back: There’s a corps missing from that breeding ground list. Tiny Frankenbergs Lindenaires. Amazing how many children learned the ropes in these corps and moved on up to the big leagues. Jimmy O’Hara cut his teeth in the Riptides and later moved on to SAC and Sun I believe. Tommy Fagan from the Lindenaire’s made the move to Selden and took over the role Frank Buscemi held for so many years. Gary Quigley, a snare from the Lindenaire’s also found a home, all be it way too short in the eastern end of Long Island. The Babylon Islanders also provided fuel to the roaring fires with guys like Chuck Ohlmiller, Tom Beresford, Bill Gallagher, Carl Goodwin, Dave King and others. There were many parade corps also in that breeding ground that fed the larger corps talent.

IDK; without knowing how many events there were in in 2014 vs 2007 or 2006 I don't think your conclusion is clear at all. Not to mention that verbiage is a bit inconsistent, with that 400k number counting media & corps members while it is unknown what 2014 and 2006 included. Not to mention that these press releases are obviously not scientific or super accurate. As usual, there are a myriad of circumstances and to try to cram them into a neat/tidy conclusion to support an argument for/against design choices is not logical. If I looked at 2014 record sales and saw that no album released in 2014 will be certified platinum, and then said no album released in 2014 is very good, it would be a ludicrous argument at best. Whittling down attendance as a means of justifying or damning electronics is just as crazy (and unfounded)

Way back in the early 80's we had just that scenario unfold - sop soloist mouthpiece was some design that let him scream but was bad for embouchure. Brass staff made him switch & and it was sort of a 1989 Blue Devils situation for a few weeks.

what I am saying is there may be still be some activity in western and central NYS, had this idea been embraced for more than one show at DCA championship weekend. Empire had to travel 6 hours because there were no shows. If DCA could have put a mini corps category into these shows as one competition, a class A competition, and open competition, and alumni exhibitions such as St Joes, Scout House, Hamburg Kingsmen, United Alumni, Militaires. et al...would there still be shows in western and central NYS? Perhaps even a regional contest sometime in late July to tune up before DCA...who knows? You just said, DCA weekend is set up to make money for the "member corps" only. I just said that mini corps and Alumni corps performances other than on DCA weekend should/could have been considered as members of DCA. Bring up mini corps or the Alumni corps at DCA congress and see the reaction you will get from the elite "member" corps. There are still a ton of performances that we do all year round with Ghost Riders. Parades, BHOF, stage exhibitions and the like...now there are groups popping up like SDCA, SoundSport, the BHOF shows, Alumni shows, military tattoos, and DCA "non-member" corps are being offered significant funds or a chance to perform and to participate in. DCA could think outside the box of what the definition of member corps is before they are all doing soundsport, SDCA or BHOF shows. I am just saying...there are shows that being offered that are not DCA shows. DA

Not a prediction, but a wish (since I can't find the appropriate thread at the moment -- and really don't have to gumption to look. Sorry...just being honest... And yes, I'm well aware that I am not the first with this request. Let's just add it as yet another plaintive voice from the wilderness.) I said it back in 2013, and it didn't come to fruition. But I'll say it again, since this year still qualifies as the 150th Anniversary of the cessation of the total event...(and yes, I know that the Battle was in 1863. But the war ended in 1865. Nothing like twisting statistics to fit your need...) Troopers...please, please, PLEASE...Edelman's "Gettyburg"???? I just watched the film last night (twice, just to catch all the little things I've missed in the first 350 viewings. Even I, in my extreme fandom, can ascertain "S###...that sucker's long!!!), and there is a LOT there. "Numbers" relevant? Maybe not. But "Trooper" relevant? Heck, yes. (Here's a hint: take a page from the Bluecoats...tilt the frigging field. Voila!! Instant Little Round Top!!) And with the advent of microphones over the past few years, a rendition of "Dixie" on a well-played harmonica might go a long way in the effect category. Heck...might even give ol' George a "See??? Told ya' so!!" moment. Please...please....with sugar on it???? (Oh...and by the way...if you're listening....I'll bet BAC has some spare baby powder left in some boxes somewhere. You might find it useful in a "Pickett's Charge" section. :>)) )

It's been done by a few corps up to now. My favorite is still the performance by the Garfield Cadets at finals in '82. What a massive brass sound for the final push - it echoed off the Olympic Stadium roof for what seemed like minutes.

