Leaderboard

•A holy war breaks out when The Cadets bring both angel food and devil's food cake to the dinner. •Blue Devils forgot to add a kitchen in the house plans. •Cavaliers' drum major attempted to jump over the table at the end of dessert and stepped squarely in the pumpkin pie. •Herbert is unable to break open the can of Pillsbury biscuits. •Regiment's horn line keeps pushing apart the potatoes from the gravy. •The saying of grace takes a bad turn when Brandt Crocker states, "Imagine you're in gastric distress, and you want to fart." •Bluecoats are in charge of setting the table and put each guest's fork, spoon, knife and salad fork in a different corner. •Jay-Z doesn't allow anyone to take video of the table decorations. •All the desserts Blue Stars' brought start out looking bad, but look better as the L-tryptophan from the turkey kicks in. •The guests from Spirit of Atlanta draw a chalk outline around the corpse of the turkey. •The vampire queen from Glassmen keeps trying to bite the turkey on everyone else's plate. •Members from Troopers' horn line insist on singing a musical grace and draw out the "Amen" so long, everyone's food gets cold. •The Academy keeps REpeating their request for more yams. •Colts bring carving knives that won't slice the ham due to having jagged edges. •Crossmen keep talking about the legendary Thanksgiving dinners of the past. •Pacific Crest keeps pushing other guests away from the table, pulls the turkey's drumsticks apart, twists the cap on the mayonnaise so tight that no one else can open it and then turns over the table. •The host of the dinner can't figure out what section with which they should seat Teal Sound's violinist, rock guitarist and electronic woodwind player. •Everyone complains about having their wallets pickpocketed after Mandarins send over forty thieves. •Tensions rise when the host refuses to open the mysterious orange box that Cascades claim is full of really neat cookies. •Panic sets in when the jungle flowers Jersey Surf brought for table decorations turn on the guests and start devouring them. •Pioneer brings a cured ham that is dyed green. •Blue Devils B, Oregon Crusaders and Vanguard Cadets qualify to be seated at the main table, but aren't allowed in the group photo afterwards.

Hopefully all those who think what you say are gone. Just like I hope you are. Go away from DCI. Don't want ya, certainly don't need ya!

SCV continually steals Phantom's food.

A Blue Knights cooking disaster (otherwise known as English food) leads to insulting comments about "The Turkey My Mouth Skipped".

Fixed.

So glad you could join DCP yesterday so as to teach us all about the Madison Scouts' history today. I can't believe none of us knew these things until now! Thank God!

"The Scouts" never left Madison. Madison Scouts Address: 2935 S Fish Hatchery Rd #401 Madison, WI 53711 Source: http://madisonscouts.org So what if they rehearse in Indiana. Corps have been rehearsing outside of their hometowns since the activity began. Doesn't change where their headquarters are. Boston rehearses in Florida - which my the way is smart considering how much outside time they get in the winter when there is several feet of snow on the ground. So don't be "that guy", alright. Your signature says you are an alumni of the corps for cryin out loud! Be a supporter. Think about how your comment makes any current member of the corps feel.

Well, that's always implied. (Time for someone to find the "Needs more Cesario" poster.)

The the argument that what drum corps offered pre-dci doesn't exist, I believe it still does exist, with the tons of great high school programs that students can participate in for free or little cost and get a BETTER experience than corps offered BITD. Heck even better than some current corps. Have those corps been replaced? Not exactly, but I think there is a better option now. Also, the economy was quite different back then.. in fact a lot was different. Things change... get over it already. Yah?

Either: B-L-U-E-D-E-V-I-L-S or C-A-D-E-T-S (Depending on your preference)

It snows and everyone freezes because the Blue Devils forgot the walls.

Theres a difference between G7 and TOC, duh. :P

The crowd stomp stomp clap is still in!

I think the G7 event was the best thing to happen to DCI in since they switched to Bb. without the G7 event, 2011 would have been another lame year but the G7 event made 2011 one of the best summers for DCI ever. More G7 please!!!

