Cozy’s Corpsdom – ‘The Vote’

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DCA’s Much Ado about Fewer

Primed by the overall successful DCAssociates Championships in Rochester, DCPlanet was abuzz with posters mere days after the Labor Day weekend gala, optimistically discussing how DCA was set to explode across North America (from Canada to Mexico to Panama?) and inspiringly beyond. Threads even dissected opinions about where and when the championship site could move outside the Northeast.

Seine this conjecture: The rampant posts spooked some DCAssociates Northeastern corps staff humanoids into feeling "their activity" could slip through their fingers. Pass through a time warp to the present, and we find that fewer voters control DCA’s destiny. Methinks I’m puzzled, not surprised, but baffled.



Seemingly eons ago, when DCInternational proposed and passed the 30-member limit, I wrote publicly calling it the "Marion Cadets Rule." I knew it was wrong to use that moniker, as this rule affected far more than one corps. Marion was a prime "target." Yes, that rule was show sponsor driven. I argued a compromise could be made by paying less/no pay.

Check out the 1994 Marion Cadets. Those five brass musicians were a phenomenal ensemble, and I was proud to work with them. Three of them, especially Sean, soprano, could easily have played with Future Corps, USMC D&BC, Blast!, etc. The drum major even jumped into the fine guard at times for several years. The percussion worked their butts off. Fortunately, ’94 was the smallest corps Marion fielded. They survived the next few years and grew enough to meet the 30-limit later.

My experiences, coming from a cream-of-the-crop corps to starting my own to traditional to fast-rising corps, is that, while I never had to experience the under-35, I know what it’s like to wonder about the winter numbers and who will truly be there after Memorial Day. If the numbers are below 35 in, say, March, a dark cloud would hang over any DCA corps as the first show approaches. Scenarios which could suddenly reduce numbers, if even temporarily, are major concerns; e.g., vehicle breakdown, work commitments, accident, school, etc.

Corpsdom, irregardless of DCI or DCA, should allow for smaller corps. We should even encourage it. In a glass-is-half-full optimistic world, the corps of <35 will prosper and grow to 35+ and fan$ benefit.

Donna Petrucelli, the newly appointed DCA PR director, has a solid background from her years of corps work, including as business manager for the Connecticut Hurricanes. We look forward to Petrucelli’s work for DCA and participation here on DCP regarding these and many other topics. Make her feel welcome, all DCPers.

Ponzo and Cabs Alumni celebrate

Posting to wish Frank Ponzo, Caballeros Alumni soprano soloist, a Happy Birthday on Jan. 17, Ponzo replied, "Thanks, Cozy! WOW! How did you know it was my birthday?"

Ponzo, the all-knowing DCP amplifies such news at the bottom of the Homepage.

Ponzo continued, "Here’s an update for the Cabs Alumni: Last rehearsal we had 58 horns, with 25 missing! – Five contras, 12 baritones, 18 mellos, and 23 sops.

"(Cabs Alumni) rep includes in this order: ‘Macarena,’ ‘Cachita,’ ‘Echano,’ ‘Flamenco Cha Cha,’ ‘Hill Where the Lord Hides,’ and, of course, our traditional ending."

Ponzo proudly added, "We have added another amazing soloist to our already incredibly talented line, two-time DCA Soloist award winner, Curt Hawkins. He is already dazzling us with his unmatched style and sounds. The crowds are absolutely going to love us this year. Make sure you listen for an interesting and unique sound in ‘Hill Where the Lord Hides’!

"You’ll be able to see the Cabs Alumni at the following shows:
Harrisburg, PA, April 14
Wildwood, NJ, June 16
Bayonne, NJ, June 23
Bridgeport, CT, June 30
Clifton, NJ, July 14
Lewisburg, PA, July 21
Glens Falls, NY, Aug. 4
Kingston, NY, Aug. 11
and of course the Alumni Spectacular in Rochester, NY, Sep. 2, and then capping off our season in Plymouth, MA, on Nov. 17."

Ponzo ended, "Thanks again, Cozy. If you are in the NY area any time soon, make sure you stop by Post 199 in Hawthorne, NJ, and check out one of our rehearsals. Bring your horn and sit in!"

To play with the Cabs Alumni would be a thrill indeed.

Multitudes have expressed condolences for the loss of Michael Gerris, beloved son of Frank Gerris, Caballeros director, and Dianna Hrunka Ellis.

Tony White, TennTux, PMed, "Your column and another DC friend on DCP are something I wait for (and not very patiently by the way) and wish you and Frank (Dorritie) wrote articles more often." Thanks, Tony!

Jeff Ream Wanted Poster

Reams of posts have been submitted by Jeff Ream, prolific poster from the Westshore. Ream has reached the remarkable plateau of 100,000 posts this week. Jeff, this and $3.95 will get you a Starbuck’s latte.

Lisa McIntyre, Renegades, partly explaining why she posts on DCP, "I don’t have Jeff Ream’s phone number. I don’t have Cozy’s phone number. I don’t have a lot of people’s numbers whose opinions I respect. Therefore, if I want to talk about drum corps things with my fellow drum corps peeps, this is pretty much the venue for it."

Lisa, thanks. I do respect Ream’s posts. Jeff is a sage voice in cyber space and in person.

Thanks to Mac and JoEllen McEntire for your Christmas card. In DCWorld, www.drumcorpsworld.com, I had thanked others for cards…Oops, I forgot their card. Fry me in a vat of crunchy frogs.

Thank you, FOX TV, for showing the Ohio State University Marching Band performing "Script Ohio" during pregame of the NCAA national championship football game…Too bad the football team forgot to show up.

On that sad glissando, I droop.

Publisher’s Note: Cozy’s Corpsdom features updates from the world of drum corps as only Cozy Baker can deliver ….. in his own unique style and presentation. A featured Drum Corps World reporter and contributing columnist for many years, Cozy travels the country as a competitive marching member, instructor, observer, and commentator on the state-of-the-activity. The opinions expressed in this column are strictly those of the author. You may write to Cozy directly at Cozy [at] drumcorpsplanet [dot] com (Cozy [at] drumcorpsplanet [dot] com?subject=Message%20from%20DCP%20Column)

Posted by on Wednesday, January 17th, 2007. Filed under Cozy's Corpsdom.