Tim K

I'll be in Everett, perhaps the Greenway. I agree the clip shared looks interesting. As to whether they are better now than at the end of last season as one poster mentioned, I think that's apples and oranges. What I saw in the clip shared was confidence, something I saw in abundance at semi's last summer, which I still believe made a difference. Madison had a tough season but didn't give anything away that night, Troopers gave the best performance in recent memory. Confidence is something Boston Crusaders has never lacked, even in the most challenging years. So confidence, with a difficult and demanding show done well, could be quite a combination.

Based on some limited experience renting facilities, a stadium that is rented usually includes the seating area, so it is possible a corps could restrict viewing in a stadium area. If the field is not fenced in without seating, it would be a bit more problematic to restrict spectators.

Regarding the GoPro videos, a few years back a drummer, I believe for Crown, had a Go Pro attached somewhere which captured his drum coming apart. I don't remember where it was captured, but it was during a show. There were all kinds of commments regarding the video, two big issues being why the drum sounded so terrible (most likely the placement of the camera and poor recording quality) and whether a matching member should have a GoPro on during a performance. However as it made the rounds, the sound was edited. My guess is that DCI does not allow audio recording at shows so the volume was removed. Last year at Indy my GoPro was in my camera bag and I could not bring it in though someone a few rows in front of me pulled out a GoPro, another story another thread. To the question at hand, Allentown is a public facility, the show in Cranston RI is held at a municipal facility, same holds true for the stadium in Lawrence, MA. The no video and recording rule is read throughout the show. While public property does not become private when it is rented, the tenant must be able to grant permission about recording. My guess is a corps could restrict video and photography, but a sign would have to be posted, but if someone from the corps said stop, the recording would have to stop.

If you come across my posts, don't bother. I'm not close any year!

Cinecast June 22, not sure where yet. July 3rd Cranston, RI (still want yo call it Bristol) July 4th Lynn, MA July 22 Everett, MA (open class show) August 3 Lawrence, MA August 4-5 Allentown August 10-12 Indy Suggestion for August 9th: Indiana State Fair. Lots of drum corps folks arrive early and enjoy the fair. Great conversations over fried food that's not good for you but awfully good to eat.

I don't remember Blue Stars that far back, but in the mid to late 70's I remember enjoying their shows and seeing them live a few times when Boston was part of their tour. The strength of last year's show surprised many so it's possible they could have a surprise finish this year.

Just looked st Twitter and BAC will have s preview show on June 17th in Everett with North Star and 7th Regiment. Since I most likely won't be able to go to the concert on the 15th, this is great news.

I would normally say Blue Devils for many of the reasons already said, but I have a good feeling about SCV this year.

This thread has moved from one where we should be looking at positive press about the activity to an argument about terminology being debated with a furor we don't usually see unless it's the winter, we're snowed in, and we have nothing better to do. The debate started with a discussion of people, actually "cranks" who use marching band as an insult for shows and corps they do not like. That is showing ignorance and snobbish attitudes. I have never seen Broken Arrow or any of the groups that wow the folks in the stands in Indy around Veteran's Day, but I know the least talented kid in one of those groups has more talent in their left little toe than I have in my whole body. People believing that there is a distinction between a drum corps and a marching band and believe in precise definitions are not necessarily snobs. Clarity is important, traditional also defines. There is nothing wrong with that, and such folks are not in denial or delusional. I don't think they're in the stands correcting people's terminology either and I do not think too many newcomers have been turned off by such folks. My roots are band. I grew up in the Boston area and competed in a CYO band. We could be snobs. "Marching" was never attached to CYO circuit bands, yes we had drills, the same drills as drum corps often designed by the same folks, but marching band was what high schools did. Yes the drum corps could in some cases look down on us, and since at that time many drum corps taught kids without teaching them to read music, we were told we were musicians. There was a rivalry, but the band kids loved the allure of drum corps and if the marching members of drum corps didn't respect the bands, their instructors did and at circuit finals, folks from drum corps such as 27th, North Star, and BAC were recruiting from the bands. The distinctions gave identity and pride. Bottom line for me, call it what you will, I see an eclectic group ranging from a rigid militaristic kid to an off the wall in a good sense eccentric kid to everyone in between, coming together, giving their all, and wowing me. That's what has kept me going back to shows since my marching days in the mid seventies, and that's how I look at the activity overall.