I think DCI has realized that.Did you follow the Cesario stuff on here and on DCi's site this past year? I did, plus I'veheard him give that speech before...but people are listening!! and...gasp.....some of the electronic stuff added to the shows! some didn't. But guess what...some of the accoustic stuff BITD did the same thing in either direction. Please, don't tell me with a straight face that you loved every single corps every single year sayin the 70's. As I look back on the decade, I can tell you I liked shows in 75 and 76, as well as 79 far more then 77 and 78. 80s....years I loved the whole top 12: 82, 84, 86,87, 89 Look I've been a vocal opponent of the electronics, mainly because I knew a) usage would suck, especially early on and b) judges would giveit a free pass. But you can't dent some usage of it has been outstanding. Now sure, the hot new sound effect of the Millenium Falcon flying by gets old, but some other uses were fantastic and added to the show. Or are you one of those guys that #####ed when they set the tympani down and people began pedal tuning as opposed to hand cranking for everynote? Yes it's great business sense to retain and add. No genius iq needed there, and DCI has finally grasped that...but even better....some fans that walked gave it one more shot and came back. Imagine that!! maybe what they are doing now is slowly working? shocking I know

As to why we sometimes see performances on the Fan Network and NOT on the DVDs...DVDs require a synch license and this can be an expensive, time consuming process to hammer out. The Fan Network is covered under a "New Media" license or something like that - I can't recall the exact name. But it is usually a faster, less expensive process, and easier to set up. Corps are required to obtain permission to arrange and perform. In the grand scheme of music licensing, this is usually easier to obtain. In my experience, it usually costs about $150 - 600 per song to arrange. But again, it all depends on the composer, the publisher, etc. Some lesser-known composers are just thrilled you want to use their music and will charger very little or nothing. Other composers are more strict. DCI/BOA/WGI are responsible for obtaining the synch license for DVDs. This allows you to synch the audio and visual presentations together. I'm going to use a BOA example here, because it is more extreme, but the concept and process and requirements are the same for WGI and DCI. Here goes... BOA will not know what 12 bands are going to be in finals until the end of semi-finals. Once they do know, only then can they really start the process for obtaining the synch license for the DVDs, because they need to know the exact "combinations" of songs that are going to be put on a DVD and sold together. There is something called a "favored nations" clause that applies. This is how it works. If you have 12 bands on the finals DVD, and let's say each band used four copyrighted pieces of music in each of their shows, that is 48 pieces of legal paperwork you are dealing with. And let's say that 47 of those copyright holders want $1 per tune in licensing, but the 48th copyright holder wants $5. Doing that math, that would NOT be $52 in total licensing fees, but $240 in licensing fees (48 x $5). Whoever asks for the most money, that is what everyone gets! So one copyright holder can have a HUGE impact on the other 47 in this case. As it relates to DCI, I'm pretty sure Kiwanis Kavaliers did get the synch rights a few years ago, but the royalties that would have been required by this favored nations clause would have made the DVDs way too expensive for DCI to produce and sell.

We at Platinum are very excited to welcome to the Platinum family Charlie Dolar as our 2012 Percussion Caption Head. Mr. Dolar brings a wealth of experience in the Drum Corps activity to us, and we are very excited to welcome him to our team! When asked his feeling on the subject Mr. Dolar replied, "I am excited for the chance to bring this ensemble to the next level and beyond" when he was asked about his expectations for this season, he went on to say "I am also looking forward to working with a GREAT bunch of members and staff, as well as the opportunity to show the world what we can do!" Platinum is also pleased to announce Mr. Adam Goldson as our 2012 Brass Caption Head. We are also pleased to welcome Alan Perry as our 2012 Visual Caption Head as well. We'd also like to welcome back Mr. Derrick Johnston as our percussion arranger and consultant. Platinum is also pleased to add Mr. Ed Warren to our 2012 Design Team and as a consultant. With their experience in the marching arts we are excited to have them as part of our staff. Come be apart of something new this season, come to Platinum, and watch us shine! Keep watching for more staff additions! Platinum Drum Corps www.platinumdrumcorps.org

As it is in the mob, Corporate America or DRUM CORPS......everyone wants to make it to the top, but how long can you stay there. Please enjoy the following clip, which is the prequal to our 2012 Production "THE HIT"....... To find out what happens next come to one OR both of our open houses.......it will be an EXPERIENCE you won't want to miss: November 26th from 11:30 am - 7:00 pm at the Parsippany PAL 33 Baldwin Road (Off Rte 46) Parsippany, NJ 07054 and December 3rd 11:30 am to 7 pm at the Boys & Girls Club 701 Montgomery Street Laurel, MD 20707

Reasons why the 2011 DCI dinner goes not as planned: Blue Devils keep moving the house, causing everyone to be confused as where to go. The Cavaliers, still in an XtraordinarY mood, flip the table upside down, causing the food to spill everywhere. Boston revolts and refuses to show up. Copyrights prevent there from being Idaho potatoes, causing there to be an empty dish with the smell of potatoes and the visual blacked out. Feel free to add more and keep the topic rolling!