I'm in Kansas City. It's "All About That Base" tonight. Thank You.

Wasn't that the start of the modern-day shopping mall era... when the crowd in Jerusalem kept shouting, "Give us Paramus!!! We want Paramus!!!" Oops... that was Barabbas, wasn't it. OK... I'll go away now.

OK...my educator's two-cents worth... First, one of the strongest messages my research professor in graduate school constantly reminded us of was this...research can only establish correlations -- however, it can never establish causality. With this idea in mind...music cannot, in and of itself, make you "dumb"...nor make you "smart." Music educators (hell, the entire field altogether...or at least, MOST...and yes, that is intentionally said to demarkate myself from other members of the field) love to point out that such things as "research has shown that students who study music for X amount of years score X number of points higher on SAT, ACT, and all other standardized test scores." Once they claim that, then they smugly make the correlation of "therefore, the study of music will lead to your child ultimately scoring higher on these tests." All to which, I say...HOGWASH!!! Kids who take performance-related music activities eventually score higher on the various standardized tests simply because the "lower-achieving" kids are weeded from the activity long before the academic years in which these tests are given. The 5th grade kid who won't do his math homework...who won't do his science homework...who won't even bother to take a single book home to do ANY homework...sure as hell isn't going to sit down and practice his horn for the requisite 20-30 minutes. And as a result, that kid isn't going to last in the (most) music programs. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Listening to Beethoven doesn't make one smarter. Not one iota. Any difference is because those who have no intellectual, interpersonal, or intrinsically-musical bearing will not choose to listen to Beethoven. It might "bore' them. It isn't "exciting enough" for them. For those individuals, it is far more meaningful, and far more relative, to listen to the latest rap-fest which is filled with "$#&^* YOU!!! (da-da-da-da-daht)...&%#%$#$ YOU!!! (da-da-da-da-daht);..kiss my *&%$XC and &$%$#@X YOU!!!! (da-da-da-da-daht). No...the musical kids who score higher do so because they are the kids who are the higher achievers from the start. NOT simply because the study of music made them that way.

oh the double meaning for ratchet these days... lol

As Maurice Chevalier once said....... "I remember it well!" I bought my share of buttons at good ol' Warren Harding High School Stadium. And the 1973 finals downpour ruined a couple in my collection with rust spots.

FYI, Shorty has been heavily involved with Jersey Surf for some years now. I'm not at all surprised they've come out as strong as they have. Isn't it funny how the 7 degrees of Jim Prime keep turning out the "up and comings" and the "top of the top" these days?

I wonder if Mr. VanDoren has to spend a lot of time with Crown at this point. Has his kid aged out yet? Crown has staff who have "grown" up under his system and maybe they "have it down" completely by now... Maybe Blue Stars is his next project to push up to top 5 brass program status??? I mean, it sounds like it to me! Yea, I know Shorty Bartholemew. He was also involved with Star... At least in '89... ( Crossmen later) You're right, Shorty was more technical, while Donnie was more the "LISTEN" guy. Hmmm, you've hit on some interesting stuff here.

On the first part, I wonder how much time he is spending with Crown now that he's involved with Blue Stars? Second part, the 83-85 Garfield hornlines were master technicians. I remember hearing the stories when I marched there in 90 from Shorty Bartholemew. Shorty was definitely the technical kinda of guy. Slam the fingers, breathe dah, everyone plays, hammer hammer hammer. But Frank Williams was the "LISTEN" guy. I would say the 3pete years were very technical hornlines but not necessarily musical at "all times". But they did have some moments. I think the formula has changed over the years but there are still some fundamentals. Breathe dah, everyone plays, fast fingers, overtones on every note. The one thing I think Garfield was missing at times (back then) was tone quality. That was sometimes sacrificed for executing precision. That also gave them a unique sound for the time.

Awesome, I totally forgot that it was the Prime connection. Totally makes sense now. So Prime and Klesch are the machines and VanDoren is the grease? In all honesty, I don't think either arrangers work would be what it is without Mr. VanDoren. It's one thing to write it .. it's another thing to teach what the arranger wants to hear .. to know what's important at any given second and how to tune chordal structures constantly. To me, that's a VanDoren thing. Reminds me alot of Frank Williams (the master).