BigW

Sometimes, Money is the only way some individuals or organizations feel or get any punishment for wrongdoing. Statute of Limitations likely has run out. What other recourse is there if one wants any sense of justice to occur? As other have said, regardless of the eventual outcome, a lot of dirty laundry will be aired....

Nothing, Jim. Your point is very serious.

I ran into that issue a few years ago in the MD Panhandle. HS Band brought in a fellow from WV who had to surrender his Teaching License and pay the Counseling fees for his five victims. The Chief Judge and I had a closed-door conversation with the director. We told him we knew about this cat. He said he was "keeping an eye on him". Ream will confirm if I get really upset my voice goes up about three octaves. I told the guy "YOU CAN'T KEEP AN EYE ON A GUY LIKE THAT!!!" Chief Judge nods and says, "He's right. Fire him, or we go to your band parents and tell them everything." My head's nodding like a bobblehead. He fired the guy. To direct this to this thread--- transparency is essential. Running an honest and ethical organization is essential. If you fumble, accidental or not, embarrassing or not, fess up, fix the problem and do better or if the problem was that bad- have yourself replaced by people who will do a better job. I'm of the thought here that it's been the repeated coverup and the attempt to silence anyone who's presented hard evidence, not the actual screw-up that's angered so many. And rightfully so.

Your comment reminds me of something a dear old friend who worked for the PA Attorney General's office told me about another subject: "Yah know, where I work, we call that fraud, and my boss frowns upon such things. People go to jail over that." 😼

I've actually discussed this with others. I know you're being sarcastic, but there are plenty of those folks around and available who don't have criminal records. And those I've discussed this with agree without any hesitation.

You reminded me of the folks who defended a certain former DCI Director again and again until they were arrested. You also remind me of some folks who came on here and got upset after the OSU scandal and tried to prop up their Director for their failures to treat the membership with decency. Oh, and the folks that defended another corps for harboring someone on Megan's List for years. Just look the other way at malfeasance whether personal or fiscal because it might take down a corps. Pal, I'll quote Cromwell regarding your not wanting to be here to read truths spelled out clearly: "In the name of God, GO!"

Oh, and as per some of the previous posts from others, when to die on the hill when something is worth dying for. Especially when something's flat out wrong and inexcusable.

I learned a lot of what to do and not what to do in 6 seasons about how to educate and how not to educate. How to treat people and how not to. Nuff said.

Yep. And a thank you to Chris for also pointing out the DCA audience. What can make it more generally "fan friendly"? A lot of the thing that made DCA unique have been pretty much killed over the last ten years. Other than Andrea Gwyn and the fellow at the Govies and The Tuna, what Drum Major in DCA right now has any real audience rapport? I can think of well over twenty, likely thirty DCA Drum majors that fronted their corps with panache, represented their corps well, and the audiences had real rapport with. Want a list? I'll give it if folks want one. What worries me is I'll miss someone who truly deserves to be on it. The young lady at Les Stentors this year had more personality for God's sake. at least she's sincere and wears her heart on her sleeve like Maurice Legault, and the Drum Majors at Les Metro and Les Ambassadeurs. Right now, A group could take a pole, stick an LED light and blink it to tempo and have someone with a controller change it at the right times for the corps. Let someone from the Front Ensemble count off when needed or let the Battery with a dut. Few actually conduct. What they do isn't conducting. It's keeping time like a metronome. I took enough conducting courses and performed under enough good Drum Majors and concert conductors (and bad ones too!) to know what's going on. Those individuals personify the corps, and there's little or none of that happening now. No... guess what? Communication. No such thing as an individual serving as a direct conduit from the corps to the audience anymore in terms of passion and emotion. Chris brought up the whole performer over book thought, and he's got a powerful point. I'll tell you what I know and what I think. The facts are that it happens under five percent of the time in just about any circuit. Most circuits now are encouraging people to use it when appropriate and to use it more often It's a very, very good idea and suggestion. However... at the higher levels when it is used, it usually sparks a lot of yelling. Unless the design team knows they deliberately designed the show to be very simple and to make sure it's very well performed, understood, and sold wonderfully and isn't afraid to admit this to anyone, egos get stepped on, fits are taken. Insinuations are made to the effect that 'The show's been capped! We have no chance! How dare you insult our brilliant designers! How dare you commit this travesty upon our great Corps!" I can think of some instances where Performer should have gone over book like say- 1991 to 1997 Madison and some DCA corps I'm afraid to mention here because I'm sure it would raise a rotten stink. And so, the game goes on with that issue, Chris. It's frustrating.

