Psycobikerbob

I’ve always wondered what the days after finals feel like to a DCI performer who “ticked” badly in their last show of the year. What does it feel like to be that soloist who has belted out a beautiful solo all summer long but, on finals night, she makes a sound like a chainsaw halfway through it? Or, what goes on in the mind of the featured guard member who dropped his equipment right front of the camera, even though he’s made that catch virtually every other time? Are those performers haunted by their mistake? Do they hope for forgiveness from the people they think they let down? Do they wish they could rewind the tape? Today, I think I know too well how it feels and the answer to all of the above questions is yes. At semi-finals Friday afternoon, during a jumbo-tron interview with a drum major whose corps had just achieved a MAJOR accomplishment, I asked a question of that young man that should not have been asked. I will not repeat the question here, nor am I using the name of the corps, to spare them from further insult. I immediately knew I had asked the wrong question, at the wrong time, of the wrong person and certainly in the wrong place. For this I am truly sorry. As soon as possible, I apologized to the young man both online and in person and, that corps’ director was kind enough to let me apologize, in person, to the entire corps before their encore performance later that day. Today, I’m saying I’m sorry to anyone else I may have hurt with that question. It certainly was not my intent to besmirch anyone’s accomplishment. But, that's what I did and I'm sorry. Drum corps people are fond of saying, “It’s not whether you tick, it’s how you recover.” I hope DCI fans will accept my apology and watch to see how I recover. Thanks for reading this. Dan This is from Dan Potter on Facebook

Yes if they qualify and they should for semis then they will perform in their slot and again at the end of the night. It was changed to give the open class winner a chance to perform in front of a world class sized audience is what we were told.

This year the schedule is changed Spartans will be performing on Friday night after the final World class Corps. Not on Saturday hope this helps.

Hello and Happy 4th to all I have a question about finals week and would like some input if possible. In the past my wife and I planned our vacations from work around finals week so we could go and watch rehearsals and see the different things around Indy. We would volunteer on our sons Corps for food truck or whatever was needed and this year we were told the volunteer slots were filled so we would not be needed. So that being said we decided we would just sit back and relax and enjoy the free time to watch rehearsals and enjoy our vacation but now we are being told parents are not allowed at the housing site and rehearsals are closed. I guess my question is do other Corps have that same policy the last Corps he was with did not and it is giving us a very uneasy feeling. Thanks for any insight hope everyone has a safe and Happy holiday.

My wife and I both had background checks this year and in years past and there’s never been a problem.

I never felt it was my decision or about me I was curious if it was like that at other corps and if anyone thought it was wrong to help out at a Corp my son was not part of and since you seem to know everything maybe you could answer that question without being obstinate.

I appreciate all the input the confusion I am having is because they don’t want any volunteers unless they can commit to the whole tour which we cannot. I would understand if they had an abundance of people helping or signed up but they don’t it just didn’t make sense to us.

Hello, I have a question that hopefully doesn’t start some kind of drama. My wife and I have been volunteering with my sons Corps for the last three years and we were told that volunteers were a very intricate part of what makes things happen. My son recently moved to a different Corps this summer and when we went to help we were basically told if we couldn’t help for the complete tour we would not be needed at any of the other shows. We both work but make it to three or four shows and take the entire finals week off work to help out. We do our best to stay out of the way just help where we are needed we don’t stay with the Corps and buy our tickets to the shows. I guess my question would be is that the norm for most corps to not want or need volunteers? And would it be wrong of us to go to another Corps and help out even though our son is not on that corps? We really love being around the activity and just wanted to be a part of the excitement but kind of feel like we were pushed out it’s kind of disheartening. Any input would be great thanks.

Just my opinion I don’t feel boycotts by the fans alone will solve anything. However if the other Corps got involved something would have to be done I’m sure if Blue Devils or SCV or Carolina Crown or Bluecoats threatened to boycott or at least made their presence known someone would listen. The fact that DCI has reacted to a social media situation so quickly and harshly and still allow a person like Fred Morrison to be involved is disturbing to say the least. I’m sure if Arsenal was a top tier world class corps this whole thing would have been overlooked and I feel it’s gonna take a top tier world class corps getting involved to make things right.

First off I never said a word about unfair and it’s obvious you just like to stir the pot I merely said the corps calling back 6 times as many as needed was ridiculous. So I guess you have personally seen these kids at the call back camps having the time of their lives cause I missed it I see a lot of kids struggling to make the cut wasting a lot of money on callbacks that they have no chance of making. All I want from the corps is honesty take the lead from Boston they have class unlike other people and yes I’m talking about you.

Your right is does cost money and my point is Boston Crusaders called back 108 brass and 60 percussion for their final callback camp this weekend and had over 500 who auditioned originally. So total cuts at the end of the day was about 20 brass and about 20 percussion from a callback camp and they seemed to be able to afford it just fine. Crossmen had 38 trumpets trying for 6 open spots that’s ridiculous they had almost as many trumpets cut as Boston had total. My point in all this is be honest from the beginning there is no need to bring in that many people to get what you need.

