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For the life of me I have no idea why Jolesch felt the need to publicly publish this photograph, especially without any greater context to the situation. It almost seems that their intent was to embarrass this young man. So let me put it in context, this was one of our snare drummers and the photo was taken on Finals night. All week long he had been battling an illness, one that had him in the ER on the Monday before Finals. In late July we lost one of our snare drummers due to injury leaving us to finish the season with only 8. This young man fought hard all week to keep the section in tact for the championships. Instead of sitting on the sidelines he opted to perform...and perform he did. I can tell you that everybody had the greatest respect for his effort. Obviously the physical exertion took its toll at the end of the show, much like you see with athletes who push themselves to the limit. Once he was able to rest and rehydrate, he was fine and attended the retreat ceremonies. He was a great sport about the situation and the guys in the corps appreciated the fact that he "left it all on the field" that night. So that's the full story. Chris Komnick Executive Director Madison Scouts

Yes. Phantom is hoping for 10th place in 2012 and 2013. Accordingly, they'll be playing the music of Dvořák, Ravel, Mahler, and Rick Wakeman.

ME GUSTA

The Troopers have announced all of the 2012 Audition Weekend Experience dates and the 2012 Camp Schedule. November 18-20th, Audition Weekend Experience, Cheyenne WY December 16-18th, Audition Weekend Experience, Waller TX January 13-15th, January Camp, Waller TX February 24-26th, February Camp, Waller TX March 16-18th, March Camp, Waller TX April 27th-29th, April Camp, University of Wyoming Field House For more information and audition packets go to: www.troopersdrumcorps.org

Shouldn't be a problem since San Francisco seems to be on a free-day list. There's one in Fisherman's Wharf, next to Hooter's. I think the In-N-Out t-shirts there are even labeled with "Fisherman's Wharf" rather than "California". I'm praying for a Stanford World Class lineup as follows: BD SCV Mandarins Pacific Crest Phantom Regiment Boston Crusaders Seattle Cascades Academy Add the Open Class and Seniors, and Stanford could be THE premier West Coast show to go to. Long day, but I'd be game.

Lion King

Since all DCI corps members are required to provide birth certificates, chances are good that neither Phantom nor Boston has any illegal immmgrants marching with them. Back on topic.....?

I am not ignoring it... I have already addressed this. Let me get very specific here (and this is about as clearly as I can explain it to you ... without finger puppets). DCI sets up a new subsidiary focused on Event production... The same guy who was working for DCI producing events for DCI shows up to work in the same office, sitting down to the same computer, talking on the same phone, but is now an employee of EventCo, LLC and DCI is his client. While at DCI, his role was mostly event production, but sometimes wore a few different hats. In his new role, he is focused exclusively on Event production and in addition to his client DCI, he has other clients where he is producing corporate events. These corporate event contracts initially came from contacts within those of the drum corps community. Revenues from these contracts first go to build up an additional sales team in key cities (who will work from a home office). Further expansion is tied to and funded by increases in revenues.

The program is set to role. Recruiting figures this year are off the chart. Tradition will officially begin it's new winter season on November 20th at Lawrenceburg High School in Lawrenceburgh, Indiana at 9:00 AM. The corps will be welcoming new members and interested parties to this open membership rehearsal. This year, the corps is taking a new direction in preparing for the competition season with a new look and sound. Most of last years staff are returning under the coordination of Dr. Larry Tinnerman from Indiana State University. THE PROGRAM features an Evening with Stan Kenton where the corps will be weaving a story of lovers intrigue starting on the rainy streets of Chicago, moving to a 1940's century jazz club with a love triangle finally ending in romantic Spain. The corps will be wearing a newly designed uniform with the guard dressed in colorful Dick Tracy inspired garb. A new focus on music with attitude will be shown as the corps spins it's story on the field. Anyone in the Ohio, Kentucky or Indiana region who would like to join us for what looks to be a fun and exciting season should visit our website at http://cincinnatitradition.org and fill out a membership application. New visitors may also register on the website and once approved be able to download music parts to try. Please join us as we welcome the 2011-2012 competitive season. Instructional Staff: Coordinator - Larry Tinnerman Brass Caption Head - Joe Fink Brass Ensemble Tech - Larry Tinnerman Percussion Caption Head - James Kirby Front Ensemble Head - Victor Blauser Percussion Tech - Bob Fitzpatrick Visual Caption Head - Curtus Shreve Visual Tech - Jennifer Clark DM and Visual Tech - Cynthia Foltz Guard Caption Head - Christie Johnson Guard Co-Caption Head - Christie Johnson Brass Arrangements by: Martin Williams Steve Cooley Donny Allen New Corps Uniform and guard uniforms

