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Discussion about Didgeridoo on DCP: Serious business. Jeez, lighten up, Francis.

Ugh... I'd rather see a corps stand still and play nothing for 10 min than ever hear an amplified solo singer on the field again. It has NO place in this activity.

Cadets = Whole show Cavaliers = seeing performers on the stilts, upside down sups and tenors. Performers jumping over each other.....classic! Carolina Crown = eruption brass section Phantom Regiment = Company front to the end without a drum major and all the kick halts. Santa Clara Vanguard = Opening statement with the yellow flags "imagine you're in hell and you want out..." BAM! Bluecoats = Brass playing creep Blue Knights = Always have enjoyed the musical selections this group produces Madison = opening hit and closer Spirit of Atlanta = Ending unfortunately these are the only performances that I saw live when I had the chance to watch during finals.

It's legal. If you hit it with a stick.

Thanks for the kind words everybody. And it's okay to laugh, if you don't have laughter in your life than you are taking it too seriously! Joe Stork

At least for myself, when I made the transition from a Div 3 corps of 18-23 horns to one with 23 Euphs, it was a pretty big change to say the least. The sheer size of div 1 corps requires a higher level of professionalism and initiative from each individual member. In my own experience, we were a pretty competitive div 3 corps (placing 3rd and 4th), but the demands were different. Where it was okay to get something right after 2-3 tries in div 3, you were expected to get things right on the first time in div 1. The desire to hide in the ensemble, and not play during particularly challenging drill, is greater than ever with so many people around you - but you have to have the initiative to not do it. If you can get past the being away from home all summer issue (which I will say is amazing, and I saw so many people grow be leaps and bounds), then you have to consider if you are up for the constant demands that the corps will put on you. Being in a big corps is incredibly rewarding. You will feel like a rock star all summer, and you will be thinking you are in the best ensemble you have ever been in by the 2nd or 3rd camp (and things are just getting started). Whatever you do, do it with confidence and leave no regrets.

Yankee Rebels, The response I received to my e-mail asking if you would like to perform with the Yankee Rebels Drum and Bugle Corps at the 2012 DCA Championship Weekend to be held in Annapolis, Maryland, was overwhelming! "The Corps from the Chesapeake Bay" will appear in concert at this great drum corps weekend's individual, ensemble and mini-corps competition on Friday evening, August 31st. Our goal is to represent the State of Maryland with the showmanship and execution for which the Yankee Rebels have been known for many, many years. Most importantly, this one-time event will allow us to see our fellow 'Rebels and welcome our drum corps friends to "our backyard." Like so many other DCA championship weekends this will be a lot of fun, but this time we won't have to travel so far to enjoy the event. To get ready for this show, a planning session and rehearsal will be held SATURDAY, November 12th at the YMCA, 10 Dunmanway Dundalk, MD 21222 (go to the side of buillding on Trading Place) beginning at 12:00 noon. I look forward to seeing everyone again and putting on a drum corps show at DCA that we all can remember! Thanks, Phil Gentile

1987 Sky Ryders "West Side Story"

unless Phantom can resurrect Luciano Pavarotti....i'd prefer there to be no singing. Thanks.

It ain't over until . . .

