Leaderboard

Call me a troll, but epic is such an overused word.

Yes you are right the world is no bed of roses and kids have to know the reality of everything and learning BAD behavior of adults I guess is one of them. And sorry I dont buy the reason for lack of attendance on shows etc etc.. thats the few who believe that their glorified presence is shifting the tides and makes those people believe and justify their own egos..Sorry didnt buy it yesterday or today. The world is different and thats it. JMO, we can argue that until its all gone and then people will argue and blame for the next 50 years after. Back to behavior, maybe we can start the show with ' LETS GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEEEEE" so if people still go then just shut up. I'm sure many don't want the opinion anyway. As I said i dislike even hate some shows now, manybe not the ones someothers do, sooo, i get up and go have a dog and a drink and maybe even a chuckle on some throwback shows.Booing, NEVER........there is NO justification.

This.

I just meant the web page and how someone didn't catch that mistake. My comment had nothing to do with the corps themselves.

Friday night report….they have about 120 pages on the field through ELP. There were on one of the practice fields so the vantage point was low and very close, but what that does offer one is the ability to hear the horses the hornline has….cannot wait to hear them up-close again at NightBEAT after a little bit of practice between now and then when the entire ensemble can turn it up to “11” (got to have the preverbal Spinal Tap line in a “Rach Show” right?). This show will be a very accessible for the fans. There is enough stuff to spark the interest of the casual fan and enough complexity to entertain the most hardcore fan. Drummer’s will LOVE the pre-show!!! Michael Klesch’s arrangements are (as usual) to die for. I bet he snores excellent arrangements!!!! The drill is a lot more condensed than last years and I would say an emphasis has been made to staging. (a fan favorite) there are some body movements scattered throughout. Right now it’s not forced in and I anticipate that restraint will be used over the summer. I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing everything from the top of GWU football stadium tonight. As an old alum- I like what I’m seeing and hearing from the young men and women of the 2011 edition of Carolina Crown. They have a long road in front of them until Indy.

And yet you continue to speak out against GH. Booing was wrong. The end. Who cares what GH did; the booing is wrong, the end.

Check this out!

Glassmen's late 90s uniforms, with the big gold shield on the chest, was one of DCI's best uniforms.

the people marching are not mindless robots forced to do the bidding of tyrants. they oftentimes know full well what kind of aesthetic the corps they're going for has chosen over the last several years,. and quite actively wish to become a part of that aesthetic it's disingenuous and feeble try to tell them "i'm not booing you, i'm booing your creative staff's choices" on a message board after the fact. the vast majority of marchers were attracted to the trend of those choices. booing a corps is classeless and always hateful. imo thankfully, i've seen very little of that kind of childish behavior, and it induced little but eye-rolling by adults i've seen.

I'm not interested in the G8 shows. I'm perfectly happy to wait until San Antonio so I can see everybody perform.

Always remember this... When you are on tour, you are no longer representing only yourself. It does not matter if you're in your uniform or not, act as if you are the face of an entire organization. You are now representing every member who has marched in the corps before you, and every member who will march after you.

Preliminary registration for season 16 is now OPEN. Corps directors may post their intent to field a corps by posting a reply in the following manner: Corps Name: Corps Division (World, Open, Class A): Corps Hometown and Region: www.drumcorpsfantasy.com username: Homeshow site and venue request: If you do not have a drumcorpsfantasy.com user name, you can register for one here: http://www.drumcorpsfantasy.com/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=registers A couple of notes: A "homeshow request" is exactly that. It is not a guarantee that your event will be placed on the calendar. I will, however, try to be as accomodating as possible with requests. Feel free to post or PM any additional details about your requested event (pictures of venue, show promotional graphics, etc). One thing that will be strictly enforced this year is the "no touring out of region" rule that was enacted at the last director's congress that states that corps may not travel outside of their home region during the first and third full weeks of the season. Since this season's "first tour" will be only three weeks, this rule will only be in place for the final week of the regional tour (week 3). Corps will automatically be entered into the regional championship event of their home region when they submit their tour schedules, and directors may have their schedules adjusted if they attempt to skirt this policy. The regions are: East: All New England states, NY, NJ, PA, MD, DE, DC, VA, WV, eastern Canada, Europe (tenative) Midwest: MI, OH, IN, KY, IL, WI, MN, IA, MO, ND, SD, KS, NE South: NC, SC, TN, GA, FL, MS, AL, AR, LA, OK, TX West: CA, OR, WA, MT, WY, ID, CO, UT, NV, AZ, NM, AK, HI, western Canada, Japan/Asia Please be certain to update your www.drumcorpsfantasy.com profile so that everything is current for when full registration opens in April. Also be on watch for the calendar of major events that will be released Friday afternoon!

