GeorgiaGirl

The unfortunate snafu with Cadets' housing site is entirely down to the recently-fired millennial band director at Woodland High School. He made a promise he couldn't keep, especially after showing up drunk to graduation. Had absolutely zero to do with DCI, the principal at Woodland, or Spirit of Atlanta. If anyone pops off at the mouth by bashing any of the latter, they are 100% wrong. Many thanks to the band director at Cairo High School for mitigating a very bad situation. With any luck, that former Woodland director will choose another career which has nothing whatsoever to do with music, because he should be kept the hell away from the marching and music communities. On another topic altogether, I'd like for Steve Tant at Crown Tickets to contact me with the names of the Spirit member's parents who were sitting on Row I, estimated seats 16-20. They were so obnoxious that they should be banned from all future DCI events. No one needs "fans" who abuse people in the seats around them. No, I don't keep secrets for anybody who doesn't deserve my discretion.

Haven't logged in here in many years, and probably won't be back again. Make no mistake; this is an exponentially bigger public relations nightmare than gymnastics, Penn State, or that Schneider guy at Nickelodeon. One thought: It would be very wise for someone to check the social media accounts of a number of people, and download/archive everything, because those will very likely be scrubbed soon.

My mistake - Music City Drum & Bugle Corps - my mind's on those kids

We are good friends with the British percussionist and his family, and are trying very hard to patiently wait for Music City Legend to call back, but they have taken ALL afternoon without word. The window for either driving or flying these two kids to catch up with MCL is closing. Our BEST case scenario tomorrow is a 12 hour drive from Atlanta to Charlotte to Murfreesboro, and it's not improving. We're doing that to save these kids and their families the high price of last minute plane tickets. If you're with MCL, please ask Tom Grant or Keith Hall to provide an answer for these two kids, and as quickly as possible. They've already been through enough, emotionally, and dangling an answer is NOT okay.

Boy, feeling really bad for ALL the corps members who are, and have been, feeling cruddy. Nothing worse than an unwanted interruption to the season! It's everywhere, though: NYT Thursday 7/23: Flu Changes Summer Camp Life

Latest word is that only one tuba spot remains.

Zach Cogdill is my nominee for Boston Crusaders alumni of the year! What an incredible job this young man has done at his high school! OldSoprano just returned from seeing his alma mater's band off on their trip to Washington -- he said every media outlet in Atlanta was there to cover their departure, and the local ABC affiliate station is sending a reporter and cameraman along with them on the bus. Recent coverage: New York Times Atlanta Journal-Constitution WSB Channel 2 / ABC WAGA Fox 5 Atlanta WXIA Channel 11 NBC

We're excited to be organizing the first annual Emerald Coast Classic at Choctawhatchee High School in Fort Walton Beach next Monday -- here's the show rundown: 7:40 Teal Sound 7:57 Colts 8:14 Glassmen 8:31 Intermission (20") 8:51 Boston Crusaders 9:08 Bluecoats 9:25 Spirit I've got a question for "the collective" ... what was the last year that there was a D1 drum corps show in the Florida Panhandle? CorpsReps is showing a Pensacola show as late as 1985, but I'm curious whether that was the last time. Has it really been 23 years? Yeesh, nobody marching now was even born then The show "crew" welcomes any and all suggestions from locals for post-show refreshments, preferably on the beach The stadium holds about 4,500 & should be a super place for a show. Tickets are $18, $16, $14 gen adm and $12 for groups of 25 or more. C'mon down to the beach and enjoy the show! (*DCP Insider Tip: The Hampton Inn on the beach is offering a special $99 room rate this weekend, usually $200 - call the hotel direct at (850) 301-0906, mention drum corps, & grab a reservation while they last!)

"not every corps has competed yet, so how can you make that prediction?" It's unpleasant, but true. One day, somebody will figure out that it's as interesting as knowing exactly which two teams are in the Super Bowl, year after year after year. There's no suspense.

Forget this football stadium nonsense. Let's go play indoors! LOL! Jerry Seinfeld's already booked, but he probably wouldn't mind a long weekend off, right? Might have to adjust the show a little, but desperate times call for innovative solutions, right?

