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This might be the most douchey post I've ever read. Good lord are you making a *lot* of assumptions.

Kurt Jull will return in 2018! (For those who don't know, he had a significant hand in designing the Scouts' extremely successful mid-late '90s shows.) http://www.madisonscoutslive.com/mainsite/2017/09/kurt-jull-joins-scouts-design-team/

BK announced their new Brass Caption Head way back on September 5th: Chad Pence, who was Boston's BCH from 2011 to 2013.

Noooooo! Good pickup for Regiment but I was hoping for more great things developing at BK. I guess we have to see who BK brings on.

I disagree, and argue that nowadays - most of the student body is happy to support their friends in other activities. High School kids these days are a lot different than they were even 10-12 years ago.

Looks like Brad Toth will be leading the brass caption in 2018!

Gatekeeping When someone takes it upon themselves to decide who does or does not have access or rights to a community or identity. "I love punk bands like Green Day!" "Ugh, they're not even punk. They totally sold out." "Oh man, I love Harry Potter. I am such a geek!" "Hardly. Talk to me when you're into theoretical physics."

So because there has been so much off-topic blather on the "Staff Merry-Go-Round 2018" thread, I've decided to start a comprehensive thread of staff changes that you can reference over the entire offseason. That being said, PLEASE keep discussion on this thread related strictly to confirmed staff announcements. That means you are more than welcome to post links that confirm 2018 staffs or staff changes and voice your own opinions on new/exiting/returning staff members, but let's not spread any staff rumors (no matter how realistic they may seem) or get carried away over anyone's opinions. Mods, please pin this thread to the top and monitor this thread very closely according to the standards set in the paragraph above. Thank you. Finally, I know it's the World Class thread, but do feel free to share any notable Open Class staff changes as well. Also, feel free to let me know if I missed anything or made any other mistakes with the OP. (Special thanks to frontensemble.com for supplying us with the corps logos for easy reference.) Bluecoats Michael Raiford will be the corps' new Scenic Designer. Lindsay Kusmierczak replaces Shavon Garcia as the Color Guard Caption Head. Source: http://bluecoats.com/2017/10/raiford-kusmierczak-join-2018-bluecoats-staff/ Blue Devils Blue Knights Chad Pence replaces Brad Toth as the Brass Caption Head. All other design team members and caption heads are intact. Sources: http://ascendperformingarts.org/blue-knights-announce-design-team-caption-heads-for-2018-season/ http://ascendperformingarts.org/blue-knights-name-chad-pence-brass-caption-head-for-2018/ Blue Stars Jim Wunderlich replaces Frank Sullivan as the Brass Arranger, and has also been named Music Coordinator. All other design team members and caption heads are intact. Source: http://www.bluestars.org/story.php?story_id=874 Boston Crusaders Carolina Crown Colts Jade Bouza replaces Brandon Smith as the Color Guard Caption Head. All other caption heads, as well as the Program Coordinator, are intact. Richard Hinshaw replaces Ralph Stewart as the Visual Designer. Daniel Wiles will be a visual design consultant. Sources: http://colts.org/2017_199.html?platform=hootsuite http://colts.org/2017_200.html Crossmen All design team members and caption heads are intact. Source: http://www.crossmen.org/blogs/-br--br--nbsp--nbsp--nbsp-news/2017/10/23/crossmen-design-team-to-return-in-2018 Genesis Chuck Naffier replaces Dallas Bayless as the Brass Arranger. Source: http://www.genesisdbc.org/staff-directory.html Jersey Surf Madison Scouts Chris Tomsa is the new Brass Program Director. Mark Trulson and Sean Phelan replace Scott Oliver as the Brass Co-Caption Heads. Kurt Jull replaces KC Michel as the Program Coordinator/Production Designer. All other design team members and caption heads are intact. Sources: http://www.madisonscoutslive.com/mainsite/about/staff-2/ http://www.madisonscoutslive.com/mainsite/2017/09/chris-tomsa-lead-scouts-brass-program/ http://www.madisonscoutslive.com/mainsite/2017/09/sean-phelan-mark-trulson-named-brass-caption-heads/ Mandarins All design team members are intact. Tim Snyder replaces Chris Tomsa/Mark Trulson as the