The Bridgemen Alumni Drum and Bugle corps from Bayonne N.J. is pleased to announce their musical selections for the 2012 & 2013 seasons. The show for 2012 is: Thunder and Blazes Big Noise From Winnetka 42nd street fanfare into drum solo called The Bass Basis Civil War Suite/Taps/Battle Hymn Tell The show for 2013 is: Free In The Stone My Favorite things Summer of 42 Tell Both shows will feature some of the BEST of the Bridgemen and we are very confident that our members, alumni and our fans will enjoy hearing them. "Our Show Coordinator Dennis DeLucia presented the 2 year plan to me and I thought they were both SLAM DUNKS! And I liked the idea of having a 2 plan in place", Bridgemen Alumni Director George Lavelle stated. The corps is open to anybody who wants to be a Banana. Anybody that is interested in more information may send a email to BeABridgemen@optonline.net or can visit the corps website @www.bridgemen.com The Bridgemen open House is Nov 12th & 13th at St.Andrews, which is located on 4th street & Broadway in Bayonne N.J. from 12-6 on both days.

So recently Madison Scouts have went back to their roots and are creating shows that bring back bits of previous years. Last year Phantom brought back Romeo and Juliet and this year bringing back Nessun Dorma. Is Phantom trying to create the success that Madison has had?

This thread is difficult for me - a Madison Scouts AND Phantom Regiment alum.

Phantom has been my favorite corps post Y2K. IMO they consistently connect with the crowd better than any other corps by a wide margin. Crown has rivaled them recently in that regard and it is great to see Madison moving in that direction. What I love about Regiment is that they can connect with a revival of their roots such as Spartacus or they can blow you away with something completely new like Canon in 2003.

I can honestly say that I've never pushed myself that hard! Fully agree... MAD respect to my younger Scout Brother!

OPEN HOUSE IS 15 days away! Its looking like 2012 is going to be a BIG YEAR for the corps! If you would like info please email beabridgemen@optonline.net Hype! george

Much respect to this young man! I believe he's a long time DCP-er and former Rochester Crusaders snare as well!

Have the troopers been bumped into Open Class for 2012 or is this a misplaced post?

'c'

Do bands sometimes have valid reasons whythey jump? Sure. More often than not " I didn't win", "XYZ circuit hates us" etc.... I've said it before, I'll say it again, almost always, the adults #### up activities for kids

From a fans perspective, I don’t find it entertaining…I don’t like the instrumentation, hate amped woodwind solos, don’t like the style of band shows…many are way too over-reaching in attempt at a theme that they become laughable…many of the things that I don’t like in drum corps shows are maxed out in band shows like props and voice…don’t like the crowds…too many kids and band parents. Plus I’m not involved with any high school so I feel out of place at them I like the idea better than the reality and 10 or so years I do go and then quickly remember why I don’t go To be clear, I’m not dissing marching bands other than its not to my tastes…I like baseball but don’t follow cricket

I'd like to see Crown do Rush...it's probably already been mentioned but that would be pretty sweet.