Have you ever marched? I am not sure because maybe you just chose not to put it on your profile. I for one did not pay $3000 a season to not take the competition seriously. The money in itself puts a huge difference in people taking drum corps seriously as oposed to a soccer day yelling at his little sons soccer game. Also when you are on tour dedicated 3 months of your life to being great, you take it seriously. And when you are competing within a 10th a point to another corps, you better believe that everyone within both corps are trying to squeeze a few more thents out to beat the other team. And sometimes, you say to yourself I hate them, to add a competitive edge. Does that mean you HATE them? No! It means you respect them. Take 2009 for example. When we were competing closely with Regiment and Boston, I at least formed a sort of hatred for both groups. Even though I have always had the utmost respect for Regiment, and as soon as those scores were announce, it was a reliefe that I didnt have to "hate" them anymore. No one told me I had to hate them, and everyone handles that situation in a different way, but I myself am a competitor. And here I am, just coming home from volunteering for Phantom. So am I a terrible person?

Yes, but some of these notoriously incomplete corps have probably stepped up their game in preparation for an early meetup. We'll see. I **hope** it's interesting competitively.

to the Blue Devils bank account!! http://www.dci.org/news/view.cfm?news_id=a0f231fc-ea99-4ee1-9005-fdb7a50d69e3

I voted. GO TROOPERS!

So much of the attempt to justify the boos at 2007 quarters seems to depend on two wrongs making a right, which in this case they don't. Putting the corps in that position can't be justified by the director's reaction any more than it can be justified by artistic preference. About the best you can say about the booers is their emotions got out of control. But in saying that, you really can't find intellectual justication for their failure because it really is a failure, one for which that corps and perhaps drum corps history paid a price. HH

I hear ya!

true...but let's be honest...no one else wnated to schlep to Allentown a week before the rest of the tour got rolling either. Maybe had Bones still been up here it could have been the 4 C's. Any why does scores have to be the SOLE benefit? Exposure would be huge for a corps in Texas that seems to be an afterthought in Texas. Hell they get better press in their old home turf than they do down there. That kind of exposure would be priceless, especially if they are better than the last few years

it's a shame it rattled the kids. But on the other hand, if you're going to go there for example, you have to know going in you're marching in a lightning rod, and more often than not one guy creates the sizzle. Plus, and no lie, I've heard directors say "oh they hate you" in the lot, when really, fans showing displeasure are either doing it because of the choices the adults on staff created in the design or their actions. Too many "adults" hide behind the kids when the #### hits the fan.

Just relaying some minor stuff from Scouts' facebook. Nothing too serious yet, but it sounds like we'll get some goodies come soon : "Just getting a sense of our video capabilities for spring training. Here's just a fun little teaser test video shot during our April camp. Our video intern can start working on some content this upcoming week, so stayed tune." - This viral video, shot during April camp, is a teaser for the upcoming 2011 season. This is a frantic, fast-motion glimpse to show preparation. http://vimeo.com/24631870 --- And when one of the fans asked about the closer, here's the answer they got: Madison Scouts: "We will definitely tell you by June 21st. It's not that we are trying to make it a surprise, but we really are making sure our licensing is in place before announcing."

