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Cadets 2018 are a massive breath of fresh air also because there is a director who has now moved the focus on what TRULY makes Cadets great...the members, the alumni, the staff and the volunteers.

This is true, I did research on this. I've found that my favorite corps wins through hard work, determination, and excellent performance. When they don't win...I looked into it and discovered that 100% of the time it's all about politics.

If Fred goes to finals, gotta buy that man a beer or six! It’s nice getting to watch my son when I can’t get to the shows. posted from the DrumScorps app

DING, DING, DING, GIVE THE MAN A CIGAR... Here in lies the heart of the matter that so many on this thread fail to realize or understand! Responsible and successful strategically smart companies and organizations ferociously protect their brand! This is done because intelligent leaders understand and dearly appreciate the history, blood, sweat and tears it took to build their precious and highly fragile brand to the heights of success! Furthermore, responsible and deeply circumspect leaders of such organizations realize that without their brand, they have nothing! And, THIS is the unforgivable travesty and sin that's been perpetrated upon the astounding legacy and memory of the once great Madison Scouts...For years now, the current leadership group from top to bottom who are responsible (CK, DP, Board President and Board) have irresponsibly failed to not only protect Madison's hard fought brand, but have failed to grow and perpetuate it! One can only conclude via their actions of years of dysfunctionality in product, placement, current feeder corps status, confusion of home location, antipathy towards alumni, public statements, PC social engineering, and now the push to go coed to name a few; that It leads one to believe that those who were tasked to protect, understand and build upon Madison's brand have not only failed the protection of the brand, but seemingly never defined it or appreciated it to begin with!...They have miserably failed our legacy. There's nothing there anymore that screams...This Is Madison! And, for those who would knee jerk and say, "all you want to do is take Madison back to the stone ages"...you fail to understand the makeup and importance of a brand. It's the understanding and defining of those irrefutable and non-negotiable unique qualities that have culminated in the mystique of Madison...It's the lightning in the bottle that you protect, nourish and grow brighter. Madison was once a destination and a benchmark. Madison used to be at the pinnacle of awe, power, finesse and the definition of what it meant to be "a drum corps fans dream"...No more, No more. You know who you are...You were given a solemn responsibility.

She is the furthest person responsible though for why the Madison Scouts currently find themselves where they currently are. She is an outstanding musician, plays her solo exceedingly well in the show. This is her 1st year marching in DCI, and I hope she returns again, if age eligible. I enjoy listening and watching her perform her brass solos in this season's Madison's Scouts production, a show she did not personally design.

I disagree with this sentiment in the strongest possible manner. He was (and remains) a narcissist - it was and remains ALL ABOUT HIM. It's all about the kids was his "cover story" - He was also a horrific leader, had bad taste, extremely poor judgement AND let's not forget, allegedly a sexual predator who fostered a hostile (at best) work environment & couldn't build and manage a revenue stream to save his life. He also drove off countless volunteers, alumni , donors & staff. I personally gave less and less over the past decade, shifting from direct giving to membership sponsoring - due to his behavior and decision making. Until in 2017 I gave ZERO. Most of us were gone by that point. He was resting on the strength of the Cadets 3-peat to continue to draw staff and membership for decades, and the more distant memory the "Cadet revolution" became, the less frequent the championships, the harder this became. That resulted in 2016 & 2017. Then #metoo empowered people to speak up Unfortunately it wasn't "his" vision or talent that gave them that 3-peat - it was Zingali, Prime, Twiggs, the members etc... He long forgot that. And frankly I think a lot of us forgot that too. Do not erase him from conversation or discussion. Let's keep it fresh and in mind as we go forward - VERY important we do. Cadets 2018 are a massive breath of fresh air - not just in programming and performance - but especially in the sense that "anything and everything" is possible during 2018 and beyond. All because the narcissist who claimed it was "all about the kids" was called out and driven out.

I was just thinking of how sad I’ll be on 8/11. You can buy dvds and all that but it’s not the same as it being right in front of you.

Spirit is Atlanta is for real!! Really loved their show posted from the DrumScorps app

Also the strongest show I’ve seen from Spirit in a while. I’m impressed every year with how much better these corps get!

"Forgetting it's Madison" is precisely why so many are furious right now. That should NEVER be the case. To throw out everything that is Madison Scouts, to totally lose your identity for the sake of conforming to the activity makes me sick. There is no reason Scouts couldn't maintain their identity and still be modern, exciting AND competitive. Instead the admin has gone to the complete opposite end of the tradition spectrum...and it may kill this corps.

There are lessons for all to learn, to be sure, but there is no sin in wanting to believe the best of someone.

Have a great show tonight Cadets.

Congrats to Bloo (I love their show this year) but also to Boston for essentially holding serve on the hottest act in DCI right now

Congrats to the Cadets for breaking 80 !