Brass Caption Head. All other caption heads are intact. Sources: https://www.facebook.com/mandarins.sacramento/videos/1484843558275249/ https://www.facebook.com/mandarins.sacramento/photos/a.546609405432007.1073741829.324307517662198/1491238494302422/?type=3 Oregon Crusaders Mark Moreno replaces ??? as the Drill Designer, and has also been named Visual Coordinator. Colton Hines will be the corps' new Sound Designer. All other design team members are intact. Lisa Tatum replaces Tim Snyder as the Brass Caption Head. Henry Gillard replaces Mike Stevens as the Percussion Caption Head. (Stevens will remain with the corps as the Percussion Arranger.) Kelsey King returns as the Color Guard Caption Head. Sources: http://oregoncrusaders.org/corps-news/oc18-design-team http://oregoncrusaders.org/corps-news/oc18-brass-team http://oregoncrusaders.org/corps-news/oc18-perc-team http://oregoncrusaders.org/corps-news/oc18-guard-team Pacific Crest Ezekiel Lanser replaces Pete Lucero as the Battery Percussion Arranger. Matt Lackey replaces Seth Murphy as the Staff Coordinator. Source: http://www.pacific-crest.org/2017/09/2018-design-team/ Phantom Regiment Brad Toth replaces Christian Carichner as the Brass Caption Head. Stephanie Chavez replaces Lindsey Kusmierczak as the Color Guard Caption Head. Tim Newburn will be the corps' new Visual Coordinator. Ralph Stewart replaces Mark Moreno as the Visual Designer. Will Pitts replaces Wes Cartwright as the Program Coordinator. Sources: http://regiment.org/toth-hired-as-pr-brass-caption-head/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter http://regiment.org/three-named-to-visual-leadership-positions-at-phantom-regiment-2/ Pioneer Andy Grindle replaces Randall Bennett as the Brass Caption Head. Source: https://pioneer-corps.org/staff/brass.html Santa Clara Vanguard Michael Gaines replaces Pete Webber as the Drill Designer. Michael Rosales will be the corps' new Lead Choreographer. All other design team members are intact. Source: https://www.scvanguard.org/2018-scv-design-staff/ Seattle Cascades Lewis Norfleet is out as the Brass Arranger. Kyle Thompson is out as the Brass Caption Head. Source: https://www.facebook.com/SeattleCascadesDrumCorps/posts/1173094926125603 Spirit of Atlanta Matt Jordan replaces Tonya Mashburn as the Front Ensemble Arranger and Coordinator. Eric Brown is out as Percussion Caption Head. Chance Livar replaces Jen Karp as the Color Guard Designer. Roman Montoya will be the corps' new Movement Specialist. All other design team members are intact. Jeff Nelson will be the corps' new Executive Director. Sources: http://spiritdrumcorps.org/2017/09/15/design-team-introduced-for-2018-season/ http://spiritdrumcorps.org/2017/09/17/spirit-of-atlanta-appoints-new-executive-director/ The Academy Lindsey Vento replaces Michael Townsend as the Program Coordinator. Ben Hylton replaces Michael Larkin as the Brass Caption Head. All other design team members and caption heads are intact. John Meehan and Kevin Ronan will serve as Brass Consultants. Sources: https://www.arizonaacademy.org/3562 https://www.arizonaacademy.org/3586 The Cadets Most design team members and caption heads are intact. Shane Gwaltney will be the corps' new Design Director. Sam Watson will be the corps' new Staff Coordinator. Sources: https://yea.org/news/1769-cadets-staff-returning-in-2018 https://yea.org/news/1792-cadets-add-to-design-team-for-2018 The Cavaliers Kevin LaBoeuf replaces Michael Martin as the Brass Caption Manager. Source: https://cavaliers.org/news-blog/cavaliers-welcome-leboeuf-to-lead-2018-brass-team Troopers All caption heads are intact. Adam Sage replaces Marc Whitlock as the Artistic Director. All other design team members are intact. Sources: http://troopersdrumcorps.org/aboutus/educational-team/caption-heads https://www.troopersdrumcorps.org/single-post/DesignTeam2018

sometimes you can get the best of both worlds in the same show. i doubt you'd agree, but it's true

I can't imagine having time enough to perfect two shows in the small time available for marching band at any school I have worked with since 1971. We provide a lot of support for the team and cheerleaders playing pep tunes n the stands throughout the game. We do our one and only field show at half-time. Reading here there are a few who create two shows, and I know one HS near me that does it, but not any band I have taught. To each their own.

