Tim K

Thirty minute drive from home, ample parking, better located concession stands, no plane ticket, no need of a hotel, works for me. The only drawback, no Shapiro’s.

While I’m sure some corps hid equipment away from auctioneers, in the case of many of the defunct drum corps, drill teams, and bands from back in the day, the question would be what do you do with the stuff? Instruments were used until they could be used no more, and what do you do with uniforms? Maybe the local dance troupe could use them for a production of “The Nutcracker” or a theater company doing “The Music Man.” I know of one parish that never had a marching group of any kind that found a set of uniforms. No one could identify them and no one in the parish knew where they came from until someone remembered a local drill team disbanded and donated them to the parish just in case they ever wanted to start a drill team.

While I was not a “if we allow trombones, woodwinds won’t be far behind” person, I did not want to see trombones in drum corps. It was more for visual reasons than anything else. Though I’m still not crazy about trombones or concert French horns in drum corps, I haven’t given them much thought after I got used to seeing them and will admit some of the musicianship with both instruments has been amazing and with the trombones there has been some clever visual things. I also recall two corps voted against changing the rules and I believe three others who voted in favor but claimed they’d never use them, not unlike the Key of G to B-flat change. Now I think everyone uses them, probably thinking “If you can’t beat them, join them.”

In 1999 and 2000 I saw BAC at Manning Bowl in Lynn in early August. In 1999 people in the stands in Lynn believed Boston Crusaders should make finals, but there was a distrust of DCI among many. Would they make finals was the question. In 2000 I know I only saw BAC once and I could not get over the improvement. “Red” has always been one of my favorite shows of all time and is my favorite BAC show. It probably always will be.

I taught at St. Kevin’s School (1986-1992) about twenty plus years after the corps stopped competing. There was a store room in one of the school buildings that had old uniforms, bugles, drums, flags, trophies, and other corps memorabilia. No one ever went into the store room that I can recall. One year we returned after the summer and to our surprise, the store room had been emptied to make room for a computer lab. I have no idea what happened to the equipment. Alums may have rescued it but where the bugles were no longer the bugles used in competition, the uniforms were in bad shape, etc., my guess it was hauled away.

I do love the 1981 DVD even though it’s DCI Midwest and not finals. The shows are not yet perfected and I feel like I’m watching an actual show during the mid-summer.

You’re correct. I must be having a brain freeze today! Needless to say I did a bit of editing! 🙂

For Christmas this year I would like the summer off, a new car, gift cards for flights and hotel stays. This would let me go to all the shows I want. I’d also like some changes in the tour. I would like shows in Bar Harbor, Maine, Prince Edward Island, near the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Arches, along Route 66, Cape Hatteras, and any other shows can be scheduled on Cape Cod because it’s not summer without stays on the Cape. A few shows can be scheduled in the Mother Country (Ireland). Rome, Assisi, and London would be acceptable too. This way I can see all the places I want to see during the day and enjoy drum corps at night.

When I was in high school, dance teams were added to the band programs. The joke used to be they weren’t talented enough to be a cheerleader and kept dropping the flags and rifles so that’s why they were part of the dance team. Schools that competed had the dance team at half time performances, never at competitions. I’m sure we all believed it was because they weren’t very good, typical high school mentality, and they were probably better than we thought, but my guess is that at the time they used sheets that the local circuits used (CYO, Eastern MA, and Mayflower) which would have allowed some dance from a color guard but would require color guard members have a flag, rifle, or saber. It would only have been 2 points of the score but the penalties for not following a rule could sink a performance. Today, color guards will remain, regardless of the name, as long as the desired scores are achieved.

I recall seeing a video about the Bridgemen that said everyone had to audition for. 1976, including alums. I don’t know what the audition entailed. I’m thinking it was probably not as detailed as an audition is today.

Last evening (Saturday November 18th) I was at the Alumni show in Plymouth, MA. It’s a standstill show that’s a good reason to get together. Much of the talk was about the 2024 tour. Many feel bad there is only one show in the Boston area, but wish it was in June or July rather than August. Many of these same folks go to Allentown and enjoy seeing the early shows and the progress from June until August. It also struck me that it is generational. The older alums, 75 and before liked the earlier show, 76 and after the August. Not sure what that means. Maybe it has to do with being out late on a Thursday and driving to Allentown the next day.

In most organizations I think even if a person is exonerated, the chances of getting a job working with youth is about a zero chance, especially with churches, schools, Boys and Girls Clubs, the “Y.” With competitive activities like drum corps or athletics, things seem to be different. I wonder if things are overlooked believing someone could give a competitive advantage.

Right now, it would seem as if there is no means to let someone know of problems other than the grapevine. That being said, drum corps can often be the hardest place to keep a secret. In the past, random strangers sitting in my vicinity have shared information which turns out to be true. While I’ve never heard of abuse rumors from conversations in the stands, my guess is that drum corps is too small a community to keep things secret. There is one way information could be shared. It would have to be drawn up with specific language and lawyers would have to check the legality, but an employee or volunteer could sign an agreement that if they are dismissed for specific reasons, their name will appear on a database kept by DCI which can be viewed by member corps. I believe Boys and Girls Clubs have such a policy. However if an allegation turns out to be false and someone is denied employment, the liability for both the corps and DCI could be huge.

