Leaderboard

They look for someone who wants to be in their corps because that person loves and respects that corps. They do NOT look for someone who wants to be in their corps more because they want to be the conductor. That's a great responsibility bestowed with much trust. Someone who is a good corps conductor would be just as happy and honored to be out of the field in the brass, percussion, or guard, doing their best to contribute to the success of the corps in any way they can. If asked to be the conductor, they would accept the position with great humility, knowing they have been entrusted with something very valuable and recognizing that they are there to serve all the others on the field...not the other way around. If your experience in any corps would be diminished in any way by you not being the conductor, you shouldn't burden yourself with being in an organization that you wouldn't gladly serve as a musician or guard member. And I certainly wouldn't tell anyone in Music City that you're just putting in your time in hopes of marching somewhere else. (Seeing that you didn't make any comment that you would be honored to one day be Music City's drum major, I would expect your view would be somewhat demoralizing to other members.) Drum corps is so much more than being in a position of added responsibility. EVERY position within a drum corps is one of great responsibility, and every position can help make you into a better person...if you're there for the right reasons.

The arm-waving is the least part of the job, for all it's the most public. Being a good leader is far FAR more important. If you're only up there for the "power and glory" of being on the podium, you're doing it wrong...and that applies to ANY conducting, not just DM for a top drum corps. If you're up there acting like Donald Trump, you'll have a pretty negative effect on the group.

Fusion Core is pleased to announce it will be expanding its drum corps experience to include an alternative to the field corp. Core Lite will offer those individuals who are horn players and percussionists the opportunity to be a part of a world class organization and represent Fusion at the DCA Mini-Corps competition in Rochester, NY as well as parades and corporate events throughout the year. Core Lite will operate as an extension of the Core providing entertaining and unique mass appeal drum corps to our fans but in a different genre. Core Lites educational staff will consist of Alex Prince (Brass Co-Caption Head), Bo Parks (Co-Caption Head), Chris Kilian (Brass Arranger) and Mike Schmidt (Percussion Arranger and Caption Head). These music educators will support the outstanding values and musical techniques of Fusion Core and provide an outstanding experience for all who choose to participate. Musical selections and membership details will be announced at open house. Open House is this Friday March 4th at St.Gabries Church, 153 Milton Road,Oak Ridge, NJ from 8PM-10PM. Hope to see you there!!

Based on what I'm hearing about shows, I'm looking forward to BD's show, and of course my brothers in the Madison Scouts. Beyond that, we'll see. Cadets sound intrigueing, haven't heard about enough other shows to decide if I'm excited or not. As always, I'm excited to see the members perform, regardless of what corps they're in.

Me, of course The Madison Scouts, the great battles that we will see, my Drum Corps family, and the huge crowd's. You?

Yea I remember the Hayward show and the tributes for Gail and Jerry. It was very touching. I always liked talking to Mr. Royer. We sure do have it made in the Bay Area with two distinctive styles of drum corps and long histories of championship performances.

Michael Boo... you've never put anything better. I had the same thought. Why is this person marching Music City if they want to be the DM somewhere else?

1. Crown 2. BD 3. Cadets 4. BCoats 5. SCV 6. BK 7. Cavies 8. Phantom 9. Crossmen 10.Madison 11. BAC 12. BStars

Lynn, Lynn, the city of sin, you never came out the way you went in. Manning Bowl in Lynn was an iconic stadium for drum corps in the northeast. It was the home of the World Open. It was in a neighborhood, had little to no parking available. It was a mess for corps trucks and busses to deal with. The acoustics were terrible for competing corps with a backfield set of stands that would bounce sound all over, creating a horrible echo. The bathrooms were to be avoided and lighting was bad too and then you often times had the sound of passing jets heading in or out of Logan Airport because the stadium was directly under the flight path. Listen to old recordings and you'll hear passing jets drown out a corps performance. BUT as bad as all that was; a show there, was always an event not to be missed. Local drum corps kids grew up performing there. It was a virtual who's who of drum corps and drum corps attendees. It was oddly magical.

You'll notice in the store that the show is no longer listed as having a cut.

have fun with it. thats a great group down there. Be serious when you need to be, kick back when you can. Be prepared. and everything everyone else said

Man... the stuff we pulled back in the day. LOL. One of my last years with Sun... 1981, '82, not sure which... the Cabs' indoor show was at William Patterson College. Great venue... the seating area sloped up and away from the stage, putting the fans up close to the action. Anyhow.... my French horn comrade Marty Roche and I were on the end of one of the lines our horn line formed in our stage setup... and during the drum solo, the horns moved sidestage to give the audience a better look at the percussion section. Horns went to parade rest, in view of the audience... but Marty and I realized that the two of us were so far sidestage that we were behind the curtain and no one in the audience could see us!!! So... he and I took advantage of that and took a brief break, grabbing a drink from the water cooler backstage and chatting with the show's emcee (I think it was George DelMonte). Then... drum solo was over, and it was back to the end of the line for us and back on the stage. LOL. Believe me, we got a few strange looks from some of the other horn players when we rejoined the ranks.

Looking forward to travelling over from England for my first Finals since 2001. Staying 5 nights in the Alexander Hotel . I,m a big Cadets fan but of course I will love all the other shows as usual.

Bones continued improvement, and finishing higher on Finals night!

Or those with Trooper aspirations.

