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I read in Unpopular Opinions that a few people think Indy is a bit stale compared to the old traveling Finals model. Indy's not going away, that's the home of drum corps Finals now and probably forever. So I'm curious, if you had unlimited resources, what would you do/want to see happen to make an every-year-Indy-Finals as interesting/exciting for out-of-town travelers to help generate some new excitement? I started to reply to a few folks in the Unpopular Opinions thread with this question, but thought this might warrant its own topic.

When I was in drum corps back in the "good ole days", the 1960's, there were dozens of corps in a 10 mile radius. There were the Blue Point Blue Jays, Holbrook Skylarks, Medford Golden Grenadiers, Selden Cadets, Smithtown Freelancers and Plebes, West Sayville Golden Eagles, Port Jeff Portsman and Bohemia Czechmates to some. Now there are none. What happened to the interest in drum corp. This is not a rant about the corps of today versus the golden age of drum corps. But, it is a question of why interest died and we lost a great activity for the youth to be involved in. Is it that drum corps is just not cool? Is it the fact that it has just got to complicated? Did the evolution into a three valve bugle make it harder to teach kids to play the bugle. I remember instructing the junior members who never played how to play a bugle. Is it the fact the American Legion, VFW, Churches and Fire Departments stop sponsoring? The instrument companies should be interested in promoting local corps. More corps more sales. It is a shame we lost a big part of drum corps, the local corps. Ever go to a parade lately. There used to be dozens of bands and corps. Now it's just fire trucks. Or is a fact that we just lost the feeling of "community"? But it would be nice if we could bring back the small local corps.

Alright 2016 only Oscars: Best Picture: Relentless Best Director: David Gibbs Best Actor in a Leading Role: Shayne O Brien Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Ben Gunnarson Best Actress in a Leading Role: Possibly Possesed Pit Girl Best Actress in a Supporting Role: CrownGUARD Best Cinematography: Cavaliers Best Costume Design: Bluecoats....kidding, Blue Devils Best Documentary Feature: Force of Nature Best Documentary Short Subject: Hero Best Film Editing: DCI- Drum Corpse Bride recording Best Foreign Language Film: El "Stoned" Best Makeup and Hairstyling: since 1981 Best Original Score: Wayne Downey and friends Best Production Design: Downside Up Best Sound Editing: Downside Up Best Sound Mixing: Downside Up Best Visual Effects: Downside Up Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay): As Dreams are Made on (The Tempest) Best Writing (Original Screenplay): Relentless Golden Globes (cut out redundants) Best Motion Picture-Cadets Best Drama Series- Clash of the Corps Best Comedy Series- Hoptalk Razzies...kidding

Not sure if this is the right forum but Hi! My name is Irene, and I am a junior in high school. I am in my school's International Baccalaureate (IB) program. As part of getting our diploma, IB students have to write a research paper known as the Extended Essay (EE). I am writing my EE about DCI. For my EE, I writing a comparative essay about the transition between the mediums of musical theater and DCI. The essay will focus on three shows (Sky Ryders 1988, Santa Clara Vanguard 1989 and Santa Clara Vanguard 2013) and will include musical analysis, visual analysis and interviews with staff. Would any of you happen to have the names of the visual coordinator, program coordinator, brass arranger/composer, percussion arranger and color guard designer for Santa Clara Vanguard's 1989 and 2013 shows, or know where I could find them? Thank you so much! :)

Just listened to the Southern University Marching Band, and musically I think the college bands have a better sound then drum corps. With all the changes in the drum corps rules, like allowing xylophones, amplification, and who knows what. Why don't they just allow college bands to compete. Maybe, they don't have the marching down as good, but they could.