You could argue that bugles have not been bugles since the rotary valve was invented.

I won't say I have never encountered drum corps snobs at shows, many who have no idea of what they are talking about, and I'm sure more than a few see it as their job to correct people, but you can explain that drum corps use drums and brass but bands can use woodwinds in a friendly way. Also, I attend the Bristol, RI show (sadly now held in Cranston--I loved the old venue though parking is easier and the stadium is larger) and encounter lots of newcomers. They may use the word band, I'll use drum corps, but I never correct. Usually we talk about how a corps will be scored, where they come from, how many hours the practice, how far they travel, etc. If they go home still using band, the world will not end, but if I'm asked, they will get the proper terms but never in a superior way.

You're correct about the terminology. I subscribe to the Boston Symphony and most years attend a few Boston Pops concerts. I enjoy both equally. Though not as much the case now, the two share many musicians minus principals, perform at the same venue, and the quality in my opinion is equal. However I have different expectations with the two. I don't want John Williams music from the BSO, I want Brahms. If Keith Lockhart has the baton in his hand, I'm not expecting Schoenberg. I want to be entertained. When I purchase BSO tickets, I expect one new work, one classic of the symphonic repertoire. At the Pops I want the same quality performance, but light classics and popular music. When I hear drum corps, I know what to expect. When I hear marching band I want woodwinds. When I hear drum corps I expect brass.

I agree fear, or perhaps better put, insecurity is at the heart of it, and it's not just in music programs. You see it in sports as well. Kids who play for club leagues or AAU programs can find themselves in the benches in school programs. The logical solution is getting the music directors to get to know DCI, but if you're dealing with insecurity, it probably won't matter.

I hoped for a tie last year with Madison and BAC because I didn't want to either out of finals and I was excited for Academy. I still maintain that the Blue Devils organization wants not wa t BDB in finals where it would take attention away from Blue Devils. However, Academy making finals was exciting and if two corps from the same organization if they were the top and bottom, that would be interesting and create excitement. It would even be more exciting if it was SCV and SCVC or if both organizations has corps at the top and bottom. Your boldest prediction is Cadets at 8th. They were unhappy enough with 6th last year. Falling farther would register on the Richter Scale.

Cadets do have a huge fan base, and Cadets does a great job, or at least seems to do a great job at getting alums and fans to shows, especially their home shows and regionals, so they have a good fan base st shows. I think Cadets are one of the most respected corps by fans, but I'm not sure they have the fan base, especially the young fan base with enthusiasm of Crown or Bluecoats fans. Regarding 2011, Cadets won that year. The potential champion usually has lots of fans. I was in Indy in 2013 for Crown's victory and in 2016 or Bloo. The crowd went wild. Watch 2008 Phantom and you get a sense of the excitement. There have been years Cadets has the crowds going wild the way we see wild crowds for Crown and Bloo, but I think we're going back a few years.

You make some good points. Some years George Hopkins gives all kinds of explanations about what a show is supposed to mean, and he did it quite a bit with 2013 and "Side by Side." Now this is not a GH slight, but the more the show was explained, the less I understood it but many who saw the show and read the explanations thought they were thorough and helpful as FB posts attested and my guess if we go back far enough DCP posts will support. However, from the moment I saw the show in the movie theater to the at least eight times I saw the show live, I was addicted. Based on what I've read, I'm not all that thrilled with some of the show themes, but that's not new. What I end up seeing on the field, how well it is performed, and how engaging it is all matter more than whether they follow the theme. So we can think the theme is cliche, but my guess is what we see on the field will not be. So you're correct, we have to wait.