As mentioned earlier- In the past, these corps have always been allowed to promote provided they had workers to come and help the event staff out at the show. This year in particular, they are NOT allowed to recruit. This has now been confirmed by 3 different individuals, one of which is part of a recruitment committee. For the record- I don't think YEA made a bad decision here from a business standpoint. But it doesn't mean I can't grumble about it. I think it sends the wrong message to students and parents alike that C2 is the only weekend only option for drum corps. If they really were all about youth education, and they held that ideology at their core, then they wouldn't have any problem having other corps in who offer the same thing because again- its all about the kids. This move makes me think its more so about the money. As far as Windsor Regiment performing- I made mention of this in my 1st response. It is because that show is not hosted by USSBA, but rather the Robbinsville school district as part of the USSBA circuit. Had it been a regional/Gold/Championship show- its likely, you wouldn't see that. Either way- Good Luck Windsor! Have a great show. Yes- 1 announcement. However, on all the promotional material going out to schools, as well as all the other web announcements, DCA was not included. I referenced that in my 1st post, that the announcement you referenced was the 1st one I had seen with DCA mentioned. Lets be clear- I didn't say it was a negative. That list that you pulled the quote from was in response to a poster asking what type of "shady" things were being referenced. In my opinion- the age restriction is a shady thing given the circuit they will be participating. Shady really isn't the proper word to be honest. Maybe, uncharacteristic, or frowned upon would be more appropriate. Either way- the age thing has been debated largely already and I'm not interested in bringing it up again. Both sides have their legitimate points. And its not geographically restricted to just the Lehigh Valley. By restricting other corps to promote at their larger band shows as far as MD, NY, CT, they are pulling from those areas too. In my opinion- I believe that label is mis-leading and a slap in the face to the other corps and perhaps DCA in general. Remember, the target audience here are young adults who likely don't have any experience or knowledge of what drum corps is, or they only know DCI. When I hear the term "Regional Ensemble" I think of a band or ensemble (Jazz, Orchestra, or otherwise). I don't think - "Drum Corps". As I mentioned in another post, the C2 poster is up in a band room in a school I teach at and a few of the students thought this was a mixed group including woodwinds. They never through "Drum Corps". I marched in both DCI and DCA. I'm proud to have marched in both. DCA is a great circuit with great opportunities. I know C2 has announced they are competing in DCA but at the same time, for parents and students who don't follow DCP, "Regional Ensemble" sends a different message. Why not just say its a drum corps competing in DCA with occasional appearances in exhibition at DCI shows. Correct me if I'm wrong (And I KNOW some of you will ) but the C2 poster being put up in schools all around the area and being handed out at USSBA shows doesn't actually say "Drum Corps or DCA" on it does it?? Fair enough. Thank you for correcting me on this one. I tip my hat to you here and can admit when I was mistaken. You right! As compared to the Cadets1 and other DCI corps it's not a high cost. But we are not talking about the cost of Cadets2 compared to DCI. We are talking about Cadets2 compared to other DCA corps. I can't speak for a lot of the DCA corps, but for the ones I have been affiliated with in the past, the dues were MUCH lower and included meals and any corps wide transportation (buses to and from events). If I'm driving 3 hours one way each weekend, plus providing my own meals 3 times a day, plus my own sleeping arrangements, and still paying potentially the highest tuition in DCA, I'm going to have a few questions. That gets expensive- QUICK. Especially if the corps 2 hours away from me provides all those things (except for maybe food) for hundreds of dollars less. And just to clarify- when I say dues were much less when I marched, I'm referring to a time period within the last 3 years. Not- BITD.

and bands left TOB for USSba for whatever reasons they chose regardless of price. A band circuit to many directors is as good as the last score they got there. I know one band director that years ago loved TOB til they didn't win much....so they jumped to USSBA. Loved it...til they didn't win much. Now with cavalcade....except now they aren't winning much. Guess it means it's TOBs turn soon

Computer will have to know how to do effective voice staging (often forgot, even among drill designers) and guard staging (an art). Come up with creative guard transitions that are not forced. Effectively be able to move the eye to where it needs to go. Pick up on musical motifs and be able to exploit it visually. Use all elements of the band/corps in a coordinated fashion. I could go on more but you will have to design a program to write like only a handful of writers do well. Sorry, drill is far more then morphing squiggly lines and rotating blocks. Might as well make a program that designs guard choreography.