Ok, so I was thinking about this a little bit. Honestly, I dont know if there is other people who already do this, but I think this is something I will try for the 2017 season. Im going to forgo watching any 2017 drum corps shows before championships. Scores and show titles are ok to see, but any kind of lot videos or shows will not be. Im not attending any drum corps shows this year, so I think this will be fun to try. Im also looking at forgoing scores as well, and try to guess the placements at championships. I dont know if I will do it, I just wanted to bounce it off you guys, and get your opinions. Is this something that people try often?

This morning I've been listening to a sport psychologist via podcast, and he mentioned the Golden State Warriors (basketball team apparently, I'm out of the loop on that sport) put a huge emphasis on sleep. They realized their team wasn't recovering well from overnight trips and back-to-back out-of-state games, and they retooled how they schedule their travel and practice as a result. They ended up playing better, winning more, and saw significantly fewer injuries. (one of many articles for the interested). Meanwhile, just yesterday on Reddit I read about a drum corps last season (didn't say which corps) that had a show, traveled 3 hours by bus and then did 2 hours of floor time, and then started rehearsal bright and early the next day, also a show day. The Reddit user said it was their worst day of drum corps in memory. So I guess I'm wondering, we hear more and more about corps putting emphasis on hiring physical therapists and movement coaches to prevent injury and help them perform at their optimum, but is anything being done to ensure corps get better sleep?

Ok - lets have some off-season fun (Is it June yet?): What shows will we never see in DCI competition? I'll start: Springtime for Hitler Swear Words in Braille Josef Stalin's Favorite Love Songs

How did you get involved in drum corps? What was your corps like? I became interested in drum corps indirectly through my parents. My farther and mother were part of the greatest generation. My father fought in WWII. Drove a tank through France into Germany. Came home. Didn't talk about it much. He and my mother settle back on Long Island, NY and he joined the local volunteer fire department. Our home town fire department had one of the best bands (not drum corps) in the state. As a kid, I went to all the local fire department parades and fairs. In the summer, there must have been at least two a week. The left me by the fire department finish line as the marched in the parade. I got to hear the local corps like the Selden Cadets, and Smithtown Freelancers. From as far back as I can remember, I wanted to march with a drum corp. I joined a local corps sponsored by a fire department, in the next town. I joined because I wanted to march and play bugle. But, the bonus was being a part of the corps. Sure, there were the clicks, and the corps politics. The inner circle versus the members from out of the district. But, still we were a part of the whole. It wasn't a big corps like the Skyliners or Sunrisers. Not even like the Selden Cadets. But, we tried our best. It was one of the best memories I have. But, when it came to my children, they never had any interest. Maybe, it was the time, maybe it was the fact that we were the children of the greatest generations. Also, maybe it was the fact that each town had a corps and all it took was desire to join. You didn't have to audition. Grenadier

Remember those hot summer nights after a parade walking hand with your best girl or boy friend who marched with you in the drum corp. After a parade walking through the fire department fairs, going on the ferris wheel and later going out for pizza. The bus rides home, your best girl or boy friend next to you in the seat on the bus. I was always a sucker for a girl in a skirt and boots with bom, boms. I know of at least two couples who got married and lasted a life time. I didn't end up with the girl who marched in the corps with me. "Thank God" I met a wonderful girl and we've been married for almost 50 years. But, how many of you married a girl in your corps and did it last? Grenadier

Check out the revealing and appropriately written and titled Michael BOO! 10/26/2016 Tombstone Story on THE ACADEMY. "The Drum Corpse Bride Graveyard Tour", on dci.org I sure hope DCI Releases on dci.org, video from this show as a Halloween Treat to us DCI fans, It was an absolutely amazing performance: Visually, Muscially, Theatrically, Emotionally and SO Corps Fan Satisfying that even legendary DCI Hall of Famer, Announcer was moved to declare that: "DRUM CORPSE INTERNATIONAL Is Proud to Present: THE ACADEMY. ENJOY!

With the emergence of music based programs versus themed programs (ex. The Cadets 2013) we should start a forum with ideas that would be good music programs. My submission is The Rite of Spring both movements. Also post which corps you think would be best for the music I think crown would make a lit program based on Rite of Spring.