You guys all make my heart smile with the anticipation that a corps might actually revive from the Glassmen pieces. Am I the only one here close to them? I know NEBrigand is close, but anyone else? I wonder what it takes to make the jump to OC from SS. Soundsport is nearly completely "non-DCI", as in MM's who can't or won't commit to tour or cost or, frankly, practice schedule to attain "class" level. I wonder if it's realistic to do SS "for a few years" and then break into OC. I, personally, know SS groups that have no intention to make the jump to OC. Maybe G-men will be different. They've got, as an organization, the WC fluid in their blood. They know what they face and, if they're starting in SS, it's likely many years from when they hit the field competing with Pacific Crest, Surf, or Academy. Nobody pee'd on my corn flakes this morning. I'd love to know their plan to "make the jump" to touring status.

DCI's rules on this are crystal clear. They have to come back as Open Class. Lest you forget their finances were in a right state when they folded. THis new leadership regime must show they are financially ready for World Class. I like the idea of them coming back the Soundsport avenue. By all accounts it's worked for Southwind. Lets hope Glassmen are next. Now if someone could just bring back the Freelancers and VK.

Please leave Michael out of this.

If you get in trouble,( for a small fee), I will promise to help you out of any forseeable trouble.

This is just stupid. DCA absolutely did "the hard work". Infact, The made the less popular, but more *responsible* choice not to produce video media. A cost benefit analysis indicated that it would not be financially viable to secure the necessary synch rights for such a small (and yea, it's #### small) amount of sales.

Here is a rerun of something I wrote specifically for DCP a few years back. It explains the who synch rights issue. (This was not run on DCI.org.) The challenges of music licensing (And what really happened with “Empire State of Mind”) By Michael Boo Music licensing seems like an increasingly annoying problem for corps. Just this past season, Madison Scouts’ popular closer, “Empire State of Mind” had to be blacked out on the DCI DVDs because the corps couldn’t secure mechanical licensing rights. (More about what really happened later.) DCI corps aren’t the only entities running into music licensing difficulties. Last month, Burger King had to pull a commercial with singer Mary J. Blige over rights and earlier in the year, former presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was sued by the owner of the “Rocky III” theme song, “Eye of the Tiger,” for using the work without permission at campaign rallies. A brief history of how we got to where we are The way music is produced has changed dramatically since digital media has taken over. Madison Scouts’ arranger Robert W. Smith states, “The record companies lost the keys to the kingdom as soon as the first CD was pressed. It wasn’t all that long ago that Napster and other file sharing services were under attack for causing record companies to lose a lot of money.” But now, according to Smith, the music companies are “almost giving away the music,” making their money through concerts and merchandising…even receiving a share of the beverages sold at concerts. Much more so than before, licensing is a cash cow for the holders of music copyrights. In DCI’s earlier years, corps didn’t have to worry about licensing and didn’t pay the statutory rate for mechanical licenses. Corps have gone from barely being a blip on these companies’ radars to becoming very much a part of their income stream. (Popular speculation that the move from G bugles to B-flat horns was responsible for increased licensing issues is an unfounded myth.) While corps must receive permission to arrange a piece of music, mechanical licenses are not required for live or audio broadcasts. However, they kick in once a performance is recorded for sale to the public. (Why is it called a “mechanical” license? The name originated from the use of mechanical machines that used to copy the recordings.) Additional problems arise with synchronization licenses, which are required when pre-recorded audio is fixed to a moving visual image…something that occurs in television shows and commercials…and DCI DVDs. Such a license is not required for live performances, which is why those who attended DCI’s “Big, Loud & Live 7” Quarterfinals broadcast were able to enjoy watching Scouts’ “Empire State of Mind” in its entirety. That is where things become more difficult for those requesting a synch license. A publisher has the right to say “no” for whatever reason. Which leads us to… What really happened with “Empire State of Mind” Until now, drum corps fans blamed a variety of sources as the problem for why Madison Scouts couldn’t obtain the synch rights to “Empire State of Mind,” which resulted in the blackout on the DVDs. Rap artist Jay-Z was often blamed for this, as he is the original recording artist. “In our case,” according to Smith, “State Farm Insurance knew well in advance that on 9/11/11, they were going to put out a nationwide television commercial using ‘Empire State of Mind’ as the central statement, with school kids singing the song at a New York City firehouse. It was in the best interest of the insurance company to obtain exclusivity and they paid a lot of money to get it. If someone else in the popular media had come out using the piece, it would have lessened the impact. “I tried assisting Scouts by using my channels in the publishing industry to get the synch rights, but I kept getting the same answer. When someone turns down a request for a synch license, they just say ‘no’ and that’s it. The reason for our problems became abundantly clear the moment I saw the commercial on September 11, 2011, understanding why utmost confidentiality had to be maintained. Generally, such exclusivity lasts a year and is so expensive because the publisher can’t make money from anyone else during that time.” Madison Scouts Executive Director Chris Komnick recounts, “By the time the publisher gave us the definitive ‘no,’ we were already into May. We made the decision that the music in the live show was more important than the DVD and so we decided not to change the last third of the show. We thought they were telling us ‘no’ because it was such a hot piece of property at the time. It typically isn’t that hard to get such licensing. “We are continuing to pursue the licensing of “Empire State of Mind” with the expectation that the synch rights will eventually be granted. We’re hoping that sometime in the future, we can make available a full recording of our ‘New York Morning’ show in conjunction with DCI.”

I just read DCP fusilli comments like that.

Jeff was at Myron's SCV tribute. Is it possible, just possible - that this is a case where someone chooses to make a move to change something in their life? Why does everything have to be a conspiracy theory?