That's a d'bag post.

shouldn't it be 1% of the corps entertain 1% of the population?

I originally ordered the Fan Network/DVD combo. I upgraded to the Blu-Rays for an extra 20 a couple of months ago. Today when I got home from work I had both on my doorstep. I was only charged once but got DVDs and Blu-Rays. I contacted DCI and they have confirmed that I was the third person to get two sets that they know of. I asked for a return label to send the DVDs back. Having watched the Cadets and Devils I can confirm that they are of very good quality!

Yes, in fact, the multi-cam starts out with a close up of that gargoyles stuff.

Every August, 99% of drum corps entertain 1% of the population. #OccupyLOS

Fighting the obnoxiousness of dinos with an obnoxiosness that's ten times more irritating solves nothing. Just let em ramble on. Period. The end. Over. Done. Finis. The end. Period.

I'm sure it must be painful to see the version of drum corps you grew up with loved fade away. But don't blame the survivors for the demise of the type of corps you knew and loved. DCI didn't kill it . . . sure, DCI has made some unfortunate decisions, but DCI isn't large enough or powerful to kill off the hundreds of little competitive corps and the untold numbers of non or partially competitive corps that once existed. DCI found a way to survive. When all those organizations that once sponsored drum corps were shrinking and dying, and were cutting corps loose left and right, the corps that joined DCI found a way to endure. Sure, it was inadvertent, but they did it. Just be glad that drum corps has managed to endure in some form or fashion. Without DCI it wouldn't have. And, though you may not like to here it, there are thousands of competitive corps style bands that share 80%-90% of the qualities that you loved about those old corps.

Update, got the tracking number and my FN ordered Blu-ray is on UPS truck for delivery today.

Ah ha. I ordered through the FN too. So the ones that bought it first get it last. Good times.

Vote for Oregon Crusaders! Thank you, Travis Moddison Brass Caption Supervisor url="https://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/931285710-oregon-crusaders"]My linkhttps://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/931285710-oregon-crusaders[/url]

My blu-ray arrived last night. Was able to watch 6 of the corps last night (including all corps that were "edited"). Honestly, they did a great job with the edits. I've seen Crown live in person, once on a webcast, and once during the quarterfinals movie-broadcast so I was semi-familar with their show. I expected there to be this jarring edit right at the start where it appeared like part of the preshow was cutoff. Luckily, that wasn't the case at all. In fact, if I hadn't watched the show all season, I would have not have suspected any editing based on watching the blu-ray. For the Cavaliers, they fade to a crowd shot during the transition of audio tracks that skips over the 30 second piece of music that was cut. Again, I wouldn't have suspected a thing if I hadn't known about the edits from this forum. Finally, the blank screen for madison is obviously the most noticeable intrusion. Some text appears right before the song begins to play that says "video is not available due to copyright considerations". It was definitely weird watching drum corp on a blank screen while music was playing. The video turns on again right when the final note begins. Funny story, my 5 yo son was watching Madison with me and when he asked me "why did the screen go black?" the only answer I could give him that he would understand was "I'll explain it to you when your older". It's almost like he asked me "where do babies come from?" Anyway, I think they did a great job given the circumstances.

Thanks. I've dealt with copyrights for one of the top-12 corps in the past (that involved some VERY obscure composers and publishers in other countries) and I deal with it every year for a band I work with. I've had to jump through so many hoops, negotiate fees, and most of the time I have been successful in navigating the process. But the group I work with has gotten bit by the "Yeah! We got the rights to perform. And congrats, you made finals and will be on the DVD. But we're sorry, we can't get the synch rights, so there won't be any audio on the DVD, just your visual" bug. It sucks. But you move on.

G7 event? You mean the ToC shows? They might have been good at some of the venues but as far as the the Houston show, I have to disagree. It went from a 2 night show featuring ALL the WC corps (11 corps each night) to a one night show with 8 corps. For one night, that's 3 less corps than the year before and it was the same price. And, for only 8 corps preforming, the show went on waaaaaaay too long. I was also disappointed with some of the instant encores. However, the mass brass at the end was a definite highlight.