Let's go!!! posted from the DrumScorps app

BFJ is s fictional characterization which combines the back flip gold shorts character that defeated “Adonis” in the 2016 show with the Jesus in the 2017 show. The same member played both. The Jesus character never actually back flipped however they were both uniquely bad ideas. The member himself was great. The creative ideas were horrific, so I combined them and coined the term backflip Jesus the rest is history

This sounds like a terrible situation and a horrifyingly unprofessional guy, but a garbage human is a garbage human no matter how old they are. No need to imply more by than that by an unnecessary mention of his generation.

Boston seems to be the talk of the town. Go on another top corps thread and Boston comes up. Way To Go!

Some Boston alums/ fans, and other DCI fans favorite :... the bold and brassy You Know What Visual from 2014:

DCP in a nutshell

it really must be seen live to really understand i know that's true of pretty much all of dci, but this is a truly visceral experience live

Yes. It was bad enough losing 27th Lancers, Kilts, Muchachos, Bridgemen, Kingsmen, Guardsmen, Freelancers, & about 300 other corps...but losing the Madison Freaking Scouts...one of the oldest and most storied corps in this activity would be devastating.

The longer the season goes the more I see myself pulling for the Cadets!

Others too, of course.. top tier Corps are known for such. Not much separation as the moment with Corps 1-6.. 3 points roughly or so. Great season of competition so far, and the performances up and down the DCI ladder are terrific this season, as well, imo

Bloooooo! 85.3! Undefeated!

Spirit got a 76.1 - nice jump!

What a great show tonight, I’m happy this isn’t the last time I’ll see these shows.

Haven’t been to finals since it was at the University of Maryland in the late 90’s. Driving the 13 hours to get to Indianapolis this year. posted from the DrumScorps app

Dude's gonna be hammered... lol

Powerful performances tonight.

Thanks @boxingfred!

@boxingfred periscoping

And I’ll be there!

BD did this same loop last year. Didn't hurt them any. They simply kicked butt the whole season the way SCV is doing THIS year. SCV has done this arm of tour several years in the past. The pacific northwest, Utah, Colorado - is hardly a 'backwater loop'. Back in 2011, Cadets did this arm also, and won gold. And yes, they were scheduled to come out west this year originally but cancelled. BK has been along for the ride as well. They aren't exactly chopped liver. Perhaps you're just upset that SCV is scoring higher than your corps of choice and you're looking to blame, I don't know, a region?

Onward and upward, BAC! ••|•|••• ♥ Ro-ah ~

19 days since their first performance, CT will be performing their production of Event Horizon at DCI Northern Kentucky in Alexandria KY.

In all honesty, it depends on if your favorite corps wins or not. :) Mike

That's some good **** right there!

Great job MCDC I'll see you again in Indy!! posted from the DrumScorps app

For Bloo, with the style of music this year, expect lots of small additions like tonight's. and then of course the entire closer was already written at the beginning of the year and they haven't even rolled that out yet!

Pardon me for piling on, but last night I was just thinking about how absolutely ridiculous the whole Statues crap was from beginning to the bitter end. That was, for me, the single worst drum corps show concept ever put on the field in the modern era. How anyone with ANY drum corps experience at all could think that was a good idea makes me utterly dumbfounded to this very day.

That’s the best show I’ve ever seen from Jersey Surf. Wow!

@George Dixon was a critical voice when it was called for. Remember, he coined the term "Back-flip Jesus".

My first live viewing as well...actually my first viewing AT ALL. As in all years I avoid viewing online videos of shows until I see them live. Ahhh the Sevierville show....yes it used to be a regular stop on the DCI tour....my band director took me to my first show in Sevierville in 1985 and I’ve been hooked ever since....I miss Sevierville but Tennessee is lucky to have had the Nashville/Murfreesboro show and the Atlanta regional nearby. Lots of great shows within reasonable driving distance of TN. posted from the DrumScorps app

First off, I love Jersey Surf's uniforms this year. You can quibble about the 3/4 sleeves and and lack of headgear, but they are bold and clean from the stands ... what uniforms SHOULD be ... and certainly go with their shown theme perfectly, unlike some corps' uniforms that don't really compliment their theme at all. That said ... am I only the only one seeing a bit of Star Trek here? Sorry, percussion ... chances are you'll be killed before Indy.

As long as Blue Devils are in existence, no one will ever "run away". They have to claw the titles out of BD's grasp ever year. But I get your point.

https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/five-at-four/drums-across-the-smokies-brings-world-class-musicians-to-east-tennessee/51-572922985 NBC local tv news covered the contest yesterday (link above) They same affiliate is visiting the Cadets rehearsal today and should file an additional report

Yeah that was pretty rough. I felt bad for Kevingamin sitting a few seats to my left trying to find a way to give DCP a play by play with his laptop. It was also incredibly awkward that the teenage girl behind me was REALLY tall and had her legs halfway wrapped around me.... She felt bad and was a little embarrassed lol.