Leaderboard

For the past few years, I've kept some daily stats as the season progresses. This year, I'm adding to that a summer road trip that will take me to San Antonio, Atlanta, Allentown, and Indianapolis and a daily snapshot of world class geography courtesy of the awesome map/corps flag pins set up in my office as a Christmas gift. Although it is not quite as easy to track spring training schedules as it is the rest of the season, I am going to give it a shot to get things started now. My information is only as good as the publicly available postings from the corps themselves. I hope you all enjoy!

That was a pretty good stream of consciousness right there. I agree with some of it, and disagree with some of it. But enjoyed all of it.

Did you forget one of the Blues?

I keep hearing the theme music for Game of Thrones when looking st the map and logo flags

Well, that happened.

Due process? What are you talking about? A criminal charge? I thought this was about rules set forth by a private organization. You break them, you get the boot. What due process are you talking about? I must be missing the point. It's not like DCI is putting on a trial.

Well, I posted my predictions on Facebook. I might as well post it on here. 1- Santa Clara Vanguard 2- Blue Devils 3- The Cavaliers 4- Boston Crusaders 5- Carolina Crown 6- Bluecoats 7- Phantom Regiment 8- The Cadets 9- Blue Knights 10- Madison Scouts 11- Crossmen 12- Mandrains I am more than likely going to be wrong since The Cavaliers are going to win their 8th championship this summer.... :)

IMO SCV 89 should not have been treated any differently than any of the others. There was no punishment for marching those members throughout the season. No fees returned or placement forfeited. Yeah it was good that SCV reported themselves, but it was going to get reported because the word was out. SCV just did it before someone else got the chance to. Which brings me back to the DCI policy. Is the activity really serious about this and why no outline of consequences for violating the policy? IMO it’s has the appearance of a knee jerk reaction. Don’t get me wrong it’s better than not having any policy in place, and this is certainly a welcome first step. Logically - at least to me - if it is important to draft the policy after 46 years, it should be equally important to include the punishment for violating the policy. It leads me to believe that perhaps some are not really disturbed about these issues and more concerned that someone got caught.

That just means you won semi-finals, not finals ;)

GO SCV! As many of y'all know, I am a green machine fan... but SCV has a special place in my heart and I greatly look forward to what ya'll may give us this summer. Just as long as a couple of y'all can give The Cavaliers a few cheers... I am good to go!

Nah. Not saying you're a bad guy. Not denying your perception of your experiences. And it's not just drum corps. But the truth is that girls are, from earliest childhood, given many, many, many, many, many more signals than boys that they're not cut out to lead. It's changing. And if you're still around when outcomes are approximately equal, you'll think back to your experiences, and you'll see the patterns that you're missing now.

Well, in this country, free speech gets a lot of leeway. If you've abused me, I have the right to say so publicly. If you haven't abused me and I say so publicly, your recourse is a lawsuit.

Bluecoats wait so long to announce their show they don't premiere it untill the next season.

Yep like the Olympic Doctor who kept molesting while under investigation 24 more were assaulted is that what you mean by knee jerk? It is what you would expect from a top down mansplaining organization Been around Drum Corps for 55 years, have not seen anything like this. DCI has totally ignored anything controversial in the past by ducking their heads in the sand and trolling posts like this. They have not handled their responsibility in todays society. What has dci ever done to promote diversity, where are the women and people of color? The kids deserve better than a hollow policy statement. DCI can not be a microcosm of society until it steps up and provides trusted leadership and guidance that todays society demands from a diverse leadership team. Who is stepping up to reimburse Cadet members who lost money on prepaid flights to the California camp? Why no top 15 in finals? Why so many redactions on the Blu-rays, could it be Chris Isaak did not want a witch getting her head chopped off while singing his song? Now Sounds of Silence is inappropriate but burning witches is OK even if it does ruin the DVD is that the new policy, no "Sounds of Silence"? Although Mandarins, Legends, Fusion Corps and Bayou City Blues playing Sounds of Silence last year was bordering on Simon & Garfunkel abuse, go figure. Anyway see you on the Fifty and don't leave your seat or you will need to fight to get it back. Is it just too hard (expensive) to protect the seats between the 35s from seat grabbers before it causes some violence and you are forced to react?

Yes. An observation. We are something like what - 7 weeks into the Post Philly Newspaper Cadets Story Era of Drum Corps. This Era is new, just like in 1984 when the Tick Era ended, the early 00's when any key Brass Era began, Electronics Era, etc. We do not know everything today that we will know one year from now

Kudos! I love it!