To me ever since 2016 the innovation of the Cadets has been slighlty lack luster do i think they have been working hard yes. But the innovation that has been getting them championships is not currently present. So why not present ideas that could be used. Now this isnt a Cadets roast session, so please feel free to submit ideas, because who knows maybe George is watching.

So, pick any corps; any year...and what show would you liked to have seen them perform? O.K.....I'll bite. Velvet Knights doing Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" An entire show of music by "RUSH" ...(you pick the corps) Oh, I know...rock-n-roll doesn't "do well" in drum corps. So just use your imagination. :)

The description is hilarious! As a tech who enjoys stealing the drum guy's used inventory, this is right up my alley! Enjoy: http://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/steve-weiss-gock-stick/education-specials#full-description

I know DCI tried to hide recaps this summer, but I say they should go into the complete opposite direction: complete transparency. 1) Make all judge tapes available for download to the public. 2) Videotape all critiques and make them available to the public. To implement this, maybe all judges should wear GoPro-like video recording equipment (with mic, to catch commentary), so we can see their perspective whilst running around the field (or not). Also, the GoPro would be perfect for recording staff behavior in critique. Furthmore, instead of writing anything down after the show, just speak it into the mic, where everyone can hear it (Currently, the judges keep cryptic notes, reminders, number-management chicken scratch...get rid of all of it) Now, before you say "no judge would ever allow this!" I claim it takes pressure off the judges and puts all of it on the STAFF (where it belongs). After all, if the judge is confident in their process, they'd have nothing to hide. And the real exposure would come whilst watching the staff in critique. (obviously, if the staff knows they're being recorded, the staff might behave better.) I call this win-win for the JUDGES, cuz all of us can hear the performances the same way they heard them, and all of us could see/hear the way the staff talked to them after they got their number! This would only make the judging better, because a judge could learn from all of the scrutiny. Any judge not willing to do this would probably quit, and that's OK. Staffs would certainly behave better, except for the most-belligerent (they can't even help themselves, let's be real). Maybe this would put an end to critique altogether, and that's OK too. Wouldn't that be fun? Heck, maybe DCI could sell this as an extra package!

During the Olympic opening ceremony introduction, Meredith Viera commented that Rio chose NO technology and NO props intentionally. They want to bring us their HEART and SOUL! Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if drum and bugle corps followed their lead? I don't care who can afford the best props or the best electronics. I want to see who can MARCH with your own feet and PLAY your own BUGLE well at the same time! As I the only one anymore?

The year is (y). It's mid-July, only a few weeks left in the season, and the (x) drum and bugle corps isn't having the season they'd hoped. Their show isn't coming together like they thought it would, and now they've called you for help. You have full creative freedom, a reasonable budget, and a week to rehearse/implement the changes. How do you save the show? Pick a year (y), pick a corps (x) and a show (previously unmentioned z variable) and let your design skills fly DCP!

Over the 15 years of my DCI fandom, there has been a strong move toward explicit theme and direct storytelling. In 2014, Crown did a show about outer space. It's pretty much the consensus view that it wasn't the greatest design, but hear me out. In the beginning of the season, there was the Major Tom introduction, an overly-long but timbrally-intriguing percussion feature, the echo effects etc. One of the (many) great things about Space Oddity by Bowie (RIP) is that it trails off at the end. The listener is left to wonder what happened to the astronaut. Did some small valve on his spaceship fail and cause him to asphyxiate? Did he go into a wormhole? Did mysterious radiation transform him into an interdemensional squid-creature? But in Crown's final narrative with added narration, Major Tom goes into space, some things happen, then he comes home. There's not a lot of space for the audience to contribute to the narrative with their own creativity. One of the reasons that I (and many others) prefer the movie 2001 (an inspiration for the Bowie song) to Arthur C. Clarke's novelization is that it shows, rather than tells. Everything is spelled out in the book, whereas the viewer has to interpret the images, etc. in the film. Drum corps, I argue, is the same way. Would Cadets 2005 been better with giant waterfall props in Liquid? Subtly and discretion can be good things, but I feel like judging is pushing everything to be SO literal and forcing everyone to tell a LITERAL story with a beginning, middle, and end. Drum corps is a ~13 minute audio-visual medium. Hard to tell a simple story in a coherent and compelling way in that time, let alone something deeper, even with narration etc. Even Crown 2013, which some see as the greatest show designer ever, basically comes down to "love is nice." TL;DR: Stop trying so hard to be "deep" and tell some profound story in your show, use music and visuals to create a mood and err on the side of subtly