*bump* You two are talking about breathing (good ideas, too, although a little over-analyzed for my tastes these days), but not much about stagger breathing. There's a couple tricks to get players to start thinking about stagger breathing -- Sneak out and sneak in. Decrescendo out like MelloHorn said, and crescendo back in. I would suggest learning how to attack... sorry, "attack" is a fairly aggressive term, so I like to say "begin" the note without using the tongue. Learn how to do it relatively quickly, too, so the neighboring player isn't left waiting for a full measure or two to get their breath. "Don't breathe on the bar line." It's not 100% musically correct to carry a phrase over the bar line, but it gets them to think about breathing in unusual places. More pointers: If the situation allows it, have them watch each other for breathing. If the player to your left takes a breath, keep playing until you see them re-enter, then take your breath. They don't have to be bouncing up and down, either -- you can see their body move (chest expands, mouth opens and comes off the mouthpiece, etc). "Buddy up" if necessary. If you've got someone next to you often, pay attention to each other for breaths and don't worry about the third person on your other side. If needed, and if possible, you can set counts for people to breathe. I've been in a contra line of two, and for some parts of our show, we said, "Okay, you breathe in the second half of the bar and I'll breathe in the first half." If the music is moving along (i.e., no sustained chords), besides breathing where it makes sense for the phrase, breathe in a way that you don't sacrifice the timing of the next note. Better to release a hair earlier if it means you can reliably attack the next note in tempo. Extreme dynamics make a big difference, both at the loud and soft ends. It's nigh impossible to sneak out & in if you're playing as soft as physically possible, and it's hard to blend a blastissimo tone quality and keep it from sounding like people are dropping out. And for heaven's sake, don't tell them, "Play until you run out of air and then take your breath." If they do this, most of them will be running out of air at nearly the same time, so they'll be left scrambling for their unique breathing point in the span of two or three beats. Stagger breathing a long phrase works really well if a few players start the "chain" or "cascade" of breaths by breathing very, very early -- say, within the first two beats. I'll illustrate that point like this: Say that the longest a player can sustain a particular note is eight counts, but it's written to be 24 counts long. You have a section of ten players. You can have everyone try to sustain as long as they can before breathing, or you can have a couple get their first breath very early (by count 3), then their neighbors take a breath (which means they get theirs by 5-6), so that when the last breathers take theirs, everyone else is already back in the sustain. And, lastly, it's just like how you get to Carnegie Hall: "Practice, my boy, practice." Remove the distraction of moving parts by holding a sustain -- and hold it long enough so that EVERYONE has to stagger breathe repeatedly. Tubas stagger breathe all the time, but trumpets sometimes never learn because they don't have to breathe as often anyway. Play a chord instead of a unison so players can't hide (unisons hide a lot, really). Start with mezzo-whatever volumes, then over time, work up to holding chords at fortissimo levels (don't worry about FFF+++) for a whole minute or more… WITHOUT letting the smooth, sustained sound break down. Stagger breathing properly and seamlessly is an art form in itself.

there's got to some cash outlayed Dan. more employees as business will increase, probably more than DCi has capacity for. Possible systems upgrades. Possible more office space. you seem to think DCI has all these people laying around for 9 months of the year doing nothing, and they have web people playing games all year waiting to do something til they put up ticket info for next year. DCi runs a tight ship already with not a lot of people. If they are going to pick up external customers, you're going to have to add people and equipment, and possibly get more space. That aint cheap.

no this

I'll have to disagree with you there. People will ALWYAS INVITE the ones who sell tickets no matter what the politics. You give some to much credit...lol

I am sorry but you are incorrect in your assessment. I know for a fact that they were not allowing other corps to recruit at their shows.

I think you may be missing a part of the equation here. USSBA=YEA=CADETS2

You do? I think they will protect their own before letting any foxes into the hen house.

I agree with you. I love America, but I hate cauliflower. There...let's see what that does.

Rookie Talent Night...

Well, both corps have brass, percussion and guards and they often are seen in the same location. Beluga whales don't have those cute circles around their eyes and can't climb trees, possums can't dive to great depths or cross the ocean, and until now, I've never written about both in the same sentence.

Those last two are totally out of line... especially the last one.

I hereby officially dare any corps to create a show revolving around a non-prime number. Years, (i.e 1930,) don't count! Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I can tell, Cavies in 2001 with Four Corners is the only show that might have already qualified. So bring it! As incentive, I'll buy the designer a non-prime number of beers.

