East9900

Absolutely there are people that feel that way. I am not and was not one of them. I was supportive of the corps almost to a fault. I may have been uncomfortable with the changes, but I made the choice to continue to support them through thick and thin. Some people have not done that, and that's their choice. That isn't just a Cadets thing, either. The problem I have with prior leadership is I no longer felt welcome. It did not happen overnight, either. I would almost yearly go to at least one rehearsal. It got to a point I didn't feel welcome back to my corps. The members did not give me that feeling. That came all the way from the top. I know from talking to others that I was absolutely not the only one that felt that way. So when new leadership came in, they made it a point to reach out to alums. Alums from any corps should never feel unwelcome... no matter how squeaky of a wheel they may be.

I remember in 2001 some were in an uproar over the fact that some were laying down on the field during the ballad. My how times have changed. As an alum, I appreciate the fact that the west point is at least making some sort of appearance... if only for the parades. I was never a big fan of parades, but I have to think now it gives the members something special. For a while, I did feel like they were turning a blind eye to the alums. A lot of that was leadership (we know who). The last few years, they have been really trying hard to bring back the alums. It isn't going to happen overnight, but it is working. There's a way to modernize and still keep an identity. The problem that some have is that they see the uniform as The Cadets. And while it is a huge part of it, it is the people that make the group, not the aesthetic. There are many alums on the staff and I have absolute trust in them. Jon Bilby is someone I have absolute faith in when it comes to The Cadets and who they should be. As for the members, I am in absolute full support of them and what they are doing. Sure, the look wouldn't have been my first choice, but I get it and support it. Really love the show this year and believe it has the potential to be a top 5 show. They have a lot of work to do if they want to get there, but I believe they have what it takes to get it done. They have a lot less shows than usual and that works heavily in their favor. The vehicle is good enough... they just need to execute. Obviously more will be changed and added, but I believe it has a ton of room to grow. I look forward to seeing the final product in August and the progress along the way.

I haven't seen them yet, but I have hopes they can break into the top 6 this year. I think it's entirely possible and if they do I will be very happy.

I thought Vento was the one that said it. At the time I was really surprised she said, but I think it there is some truth to it. I actually had them placed exactly where the judges did (off on captions a little). I think those numbers become more accurate the more of them there are at a show, like the regionals. I've never been one to believe that "corps x" is usually around this spot, so we should put them there again. I remember when the Bluecoats were consistently 7-12. The years they moved up, they absolutely deserved to move up, and they absolutely deserve to be where they are currently.. at/near the top.

No. We had won Semi-Finals. We didn't lose a show the entire season. Had we lost Semis I don't think any of us would have felt as good about Finals day. Here were the Semi-Final scores for top 12 97.40 The Cadets 96.70 The Cavaliers (0.2 pen) 95.80 Blue Devils (0.1 pen) 94.45 Santa Clara Vanguard 92.05 Boston Crusaders 91.20 Blue Knights 90.85 Phantom Regiment 90.70 Glassmen 88.70 Crossmen 86.05 Madison Scouts 86.00 Carolina Crown 85.15 Bluecoats (0.1 pen)

I chimed in on 1999, so I might as well for 2000 as well. It was my age out year and I think we were all ready to move on from '99. Almost the entire brass staff was new and was Gino's first year. When we were told we were playing Disney, the first reaction was "Oh, great...". But then we found out what it really was. From the moment we heard it, we were all in. There was a completely different vibe that entire year. Gino's approach was absolute night and day from what we dealt with in 99. The overall summer was much more enjoyable. If not for '99, I don't think I would have appreciated 2000 as much. One of the most memorable performances for me was actually early in the season... I believe it was Normal, IL. It was mostly a band crowd. That crowd went absolutely bananas and we ate it up. I just remember almost everything we did they screamed and cheered for. I felt like a rock star haha. I was bummed that we weren't using G bugles as I really loved the sound, but embraced the move to Bb. (Many seem to forget that BD was also Bb in 2000) The instruments were obviously brand new, so that certainly was an improvement. I know many didn't like the sound of the trumpets, and as a trumpet player I understand. I was playing 2nd so I like to blame it on the leads haha. The 2nds were nails (Tek will agree to that!). As for Finals, it definitely wasn't our best show. While coming off the field in 99 felt like magic, 2000 did not quite feel that same energy. I don't think any of us expected that outcome, especially since the previous year had also ended in a tie. Brandt knew that the result would make people angry and his attempt to make it less so only made it more confusing. At the time I thought he just may have forgotten to announce 2nd place, but when he added "..and the Cavaliers" I knew the fans were NOT going to be happy and they weren't. Once the shock had subsided I congratulated the Cavies as well and they did the same for us. They seemed to be just in as much shock as we were. We were both champs (although we were the only undefeated corps that year). The cool part was that we each got to do an encore. We went into the stands and cheered for them and when it was our turn they did the same for us. It was a great night.

I only had the opportunity to perform at finals twice so I only base this on my own experience. 1999 Finals was our best performance by a mile. 2000 Finals was NOT our best performance. We certainly wanted it to be our best, but it was not. It can also have a tendency to have mistakes happen that have never happened all season as well.