This is so cool !

to get through the wet weekend I put on the video of the 93 cadets at finals....####, does drum corps get much better?..innovations aside, the purity of that performance still stands out after 25 years..if they can evoke that emotion again, I won't care what they score

What are the consequences for a violation? Or did someone forget to add that part?

I hope people keep digging... I think there is more in the works and some more names will be coming out. I also am pretty confident there are at least a few so far unnamed persons with great reputations in DCI that regularly engage in sexual relations with corps members. The questions here are, how many rocks are we willing to look under, because some people will definitely be laying low and hoping for this to blow over. As an activity, it is in our interest to look everywhere that we can and permanently change our culture; make it clear that certain actions are not welcome.

DCI cannot continue without extensive oversight from some sort of central authority that outlines and enforces explicit rules for hiring and monitoring of personnel. I'm not being prescriptive, I'm being descriptive. If corps want to describe themselves as educational institutions, they need to work towards establishing the highest standards of professional practice for any educational institution, not the minimum to avoid litigation.

https://cavaliers.org/news-blog/2018/adrian-college Adrian College for pre-tour this year. The best part I see is how the first couple days are structured to focus on member health and safety. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/586f009ed482e9e80753f1ad/t/5aff4058562fa72196a9a2f1/1526677592864/2018+Orientation+Weekend+Schedule+-+Public+(1).pdf

It would be quite a circus atmosphere should he decide to go down that path. If it happens, I’ll start popping some corn.

I did. Far less than half of drum corps directors are women. It's not because women are less competent. Yes, the times they are a-changin'. But just because half of the drum corps directors 25 years from now, or whenever, will be women, doesn't mean that half of drum corps' directors now are women, or that there hasn't been a long-term bias against them, not just in drum corps but in society as a whole.

GO GREEN MACHINE!

I hear this argument often. The fact of the matter is there are fewer females over the years because fewer females want these positions. I usually say they are a lot smarter. Even in the guard world, there are far less female instructors ( especially heading a program ) This does not mean there is less talent among the female gender it is just that many choose different paths, don't want to dedicate the time, etc etc.. Was there and maybe still a " boys club mentality" sure to some degree. That mostly is just among some which in many cases are just threatened by ANY talent more than their own, male or female. How do I know what I said here is true? I have spent decades hiring, firing, seeking new talent out, offering opportunities to all genders. This at least has been my experience .Now keep in mind we aren't talking an industry with millions of jobs and opportunity. With the merger of Drum Corps, band, sound sport winter percussion and guard and the crossover of almost everyone involved YES there has been more to offer today.

Wouldn’t someone who doesn’t go after what they want because they felt discouraged be a bad leader anyway? What evidence of this discouragement do you have? Equal opportunity does not mean equal outcome. I know of a few female band directors that could be corps directors that are too busy winning State and National Championships.

Good for Blue Devils and Academy for working to move drum corps into the 21st century then. But how many corps directors are women? If that number is less than 40%, as I believe it is, that suggests there has been some historical bias in the activity, albeit one that is non-explicit and for the most part not consciously intended, that assumes women just can't hack it, which manifests in discouraging them from ever getting on a leadership track.

Prior to the #MeToo movement, lots of victims' lives, over many decades, were ruined, but we just didn't know it, because all too often the default assumption among the public and among those to whom offenders should have been reported, was that accusers were lying or at best, that such abuse was no big deal. Think of George Hopkins's victims, who have been living with a private shame and anguish for so long.

Wow ... Bluecoats must be having a terrible off season!

1. Blue Devils 2. Carolina Crown 3. Santa Clara Vanguard 4. Cavaliers 5. Boston Crusaders 6. Cadets/Phantom 7. Phantom/Cadets/Blue Knights 8. Blue Knights/Phantom 9. Blue Stars 10. Madison 11. Academy 12. Crossmen 13. Mandarins 14. Troopers 15. Blue Devils B I think Crown’s show is gonna be an absolute crowd favorite, that show sounds like it has so much potential, and will beat out Vanguard (jury’s still out, hoping for a show announcement today!)! But BD is such a powerhouse... possibly another version of 2015. But SCV stays in medal competition. Boston continues to climb! I can’t wait to see their show this year, I hope it has a little more melodic content. I remember a lot of emotion from last year, but just no music that has really stuck with me. Looove the visual package though!! Uniforms have already redefined how I think of Boston, and the plumes were absolutely great, I hope they continue the minimalistic but still traditional style. Hard to say with the 6-8 because I feel like cadets will have a very strong emotional response to what happened this offseason and will stop at nothing to show the world what they are made of. But, Phantom’s show announcement made me more excited than any so far (maybe a little biased) buuuut their reportoire is absolutely fantastic and I think the combination of more experience and the coming of Brad Toth from BK will have them roaring. Because BK lost him, and I feel like have a tough show concept, the blue Knights won’t do quite as well this year. Dont know as much about the rest, but I really hope to see Academy return! Many of us a year ago this time predicted a year out of finals, and then a return. I hope this is the case!! Finals experience will beat out the hopeful mandarins.