I'd talk about how I subtly manipulated a championship crowd at Cavalcade Championships after discovering something as I sat there, but I have to run to work.

The issue with fan reaction in DCA is a difficult one, Chris. I've talked about it in reviews. Does one think the Bucs would get any reaction in Clifton even when they deserved it? I've seen when they got crickets. Cabs at Big Sounds? I saw and heard the funeral a couple of years back when they won the week before championships. It's High School time in the audiences now. DCI is held at more 'neutral sites' now. Most corps have a broad national fanbase. Maybe DCA can develop more of that. To hinge a number based on crowd response at a DCA show at this time..... a very loaded proposition based on what's turned me off the last few years. I'd say that most judges have a feel for reaction based on the venue, and also how the crowd is laid out. There's also a real negative placed on people in the crowd from reacting at a DCA contest, especially if it's not the home team. Sit down and shut up, basically. I'd talk about how I subtly manipulated the crowd at Cavalcade Championships one year when I stumbled on something as I sat there, but I have to run to work.

It's an excellent question and thought. When that Communication subcaption started to show up, I asked questions to knowledgeable individuals. I never got a definitive, comfortable response. What I did notice was that the Communication numbers largely parroted/mirrored Effect performance numbers. The last season or two, there was some independence, but not a lot. It strikes me more as a way to weight Effect Performance numbers by a factor of two more than some kind of independent subcaption. Here's the loaded question: Isn't the areas of Effect performance intertwined with 'communication' from the performer so tightly that they should be within the same subcaption? I'd really like to hear a clear response to that that isn't smoke and mirrors and a big fat bowl of word salad served up with croutons and Balsamic vinaigrette. And don't forget my shredded cheese and Grilled salmon on top, please. To sell a program, one HAS to communicate to the audience as well as all the other hype associated with Effect.

It used to be a season where guys like Jim and I could and did compete 10-13 times a season. They COULD decide to get their acts together and be actually ready in Mid-June... but I'm not very hopeful. If they can, good! Prove me wrong!

Some of those demises were self-inflicted. Others were not. Part of the problem is the historical nature of how DCA basically was self-serving towards its members, and it was extremely difficult to crack the inner sanctum. There were plenty of corps around. Many were simply expendable. Now, there's basically no one left to expend. The corps need to be exceptionally aware of what they do as a whole for DCA and not just what is self-serving. Otherwise, it'll be 2-3 corps looking around and wondering what the hades happened.