Success is defined by the goals you set for yourself and whether or not you achieve them. Different organizations will have different goals. Some of us will agree with some of those goals. Others won't. But if a corps sets out to win a championship, and they win a championship, then they were successful. If a corps sets out to have a great experience for their members, and their members all have a great time, they were successful. That's actually a term we've been talking a lot about with the staff where I teach. We are currently refining what our long term goals are for our program, and how we want to progress towards those goals. So naturally we've been talking a lot about success regarding benchmarks along the way. Where do we want to be in 2 years. Where do we want to be in 5 years. Etc. So, in 5 years, our idea of a successful season may be very different from what it is right now. Its completely relative.

The Bat Sanctuary comment is sad but true. This has been an interesting experience for me. I always thought the Drum Corps Fans were some of the most motivated of fans around but if you look at the top vote totals you will see a major representation of Animal charities. I guess we sometimes forget there are plenty of other passions out there. I even work for a non-profit, a Botanical Garden, and I forget that some people love plants more than the Marching Arts.

BigDog #1 is fired by Corps A and hired by equal-strength Corps B. Fans of Corps A: "We'd gone as far as we could with Big Dog #1. It was time to let him go and bring in someone who could take us to the next level." Fans of Corps B: "BigDog #1 is a great addition to the staff. He's the guy we need to take us to the next level." Don'cha just love it? peace, Fred O.

From a friend on Facebook who's gotten the DVD already: "basically we will rock you, iron man, all that stuff is all gone. it just cuts to the drum feature" Too bad, that sounds like one of my favorite memories from the summer won't be on the DVD: when we came out onto the field on Finals night, the crowd was already stomp-stomp-clapping before we'd played a single note. Maybe they'll find some way to include that and then cut past all the samples... fingers crossed!

It sounds like you actually know what you're talking about. Very refreshing to see on DCP!

sorry oldskl, but this past year, even with all of the changes, was one of the most entertaining years DCi has had in a decade

Geesh... Give it a rest already!

It might well be your porn name though. Just sayin'.

DCI didn't kill drum corps. It preserved it by transforming it. Sure DCI is flawed, and it's made many, many mistakes. It may even be time for the competitive junior activity to move on to something new. Nonetheless, DCI has kept at least a few corps alive while all those organizations that sponsored the little weekend corps were shrinking and dying. And if you really miss all those little local corps, you may be in luck . . . if you live in a state where competitive corps-style band is popular. It's not quite the same but it's close. Locally based and funded. Limited practices. Travel and competition mostly on the weekends. Sense of dedication, belonging to something bigger, and forging friendships that last a lifetime. Takes kids that knew nothing about music and shows 'em the ropes. Neighborhood corps lives on!

why thank you

Get out there and vote PLEASE

just an update on the voting... The Academy has now dropped to 5th place. I still believe that the wonderful world of Drum corps fans can pull together and put our corps on the top of the heap. There is no reason we can't get the Academy back on top and pull at least Crossmen and Oregon Crusaders into the next level. www.voteacademy.com

The Raiders of Burlington, NJ, are excited to announce that Key Poulan has been added to the 2012 Design Team. All remaining members of last years design team has been retained for the 2012 season. Executive Director, Tom Maiello, is pleased to have Key arranging the brass book for The Raiders. "With all original music for 2012, Key's reputation and arrangements are a perfect fit for the concept of our show for 2012." The Raiders Design Staff and Caption Heads for 2012 are Program Coordinator: Cliff Bialkin Brass Arranger: Key Poulan Percussion Arranger: Bill Woodward Drill Designer: Mike Russ Percussion Caption Head: Jamie Szienberg Brass Caption Head: Don Pfleger Guard Designer: Anthony Tanasy The Raiders are very excited for the upcoming season.

1987! That show was great; best version of "Autumn Leaves!" Props to the '86 'Coats for "Salt Peanuts."

Cadets/YEA won $200,000 I could have called or texted you but I thought others would be interested.

Thank you too all the DCP forum users voting for all the corps running this time. I know on behalf of The Academy we appreciate every single vote or ways you are spreading the word to grow the votes. So far The Academy is staying on top but we are getting a strong challenge in the last day. Please help keep all of us in the running. We Drum Corps fans are special people!

The Cadets 2007- So there is some talking. So what! That brassline.... I still think they should have won and I will believe that until I die. Honorable Mentions Santa Clara Vanguard 1999 Phantom Regiment 2010 Blue Stars 2010 Star of Indiana 1991

Her last name was Ruschman.