Slightly OT, but funny - my son said that during summer athletics conditioning camp a player said something about "band nerds." The coach stopped everyone and said, "we don't call them band nerds, because - how many of you in here play in the band?" Over half the room, son included, raised their hands. Mike

So you are meeting them half-way with your half-time show; great!! So to me, if this type of thing happens at all the games where the band is deprived of performing at halftime each week there would be a huge problem; or if the athletic department said that the band could not go away to contests on Saturday but must construct all of the shows based around football support, that would also be a very huge problem. But lest we forget this is a Football Game we are talking about here; a Friday Night activity for the sake of a few kiddos in protective gear knocking each other around and scoring some points in hopes of eventually winning the scholastic Football State Title, it is a night for the community to rally around school spirit and support the football team; a competitive activity for the sake of football where all else, even the band, should fall in line behind that endeavor, and for those few hours, all should support the football team. HOWEVER..... Saturday, on the other hand, now Saturday is all about the Band!!! Saturday is the day to have the activity for the sake of artistic and musical competitive endeavors of the Band; a day for the community and school to rally around and support the Band; a day for the sake of Band where all else should fall in line behind that endeavor; and for that day, all should support the Band. And for the schools that I have contracted with all around the nation where Friday is ‘all about’ football and Saturday is ‘all about’ the band, a very healthy balance exists between the athletic departments and the music departments.

Still plenty of Drum Corps left to see here in Europe DCUK this weekend and then the European Drum Corps Championships from Holland on the 28th Sept .

It looks like, via facebook, the whole blue knights brass staff has jumped ship to Phantom Regiment. Brad Toth leading as the caption head!

Congratulations for the 2017 Crossmen uniform winning in this "best uniform" poll: http://www.flomarching.com/article/61927-which-2017-dci-finals-uniform-is-your-favorite#.WcUc99VSzcs

We perform a very crowd friendly halftime show, and have a contest show as well. We are doing a Queen show for the football games, and the fight song as well. Regardless of whether that is the case, or some "other type" of show, these kids should not be denied the ability to perform in front of family, friends, and other fans at the game. Nobody would tell the football teams that we are going to do a presentation during the 2nd quarter of the game, so you may only have 5 minutes left on the clock to play the quarter. Also, the musical support should be what's being played during the game. We even take requests from the football coaches and players (within reason, and the ability to find a good arrangement, or have permission to do our own arrangement) for songs they would like to hear us play. We've even added about 7 or 8 new songs this season to play in the stands during the game.

There is no paradox. It is simple, really. No one could possibly have been in camp with the hundreds of junior corps of all time to witness how they all handled situations involving soloists interested in improvising. Therefore, the best information we will have will be anecdotal (and I do not see a pile of such anecdotes accumulating in this thread). What we do know, with absolute certainty, is that Stu will have the last word.

Tomorrow i get to watch the DCUK championships live here in eastern Europe ,both prelims,and finals FREE Should be a great showdown between Kids Grove Scouts and the Company .Starts at 12;45 my time here in Europe Prelims ,Drum show down ,then finals awards full retreat scores .

I hear ya also......totally!

Good grief; you wrote helmet but my brain initially was expecting to read 'doll'.

I work with, and have worked with, many highly competitive hs bands all across the nation as an independent contractor. The programs that are the most successful in competion, and also receive the most support/respect from their school administrations, athletic departments, and overall community, are the ones that sperate thier artistic-competitive goals from their halftime support entertainment responsibilities. One school band even receives a very healthy amount of donation capital each year from the alumni athletic associatiin for band competition expenses because they keep all the halftimes, except the last home game after the last band contest, fun and spirited and not a dress-rehearsal for the artistic competition. At that one halftime the band presents it's 'award winning' special performance and most everyone in the stands stays put for that performance then goes rather ballistic in their applause! It is all in the priorities and responsibilities.