Realistic scores?? I do think there is a LITTLE bit of bias in a SMALL HANDFULL of judges, for CERTAIN corps. An example, look at the recaps of last year's finals - I think it's SCV - one judge game them like 9.8 in GE and the other gave them 9.1 Or was that brass? But remember, in QF, SF and Finals, there are different judges for each night - so how do the scores move so little between the judges? It's because they have a very good system going for judging shows. There is objective criteria they look for. It's not all arbitrary. I don't believe there is slotting going on, nor do I think the scores are fixed, etcetera. I just don't see the evidence for that. And besides - what kind of real motive does DCI or judges have for doing that kind of stuff? And don't tell me certain judges favor certain corps and thus scored them much higher, I think there is a little bit of bias, but for 95% of it, it is legit. If a horn angle is off, .05 gone. If someone is out of step, .1 gone. Hear a blatantly obvious wrong note? .1 gone. Drop a flag or rifle or sabre? .1 gone. Objective things like that. But even for GE, there is at least SOME objective criteria. If scores aren't realistic now, they will never be. I don't think it's possible to have any better system than we have now. But the main thing is to realize that scores are not important. /flame

Really? Then why didn't they just title their show "Pure Musical and Visual Immersion (... if you let it)"? Honestly... you don't call your show "Through A Glass, Darkly", put 20 some odd moveable mirrors on the field, play some dark, disjointed music, throw in some breaking-glass sound effects and pretend to NOT have any concept whatsoever. That would be a slam on the designers, who (for better or worse, depending on your tastes) probably spent a ton of time and put a lot of thought into designing the program.

Thanks everyone. Every little bit helps

emphasis addedI think you've solved the equation yourself here. And the answer was obvious. The corps wasn't sure for whom the boos were meant; that's why they were rattled. It's also why the boos were so wrong. However the booers might care to rationalize their actions, they have to know communication of that sort isn't precise. Likewise, the corps members, even if they suspected other reasons, surely couldn't be sure the boos weren't directed at them. They were performing. And let's be honest, they'd heard the ugliness before. They felt the boos, and that's a shame. HH

Bob, given all of the variables (which you spelled out well enough), I don't think there's any way that these early shows could NOT be good! Even if the corps finish in the same placement as last season, the fans will be seeing top quality corps and a great night of drum corps!

I'm sorry it must be said. BD must lose.

I would like to see fans respecting ALL corps.

I'd most like to see Regiment pull a "Spartacus" and win! My pie-in-the-sky wish would be to see a Suncoast Sound Alumni corps preform at championships. I'd like to "cheer" for those folks that taught me to march and play and changed my life for the better.

I guess this would work for Crown fans.

Whenever I talk to someone still in a high school marching program, one of their biggest complaints is about the people who just don't want to be there and are only there because someone is making them.

It also worked well putting some in your boxers on days you know will be hot and sweaty and mid rehearsal while everyone starts sweating and hating the heat, your gold bond should be kicking in and you'll feel like your in the arctic

IBC

In it for the Lulz + winnar

Now you're just guessing? You seemed so certain and quick to put me in my place a few hours ago.

What if I'm good enough for a WC corps and have been dreaming of marching with X corps, but can only march my age-out year because of school/money/etc?

I got to be honest. While there are some well run OC corps out there, too many of them (especially the ones always on the verge of collapse or the ones that do collapse and come back only to collapse again) are NOT quality institutions and the "experience" any kid would get there will likely be a waste of time and money. Even worse it very well might turn that kid off to marching all together. We've all heard the stories that are far too common but no one really talks about. so... Want to march DC but can't afford a WC corps? Need to work on your chops and test the waters before marching a WC corps? By all means, OC is perfect and you should put just as much time and thought into choosing a quality group to march with. Mandating people march OC would guarantee a bad experience for far too many students.

Put them in a museum where they belong alongside other instruments that we look back on and chuckle, and from time to time, play just for the novelty value. You could set up a whole exhibit that includes: G Bugles Key'd bugles Metal Clarinets Brass Vamp Horn Valved Trombone Natural Horn Marching Tenor Horns The Glass Armonica To name a few. I'd pay to see that exhibit. Sounds fun. Especially if it were interactive.

You have to run up steep hills carrying 2 weighted long rangers. Instead of disassembling a rifle you have to disassemble and store away a met/long ranger set-up. Maybe they have a standard for how fast your battery change time should be?