It's an interesting idea, but it is by no means trivial in implementation. Just because you can describe something simply, or feel an intuition that it would be a simple process doesn't mean that it actually IS simple. Case in point: 2-legged locomotion-- "so easy, even toddlers can do it," but a massive challenge for robotics engineers to replicate the effortless dynamic equilibria we utilize to move forward without swaying or tripping. Anyone ever played THIS game? So when we talking about creating a program where all you do is simply "feed in" drill and music and it immediately is able to parse everything in terms of affective impact, flow from one texture to the next, and so on and so forth (there are like ten other impossibly vague categories I could list here) it's hardly a project for a grad student, it sounds a lot more like creating Strong AI! The perceptual apparatus that we employ when connecting intellectual and emotional reactions to sensory input is what we're assuming the computer would have-- even the ability to decode what a drill set IS, visually, would be massively complex for a computer, which doesn't immediately perceive a circle in the middle of negative space, just a long set of ones and zeroes. There is no 'seeing' or intentionality going on inside a program, so the amount of "ooh, circle textures resolve into company fronts 45% of the time in 1980's era DCI" done by the computer is ZERO without that legwork being done by a human with an immense amount of intuitive processing on their side. Computers cannot "intuit" what should have happened. Eyes and ears aren't cameras and microphones that record what IS directly into your brain. It's more accurate to imagine them as sensors that work by analogy, mapping phenomena in the external world to mental constructs with little to no direct perception going on. The proof of this: We can listen to a chord played with intonation errors and still immediately perceive it as a major or minor or whatever chord. We can see drill marched with less than 100% accuracy and perceive the flow intended by the designer, because you're going off of constructs of circles and boxes and whatnot. If it was direct perception with no phenomenal shortcuts going on, you would be blinded by the array of differing colors and forms and saturations of light surrounding you at all times without your brain immediately shutting out 99% of this stuff and filtering it down into "oh that's an apple on a table in a room with a green carpet." The best example of this is asking an 'untrained person' to paint an eye, and then to ask an artist to do so-- the untrained image will be essentially a cartoon, the simplest mental construct of "eyeness." The artist is trained to bring more elements of direct perception to the table, and will render reflections, the different colors of the iris, the complementary colors in the shadows, the specific forms and proportions of THAT eye they saw. Again, there's a huge amount of intuition, taste, and fuzzy thought that goes into this that can't be reduced to "drag Star 93 into the playlist and learn the SECRET CODE TO DCI." This is all really a longwinded way of saying a very short thing that has been said a few times already in the thread: This isn't something you can mechanize easily. At least I would think so. I disagreed with the first post in the thread and this is my attempt to think aloud on why that was.

The OPEN HOUSE is fast approaching. If you ever wanted to be a part of SKY and play HY's charts, now's the time. This coming year's musical book is going to be both challenging and fun !! Sunday, November 13, noon-5pm VFW MEMORIAL POST 4591 513 VETERANS PLACE, HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, NJ 07604-2423 (201) 288-1112

I give serious answers, you just don't seem to understand them. Not really much I can do about that.

Please explain how a food truck is a fully-utilized asset? It is 30% utilized at most.

Your timing is uncanny. I just sent a press release to the "powers that be" here at DCP, introducing another new Bush staff member.

One performanceat a time Ray, one performance at a time...

This is great news, Bea and Phil. I'm pretty sure the Rebs will let it all hang out for this one-time performance. Oh wait, didn't you folks do another one-time only event for a Legion National convention parade some years back too? I would love to see the same results of that one-timer again. You folks are missed very much at many alumni shows. I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing "The Corps From The Chesapeake Bay" for at least one more show. Best of luck to you. See you in Annapolis! Ray

I really don't want this to turn into another amplification thread- but at the risk of continuing it further. I will say I have been largely against their possible induction into DCA, but the more I look at how enjoyable the format of the DCI TOC show was- the more I keep thinking electronics might be that 4th Ace in DCA's hand they can play at the right time. It's growing on me. [if you listen closely- you might hear Jeff Ream fall out of is chair after reading this.]

1. Don't listen to anything Tom Brace says. Yeah, that's worked for many hear on DCP. 2. Work hard. 3. Make friends. 4. Take time to enjoy. But, again. Trust me on this. Don't listen to Tom Brace. That guy is crazy.

Definitely good to see the Crossmen getting back some swagger. Hopefully they can make that big push and get back in Finals. All of us alumni would be proud. I for one would be front and center on finals night!!!

Stu, DCI's budget is $10million, all of that is "related". If DCI used $10,000 to start a business making... oh, I don't know... aprons, because that business will generate $50,000 towards the drum corps cause, do you think the IRS would pitch a fit? The point is that the apron business mission is aligned with DCI's because all the net revenue flows to DCI. Isn't it arguable that starting that business is, in fact, in the best interest of DCI's cause? I think you're thinking too "inside the box". The laws aren't nearly as constrictive as you imagine.

Honestly - let 'em close it! " OMG! You broke my rules!!!!!!!!" Lame!

Slide whistles, Bird Calls, bottles, etc... can be used as peripheral aerophone instruments in the percussion section. So, it stands to reason (and this is a guess) that if the Didgeridoo was used in the same peripheral manner as those instruments it would logically fall under that same auxiliary category.

CROSSMEN... period! What a groove that 2011 show had. I sure hope they stick with that formula!