Wouldn't be surprised with that one lol

Like a good Cavies fan. :)

Selective outrage

There’s the apologist who believe the accused should remain anonymous. So I’ve been told. Anyway back on topic - policy without consequences?

How long before this thread is closed? I guess we just don't have the stomach to discuss difficult issues on this website.

May 19, 2018 It's a big day for corps to move in: Blue Devils - Concord, CA Genesis - West, TX Madison Scouts - Trafalgar, IN Santa Clara Vanguard - Santa Clara, CA Blue Devils is the clear #1 corps in the Lucas Oil Stadium era with six #1 finishes out of nine years and never falling below the silver medal. Genesis is the first non-finalist 2017 corps to move into spring training. The corps has been very consistent in its recent placements whether in Open or World class in the 22-23 range for the past five seasons. Madison Scouts have been performing below its LOS average (10.8) for the past two years (13th and 12th). Santa Clara Vanguard has the highest average LOS performance (4.7) without a gold medal. With its highest LOS performance in 2017 (#2), is 2018 the year?

As a Naval Officer, there’s a difference though. The Navy is big on public discipline. If things like this happen in the Navy (and they do), heads will roll. And the Navy disciplines it’s leaders publicly for all to see. Ship commanding officers who get caught in inappropriate relationships are made famous for it, and not after a lengthy legal process. After Tailhook ALL Officer promotions were held up until you could prove that you weren’t there. If you were there, you were done.(I wasn’t there!)

Did Aristotle believe dragons existed? /obscurantism

Thanks for those insights. I worked for an air show at the time, more or less by accident, and some of my coworkers, who had a longer history in the field, were pretty defensive about Tailhook, and "boys will be boys", and "these men are expected to give their lives for their country, and such people have needs", and so forth.

All public educators in every state are mandatory reporters for acts of neglect or abuse towards minors. Zero sections or amendments to the US Constitution make it illegal for a DCI corps/non-profit to hire George Hopkins right now. Think about that, and look at what you just said.

This is a great topic. In 2014 both OC and BC played Hymn of Axciom. Of course the Coats had an AMAZING show that year so all the attention for that beautiful, luscious ballad went to them and OC's version was mentioned only as a comparison. I felt that OC's version was never judged on its own. I really feel this hurt them because they were so stoked about that ballad. Granted I was a total OC homer that year. It was my son's age out year! But it still hurts today. Just sayin'... (Edit: I don't know what I was thinking by saying this happened in 2012.. was of course 2014. I'm losing my marbles apparently.)

agree to a point as one falsely accused. In fact my biggest issue isn't what Joel did, pathetic as it is...it's how Fred wasn't open and honest with the members and parents about it

How could anyone ever possibly know what percentage of reports are false? The majority of these things cannot be proven either way. I suspect only a very small percentage of false reports can be proven to be false, and no one is going to record it as false if they don't know one way or the other, so of course there aren't going to be many records of many false reports.

I think it’s because women are smart enough to say no way

Terri, that's kind of where I'm at on this whole thing. I'm not a Crossmen alum, but have several good friends who are... and I am part of the Crossmen Alumni and Friends project that happened last summer in Allentown and is scheduled again for this summer. I met Fred and his wife through this, and they are two of the nicest people I can ever hope to meet. I completely disagree with the decision to hire this Moody guy and to keep him on staff in light of his background. But I can certainly understand why people have no personal animosity toward Fred. IMO he's a good man who made a bad mistake, with the benefit of hindsight being 20/20.

I've hidden a handful of posts due to their personal attack back and forth. PLEASE keep this important thread on topic, so it does not have to be closed.

I heard that SQUIRREL has declared Class A for 2018.

Thanks to all who offered support! I just heard his last workout before move ins tomorrow in Detroit. He’s well on his way to full recovery. And he’s in play for some featured musician roles in this year’s show. Of course that’s still up to the staff, but his Mom and I are poised for the “biggest” season of his Drum Corps experience!

The drum line had videos up from camp on Twitter I think. I’ll go look and see if I can find them.