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Anybody else see the possibility of Cadets '12 going the way of Regiment 09? A championship year followed by a "flop?"

On Wednesday afternoon, 200+ Tournament Of Bands students, parents and many members of the TOB administration and members of the National Judges Association invaded Surf's home rehearsal site, aka "Vokie" to rehearse for the 2011 TOB All Star Bands participation in the ABC6/Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade. The students come from all over TOB's region of PA, NJ, DE, WV and MD. In 4 short hours, these students came together to form a HUGE band that not only marched in the Parade, but also participated in the Grand Finale on the famed steps of The Philadelphia art Museum. If you've seen the Rocky movies, you know these steps. None of that would have been possible without the assistance from The Jersey Surf, director Bob Jacobs, his support staff of Brian Prato and Bill Ives, members of the corps and others connected to the corps. They not only donated housing for rehearsal, they also provided dinner for the TOB students and staff as well as bussing to the hotel in Center City Philadelphia, snares, tenors and bass drums for the battery to play on and also Tubas for the tuba section. The Surf's assistance with this project since it was begun in 2009 has been the key to having the project period. Without their assistance, the TOB All Star Band would not exist. On behalf of all of us with TOB,NJA and the All Star Band, A HUGE thank you to Jersey Surf for all of your assistance with this project. Other sponsors and donors include: Uniform accessories by DeMoulin Brothers, flags by Beck Design, guard uniforms by A Wish Come True, percussion sticks/mallets and matching Zildjian cymbals by Progressive Music, and the Hawthorne Caballeros DCA Drum and Bugle Corps.

Oh, I know, I know! How about a show titled "The Old Testament vs. The New Testament"! Kind of like Angels and Demons except it's the Christians vs. the Jews. With the pit dressed as Ghandi sitting crossed-legged on the sidelines playing finger cymbals. And the guard can be radical Muslims pretending to chop off the judges heads. Is that better? Jeesh. Lighten up. Not everything has to be inclusive does it? (What you don't know is that Hop is planning a WWII Christmas show as depicted from the Nazi standpoint. So, yea, no Jews allowed in his corps! Jeesh.)

broken down and no A/C busses were a common theme even in 2010. And housing sites with poor, very poor practice fields a crap load of bugs, and one shower (per gender) for 80 members is a yearly tradition. Looking at you, Springfield, IN.

They could have black backdrops, and from behind them, shoot lasers up on the black Lucas Oil Stadium curtain to create the effect of snowing, and the could make ice crystals and snowflakes and a snowman in the drill, and also stack their basses to make a snowman, and...... oh wait. Never mind (wondering how many on here will understand the above reference????)

They finally actually do a drum corps show and now this? Oh brother!

Blah blah blah...What a bunch of #####y little kids. Get over it and move on. They look and sound great!

It was exciting to watch the video of camp and see all those kids in attendance. How great is it that a lower tier corps can get such a big pool of talent? Hats off the Surf for doing such a good job recruiting. Anyone willing to share the secrets?

Hey - I'd enjoy it!

New red uni jackets and plastic surgery?

I actually drove and taught both 27th and ECJ. I do think 2-7 had a member or two drive short shifts and I'm pretty sure they were not the only one. I remember on one tour, 84 I think, the kids on my bus set up a schedule to keep me awake. One night, one of the snare drummers (Rick Carr) came up to me and said what should I talk about? I said anything you want, tell me about yourself. He said: "Well I was born on a Tuesday....." Great drummer, funny funny guy.

Okay, if you insist... LVTI - 3 Little Sisters of the Poor - 0

Doubtful. Kids know the Bridgemen as one of those corps that isn't around anymore. Of course the nerdy ones will hype it and as it develops, they will learn more and more about the legacy of that particular corps. But the Bridgemen are just one of those corps that didn't make it; their legacy helped shaped the activity but it's not like the rep is contributing THAT much.

You never come out, the way you went in....

Lynn, Lynn, the city of Sin...

Playing something appealing to everyone is a huge factor. If Surf had announced a rep based on the "wind ensemble flavor of the month" they'd have had half that many kids at camp.

