Scott St Sinclaire

(rolls eyes)... some people are just thin skinned and live in their little bubble of pink frosting cupcakes...LOL I shoot from the hip, direct and tell it like it is... since when is being objective,honest and direct become "trolling"... oh, wait.. that's the new "American way"... everyone is sensitive and soft....walk on egg shells....

utterly absurd.... the "delusional" dilemma of the over inflated sense of self worth syndrome that happens to so many people who justify their obsessive interest. yeah, all the people that got cut year after year in November camps are now "experts" online...

(rolls eyes) you have a lot to learn and no DCI doesnt favor the well financed... the well financed has the advantage due to their staff choices, etc. Yes, I remember when people loathed Star of Indiana because of their financing, not realizing that there were countless corps with the same financial ability... Star simply did it better, innovated and changed the activity due to HARD WORK AND GENIUS...not money... there is no "dci conspiracy" that they sit in a room and decide to pick on one corps over the other... its a very equal requirement... if you cant manage the tour they set out for you, you're not meeting your part of the bargain... its a league .... and part of doing business means fulfilling the contractual agreements which also help your corps stay afloat (which is now more difficult than ever due to the extraordinary costs of this activity)

baseball has bigger diamonds, new batting rules, new RBI classifications, roster restrictions, touring restrictions...bats are now weighted differently than they were 30 years ago, the ball is different design, rules about uniforms and field gear,practice,etc. stadiums are designed for maximum ticket sales (night) and televised rights as well (its all about money, not about the sport and definitely not preserving the sport)... nascar,nfl fifa (the biggest sport association and organization in the world), etc. have all transformed and evolved.... perhaps you might want to challenge using another comparison or example; this one (sports) is weighted against your plight...then again,its okay, a lot of band people arent familiar with sports & fitness.

as many will tell you... marching plates isnt discouraged, its just ineffective and inefficient... there is no music reason to waste 4 to 5 musicians on something that could be easily done from the front.

Tom Float and Wayne Downey wrote and taught our marching band... Float kept encouraging me to practice, learn and have fun... he recruited me pretty early

let's hope they use different head gear... that head gear made most people want to go on a shooting spree.... seriously... Crown's uniforms had to be the worst in the activity (reminded me of Magic's early uniforms... which the irony was Magic's first year was Crown's)

agreed! Although I grew up playing baseball, soccer, football and basketball... Im by no means an expert in any ... when I attend a game, I enjoy what the pro's have prepared for me to spectate.

The movie "Drumline" was actually well received and very successful. While the story was age old (struggling non team player has to learn and earn his way,have setbacks, learn self respect, become humble and a contributing team player to help the team 'win it all')...it used a different medium as its "sport/challenge"... so it opened up the awareness of the marching arts. Let's be honest... the show style bands are much more followed, popular and received in mainstream media than corps style marching bands,WGI and drum corps.... therefore, it was in the studio's best interest to make a product that appeals to a wider range of ticket buyers. The Indonesian film appeals to a part of the culture in Indonesia... and would simply fade from existence in the US/Canadian/EU markets because it is so obscure... film industry is about selling tickets, not about appeasing a very tiny, elite, obscure audience.

Actually from as early as 1974, there has been push to go to all key instruments, trombones, piccolos, etc. They're instruments... that's all...the activity doesnt change because they are implementing an instrument... I hear old timers talk about when orchestra bells were allowed and how many people said "that's the end of the activity"... and its not only the brilliance of Hopkins (who is one of the people who's kept this activity alive and going), but its many, many legends of the activity that support it.... I remember Tom Float was pushing for electronics back in the early 80's with Spirit of Atlanta and Blue Devil drumlines...the reason it was rejected was practical reasons, not because it wasnt well recieved...

WRONG here's a link to DCI.org 2013 World Championship judging panel: http://www.dci.org/news/view.cfm?news_id=d215b0df-3d2a-4311-b471-858adce1bd42 every single visual and guard judge DOES MAKE A LIVING IN THESE FIELDS AS EDUCATORS, DESIGNERS AND CONSULTANTS. Not to be argumentative, but your notion that they are just "fanatics" is quite absurd and demeaning to the professions of these highly trained and successful individuals.

If the activity wants to survive... then it needs to evolve...end of story. In reality... high school marching bands and drum corps are essentially on paper no different and havent been since the 1970's... its not about instrumentation....its about design. The only reason instrumentation in the past was an issue of not being considered was PRACTICALITY...not about preserving some ridiculous instrument tradition.... it was about dollars and cents... in the past, when there were more than 3x the amount of corps... DCI and the Rules Congress rejected some of these instruments proposals as not to give "more financially stable corps" an unfair advantage. (*hence the brass rule of allowing any key instruments back in 2000... corps still can use G Bugles if they wish... its just not economically feasible nor practical (not to mention the sound/tone quality of G bugles in comparison to Bb/F/double Bb instruments is light years). Some people oppose change, no matter what it is... its frightening for them.... hey, time doesnt stand still... the clock ticks and the years pass and yes, you are getting closer to death. Culture, technology, society changes around you whether you're on board or not and for a variety of reasons. think about why modern day sporting events are played the way they are and metered, ref'd the way they are.... In the world of entertainment, art, sport, design, etc. stagnation and refusal to change and push the envelope ceases to exist the very entertainment, art, sport and design.

The proposal isnt going to pass (hint hint, Im rather close to that circle and its not being taken seriously (as it shouldnt), as there are so many obvious flaws with it... it would be just a "show" proposal and have no real merit nor value). and the fan base is quite well aware that they are NOT talented, creative designers... they are there to be wowed and impressed... in some circumstances to be inspired and learn... the audience are not peers,but rather spectators... do you understand what it takes to be a dci calibre judge? Its not simply filling out a questionnaire and putting on a tacky green golf shirt.

but they're not entertaining... sloppy and dirty is never entertaining. both Bridgemen and VK did "fun", but they worked extremely hard at it, designed it well and were exceptionally clean... that's what made it fun and entertaining. by your logic McDonalds doesnt have to be good quality, just something to eat, regardless of how bad it makes you feel and look. oh, and dont overstate it by comparing them to a Lamborghini ... more like they are a Ford Focus

Not to be mean, but perhaps instead of putting so much effort into the uniforms, they ought to look at designing a good show and trying to play clean.