musiccitybrass

"The limited staff budget (resulting, up until this year, in a very ineffective teaching staff) kept the corps in the middle of the OC pack at best." That " ineffective staff" built that corps from nothing to full size in three seasons. Most of the "ineffective staff" received only gas money. As the "ineffective" brass caption head I made thousands of phone calls for recruiting and retention purposes per season. My staff and I worked 50-60 hours a week (offseason) to build a hornline. We inherited 11 brass players in April of the first season and by the third season the "ineffective" brass staff built it to 80. Of that 80, a vast amount weren't even primarily brass players. We as an "ineffective" staff did the most "ineffective" job we could in educating young musicians and helping them acquire skills to be successful and functional within a drum corps brass section. Now if you'd like to criticize that "ineffective" staff further you can contact me directly. If you're wondering, yes that upsets me. Calling a staff that built something so quickly, meaning nearly every year was a new group of members, and still made finals and finished top six or better in brass every year..... I'd say that's #### effective. Do not discredit the level of commitment that those staff and members put forth to build a corps that went from nothing to something in five very short years. That's insulting not only to that staff but most importantly to the work and sacrifice of the members. Those kids could've went anywhere else but they decided to stay at MCDC because they believed in their staff and wanted to build something special.... And that's exactly what they did. Ineffective to you, maybe. To them, it was exactly how it needed to happen.

I am a Madison Scout, I marched soprano in 1996. I rarely post on this forum. I was the charter brass caption head for Music City. I moved to World Class this year to work for the Glassmen which subsequently took a year off. My experience as a member in world taught me lessons, my experience in open as an educator taught me much greater lessons. Those experiences in open class made me realize G7, world, open, DCA do not matter. What matters is that as educators, members, and spectators we all support these young men and women sacrificing so much of their lives to be educated and to entertain the followers of dci. They are there to better themselves and enrich our lives. Stop being trivial and celebrate this activity and find positives in its evolution. These arguments are detrimental. Trivial personal disposition to personal dislikes are what's killing this activity.

We will be marching 64. some of our members had prior scholastic commitments. Brian Kackley Music City Brass Caption Head

My name is Brian Kackley, I am the brass caption head with Music City Drum and Bugle Corps and am an alumnus of The Madison Scouts. I'm stating my name and title because I choose not to hide behind my screen name. Personal opinion of performance quality and the equipment used has been in debate since the inception of this activity. I too have my own likes and dislikes and very strong opinions towards one instrument manufactor or another. Being a charter caption head at a very young and developing drum corps, I owe a debt of gratitude to Jupiter. Have I had issues with the instruments? Of course. To Jupiters credit, they have remedied every single concern that I have brought to their attention and have done so without hesitation. This will be Music City's second season on Jupiters and I am pleased with their efforts and work that they have put into supporting our concerns. The bigger picture on this subject is that there are companies out there willing to help thousands of kids receive an education from this activity that they won't get anywhere else. They provide the tools for these young people to create the sounds that we all enjoy listening to. I'm very thankful to Jupiter because I get to stand in front of a brass line that puts a smile on my face every second of the day. I understand the companies growing pains. It's not easy to build something. Down the road when you get the results you strive for, you appreciate what you have and what helped you get there. It's like I tell the hornline. Succeed through your failures. That's how you will build character and excellence.