Ugh... Gawd some things will never change. Here's hoping at some time in the near future Scouts fans realize this is a public board regardless of what you title the thread. You want blind homerism free of dissenting opinion, I suggest you lobby the Scouts to put a alumni forum on their website, there was absolutely nothing about Bluecoats88 post that was uncalled for, sorry it didn't resonate with your inaccurate world view that everyone finds the Scouts amazing.

I saw them in allentown, and although alot of people around me stood, my brother and I didn't feel the urge to stand and lucky for us we were in the first row of the upper deck that they sell, so there was noone standing in front of us to block our view. If I had been behind people that stood I would have been forced to stand in order to see the show and not because I had wanted to. So if I had been at finals and standing it wouldn't have been by choice, but only because I wanted to be able to see what I had paid to see.

Speaking of Hannum, this years Scouts drum book wasn't one of his better efforts.

Bump!

1. Correct 2. The parent company is a non-profit, but the sub-companies are all LLC's who's mission it is to support the parent co. The law has no dollar limit on what the LLC's can earn as for-profit entities. And to correct an earlier comment by someone, the sub-LLC's would not be taxable if their taxable profits were contributed to the non-profit parent as a charitable contribution. The parent's mission is to support the DC activity.

Oregon Crusaders were excellent! I also really enjoyed the Mandarin' show this year. Crossmen as usual were fantastic, the ballad was beautiful, so glad to see a corps doing Hallelujah on field, it's one of my favorite songs... academy's ballad was phenomenal as well. I had doubts about Madison's closer...and then I saw it. That and Boston's Bari solo literally made my jaw drop. Crown was a pleasant surprise as well...I thought it would be completely bando but it rocked! An BD was excellent again, loved that double tongue section, and for some reason that part where they wer marching along the outline of the stairs really sticks in my mind as awesome.

It would be great if the staff showed the corps video of the Bridgemen and bring former staff and members in, Not only to capture the style of the Bridgemen but, the spirit and swagger of the Bridgemen. Those of us who were around at the time are eagerly anticipating this show. Good luck Surf!

Not hung up as much as trying to convey I don't quite grasp the purpose of it all, at least in its present implementation. I can see it keeping some from stating what they really think in order that they don't get an overall negative rating. I've got a plus rating that is over 1,000, so I'm not going to lose sleep over a few negative reds. But what about someone that is close to zero? Might they be more inclined to not speak their mind because they don't want people to see that their rating is in the dumper? It was an intriguing idea, but it has potential for harm and for stifling honest discussion. I think that's the point I've been trying to make, even if I wasn't making it clearly.

Okay, according to the red minus, maybe he's not thinking hard enough. I can't tell anymore.

Don't blame Boz. He just needed one more chance to vent his anger over the 2011 season and his Stars not being able to defeat the mighty Scouts!

Standard response from homers of corps who score higher but don't generate anywhere the same crowd response. Expected, but still kind of sad.

normally, between corps, people stand up to stretch, I know i do. so seeing people standing as a corps comes out of the tunnel is probably something you'd see if you looked up when every corps was entering the field. And as for my previous post, I just happened to be reading this thread and saw someone's comment stating that those who have said madisoon's show wasn't all that were probably in the crowd standing on finals night. I was just putting into perspective why someone who might otherwise not be inclined to stand for a particular show was forced to in order to see it if those in front of them stood. Doesn't mean they liked the show or not, just that they wanted to see what they had paid to see. And as for the comment regarding corps who beat scouts not being as entertaining, I guess that is all based on perspective. I found the end of Bluecoats show much more entertaining then the end of Scouts show. I found the middle of scouts show more entertaining than the middle of bluecoats show, and I found the beginning of Bluecoats show more entertaining than the beginning of scouts show. I personnally also found the Glassmen's show more entertaining than the Blue Stars, Madison Scouts, and SCV, and the middle of Coats show. Yeah I'm a big Bluecoats homer, but I will admit when the show isn't up to snuff. This year they had a great opener, and a great closer, but the middle of the show just didn't work. they performed the hell out of it, and I still think they and Boston should have both beaten SCV but that is personal tastes I guess.