Yeah, things have changed somewhat, but not all that much from BITD. During the 70s, we didn't have a "Miss Amanna", so it was cereal and juice in the morning, sandwiches and chips for lunch, buy your own or Gails Spaghetti for dinner. No bathrooms on the bus. Break downs etc. The schools/churches/armories were hits or misses as well as were the practice fields. Spent some nights up front with drivers to keep them company. They always looked tired. Difference with 90s while driving for SCV. "Miss Amanna" was there to feed everyone all day (great food BTW). Still no bathrooms on the bus. Still have break downs. Schools still hit or miss and from what I could tell, so where the fields. DOT was cracking down on drivers logs though. Thoughts of loss of livelyhood kept me from cheating (too much). My little Brothers or Sisters would come and sit with me on long night drives if they couldn't sleep. Fun to fill them in on the history of SCV. Now for the 2000s. I drove a Div 3 Corps for a couple of Summers (Spokane Thunder). The difference was, no Miss Amanna, but the cooks used butain grills and hotplates and such to feed everyone pretty well. 90% of feeding was done on school or church grounds. The fields and schools were pretty much small and *definately* hit or miss. They actually kind of reminded me of my early years with SCV! They had bathrooms on the bus but we still had break downs. DOT *really* strict on driving logs, no cheating there. The kids would still come and sit with me thoughout the night. I really enjoyed telling stories of the olden, golden days. That part of a long night I wouldn't trade for anything. What has never changed is the dedication of all of the kids no matter what year or decade they marched. Their goal is to perform to the best of their abilities and to come as close to perfection as possible. This, and a longing to entertain and hear the roar of the crowd will always be their motivation to accept anything they have to put up with, IMHO.

In 1971 we left Santa Clara in 3 busses the corps had purchased from the Troopers. I believe they were 40’s era Brills. We got as far as Milpitas (about 5 miles) before the first buss broke down. It wasn’t a good omen. As it turned out, we ended up doing the majority of the tour with only 2 busses running at any one time. I recall praying that we would survive the trip over Sierra’s. I remember standing in the aisle for an entire 6 hour ride to La Crosse. Outside of Toronto we had 1 buss run into the back of another. About a dozen members marched the show that night with whip lash and wearing neck braces. In Boston we were down to 1 buss (due to the accident) and I remember going to a show (I believe World Open) with the entire corps stuffed into one buss and the equipment truck. On the way home, in the middle of the desert, outside of Needles one buss caught fire. A CHP officer arrived at the scene and told GR, “You need to move that buss out of the middle of the road.” GR replied, “But sir, the buss is on fire!” Every trip that year was an adventure, but we took home the VFW trophy and that, as members, was all we worried about.

Hmmm, don't know if I'd be interested in watching some "reality-based" twisted, behind-the-scenes type show. Reality TV really sucks. I could be a minority in this - I love the NFL, but can't stand the player interviews, life stories, behind-the-scene dramas of it all - I love the game. What I can see being done for DCI is: decide that you want a 3-hour block for Thanksgiving night and work your butt off to get it. It doesn't have to be ESPN - try A&E, or Hallmark, Lifetime, OXY, FAM, VH1 or any of the other two dozen channels showing "Everyone Loves Raymond" reruns. Anybody ever even try to talk to Oprah? Hell, she loves hard working kids/young adults. Like another had said, it's a fair bet that it was the channel that found the sponsors, not the Chunkers. Get your 3-hr block, hire a host to explain some of what is going on, pump the crap out of the competition aspects and air the Finals you've just finished producing. While you're at it, push a "Shop DCI.org" for your stocking stuffers. You've already got the product, get out and sell it. If given the chance, then push all the behind-the-scenes goodies. People love music and they love competition. Get it out there and prove that it is a whole lot more than your average high school band skipping across a gridiron. Minds of the viewers will never change if drum corps is never seen by the general public. Hell, the crowd at halftime went ape when a drumline came out for Nickleback - and the drummers didn't even do anything!

<Receive vague information about a show... "I just don't like this" "gonna be a flop" > Sounds a LOT like what I read about the Cadets concept 12 months ago...and that one turned out pretty well -

With all of the additional channels available via cable & satellite TV, It really is disappointing that DCI finals isnt broadcast on one of them.

1976 Blue Devils. 1995 Madison.

While I live in So CA, and have little idea about any of this event, it's ALWAYS great to see a drum corps pitch in and assist the local community. It's situations like this are a win-win for all involved and I never grow tired of hearing about corps and corps members/staff stepping up and helping people/organizations/community, etc. Thanks for sharing, Jeff!

Well 3rd and 10... You of course are entitled to your opinion. I will not get into a debate on this subject. But, know this, If you ARE a fan of Drum Corps, then you know how hard it is to actually get a corps ON THE FIELD. Don't believe me? Ask the 100's of groups that are no longer around. We are doing our best to give these kids a positive educational experience. I was not part of this program in the seasons prior to this one, and frankly I don't care about the past. All I want to do is make sure these kids have a GREAT experience this upcoming summer. By the way, If you are around this summer, please feel free and stop by our warm up and say hi. I always appreciate meeting fellow Drum Corps fans.