Actually I don't care about rock music, but some people do. Playing other people's music tastes off as insignificant isn't going to help support your point. And as MikeN stated, attendance is trending upwards. Many many shows have been setting attendance records nearly every year, including World Championships. Sure, we as humans get comfortable with something we like and don't always adapt well to it changing. But drum corps is an ever-evolving activity and has been for a very very long time. We as fans have to adapt with it or walk away, or just loudly complain and wish for something to happen that definitely won't. I'm sure some people walked away when the pit was grounded or when asymmetrical drill became the norm or, goodness, the switch from G to Bb. But as drum corps is ever-evolving so is the fan base. There are ALWAYS new people coming into the fray that have had their introduction to marching music in the high school band world. These are the people who make up the performing members and a large swath of the paying spectators. So even if a few fans walk away there are way more that are ready to fill those seats.

It is a Football game played on a Football field at a Football halftime. The band enters the field at the half and instead of supporting the school and team with halftime music full of school spirit instead performs ‘Le Faune court dans les bois’ a-la BOA esoteric style. Then ya’all wonder why the band gets no support and respect back from the school administration and athletic department.

I don't know if once regular practice hereabouts is kept up nowadays, but at 60-odd high school football games I attended in the late 80s and early 90s here in Ohio, I can't remember one where both bands didn't play at halftime.

When Football teams get the majority of funding from school districts compared to the arts, then the LEAST a marching band can get is11 f###### minutes to perform their show. If you don't like the show go buy nachos or take a ####. That's what most people do during halftime anyway.

This is why we can't have nice things. Oh well. Let the multi-page "Stu vs. DCP" commence...

Is your school to be reviewed soon for renewing State Education re-accreditation or regional accreditation such as Middle States, New England States, Atlantic, Gulf Coast or a number of subsets whose standards mean a lot to colleges accepting future students? http://www.msche.org/ I've sat on some of the reviewing boards from each side of the table and know that when a criticism of failure to communicate between departments or between school admin and departments is raised, the echoes of such criticisms are heard fff by such accreditors. Reminding the ad min and school boards that the co-curricular co-operative interplay among departments scores highly with such accreditors who do look at the number of students involved in each program and the faculty rankings for those same programs becomes quite influential. Unfortunately, techs and noobie teachers don't get to be heard as loudly as program directors and department heads. But here even the fly gets noticed. Now I admit that my Dad was a school district athletic director for 40 years who coached several students who made the professional leagues. But besides Dad playing in the very first NCAA basketball Final Four (for Villanova) and professional baseball for the then NY Giants until WWII broke out, he also played the violin and got his Ph.D. at NYU. My Dad always gave great positive attention to the local band, the local drum corps, and the winter guard. Not all coaches are like that. (He did raise another son who did become a football coach in Texas and who never understood his brother who majored in half time.) Good luck.

Someone has entirely too much time on their hands waiting for the first show announcement.

I wonder what would happen if you wore their shirt with the eye on the side into your optometrist exam.

while distance is an issue for many, Rochester is my favorite,..............low cost, .............no competing interests as the city is largely vacant labor day weekend,......................... nice accomodating people everywhere, ........................ I am in town for drum corps so I have little interest in tourist attractions,................................. historic drum corps region, with ticket prices at the level they are, no matter where else you go, local, non-fans are unlikely to attend,.....................easy place to get around,..............

I haven't been a big fan of Blue Stars the last two years because of the story/show. (They have been over-propped, too.) But the music plays in my head maybe more than any other corps. Especially this years'. Melodic, well-played, just plain enjoyable. There were marching moments this year that were terrific to watch, too. For me, the couples/love story theme grew tiresome. (I will gladly vote for a three-year moratorium on any hint of couples finding and losing each other on the field.) So I'm anxious to see BS bring their talent and music together in a much less labored show design. If not, I'll anyway still look forward to what I expect will be great music in 2018.

Thought some might can relate and get a good laugh. You know you are a drum corps nerd when you are driving through a construction zone and suddenly you catch yourself looking for that Crown brass line because the torn up concrete formers look just like Crowns "deconstructed field lines" laying on the side of the road. Boy is it a long time until June!