I agree with those who believe the darker themed shows are getting old. I appreciate the effort, and while some have been successful competitively, it seems as if many of the shows lose steam as the season progresses. This in turn leads some to say judges don't get it when scores are low. Some will claim a show is too ahead of it's time and not appreciated. I know this is only my opinion and I'll be in the stands with all the potential dark themed shows this summer.

Actually Webster defines it as you say but adds parade or sporting event. I'm in a waiting room with time on my hands do I looked it up. So if you believe drum corps is a sport, then yes they are marching bands since DCI shows would be sporting events. That being said, if cranks use the term to disparage what they do not like today, you're correct. However, distinctions add clarity. In high school I was in band which included marching in the fall, concert for the remainder of the year. I was also in an orchestra which included strings. Our concert band played an arrangement of the 1812 Overture, so did the orchestra, actually in both cases attempted, (both were Pretty bad). Since we were sitting and playing music, does that mean the concert band and orchestra were the same thing? So because a drum corps and band march does not mean they are the same, the instrumentation does make a difference, again not as a "better than" kind of thing, but to show the ways a band, drum corps, as well as jazz bands, orchestras, chamber orchestras, etc. differ.

Do any corps not hype themselves up in the off season? As I've said in the past, the only time I can recall a top 12 finalist not hyping themselves is Kilties in 1979. The DCI yearbook on 1979 has the Kilties all but saying don't expect much from us, we've had a bad winter and the roof of Kilties Hall caved in and we couldn't rehearse. yes there was hype by BAC last year but I think for many of us, we expected a "Man of La Mancha" show similar to the way SCV did Phantom, Les Mis, etc. it was not, but I think that's because so many had different expectations. The props looked impressive, there was an admission the corps was young, which was true, but there was also enthusiasm. They never predicted high placement though I am sure they did not expect the season to be as challenging as it turned out to be. Hype us normal. We just need to be careful not to read into it too much.

Though a mutt or mongrel would not be a breed, I think a mutt like "Old Yeller" would be fitting for the Troopers. It fits with the Western theme of the corps. It fits for another reason too. This year the corps is doing "Duels and Duets" and the fight between Old Yeller and the rabid wolf could be one of the duels. The colorguard could use their rifles to shoot Old Yeller and since the rifles are not real, the animal rights activists will not picket shows. If done correctly, it could be an emotional tear jerker, just as 2013 was when the sunburst made a return.

Colts, just saw the Facebook post with your new uniforms. Looking good!

So before the first show, the season has gone to the dogs!

I enjoy Mandarins. They have made steady improvement, pushing themselves a bit more each year. I like the racial diversity in the corps and based on speaking with some volunteers they offer good experience for marching members. However when I can say I became a fan was in Allentown in 2015. FREEPlayers performed an exhibition and needed some help, Mandarins were asked for ten or so volunteers, they opted for the "or so" and the entire corps assisted and cheered them on. So enjoyable shows, diverse, and compassionate, all make for a good corps.

You could be correct about people being surprised. People may have made decisions regarding Blue Stars more by process of elimination. When Blue Stars returned to finals, they had three impressive years followed by a lower placement but a reasonably solid show. In 2012 they missed finals, the prediction being (at least on DCP) it would take two or three years to return, until of course they returned in 2013. 2014, people were surprised with a well done and original show. 2015's show did not finish as strong, not a lot of people predicting better for 2016 until we were caught off guard. This year, people want to see Madison return, they want to see Academy make finals again, many people believe Crossmen will continue to gain momentum, BAC is expected to surge and no one has predicted with any credibility that any corps who placed 8th or higher will fall from the top 12. So those counting out Blue Stars or not expecting much could be making that decision based on "someone has to go" and not much else.

"Band" may not be the title the author wrote. Lots of folks I know who have written for, in once case "The Boston Globe" and others for local news papers and penny savers all claim the titles of their articles are changed to try and broaden the readership. Drum and bugle corps may be too specific whereas band has a broader appeal. However what really matters is the quality of the article and it sounds like these brothers are enthusiastic about the upcoming season.