99 was my first year in The Cadets. To say it was a rough season would be an understatement. The design was a total disaster. The original opening of the show was going to be a free form with street sounds and eventually build into a giant rotating block. Several drill pages later, it would lead into what would become the ending of the show. The drill was incredible ... so much so that they felt like they couldn't do anything better so it became the ending of the show. The opener was supposed to be the second part of the show, which is why the last drill set matches the first drill set. The performers were frustrated. The staff was frustrated. The design was a mess and the show was very difficult. The tarps were supposed to be more elaborate (from what I remember), and they weren't implemented until the end of the season. I remember thinking "THOSE are the tarps that we've been waiting all season for?!" Disappointed was an understatement. (Oh and in case anyone was wondering- the cars were not fake- they were actual car parts that the guard members were carrying around on drum harnesses. They were not light! I recall a few times when a guard member would complain about getting cut by some of the metal.) I'll share what are my two most memorable moments of the season: 1. Montreal. It was late in the season. Things were going wrong and we needed to turn things around. We had several different meetings with staff members and it all started with GH. When we finally got brass sectionals, we were expecting yet another chewing out from Sullivan, the brass head. Instead he told us to line up and to follow him. He brought us to a small, beautiful church. They were nice enough to give us permission to enter. We were all silent as we went inside. We formed an arc at the front and played "Almighty Father" which was one of our warm up pieces that year. When we were finished, I don't think there was a dry eye in the church. No words were said or needed to be said. 2. Finals performance. Leading up to finals, it was incredibly rare that we had a good performance. There was always something that didn't go right or could have gone better. Generally the reaction from GH and the staff was along the lines of 'Nope, that wasn't it'. Night after night. But finals night something just clicked. I can't explain it. Perhaps it was just that things were coming to an end. Perhaps it was just a 'screw it' feeling from us. I don't know. All I know is we performed our heart out that night in Madison. I remember seeing the staff eating it up on the front sideline. I remember seeing them jumping up and down as we turned around for the big hit in the closer. Once we got back into the tunnel and allowed to break attention we all knew we had finally done it. I didn't care where we ended up, but I knew we did the best with what we were given. I marched my age out year in 2000 and that was season was the absolute opposite of 1999 in practically every way. However, I am really thankful I got to march in 99 and it still surprises me to hear people say they liked that show!

Yowza!

92 without a doubt for me. That was the year I really learned about drum and bugle corps. PBS was showing the top 6 live and I recorded it and watched live. Little did I know how many times I would be watching that tape and geeking out over every single corps. I was officially a DCI fan for life after that season. So perhaps I'm a bit biased on the '92 show since I've seen it so many more times than '91. I liked '91 but really loved the intensity of the '92 show and felt it was a lot more entertaining. That closer was absolutely on fire.

Denise knows what she's doing and also knows the importance of making sure the right people are in place. She has an extensive business background and has said that is one thing that separates herself from many other DCI directors. I cannot imagine she doesn't understand the importance of a 501 (c) (3) or doesn't know what needs to be done to get one or the challenges involved in it. If they would need to hire a financial expert to get it done, then I don't doubt they would do that. This is business 101 stuff and if someone like Denise couldn't figure that out, then she is a complete moron. She doesn't come across as a moron to me. In time perhaps I'll be proven wrong. But this time I think I'm right. I just think they deserve to be given the opportunity to show they can do this.

I also watched the Facebook meeting they had last weekend. It appears to me that Denise is doing a LOT of the work. Not just the front of the house, but the back as well. They said she has been constantly putting in 12 hour days trying to get this done. She used the term "lean and mean". They are saving a lot of money by not filling in staff at multiple positions and those people that they do have are busting their tails to get things done. To me, it sounds like the admin is establishing a work ethic that mirrors The Cadets ideals perfectly. It's only going to be that much easier to get the members locked in if the admin is practicing what they preach. I think the road will get easier for the admin, but right now they appear to all be on the same page in that there is a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. I do think the right people are in place.

It is Thursday night. He's just going a little senile. :)

The good news for The Cadets is that they owe GH absolutely nothing. This is YEA's mess. I watched the full meeting the new Cadets staff did on Facebook and was incredibly impressed by them. I feel like for the first time The Cadets are in good hands and feel very optimistic for the future. They aren't just looking at this year but the future of the organization and are saying and doing the right things. It will be an uphill battle as they have a LOT to take care of. They made it clear that The Cadets have zero debt and all donations that they receive go towards this current season. They are making an effort to be as transparent as possible with the alums and I am really appreciative. They didn't divulge anything about the show (as they are dealing with copyrights as everyone is). But they did make an effort to stress that this year will feel like The Cadets and I'm good with that.

I would certainly be in support of it. But if I've learned anything about the Bluecoats design team these last few years is that I expect a complete departure from last year. As successful as last year's show was, I expect a complete 180 from last year. A show like Pink Floyd to many would feel like an attempt to recreate something special from last year. It wouldn't surprise me if they went with a story show or a completely aggressive concept just to separate themselves from last year. They've surprised me these last 4 years with terrific shows and have no doubt next year they'll do it to me again. Unfortunately last year's show was so special for me it's going to be hard to top it.