You know you're a drum corps nerd when every time you see anything that even hints of pageantry - in any form of media - you think, that would look great in a show! You know you're a drum corps nerd when you immediately make a mental brass arrangement out of a catchy snippet of music you're pretty sure you haven't heard any corps do. You know you're a drum corps nerd when it is early September and you're still looking at DCP.

This thread has gone off the rails. iClose.

Live look into Bobby

Psychotic

Stream of conscious thoughts about amplification, electronics, vocal music, and judging from a tired mind at 1 am: At the heart of any competitive activity is the idea of a level playing field. If we look at two other subjective artistic sports, figure skating and gymnastics, the US and China will tend to have more resources, funds for better coaches, etc. than for example Bulgaria or The People's Republic of Bananarama. However, for the actual things the athletes are judged on, the balance beams, size of ice rink, etc.... those things are the same for everyone. Those are also visual things. It's hard to hide falling off the balance beam or missing a triple jump on the ice. Audio can be more tricky. In other threads, allegations of electronic augmentation of brass sounds have been made including - tuners strapped to the bells of horns, synths doubling brass, brass playing the root and fifth of a chord with a synth playing the third, only the best players being amped during full ensemble moments, etc. (Btw, if making these allegations, I would hope the accuser would actually name names of which groups he believes are doing this). "Thunderous goo" is sadly a term that needs no explanation since it's become so common. The thoughts below are for Music Analysis and Music GE judges in the press box. On the field, these shouldn't be an issue. 1) Regarding brass specifically-WHAT exactly is being judged from an ensemble standpoint? "That's easy, Wolfgang. The quality of brass playing is being judged." Ok. If some or all of the allegations above are true, than is the quality of the entire brass ensemble really being judged? IF any corps, whether Pioneer or Blue Devils or anyone else, is doing some of the things others have referenced (or perhaps other types of audio enhancements nobody is aware of), how can the true integrity of the judging system be maintained? In a Music Analysis role if the entire soundscape is open to evaluation- if A & E is utilized, should judges be required to receive training from professional sound engineers (at DCI's expense) in proper use and best practices of amplification and electronics? There are standards of brass pedagogy and percussion pedagogy (and singing.. . see next point). Is there such a thing as industry-standard "proper" uses for amplification and electronics? If so, whether a corps uses A & E (and to what extent), if we're trying to determine the best in the world, and if these things are used in the audio design of the programs, shouldn't the people deciding these captions be trained in best practices of the technology? 2). Speaking of singing, since this is part of the musical soundscape that a number of corps are utilizing, should DCI Music Analysis and Music GE judges also have training in proper vocal pedagogy and performance? If we're picking between the best apples and best oranges, and the differences are subtle and minute, why shouldn't vocal music be subjected to the same standard scrutiny? I'm not suggesting a separate judge or subcaption for vocals..... not everyone will use them and the thought of a Vocal Analysis judge at a drum corps competition is as absurd as the thought of Brandt Crocker announcing the Best A&E award after the 6th place corps is announced..... However, as I understand Music Analysis and Music GE, if a corps chooses to use this as part of their music package, and if these 2 captions are to evaluate the entire soundscape per their caption descriptions, then it only seems logical that the people judging this be required to have at least some formal training on proper techniques, vocal pedagogy, etc. so that those groups that choose to incorporate singing will have a trained evaluation of this aspect.... unless we're just going to say anything besides brass and percussion, while legal, will for practical purposes be ignored in the Music Analysis and Music GE captions. 3) Amplification - There are legitimate areas of disagreement among the DCI fandom. Beating the heck out of marimba to be heard over a 70 member hornline seems (to me) to be a good argument for amplification. Creating a jazz club or big band sound with a mic'ed and amped flugelhorn solo, I get it. The question is- is there a line, and what should it be? I don't have access to music tapes, but are all (or even a few) judges nailing corps for balance issues due to bad amplification or amplification failures. ... For example, if I see 12 - 16 tubas and only hear the bass synth, the musician in me feels that is a balance problem. If I see 12 - 16 tubas and a world class corps is playing a held fortissimo chord, then I expect to hear the tubas. 