Thank you for the most sensible and intelligent comment so far, Linda. I think the time has already passed for any "ideal" solutions to this season's challenges. The goal should be to make 2008 the best season possible given this freak incident caused by weather at the Finals venue, and the threat to the activity itself by gas prices. Every corps is coping with very difficult challenges this season. Linda's right. Open your pockets for your favorite corps; they need your support. Our thoughts go out to our friends in the Drum Corps International office, and to everyone in the Midwest affected by the flooding.

Funny topic! The young lady taking care of Spirit's uniforms this summer told a funny story about uniform smell. She said that a couple of years ago, she was doing some volunteer work with the Russian State Ballet when they were on tour, and they told her their Russian home remedy for uniform smell. Seems the ornate traditional costumes they wore, made with authentic fabrics and heavily beaded and embroidered, were never laundered or dry cleaned... ever. They put a mixture of cheap vodka and water in a spray bottle, and misted the costumes with the resulting costume cocktail. "That cheap vodka," she admitted, "pretty much killed any smell those costumes had." Ahh, no, we don't know if Spirit will be more "spirited" than usual this summer.

Some lady showed up at Spirit's souvie trailer at a show, claiming to have been in the rifle line in 1979. Regrettably for her, the souvie volunteer at the counter had been in that rifle line, and was quick to point out the discrepancy...

Need an excuse to go to the beach? Friends of Spirit, Inc., on behalf of Spirit Drum & Bugle Corps, is proud to bring Drum Corps International to Fort Walton Beach's Choctawhatchee High School! Fort Walton Beach, Florida was voted "#1 Beach in America" in a recent USA Today poll and "Best Beach in the South" by Southern Living magazine. Mark your calendar for Monday, July 14 to see: Bluecoats Boston Crusaders Capital Sound Colts Glassmen Spirit Teal Sound More info coming soon! Area links: Emerald Coast Info Show venue: Joe Etheredge Stadium @ Choctawhatchee HS

Excellent points in the first paragraph. This is a youth activity, not a pilot for Donald Trump's "Apprentice", but that's what backdoor meetings say, folks. Cut it to nine, and 3 or 4 of those will gang up and decide they don't need the other 5 or 6 to be "effective" and "organized". Then one of those will decide he needs to be Tony Soprano, and ba-da-bing. Why, indeed, judge by scores *or* financial statements? Competitive points and dollar signs are just numbers. Competitive judging is by definition subjective, and there are people who'll cook books to say anything you want for a few hundred bucks. If this really isn't about a few egos, those egos should logically be comfortable with a rotating panel, a common practice in many professional associations and even in some protestant denominations. You sign on and agree to a 3-5 year term, then rotate off. It keeps things on the up-and-up. I don't wanna see the same four football teams in the playoffs every year, and I don't wanna see the same nine corps year after year after year. Borrrring. And how many shows would those nine end up doing? 7 to 10 at the max. Take away all the benefits from the other corps, and they'll all fold one by one. ("but that's not what it says", "but that's not what they want to do"... yeah, yeah, talk to the hand.) Nine corps of 150 members... so out of the entire world (don't forget that "i" in DCI), and that tallies to only 1,350 marching members. My, my, my. While we're talking about people -- how many people does this plan leave out in the cold? Let's see, local schools and organizations who sponsor shows that will probably fall off the schedule... instructors and staff for the corps who will have to cut back severely or fold... kids who used to be in the other corps... a large number of judges who won't be needed with fewer shows... It's certainly easy to see exactly who it would benefit. Question I haven't seen here yet: Most of the corps are non-profit corporations; is YEA a non-profit corporation? They operate dozens of competitive events outside of drum corps. Most of the other corps don't, and may not want to. A regular corporation and a non-profit have vastly different business models. Is the gist of this idea to give everybody the same business template to adopt?

Arrrghh, cell phones. We had dinner with some friends not long ago, and their otherwise-normal 15-year-old son called Mommy eight times before 9:00 that night. She was at her wits' end; he was used to her being at his beck and call every second, and finally pestered her until she gave up and went home. I've seen moms answering cellphone calls from their kids during school hours. It's boring to use the "we never did ____ back in the day", but unless there's some earthshaking emergency, no, you don't need a phone during school. I've seen corps members being "pinged" incessantly by their hometown honeys. They don't get to be on tour, because every time there's a break, they're being mentally dragged back to Schenectady, or wherever. There's no question that they affect the amount of time that the kids should be spending just *being* with their fellow corps members, or sleeping/eating/rehearsing. The effect ranges from minimal to very invasive, but I think they diminish the drum corps experience. Just my virulent $0.02....