I'll be blunt. The legacy base is aging and dying. The people who attend are mainly Family and aging alumni of the show host. Williamsport is the only exception. After what I was told happened there this year, it unfortunately appears snakebit and I'm glad I stayed at home working on my models and resting. I was reminded also that the stadium STILL is missing simple amenities like rails on the steps. It was bad enough for me when I was "healthier", but I sometimes need them after my health issues. And I'm better off and a lot younger than a lot of the attendees. We're lucky someone hasn't taken a serious tumble. I'm stunned that it meets ADA requirements and that someone hasn't forced the issue. Championships are far away from most of the base. It's a major effort to drive there except for possibly the White Sabers and Rogue's Hollow. And then, folks wonder why the attendance has suffered. The move to Indy is a move that actually makes sense for different reasons for different people. Maybe there, they find a new, younger fan base that will. re-energize things. DCA isn't really all-age anymore, unless folks watch the Mini-Corps or I and E. The visual book has become too physically demanding for anyone other than young folks. They've forced themselves away from that demographic unless the individual is ridiculously fit. Maybe because the move makes all of the Legacy corps in Jersey and PA have to actually spend money to travel to championships, it levels the playing field as some here have begged for years. It might kill off some Corps- but that remains to be seen, and things have arrived at a point they have to try something. Add to this the nasty stew of the season schedule. Look, many of us get that the complexity of the shows have increased. No one wants to remain in the basement because of weak design. It used to be that the first show was an exhibition on Memorial Day and Clifton on the first weekend of June. Then things started to compress down to Mid-June, now I sit at Hempfield and see a lot of half-baked bread in Mid-July. I suggested and implied a while ago here that DCA was narrowing itself down to a 4-5 if that week season and was pooh-poohed by someone then on staff with one of the corps and they said it was unviable. Guess what!? Do the math my friend! What was termed unviable is on the doorstep unless there's a serious and real commitment to be ready in Mid-June. There are all sorts of reasons or excuses everyone has for not being ready by mid-July right now. Indoor taking priority with Guard and Percussion members for instance. Okay. At least when they show up, they're combat ready. At least get the drill down and book complete for the Brass when the guard and percussion appear. The Bucs get it done. So do the Cabs and Bush this season, though Bush appeared very rushed on their end. Why can't anyone else get it done? I hear the reasons, I try to be understanding, but it sounds more like excuses as time goes on. That bothers me, but I've been trying to listen, be patient, and hope to see that things improve. They haven't in this regard. Thinking about this more.... the fact that there seems to be little or no accommodation between Indoor units and the DCA corps is telling. I've thought that the DCA teams for some time need to have indoor units of serious indoor affiliates so accommodations could be reached, but of course. that gets pooh-poohed by many. I'd like to see DCA survive. I think the whole thing is a last-ditch effort that's been forced on them with no other choices. I hope they make it. There'll have to be some radical re-thinking from many DCA corps, and no more excuses about how things will need to be done to keep the circuit viable. The same old, same old will result in failure. They'll have to stop saying they can't. Or they'll just have to say So Long.

Surf is very entertaining.... Look where that gets them. One has to still have some solid design principles in place. Otherwise, the Scouts become a permanent stop along the way, never a destination or goal.

As a compliment, they do more than just the basics. The show this year is very well designed. Perhaps not overwrought or overthought, but everything is well staged, paced, and coordinated. A lot of HS groups could learn a lot from dissecting this show carefully and thoughtfully. Many corps have certain goals, and not wanting to be in World Class is absolutely fine. Dreams of that kind of grandeur killed the Garden State Circuit 30 years ago and left us with only Surf and Raiders who had the budget and management infrastructure to be able to tour outside that circuit. Building character is an admirable goal. When I was trying to get up the stadium steps last fall at the Circuit championship and was struggling (relapse of my issues in August, hospitalized later that week, I'm fine now!) to get up the steps, several members of one band offered to help me. I sent them a thank you card with a note stating that character matters and that their organization obviously had members of strong character in it. If Southwind's goals are part of that, that's fantastic. Keep doing it!

Good thing that I didn't hear it too, they'd have had words with ME. It might not be top 6 DCI, but there are things to hear, things to see, and some very fine arranging and design, and those performers are working hard and are well taught. And, the shows aren't pretentious. Quite accessible.

I saw some very good 15-20 member brass sections at Dover, PA. And they were appreciated deeply by the audience. The thing that concerns me, is this- is it forced? is it a ritual just to be nice? I'm not advocating crickets. I know from someone like you, it comes from your heart. Not because you feel obliged, and that's what matters. It matters as a performer. Everyone who performed Friday at Dover earned what they got from everyone in the stands. Very genuine. No cheering sections, a very generalized fan base. As I said earlier, I've been booed by a Skyliner homer audience. Thankfully, that's not happening anymore, but those of us in that corps wear it as a badge of pride. I'd imagine the Bucs who performed at Clifton wear those crickets as a badge of pride. Killing the Audience at Big Sounds was a big deal for the Cabs that night. Standing... When I stand, it's real. The Spartans earned it from me on Friday. Just my personal feelings based on my experiences as a performer.