I bet you could ask every member who has ever marched in the era of Crocker and hear the same thing. A pretty universal, and very cool, truth.

Psssst.... The joke is in the wording of the position, not exactly the position itself. ;)

1. Pack everything you think you'll need. Take a break. Unpack 50% of what you packed and leave it home. Pack enough underwear and socks for two weeks (I always tossed them mid-season and bought new underwear and socks. It makes the deep south SO much better!) 2. Start working out NOW. back, abs, triceps, delts and pecs. If you don't already run I highly recommend you start now. 2a. Start stretching for reals! Learn what you need to do to get a good stretch. I also recommend doing ankle rolls, I've seen plenty ankle injuries that could have been prevented otherwise. 2b. Get in the habit of being constantly active. Workout and stretch everyday (responsibly) so that your body doesn't experience as much shock during alldays. 3. Choose your attitude. There are a lot of things in the season you can't control. But how you decide to think about and act upon the crappy situations will determine how good your summer will be. 4. Think about packing energy bars for alldays. I don't know about other people, but I made sure to pack an energy bar for everyday of alldays. Get a good variety (protein, clif, power etc). Make sure the bars you get are flavors that taste good. I would eat them for a pre-bed snack and I always felt ready to go the next day. Might be something to look into. 5. Pack dryer sheets!! Not smelling like a dead animal can be hard to do over the summer; dryer sheets help keep that at bay. Use them in your dryer during laundry days. Put them next to that stinky kid on the bus. Throw some with your uniform to help stave off that stank. Keep a number with your dirty and clean cloths so the clean clothes don't smell dirty and so the dirty clothes don't smell so bad it kills all the bugs within a 20 foot radius. 6. If you've ever used a brace PACK IT. Drum corps adds 7 years to a body for every season. IF you have things wrong with your body, chances are you'll find out over the summer. Previous injuries that don't heal correctly always seem to have a way of biting back over the summer. 7. Do what you can to get 8 hours of solid sleep a night. You won't have to worry about the falling asleep part because you'll be so tired. But you won't get a lot of hours on the floor past alldays. Knowing how to sleep on the bus can make or break your summer experience. 8. Pack two pairs of comfortable marching shoes. Alternating shoes every couple days will help prevent overuse injuries of small muscles in your feet that might be overworked in a certain pair of shoes, changing shoes gives those muscles a little break and distributes the work a bit more evenly across all muscles. 8a. Think about getting custom orthodics for your shoes. Many people get knee, hip, back, ankle problems because their shoes don't properly support their weight. Getting inserts made specifically for your feet will help to circumvent that situation. 9. Treat others how you want to be treated. Tensions will rise as the summer goes on but on-going internal conflicts will not only effect your performance but also the whole corps. Your corps is your family, they will always have your back if you have theirs. 10. Follow the rules, respect everyone, and have fun! This activity is amazing and you have the great opportunity to live the life. You'll remember this summer for the rest of your life, enjoy it but don't do anything that will make you regret it later on. I'm really jealous that you will be marching this summer. I hope these tips help and that you have an amazing summer!

Yep. Combo points for a Mod's thread. If one defeats a mod, does he himself become a mod?

You could sign up with Reading today. The drive to Reading from Easton (random Eastern Shore town) is actually ten minutes shorter than the drive to Allentown. "Drum corps" is not only DCI. It's DCA, alumni corps, mini-corps, and some other odds and ends. If you want to march, you could get started this weekend, all within the three hour drive from your home.

OK, to each his or her own. One note, you might be confusing alumni corps with tribute corps. “Alumni” is the name most often associated with (generally) non-competitive parade, concert, and exhibition corps. Most often the corps use the name of the competitive corps many of the members marched in, but the alumni corps is almost always a separate organization. “Tribute” corps are those corps organized basically for one performance, usually at DCI championships. Performing in an alumni corps “every ten years or so” is somewhat off. Most alumni performers are in for the long haul.