Ok as stated when you walk into an audition expect competition and you have to pay your expenses for that shot I have no problem with that. What I have a problem with is on top of the travel expenses there is also a camp fee. I have personally witnessed vets saying they only had to show up and sign the contract and I expect that my point is if you know at the first camp how many spots are left to fill then don’t bring back 6 times as many as needed and charge them all the fee. As far as HS kids auditioning for college yes we have gone through that process but low and behold it didn’t cost a fee to audition and they offer scholarships at most schools for musicians. So I guess your right why should this activity be any different then college auditions?

I realize that potential members do not know how many are being called back my point is why call back 36 if you only need 6? If the callbacks were not paying for the camp I guarantee the amount of callbacks would be reduced at least by half and trying for another corps costs money and after paying for a callback that you have almost no chance of making those costs add up.

I get that every spot is open and in the auditions that I have been involved in very very few vets do not get a contract. I can only say what I have witnessed and this weekend there were 36 trumpets trying for 6 open spots and in my opinion that’s ridiculous if you only have 6 spots callback 12. Or don’t charge the ones that are cut it costs a lot of money to fly across the country to only have a 1 in 6 shot.

Crossmen called back 254 this weekend and at max had 45 age outs.

Hello just a quick thought maybe someone can explain why it is if a corps needs 50 new members they give 300 callbacks. I understand wanting the best candidates but come on this is ridiculous. These kids most in college are trying to obtain the funds to do something they have a love for only to be brought half way across the country for some and told sorry we only needed 6 for your section even though there are 50 there trying for it. It’s crazy enough that audition camps are sometimes well over 400 trying out and most given callbacks that of course cost money only to have zero chance of making it why not just be honest at the audition and if they want the experience of another camp that’s fine but if not they don’t waste their time and money. With all the controversy over misconduct and the activity being under such close scrutiny you would think the directors would do whatever they can to make the experience positive and not just about the money which is exactly what it feels like. Maybe if offered a callback the camp should be free unless a contract is offered this way the callbacks would mean something not just a way to increase revenue. The average cost is around 4000 for fees and on the average that’s about 350 a week for the season that these kids are bustin their butts to get just so they can do what they love. I am fairly new to this whole thing I’ve only been into it for about 7 years and I have watched these young men and women become discouraged and want to walk away from the activity and I feel if something doesn’t change soon the passion won’t be enough to keep drum corps alive.

Thank you everyone for the input we are going to contact OSU and see how they want us to proceed. We realize that marching for OSU and DCI is going to be a major undertaking but we think he is up for the challenge.

Thank you for the input I guess I should not have limited it to world class only he did march open class last year and the same problem would occur either way. Unfortunately I do not know any OSU members and I was hoping maybe someone in a similar situation would have some insight regardless of which college. Thanks again just trying to get our ducks in a row so to speak.

Hello, Not sure if this is in the right place sorry if it's not. My son is planning on auditioning for a world class corp this fall and he will start college next fall and I am wondering if anyone marches for Ohio State University and for a world class corp? If so how does the auditioning process for OSU work with DCI finals on the same weekend? We are trying to plan for college and DCI and it's proving to be quite the challenge thanks for any help and input.

Anna, some may not agree with me but if the money is available to audition for the bluecoats then absolutely do it. My son tried last year and the experience and feed back from everyone at the audition camp was unbelievable. After you audition they will either offer you a contract give you a call back or explain that your not quite ready and then they will tell you exactly what you need to work on for future auditions. The staff as well as the other people trying out are phenomenal and extremely encouraging I also agree with the blue way camp in June if you not on a corp for the summer. Good luck and confidence is key they will understand nervousness the more you relax the better the experience will be.

It was a very informatitive breakdown and I appreciate the time spent to explain it. That being said i am ultimately a fan of all Corps that entertain me regardless of who they are. I just don't feel this show was as entertaining as say Spartacus in 2008 or for that matter Wicked Games this year. I spend the money to be entertained and captivated not confused. 2011 A Beat My Heart Skipped was very enjoyable and I feel a much better show then this years. Regardless of who my favorite Corps is I will give credit to who I feel deserves it and I'm sorry I just didn't feel their show was the best I felt it was a third place at best show. Again this is just my personal opinion I am sure I will be bashed for this but we are all entitled to our thoughts. I am not particularly a fan of the Cavies or Scouts I felt their shows were more exciting to watch.

Yea still don't get it I didn't see that at all but that's just me.

Ok well then can someone please explain the BD show to me? I could follow a lot of the shows fairly well Vanguards show got the point across very well although I wasn't particularly a fan it still told the story. It seemed to me the BD show was a lot of move to a spot play then stop and move to another spot play and repeat. It was very confusing to watch and really although it was loud sounded like a lot of noise. No disrespect to any of the members I know they work their ##### off and like all the corps should be proud of their accomplishments I just don't get it sorry.

"But in short, GE is broken into Music and Visual GE. Both will look heavily at the design of the show, and how well it impacts or engages the audience." So then what your saying is this explanation of GE is incorrect? If that's the case then a stand still performance with razor straight lines and perfect horn angle and exact stick height would score better then a show that moves around but may not have those perfect lines and horn angles but is more "enjoyable" to the crowd?

Ok let me rephrase this I did not mean the scores were bad I just felt they deserved higher marks regardless of what they received in the past. All of their shows were much more enjoyable to watch then BD for me personally.