Corps Director views and where they come from

[tesmusic]

Simple question.

Do the directors of corps take into consideration the viewpoints of their alumni, history, etc. when making their decision.

I was thinking about the whole Hopkins thing, and I wonder if it is simply his view, or that of the people that elevated him to ED of Yea!

For example, since 2007, the Madison organization has been very forthcoming with choices and ideas, and have been very receptive to listening to other views.

There was a post in the Madison Stan Kenton/Don Ellis show where someone asked if the choice to not participate in the Tour of Champions show was a "Stewart era" middle finger to the activity.

Chris Komnick sent a note to alums explaining why that decision was made, and as an alum the viewpoint makes sense and I fully support it.

So back to my question, what do the supporters of the various corps feel about their particulars corps leadership and their decisions.

I'm sure every director is different, but I just hope that all of the decision made for each organization are not left up to one person, although it does seem as though some go rogue from their corps' philosophies, histories, and values.

[Jeff Ream]

I think in many ways, it depends on the corps leadership and the situation involved

[tesmusic]

Good point.

[ShutUpAndPlayYerGuitar]

This is just anecdotal, but when I saw the Cadets rehearse at a nearby high school a couple of years prior, I saw quite a few alumni there. This was in Minnesota, so not exactly "Cadet-country."

At one point, a guy wearing a maroon Cadets jacket who was in his 60s (I assume former member, but couldn't confirm) was half-jokingly giving GH a hard-time over the extremely loud bass/synth sound.* But he seemed to enjoy the show.

That doesn't really answer your main question, but it made me realize that even for all of GH's grandstanding and controversial ideas, he seems to have a pretty good connection with some of the alumni.

*Seriously, Cadets: it sounds awful. If you're going to do it, at least follow BD or Crown's example

[supersop]

Hop specifically ...... was not elevated to ED of YEA. He took over the corps in the middle of the season in the early 80's when they were about to fold and cut and file bankruptcy. Basically .. that's the jist. I think because of that .. .and the job he did in an EXTREMELY small window of time ... Hop feels intitled to buck the trend, share his visions, push his agenda ... etc etc etc.

However, when I was on tour with the corps in 2005 .... myself and a few other alumni on tour were not very happy. There were a few traditions in the marching technique that were missing. That's the only issue I'll speak to. Late at night on the way to Colorado (600+ mile drive) we took it upon ourselves to play Cadet trivia on the CB's. When was the last time the Cadets used the elbow pop on reverse slide? <------ this was just one of the questions. It was not planned out ... but I think it was our way of talking about our frustrations on the long trip in a way that wasn't confrontational. 4am in the middle of nowhere .. and Hop was awake and listening. He was always awake and listening.

The next day .. the elbow pops were back in the basics and being addressed on every set. Hop does listen to the staff, supporters and alumni. You just have to go about it in a slick way ...... but in the end ... he makes the final decisions. That is what a leader does.

[mingusmonk]

One word ... Thetans.

[Jeff Ream]

Hop specifically ...... was not elevated to ED of YEA. He took over the corps in the middle of the season in the early 80's when they were about to fold and cut and file bankruptcy. Basically .. that's the jist. I think because of that .. .and the job he did in an EXTREMELY small window of time ... Hop feels intitled to buck the trend, share his visions, push his agenda ... etc etc etc.

However, when I was on tour with the corps in 2005 .... myself and a few other alumni on tour were not very happy. There were a few traditions in the marching technique that were missing. That's the only issue I'll speak to. Late at night on the way to Colorado (600+ mile drive) we took it upon ourselves to play Cadet trivia on the CB's. When was the last time the Cadets used the elbow pop on reverse slide? <------ this was just one of the questions. It was not planned out ... but I think it was our way of talking about our frustrations on the long trip in a way that wasn't confrontational. 4am in the middle of nowhere .. and Hop was awake and listening. He was always awake and listening.

The next day .. the elbow pops were back in the basics and being addressed on every set. Hop does listen to the staff, supporters and alumni. You just have to go about it in a slick way ...... but in the end ... he makes the final decisions. That is what a leader does.

If I recall, he did do some roadshows talking about the uniform change the other year

[corpsband]

There was a post in the Madison Stan Kenton/Don Ellis show where someone asked if the choice to not participate in the Tour of Champions show was a "Stewart era" middle finger to the activity.

Chris Komnick sent a note to alums explaining why that decision was made, and as an alum the viewpoint makes sense and I fully support it.

Really? What did it say?

What? You won't share?

But it's ok to post *other* correspondence?

Oh DCP.......you never fail us.

[Jeff Ream]

Really? What did it say?

What? You won't share?

But it's ok to post *other* correspondence?

Oh DCP.......you never fail us.

hey if I had it, I'd post it

[GUARDLING]

Simple question.

Do the directors of corps take into consideration the viewpoints of their alumni, history, etc. when making their decision.

I was thinking about the whole Hopkins thing, and I wonder if it is simply his view, or that of the people that elevated him to ED of Yea!

For example, since 2007, the Madison organization has been very forthcoming with choices and ideas, and have been very receptive to listening to other views.

There was a post in the Madison Stan Kenton/Don Ellis show where someone asked if the choice to not participate in the Tour of Champions show was a "Stewart era" middle finger to the activity.

Chris Komnick sent a note to alums explaining why that decision was made, and as an alum the viewpoint makes sense and I fully support it.

So back to my question, what do the supporters of the various corps feel about their particulars corps leadership and their decisions.

I'm sure every director is different, but I just hope that all of the decision made for each organization are not left up to one person, although it does seem as though some go rogue from their corps' philosophies, histories, and values.

IMO...If a corps has a solid alumni association i know most directors will include alumni with information on whats new , going on and changes within a corps. especially if alumni are a big part of support . There are also some corps with a reputation for alumni associations that literally are a major pain in the butt and question everything and literally are against everything done, mainly because it's not the drum corps they knew. I know of many staff that wont work with a few top 12 corps mainly for this reason .

With that said I do think as I said many directors will include alumni if they are smart for many reasons, money, SOME traditions, history, showing kids today that there's something much bigger than them ( something many today need to learn IMO) but as far as show choices or design etc etc some may listen BUT do what they need to do with a broader and much larger picture in mind.