It's a shame that Cavaliers or Scouts aren't going to Calie. I will be glad personally because I do go to alot of the shows in the midwest during the late part of June and early July, since we have family in that area, and really enjoy Cavies and Scouts. It does seem weird that although Phantom has been in one of the worst shapes of the midwest corps financially, they tend to go west more than any of the other corps. I guess that 1st place bailout a couple of years ago must have put them financially back on the map. And to anyone who thinks California gets robbed of great corps during the early season, I think that is ridiculous. I would love to be there for a show featuring, SCV, BD, Pacific Crest, Academy, Mandarins, VK, Impulse, Gold, and some of the other corps that are from California. To me, that is an amazing early season lineup. I do agree it would be nice for them to see the top 12 or even all 23 World Class corps out there early in the season, but I don't think the lineups at alot of those bigger shows are anything to sneeze at. I don't think any other state has quite the level of drum corps that California does. I believe they not only have the most World class corps, but I think they also have the most Open Class corps as well. It is a shame budget doesn't allow all of them to travel to the midwest for finals week. I personally wish all the corps would start their tour in the California area, and have super regionals with all the corps every weekend. That way almost every part of the country could be within a 6 hour drive of all World Class corps. It seems like the money coming into the huge shows would be enough to maybe give the corps a little more money, as those shows are usually tend to draw crowds 10 times the size of a regular season show. and if you split the corps into about 3 groups all traveling together, and possible even have 2 night shows during the week in larger cities, I think overall attendance would be greater during the season. It would also be cool in my opinion if somehow 2 or more of the corps could find a way to tour together, utilizing the same food trucks and vending booths. Think of the savings of not having 4 or 5 vehicles traveling the entire season. If timings were planned out right, I think that could work out very well for alot of corps. It is just too bad it is difficult to coordinate that many people without having major issues. Great to see Boston heading to Cali though. I can't remember the last time other than when finals were held there that Boston was out west.

Lion King

LLC's have passthrough taxation, in that members (shareholders) are taxed, not the entity itself. In the case where 100% of the shares of an LLC are owned by a tax-exempt organization, these revenues are generally not taxed if the organization can demonstrate that these revenues are used in furtherance of the mission of the organization. Anyway, revenues can be passed from the sub to parent, just in the same way as revenues from any LLC can be distributed to the members (shareholders). No need to book as donation or contribution or whatever... because it is wholly-owned. Rather than transferring these revenues, it would be more simple to just keep these in the sub and distribute directly to corps in the form of performance fees, etc., as well as cover operational costs associated with the tasks of the sub.

A few things have grown on me,watching on the FN since the season ended. I have never been the greatest fan of the Blue Knights, but now I can't get enough of their pre-game setup along with the entire first part of the show. And no, it's not because I live in the '80s and they remind me of the 27th Lancers, it's because I love the classy way they enter the field, and I love the arrangements. Blue Knights, thumbs WAY up for making me a big fan this year. Blue Devils guard. I am not a guard person, but even a dummy like me can watch the final ensemble guard move front and center as BD brings it home at the end, and all I can say is WOW! Who thinks of this stuff, and where do they find such talented people to pull that off? And the Vanguard with their final few minutes of the show. The music blows me away, it's why I love drum corps. I did not have this feeling about SCV earlier in the season, but this is another show that has brought me back to them and made me fall in love with the Vanguard again. I also believe with the changes SCV has made in staff, I see a HUGE upside to their 2012 show, no matter what show they put on the field. You heard it here first. Vanguard, top 3.

So business increases, yet revenues stay the same??? 80% of what DCI does should currently be outsourced. Good thing is that they can outsource to themselves. Spin out the internal groups and outsource 80% of these activities to the newly formed subsidiary companies, who will also take on work for other clients. As you add new clients, new projects, you new resources, supported by increased revenues. This isn't ####### rocket science. This is pretty basic stuff.

My whole point... like the whole point of the entire thread.... was that DCI already has these businesses. They already have the skill and infrastructure and capacity... they just need to start applying it to other areas where there is more money. There is no need to make any significant new investments, just refocus efforts a bit to do pretty much exactly what they do internally, but for external clients (CORPORATE!!!!). Once some cash is made there, use part of that cash to explore other opportunities for additional revenue streams. Um... did you understand the one main point about restructuring?

This thread has turned into a .

Do something with a lower barrier to entry. You could not have answered that one for yourself??? Marshall, Will and Holly in this thread.

No, I'm saying that people wouldn't want computers to design shows because those that are invested in the activity are creative people and want to create the shows themselves. You think that DCI designers want a computer to do all the work? No way, they enjoy the creative process and that's why there will never be a need for this kind of software.

Doesn't computer generated drill design defeat the purpose of the marching arts? I mean the whole point of it is to create something original, not just have it... right?

But, this is NOT a political discussion. So I would urge you to edit your comments. Thanks.