Oh the offseason. Receive vague information about a show... "I just don't like this" "gonna be a flop" At least wait for full music and a show description before forming an opinion. I'd even accept waiting until you know, most members have been contracted.

Hey Dave Hobart... prdirector@dcacorps.org Why don't you suggest that a logo patch be offered... would look GREAT on corps jackets. Tom

Not feeling this at all, what a shame.

Oh! Now I get it clearly. It's only marching band! Gee, I've NEVER heard that before. And you're missing the point that has been made ad nauseum here over the years: it's NOT just marching band. It's 6 months of drama and competition and excitement. Your comment reminds me of the small-minded jocks in high school who didn't appreciate the work the band did away from halftime. Again, what Bill Cook-type gazillionaire convinced Discovery Channel that beer, BBQ, and tossing pumpkins would make for good prime time viewing? I think you're thinking too small. As long as we continue to call it marching band, that's all it will ever be.

The Christmas thing is a dodge. It's really a John Cage tribute show.

they get out and make themselves be seen.

Yet another NJ corps doing an old Bridgemen show

Could this be a red herring? On December 25, 1941, Admiral Chester Nimitz arrived in the Pacific to assume command of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Where did he arrive that day? PEARL HARBOR. Coincidence? hehehehehe

Eh..... I'm not feeling it, sorry.

If you want a quality copy of DCI, junior drum corps for 2011, this is it. There is nothing better. Sorry, it sucks and I feel a little deceived. This is, however, the only copy around....

P.S. - Musclebud, they are giving a reasonable explaination - sync rights. That is perfectly reasonable. As far as Phantom - did you ever think that maybe that was at the request of the corps? A la Crown 2010, when the kid blew out his leg? (which was HORRIBLE... happened right in front of me)

Not really though Posting anonymously is so brave, your my hero

btw, your pic in your sig isn't showing a "local" drum corps. it's showing a DCA corps from the early 80's.Things in DCA have changed quite a bit too

I voted for 1999, followed closely by 1998 and 2001. I also enjoyed parts of 2000 and 2002 a lot! I also want to mention 2011. They didn't make finals, but I loved the show design (brass, percussion, visual, guard, everything!) and the performers really sold it with a lot of emotion. I can't wait to see what the Gmen have in their future.

1997 was the first time Glassmen really caught my attention. Some great stuff on the field that year...Farandole was my favorite. I did choose 1999 as my favorite Glassmen finals show. For some reason Glassmen and Kodaly just go together. I can't explain it really. The music, the percussion, the guard, the whole visual. Just amazing. What a great brass sound that year! I always thought that they should do another Kodaly show. That would surely bring the house down, IMO.

Phantom should redo 2008! What a classic show!

Club Blue: A Gangster Chronicle

Someone please think of those people who buy the DVDs and/or subscribe to the Fan Network.

I consider Empire State Of Mind the new "Malaguena....or Malaga". Having said that, I think most people on this thread have a point that it may be too soon for anything more than an encore tune. Then again, we don't know what the show may be in 2012 so you never know. If it fits the theme, maybe so. I will go one step further than saying "just as an encore tune" and add...MANY YEARS FROM NOW IT WOULD BE AWESOME TO BRING BACK!

Not doubtful at all. I have first-hand knowledge of the situation, and the program is a HUGE draw for Surf in 2012. What a corps plays, especially for corps in the lower half of the rankings, is enormously important.

I'll have to cast a no vote. I've seen the corps at Allentown, and although I appreciate what they are about I don't think what they put together for Allentown would fly at finals. As a matter of fact, I took last summers performance as my opportunity to check out the souvie area in Allentown....yes, Bridgemen was my hotdog corps in 2011.

Me too. That clip gave me chills.

Good thing I probably won't be watching Cavies, Crown, and Madison anyway...

IT IS bad enough at the end of ALLENTOWN. I LIKE THE BRIDGEMEN BUT THE SHOW IS TOO LONG , too cheesy for 2012 , AND THE FIRE IS OUT, SORRY. PHANTOM CAVIES NLUE DEVILS THEN THE BRIDGEMEN ALUMNI ????? DONT DO IT. PLEASE..... If they want to compete and perform at big shows join DCA.

Where do I sign?