I've lived in Georgia all my life, hate the humidity with a vengeance, and Steve, I disagree-- I will NEVER get used to it, LOL! Ended up in Las Vegas on one of those 115 degree days. People always go on about the dry heat out west being different, but it still felt pretty awful.

2008 season will probably shake out to two in Georgia, three in Alabama.

Um, how do you feel about crippling traffic, terrible summer air quality, getting panhandled every time you step out of your car downtown, rising crime rates (a murder barely raises an eyebrow on the local news)? I'm a fifth generation Georgian, and it makes me ill to see what's happening here. What we're hearing from most other people in our middle-aged demographic is retirement plans that start with the phrase "anywhere else".

Wait, wait, wait! Look at the press release again! What's the last name listed under music celebs he's performed with? Yes! Yes it is! It's... CHAKA KHAN! Instant mojo Kidding aside, all the vets who's been taught by him before are just over-the-moon thrilled about this news.

This one brought me out of off-season hibernation: Just from a sales-only perspective (purists, I do respect your take, and believe me, I ADORE old school guards like crazy and was on my feet in Pasadena for the Kingsmen alumni guard going bananas)... if most of the corps brought in some key people who have made pro ballroom dancing and cheerleading so popular, not to mention ubiquitous on TV-- bumping up the "eye candy" factor-- the numbers, especially the money numbers that it's gonna take to keep the activity viable and financially healthy-- would jump right up. As a woman and a mom, I don't particularly love knowing what sells, but it's the inarguable truth. I see some guard uniforms that just make me cringe. They're younger than springtime, and look as great as they're ever going to look, yet they get put in some outfits that defy all logic. Color guard in DCI is 29 kinds of difficult, and those phenomenally-talented people deserve outfits that make them look like a million dollars. I'd like to see a DCI rule that decreed that Clinton and Stacy of "What Not To Wear" had to sign off on all designs. :P We got to see the Alabama Million Dollar Band at BOA Atlanta and it's just my opinion, but their majorettes could get elected governor in most of the other 49 states, looking like that. Call the 'Bama majorette sponsor and find out where they got those Austrian crystal unis, guard caption heads! Google some photos of ballroom dance outfits! Fringe! Sparkle! Unis that fit and *flatter* the guys! Where is it written that color guards can't look terrific? Whether we like it or not, it'd look fabulous on camera, and it'd sell. I'm just sayin'. My degree's in marketing and I'm in sales (did you guess? LOL!) :P :P :P

Hey, look at this, from the corps website: Freddy Martin Joins Spirit Staff Written by Joel Vincent Wednesday, 31 October 2007 Spirit is pleased to announce Spirit founder and Director Emeritus, Freddy Martin has accepted a position as Brass Advisor and Music Consultant for the 2008 season. Martin, a 2006 inductee into the DCI Hall of Fame, founded Spirit in 1976 and served as the corps' Director from 1976 until 1993. "We are thrilled that Freddy will be rejoining the corps this season," said Randy Nelson, Spirit's Director for Programming and Creative Design. "Every time Freddy steps in front of the corps it is like attending a world class seminar. His knowledge of brass and drum corps is simply amazing." I'm so pleased my son will have the opportunity to experience some instruction time with Freddy. I adored his brother Dan when he was my high school band director, and we think the world of the Martins. Wonderful, wonderful news for the Spirit family :)

YMMV on all of these, but as they say, an ounce of prevention... acetominophen or ibuprofen for random headaches/body aches over the counter digestive system "helpers" (antacids, antidiarrheal remedies, etc -- sometimes nerves will make normally calm stomachs mutiny) non-drowsy colds meds if you need 'em (antihistamine/decongestant) Ladies, bring the supplies, whether you think you'll need 'em or not. The Boy Scout motto, "be prepared", applies. Couple more pairs of socks & unders than you think you'll need A good memory, so you won't forget something at checkout on Sunday (cellphone, MP3 player, PDA, camera, clothes... we found somebody's entire CD collection and high school letter jacket one time-- new environment, tons of distractions, heads up)

Bawker is right on the money. Easy solution for drum corps fans loading videos -- keep it simple by clicking "disable comments" when completing the upload process. :)

Very exciting news from the 'ville this afternoon! :) The drum & color guard folks are already very happy