Mokumi

I, for one, am glad that the Blue Devils aren't court jesters who will do anything/say anything to please the audience.

From someone who's always respected what Spirit of Newark does for the youth of Newark, best wishes and my condolences.

Hey everyone, I'm trying to put together care packages for some of my friends in World Corps. I've included sunscreen, snacks, and Gatorades. What would you suggest I include in them?

I guess I was a bit too hasty in tossing out words like "utopian." I'm glad my youthful zeal was not misinterpreted for negativity. And on that we can both agree. The purpose of my post was merely to respond to the idea that OC drum corps should cut and run, which I disagree with wholeheartedly. The Open Class is well on its way in becoming a proud, positive, and most importantly marketable division of DCI, but we, and I stress the "we", can only get there through long, sustained work towards those goals you listed above. How's that for "utopian?"

I think a lot of people tend to search for some non-existent utopian solution for Open Class in which, all of a sudden, a huge fan base for the drum corps grow and all their monetary woes somehow disappear. The bottom line is, that won't happen. Open Class drum corps need start getting their act together, run more efficiently, purchase solid equipment, fund well-supplied tours, and provide a product that captures audience attention, especially the eyes and ears of potential marchers. That's the bad news. The good news is, this seems to be happening. In watching open class, yes the amount of corps has been shrinking, but that seems to have stabilized. What we have now is a situation where corps that don't have the money, stay within their boundaries and don't attend finals. Look at Impulse, they've played it smart and, fortunately for them, they've started seing competitive success this year that eluded them in many years past. Corps that do go to finals go fully prepared. How about the Blue Saint's diesel food truck? Not too shabby for a corps their size. And have you guys seen Forte's uniforms? Those guys look sharp. At the end of the day, DCI has done a lot of good for the Open Class. They've created an atmosphere where, if they aren't fit to succeed completely, they do not go out at all, and that has done wonders for the financial stability of these drum corps. Yes, corps still fail, but are those failing corps doing it right? Probably not. Do we want that? Again, probably not. But it's not the end of the world. Rather, it's the opposite. The future of open class looks very bright. And, if it's one thing that drum corps teaches us, it is to set up a system that allows for nothing but greatness, and develop consistency in all our actions to that we may one day achieve that greatness. Great drum corps are not built in a single day, not even if your last name is Cook.

No idea about tonight's run through, but I caught their rehearsal on Tuesday from quite an intimate perspective. All I can say is, WOW this corps can play and move. The brass sounds absolutely wonderful this year. They are light years ahead of the past few years in maturity ALREADY. There are some insane visual moves that this corps does, be prepared. Absolutely ridiculous movement, and the quality of sound they can get at such velocity is insane. Obviously there's June dirt in this drum corps, but what drum corps ISN'T dirty at this point in the season. #### those baris and euphs can play.

:rolleyes:

Anyone who questions the experience one can receive from an Open Class corps need only to take a peak at the Spartans website and look at the music festival they have scheduled for late June. This event sounds pretty much like what the G7 are proposing in terms of clinics/performances and, knowing the staff that's in place at Spartans, it'll surely be a great clinic taught by great educators.

No wonder they came in second! I'm sure the Blue Devils never screwed around like this.

Wow, bureaucracy at it's worst. Best of luck to Mr. Donald Flaherty. This definitely deserves recognition.

so full of win

My heart will melt the day someone arranges Exit Music (for a film) by Radiohead for drum corps.

I doubt they can, really. Perhaps they've already signed contracts/leases etc. etc.

BDC is not cute. :lol: *ducks*

Sounds like mismanagement.