It's always great for those on the West coast to get to see the East coast corps live. Good call by both groups!

I am very excited that BAC & Phantom will be coming out west. However, with all due respect to Phantom, I would have loved to see another corps make the trip to the left coast (Carolina Crown, I am looking at you!). It was great seeing them last year, but if only 2 non-West corps make the trip, it would have been great to see a new face. I think that California kinda gets the shaft when it comes to drum corps shows. Given the population power of California (see below) I wish that more groups traveled out west. Fun facts about California -If it were an independent country, California would rank 34th in population in the world -One in Eight Americans lives in California -Three of the top 10 most populous cities are in California (LA, San Diego, San Jose) -There are more youth in California high schools than the total population of 17 states -If California was it's own country, it would have the 7th largest Gross Domestic Product in the world

Daniel: Gotta luv ya, guy, but you may be thinking too hard lately.

Good catch. In simply stating profit, those points (revenue and expenditures) are never really considered. Forgive me.... I'm a bit new to this sort of thing.

Yes. I am obtuse. Thicker than molasses $10M, by the way, is not huge expenditures for the scope and scale of what DCI does. That amount of spending is not even a Kardashian wedding. DCI has had exactly the same status since 1974. The classifications were different then, but it was never registered as a youth charity in the initial application or anything similar since. The more detailed current classifications came into effect in the mid-90's.

Sure. Just means that the primary aim of the activities of the corporation is not exclusively to make a profit. There are non-profit corporations out there that, for one reason or another, do not have tax exempt status. My point is simple... If an organization wants to exist, they need to make money. If an organization wants to continue to exist, they need to make a profit. Drum corps needs to quickly shift to being more profit driven in the holistic view of their activities (some activities, mainly running a drum corps should lose money.... hopefully A LOT of money... while the organization as a whole should be profitable).

To answer your question... yes... there is risk now. Debts or liabilities associated with one revenue activity are connected with all other activities and revenues streams. This should be separated in order to independently protect individual revenue streams. If it goes bad... you deal with it just as you would if it were an independent business.... you don't have to have revenues from one successful area of the business compensating for lack of success in another. Let's say DCI gets into the T-shirt business under the current structure.... They are killing it selling some clever t-shirts online that are a parody of some popular brands. They are making millions (if you think you can't make millions selling t-shirts online... check out Threadless). They get sued for trademark infringement by one of the brands. Though they tried to defend as parody, they lose and are hit with a multi-million dollar judgement. Under the current structure, such liabilities would fall on the whole org... and it would basically be lights out. Under the proposed structure, this venture would be compartmentalized in a distinct LLC and that entity would have liability. Other activities and revenue sources are protected and preserved.

Limited Liability Company

Random thought.... digital video is getting cheap enough and distribution practical enough that it could be interesting to start to get judging videos instead of tapes. What I mean, simple sort of video cams clipped to glasses or visor of a judge that follows their field of view. You can then see what they are looking at.. follow their focus/attention. Could provide better context to comments.

Careful what you wish for...

I completely disagree with the first sentence. In my area, kids of all stripes play in their high school marching bands. Most of the band directors I know around here TRY and get kids of lower socio-economic status to join band, because it gives them something to belong to and be successful at. And no, they're not crappy programs. Are their kids from well-off families? Sure there are. But the vast majority of kids around here are not "well-to-do." Not saying that isn't the case in some areas, but a blanket statement such as that is dangerous and misrepresentative of the facts.

1. Blue Devils 2. Cadets 3. Crown 4. Cavaliers 5. SCV 6. Madison 7. Bluecoats 8. Phantom 9. Blue Knights 10. Boston 11. Blue Stars 12. Spirit

Scouts - new viz. staff (ex-crown), new percussion staff (ex-crown), and new guard staff (ex-crown), 2 brass camps in Texas...this is going to be a HUGE year for the Scouts. Bold would be to say top 4...definitely top 6. Can't wait for this to get started already!

I'll play... 1. Madison (good staff, tradition, better percussion) 2. The Cadets (Pearl Harbor) 3. Cavaliers (the test; new drill writer) 4. Blue Devils (crazy, misunderstood, but judges like them) 5. Carolina Crown (good show, top horns) 6. Santa Clara Vanguard (tradition) 7. Phantom Regiment (tradition) 8. Bluecoats (good show) 9. Blue Stars (consistent) 10. Crossmen (retention, best trumpets) 11. Boston Crusaders (not as good as 2011) 12. Spirit (loud; heart)