They're solid this year and I enjoyed them. Spartans are a whole other ball game, and if any of the Open class corps could do that, I think they're one of the definite possibilities.

Southwind doesn't really read as small, but I'm used to smaller DCA teams, I think. Southwind's quite good. The real revelation at Dover were the Spartans. WHOA!

No mayhem, but a show with a lot of that old school Quebecois charm and up0lifting lightheartedness.

Now the hard part. I was thinking of going to Williamsport but have decided, no. The fun of going to DCA (possibly DCI, we'll see Friday) shows has been finally beaten out of me and worn me down. It started many years ago at Hershey when a clown physically threatened me when I Blooed the Blue Coats after a quite well done performance by them and we nearly rumbled right there, right then, right now. If my Mom wasn't there, I'd have clocked that guy. I walked out of Hershey Stadium, put an apology note on the window of Mom's car, got in my car and swore off ever going back to a Drum Corps show ever again. My first introduction to Uncle Clem. Several years later in the mid nineties when I was working as the Assistant to the Director and Show Coordinator at a local High School the Director and Coordinator asked to go with them to Hershey. I told them what happened and told them my feelings, they basically told me they'd be my bodyguards and to come along. All I'll say is it was fun being with them. They're both special people who always treated me well. As I think about that night- Early 90's Madison was there. They blew the place up. I sat and held my feelings to myself. Heaven forbid I responded to the show and get a disapproving stare from Aunt Mabel and Uncle Clem. Think about that-the crowd becoming sterile and making it so that you're afraid to react and give the performers what they seek and what they deserve. And I'm talking 90's Scouts, for God's sake. I think I can speak for performers today about this. I've talked to them, I've been with them, and they desire a sincere and honest reaction for their efforts. I know that in over 50 DCA contests I competed in, that's what we as a corps sought. An EARNED reaction. Not an obligatory Standing O at the end at regular season DCA performances that seems to be given now which diminishes the gesture. There were times we got them and in the back of our minds, we appreciated it- but didn't feel we EARNED it. There were times we DID earn them and that crowd roar is still memorable. Bit by bit, I've been worn down by stuff like this. Sitting in Clifton a few years ago when the Bucs put on a masterful performance. Crickets at the end. At least they didn't boo them like they did Westshore at the 1982 Grand Prix. At least that's an improvement, but we laughed at the crowd and enraged them further. Especially when we won. Sweeeeeet. Big Sounds when the Cabs won the week before championships. I thought someone died in the stadium. Crickets. Funereal. God- congratulate the winner! The Cabs were GOOD that night for Pete's sake! Homerism has taken over. I feel like when I go to a show, it's like... Do you have a family member performing tonight? No!? Are you an alumni of the host corps? No!? Are you affiliated with the host High School??? No!?!?!?! Then for God's sake, what are you doing here!? Why are you clapping or standing for THEM!? How dare you say YEAH! or clap for a great solo when it's not the "right" group!? I know of four people who came that evening because of family and friends performing in one of the DCI corps that sat around me. After those performances, they left and didn't come back. Not to see ONE DCA unit. This stuff just kills me one bit at a time. When My Mom and Dad came to a contest, they saw EVERYONE. And if they liked someone more than Westshore- they cheered for them too! Sunday dinner conversations could be rather animated, spirited, and honest. Mom loved the Cabs, and Dad loved the Bucs and, in his heart, he was a true Phantom Phan. My sister and I had to win them over to us, and Westshore did though a lot of effort. Leaving after your person performs, after paying 27.50 a pop... So bando... and extremely depressing to me. I think DCA fans that aren't parents or alumni of existent corps because of the half-baked bread/incomplete shows just head to finals now- if they can make the trek to Rochester and can make the trek to Indy in the future. I found those friends in Annapolis and Williamsport. The audience felt like it was more cosmopolitan. No cheering sections, less afraid to express appreciation and gratitude for fine performances. Ironically I think crowd reactions are still more unbridled in DCI when deserved. Case in point One: Search "Bluecoats 2014 Pitch Bend Reaction Video (before finals ending)". Watch. I'm one of the nuts standing and going crazy. Read some of the commentary. It's revealing. The Blue Coats put it up the day after that show as a thank you to the audience on Facebook. It meant that much to the corps to see a truly deserved reaction, and an intense one. In DCA- You'll get a filthy look from Aunt Mabel and Uncle Clem if you TRY to do that now. Around that time, at DCA Prelims at Annapolis- I stood for Kidsgrove at the end of their show (the Valley of the Kings show) and yelled "WHY ARE WE NOT STANDING!?" A few folks got the hint. Fantastic show ending. Who cares if they were 7th!? Great, powerful performance and quite exciting. There's that video of Cadets a few years back at Allentown when the crowd lost it. I believe it was Jeff Ream who said it was like a mass audience exorcism of Hopkins. It meant a lot to those kids to see that well-earned and deserved support. I realized as I drove home why I take notes. It's to prevent me from reacting in any way to get dirty looks from the Aunt Mabels and Uncle Clems. Toe the line. Don't do anything that's a positive and excited reaction to reward the performers, instructional staffs, and design teams for their efforts. It's unseemly, you know, especially when it's a corps that's not the one our Nephew Chad and Niece Ashley are in! Golf claps only! Stand at the end for everyone even if it's unearned! It's the ritual!!! We've seen who we came to see, toodles!!!. Well, I've had enough of it. My spirit is finally broken. Aunt Mabel, you win. I'm too old and worn out to bother going to another DCA contest for the foreseeable future. I'm far more likely to get the streaming package where I can watch and react honestly to the performance. Maybe if Williamsport continues to have a contest in the future and I can take friends so I'm surrounded by a posse.... yeah. I feel like I'm a round peg in a square hole on the DCA Planet now. God Bless to the performers, who deserve better in so many ways.. I'll keep an ear to the ground and see if the climate gets better for someone like me. Never say never... but it'll be awhile.