There was a time when the troopers were in the top 3, a time when Crown was no body, a time when the Cavies dominated, Phantom rocked faces off, My question is "Who do you think is the next world class corps that no body is talking about now, that we could possibly be talking about as a title contender in 3 to 5 years?"

I'm not one to be blown away by trailer music, but the last Star Wars TFA Trailer has been blowing my mind. With BD doing a Star Wars Duel of the Fates back 1999, why not this one. Perhaps Crown or BD could play an arrangement in the lot. I think I might arrange this myself, anyways Could you see these or other corps playing an arrangement of the this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCN9K_a-MpE

If you haven't seen the new, Blue Devils and The Cadets are filming a reality show in 2016 off-season and competition season. Let's play around with this. What areas will the producers be manipulating, er ... mining... for drama? What are the pitches? THE COMPETITION. They are going to have to feed on speculation until they meet. But when they meet, they spend almost the entire last 2 weeks of July head-to-head. (Schedule may not be entirely accurate. I did this very quickly) July 12th - Dekalb TOC July 18th - Warrensburg TOC July 22nd - Houston TOC July 23rd - San Antonio REGIONAL July 25th - Dallas July 27th - Hattiesburg July 29th - Nashville TOC July 30th - Atlanta REGIONAL July 31st - Winston Salem TOC Aug 2nd - Annapolis Aug 5th - Buffalo TOC Aug 11th ~ 13th - Indianapolis LOVE! Boyfriends/girlfriends that tour together! Oh the drama! LOVE across distance! Boyfriends/girlfriends that tour with different corps! Oh the unkown and the drama! LOVE across enemy lines! Boyfriends/girlfriends that tour with the enemy! Specifically BD/Cadets! Staff across enemy lines! This could be tough. Not a lot of crossover between BD and Cadets staff as there is with some other corps. Is there any? Also eligible "this staff marched BD/Cadets but teaches Cadets/BD!" FAMILIA! I march with my bro, sis, etc. Even better ... I march BD/Cadets but my bro, sis etc marches Cadets/BD! :big hug: My mom, dad, grandparents marched here. My mom, dad, grandparents MARCHED WITH THE ENEMY! INTRA-CORPS ADVERSITY Practice is so hard! Little-to-no quality sleep! Weather is bad! (Heat is a given. Days of rain or drought?) Sparse or unappetizing food! (good luck getting the corps to play along with this one) I've been injured! Member has problems at home! Member is here against the odds! How do we fill these holes? Add your pitch for show "drama" topics! Check back later and see what we get right and wrong!

I'm a filmmaker. I communicate in video form. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyzctsA0ZoU Thanks to Minnesota Brass for the access and hang time all last week! Let the Madd circus begin! Their closer features some of Queen's "The Show Must Go On" and I thought it the perfect track for a DCA team who spends most of the season all alone in MN. ;)

Gary, tried to send a PM to you regarding Big Sounds weekend but your inbox is full!

BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME!!! First load of world series astroturf has arrived Help support the corps as we move towards our new home https://www.facebook.com/BlueSaintsDrumandbuglecorps/photos/a.299341480168509.46797.244957045606953/599991250103529/?type=1&theater