Have background checks eliminated abuse? No, nothing is fool proof. Have they reduced abuse? The theory is they keep potential predators away, however it is always the case that the background checks along with checking personal references and close supervision are necessary. The supervision is probably the most critical component. Any time you take a training to spot predators, the first thing often mentioned is that predators are usually expert manipulators.

The multiple shows in New England in late June/early July allowed for longer practice time due to the ability to stay in one place for the duration since travel time was not a problem. The biggest travel challenge for many years was Bristol on July. 3rd but that was due to congested traffic. Bristol itself is one road in/one road out, not directly off a major highway, and depending on where the corps was housed you hit traffic headed from New York and Connecticut to Cape Cod or folks headed to the Rhode Island coast or Newport. More practice time to complete, polish, or change shows was an advantage as was the opportunities for multiple July 4th parades and a day off in Boston. Glassboro is a Surf show. It’s well attended but I think stadium capacity is 5,000 which makes it a small show. Still, it’s managed well and parking is ideal. Getting there can be a challenge traffic wise. You drive through business areas and deal with evening rush hours due to the show’s early start. My understanding is that the show has to wrap up early due to Rowan University (where the stadium is located) being in a residential area.

I have no idea. My guess would be some have. Since all the bands in various circuits are scholastic and most schools involved are public, you’d hope there are sufficient background checks. I know how schools are run better than I know drum corps management and a key factor would be supervision. Schools often have strict policies about not being alone one on one with a student unless you’re visible to others. Rooms with students must have doors with windows or the door must always be open (a law in some states). Monitors are supposed to randomly walk in unannounced. The theory is predators do not go where they could be caught.

I would like to go to BOA Grand Nationals one day, but this time of year is a bit too hectic for me to get away. A friend who I see in Indy each year goes to BOA shows regularly believes the football program is a reason why there are schools that field phenomenal bands, at least those schools were football in king. His theory is that schools with excellent football programs want the entire school to be excellent. The cheerleaders have to be better than the opposing team, the band has to be better, more fans have to travel to away games and the stands need to be overflowing at home games. It seems like many of these super-bands are from the south and my only experience of Texas football is watching reruns of “Friday Night Lights” so I have no idea how accurate his theory is, but it makes sense. Regarding scandals, my guess is there can be as much drama in competitive bands as there would be in drum corps, but scandals are probably fewer because there is a clear chain of command. The staff and volunteers report to the band director who reports to the music department head who reports to the principal who reports to the superintendent who reports to the state and school committee. There are also laws regarding volunteer background checks for staff and volunteers as well as strict protocols that may also be law.

Bob Jacobs and Roman Blenski are two very different people of a different generation with different approaches to drum corps. Regarding “Roman’s Rules” for design, The “I root for the underdog” in me appreciated Pioneer’s efforts, but as someone who is about as Irish as you can get, loves Celtic music and popular Irish music, and thinks an Irish themed show could be powerful if done well, I wish that with some of the so called “Irish” themed shows of Pioneer, the design staff broke a few of “Roman’s Rules.” ☘️ 🙂

Other than placing below some competitors, I’m not seeing the connection. As far as management and style of shows, the two are very different and when they competed together since 2009), Surf always placed higher, at least according to DCX.

They’re holding a camp November 17-19, so as of right now it sounds like yes.

Only one New England show has been in the works for years. I had heard that DCI wanted one larger show at a good venue that would attract more people, probably Gillette or Boston College. In 2015 DCI wanted to cancel Bristol claiming the venue was not safe for the props. The Bristol folks were told they could host an OC show but it would be in late July. Cranston became a compromise and that didn’t work out that well. After 2017 there was no show in Rhode Island. About 2019 I began hearing one New Jersey show in late June/early July and a Boston area show leading up to Allentown. This was more scuttlebutt in Indy but their predictions about other schedule changes were accurate. My prediction is that the lineup in either Annapolis or Glassboro will travel to most likely Lawrence for the one show. Annapolis always has a great show and I’ve been to the two Glassboro shows and the lineup has been great too.

Cadets not being in the mix will impact the early season shows in Boston. I was not expecting two shows in late June/early July. I’m thinking there will still be an August show. Most likely I will go to the shows in the area no matter what, but I hope there will be more than two WC corps in the early shows and more than four in August.

You’re probably reading it correctly and how lawyers on both sides handle things could make a big difference. One difference with the nursing home case is that under the old management it was nicknamed “Elderhell” because it was a pit. Under new management it has become a state of the art facility known for its rehab units and care for people with dementia. It is a very different facility. To argue previous management, Cadets might have trouble convincing a judge it’s an essentially different organization.

I’m not sure if the same principle applies to this case, but I know of a lawsuit where neglect of an elderly patient in a nursing home was alleged. The nursing home had a prior owner. The new owners admitted the neglect may have taken place but were not deemed responsible and a settlement was negotiated. The nursing home did not admit wrongdoing but did admit it may have occurred. In the case of Cadets, they were under the umbrella of YEA then not, they went from Garfield to Bergen County to Allentown to Erie. You had George Hopkins’ predecessor, then Hopkins, Scott Litzenburg, Denise Bonfiglio, and Vicki Ray as directors, not to mention all the folks associated with the corps past and present. Determining who knew what when, who swept it under the rug and kept sweeping would be a mess. I wonder if Cadets admitted it likely happened but the current corps is not responsible and agreed to a cash settlement. To specifically guess at an answer to your question, Arbitration is probably a group of lawyers negotiate a settlement. Mediation it is probably a judge who decides.