I admit that I'm uninformed here, but isn't it true that DCA runs an annual championship event specifically for Alumni Corps and Mini-Corps? They call them the Alumni Corps Competition and the Mini-Corps Competition. They crown a champion every year in both of those "classes." Is that really considered informal? Why would the Open Class and Class "A" competitions be considered formal, but not the other two? And is the well attended event called the I&E "competition" also informal? Back on topic: I think YEA! is taking advantage of the "all-age" aspect of DCA by taking it to a literal extreme, knowing that the spirit of DCA's purpose is rooted in a clear distinction from the junior corps activity, specifically post-DCI age limits. Yes, they've relaxed (maybe even embraced moving beyond) the "senior corps" identity, but it's still at the heart of who they are. Imagine if The Cadets (or BD, Crown, etc.) did decide to march into the DCA Championships after DCI finals in August. After all, "all-age" is all-age. I understand we're talking (theoretically) about a different "level" of performer in Cadets2, but what if they decided to take their other corps into the all-age circuit too. To me it seems to wreak of the U.S.A. "Dream Team" approach to Olympic Basketball. If they want Cadets2 to play in the DCA world, why not simply open it up to all ages from the very start, rather than imply that that may happen at some point down the road? DCA opened its doors to all ages to be more inclusive... YEA! is taking advantage of that and fielding a corps with closed doors that excludes the central base of the DCA market age group. Why? No one here has an issue with that? If not, it's probably because they haven't been in a retreat line lately, wondering how much longer their body can take this, while they're standing next to a "kid" that they've just competed against in another corps (who's younger than their own kids), and at the moment, clearly not experiencing the same level of fatigue. Marching a corps aged 16-22 in the DCA circuit holds a clear advantage over most other corps. It mocks the very reason why we've always had Junior Corps, Senior Corps, and even Cadet Corps competitive circuits. If I were a DCA marching member, I'd probably be rethinking my future participation on the field... which I am. All things being equal, there'd be no problem... but that's the problem, all things don't appear to be equal from the very inception of Cadets2. There's nothing that says they can't/won't change their minds on how they run that group. They could easily end up putting in tons more hours of practice that traditional DCA marching members would never have the time (or physical ability) to match. And naturally, they'll likely crank out shows with physical demands that probably exceed the physical abilities of many of the current DCA marching members. I personally love the flavor of shows and atmosphere at DCA events, while I'm generally bored by today's DCI product and environment, and I suspect that a Cadets2 brand would look and feel all too familiar, based upon what I'm hearing (and I'm not talking about performance quality here). One of the reasons so many people get turned off by G.H. is because he always seems to be pushing to change the rules in ways that benefit his own philosophy or agenda, while others suffer a loss in one way or another. There's a place for a 16-22 year old Cadets2, it's called DCI Open Class. There's also a place for an all-age Cadets2, it's called DCA, and under those circumstances, I'd enthusiastically welcome them aboard. Unlike DCI, DCA generally still has a sense of parity among the participants, but unfortunately it appears that that's about to change. Please forgive my lack of enthusiasm.

True but there's nobody stopping you from tuning the modern snares to sound like the classic marching drums from the past. I have two Yamaha SFZs. One has the white max on top and falams snare side on the bottom. It's mildly cranked and sounds good. The other one has mylar top and bottom. It's not cranked enough to break the heads but it sounds fantastic. It sounds better than the drum with the kevlar.

Saw this on The Cavaliers Facebook Page. "Top 5 cities represented by the Cavalier Nation on our Facebook Fan Page: 1. Atlanta, Georgia 2. Jakarta, Indonesia 3. Kuala Lumpur, Maylasia 4. Dallas, Texas 5. Houston, Texas" That a big surprise to anyone else? I wonder if the International part of DCI is larger then we thought. I mean, to beat out every US city as far as fan numbers but Atlanta?

There seem to be 2 different ways of selecting a drum major. Some corps appoint veteran members to the positions, while others hold open auditions thus allowing the possibility of a rookie member of the corps to be a drum major. I've always found it much easier to respect someone in a leadership position whom I've worked well with in the past. But, considering it's off season and we've got not much to talk about, I think this will be a powder-keg issue to rival G7, woodwinds and electronics COMBINED! So have at it. May the strongest and mostly loudly voiced opinion win! (in your eyes).