When I looked at the recaps later, I think the numbers bear out my thoughts regarding Cabs and the Bucs: -Cabs Guard is neck and neck in terms of their excellence in performance- the Bucs' guard I believe is more integrated into the overall structure. I believe it will be a close run thing in this regard at the end of the season. -Edge to Cabs in terms of Percussion sophistication and performance right now. However- the integration edge goes to the Bucs. (nice to see a solid plate line with Bucs by the way.) -Brass, definite edge to the Bucs, though the Cabs have the horses to play hard and if they can refine their sound... perhaps close the gap. The big issue is Effect. Again- the Cabs' show is VERY good. but it just doesn't feel as well integrated as a whole product, and that's not their fault, more that the Bucs have really hit the nail in terms of a totally unified package that ties it together as a powerful visual and musical production. Is it over? No. I can think of three instances where it looked over in the post 2005 DCA era and things swapped. Ask MBI peeps about that. Ask the people who were with C2. Ask the Bucs who have been on both ends of that issue. It will be difficulty to surmount an effect advantage since it's so heavily weighted. But it is possible.

The Bucs finished the competitive portion of the show with their "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" program. Fro the intial hit it was clear that this program is in another orbit at the point in time. The Visual, Percussive, Brass, and Guard elements integrate to an insane level. The visual aesthetics are striking and well designed. The colors used in the Color Guard utensils are perfect. The use of varying musical timbres is fantastic. The props are well designed and well utilized and integrated. Musically the show is built around a guitarist, who I think will stand out and be more expressive as the season continues. They have the chops, and they have well-written parts. In terms of hitting all the buttons... wow. Let's conclude this.