4) Integrity of the system- To me, this is where the rubber hits the road. IF corps are using some of the tricks outlined above, then it seems to me in a competitive activity where one effect (intentional or not) is to blur the line between the acoustic sounds made by the players, and recorded samples of the corps dubbed over a FFF chord, or mic'ing the top couple players on each part, etc, this gives the judge a distorted picture of what he/she is supposed to be evaluating. To take this to an absurd extreme- if a hornline puts the horns to the lips and doesn't play a note but a professionally mixed recording of them is pumped through speakers, while they would get killed on the field, what would the Music Analysis judge do if they are supposed to judge what they hear, and if what they hear is the corps on the field…. Just recorded at an earlier time, edited, and professionally mixed and pumped through the highest quality system a corps could afford? 5) Limits? - I don't believe it's realistic to put the cork back in the bottle, but that doesn't necessarily mean the audio portion of a show has to be a free-for-all. Here are things I would like to see made illegal with a large penalty for violations. Even if these things alleged are not yet being done, be proactive and encode them in the rules. *A ) Any type of tuning device will be illegal during the judged performance. (if a corps wants to use a tuner before the judged performance begins, ok. Once the corps is introduced, then no.) * B) No doubling of any brass part by an electronic instrument whether by a live player or sampled recording. (Electric instruments like electric guitars, electric violins, vibraphones, etc. are ok. This is specifically dealing with electronic keyboards doubling any brass part. This would allow the judges in the press box to make a better evaluation of the quality of brass playing they hear without any other brass mimic sounds to interfere with the sonority. The use of the vocoder was not doubling. The way it was used would still be a-ok). *C). No parts of a chord played by the brass shall be performed by an electronic instrument. (This needs to be better worded I admit. If the allegation of horn lines playing root/fifth and synth playing the third are correct, this would make that practice illegal. Note this is not technically doubling if the brass are not playing those notes in a chord, but if this is being done, it distorts the sound being judged in the press box by giving basically an aural illusion.) *D). <<<< unsure how to word this at 1am but what follows is a description of something that imo should be prohibited >>>> The practice of amplifying only a few of the top players in a tutti section seems to be the opposite of integrity. Stripping away rationalizations, at the end of the day it amounts to trying to fool the judges in the press box by giving an illusion of the entire horn line projecting a certain sound, when in reality it gives an Animal Farm-esque quality (all sounds from the hornline to the press box are equal…. But some are more equal than others). If this is done, it is like the DCI version of a pop singer's recording being autotuned. It's her voice, but not her "true" voice without artificial aids. My beef is if there are 20 trumpets, 20 baris, etc and all are playing what is obviously a tutti passage, and the top 4-6 players are getting amped a little bit above the rest of the horns, it would give a distorted version in the press box of what the actual brass sound is. This does not include obvious solo notes, as for example when Blue Devils play a FFF chord, and one lead trumpet goes up to double C to cap the chord. Also, this really isn’t what SCV did this year. Their 12 person ensemble was mic’ed but I could clearly hear when they were playing compared to the rest of the hornline. That’s one person’s thoughts at 1 am in the morning. There are different opinions, and that’s fine. Personally, I have no issue with amplification and electronics per se as long as they are within well-defined boundaries. If DCI was an exhibition-only organization, then have at it. Do whatever you want. However, since this is a competition, then I feel there should be some boundaries to maintain credibility and integrity with the adjudication, and it’s be up to the corps designers to be as creative as possible within those boundaries. It’s natural for someone with a corps to want to give their kids every competitive advantage….. but as technology progresses, shouldn’t the rules governing that technology also progress to allow the judges to compare apples to apples as much as humanly possible?

Bobby...dude. We get it. Nothing is going to change because you rant about it. We had our time. Now it's the current members time to shine. They seem to be just fine with the evolution. Just go with it. All you're accomplishing here is pissing off a bunch of people.

Snares also serve up a variety of egg and cheese items for our dining pleasure!!!

1. I agree with you 2. People would respond more positively to you if you got rid of the passive aggressive "woe is me" persecution complex.

Pull out the 1978 brass and percussion score, rewrite it for Bb/F horns, and call it some 40 year anniversary of something or other. Pair it with a modern drill and watch Phantom move into the top 6.

Govies are a bit boring. Maybe it's the music. Not their usual type of production

Govies sound a little tired to me. Maybe it's the music