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I have a secret crush on the pit. But seriously, there have been way too many shows that you can barely hear the pit unless you're actually marching that show or have been there live. Now you finally see and hear what they add to the ensemble.

Pioneer is the sleeper. Or should I say, is a sleeper.

Santa Clara Vanguard 1999 That entire show just keeps progressing, and never gets boring to me. I can listen to that show on repeat for the rest of my life and never get bored of it. Honestly. Not a dull moment in that show, and it has many "moments" on top of it.

Overhype....overated Music City.

Each corps gets its own class. Every corps then is a winner. No one goes home without a gold medal. Self-esteem rises to new and glorious mountaintops of whatever self-esteem rises to. Every marcher receives a patch that declares, "Congratulations, you ARE a winner." Brandt Crocker's voice will go hoarse from continually saying, "In first place, with a score of..." The most esoteric corps shows will be understood by all. The OP receives the Nobel Peace Prize. The United Nations declares the final day of the DCI season to be "International Kum-Ba-Yah Day." Rebecca Black will record "Saturday" and everyone in Lucas Oil Stadium that night will sing, "It's Saturday, it's Saturday, it's Kum-Ba-Yah Saturday." Lions shall lie down with lambs. The meek shall inherit the earth. There will be peace on earth. An archeologist will discover a centuries-lost Mayan calendar that reveals the end of 2012 is the beginning of centuries of universal brotherhood. Everyone who wants a new car will find one sitting in their driveway. Those without driveways will have driveways provided. I'll be able to eat tofu without passing gas. You either get on board the Glory Train or it runs you over at the station.

I don't know why all these people stayed around and are standing and clapping? I guess the couple of empty seats are youse guys going for Hot Dogs! Save some room for this year....

I've always held the belief that the top OC corps can be very dangerous at the WC championships. Please don't take that the wrong way. What I mean is that they're not on the bubble and have nothing to lose, they can just go out there and throw it down. Contrarily, if I were a WC corps on the bubble I would be looking over my shoulder becuase they could hurt me. Maybe that's what Drum Corps needs right now. There's nothing like a wake up call,

haven't read the whole thread, but here's my vote fwiw no... IMO, DCI, like colleges and universities, is a great example of a successful self-governed organization. Drum corps is a very unique, hybrid activity involving highlyk specialized expertise. Corps directors and others who have devoted their professional lives to the activity have the greatest expertise in the activity and are in the best position to govern it. What on earth is the fascination with business people? How does working in business qualify you to govern anything? For cripes sake in this economy, there are serious doubts about whether experience in business bodes well for your future potential in business let alone in some activity you know nothing about.

OP ....Your point is taken by others. The others don't post on DCP, ( to which they would support you). But they are out there marching in All Age corps and have felt somewhat slighted like you. I will offer some of their opinions in this post-as there are two sides to every coin. I don't agree with them entirely, as I support Cadets2 decision to go DCA. But because I don't see many coming here to defend your thoughts, I thought I would mention some opinions in support of yours. . Perhaps their thoughts will make others think too.... When announced by YEA....Like the OP, I didn't like the concept of Cadets2 going to DCA. This because I felt Cadets2 could help DCI Open Class make a comeback on the East Coast. I wanted something like the Garden State circuit to happen, where, like a "Target in a strip mall", Cadets2 considered themselves an "anchor corps". Thus, Jersey Surf, Spartans, 7th Regiment, Spirit of Newark, and Raiders would have a stronger Open Class audience in the Northeast. When Crown, Cadets, and Boston were not your anchor corps after July 4th.... Open Class corps could hold their own in providing a great show for fans. I wanted to see the East Coast Open Class scene, become like the West Coast Open Class scene. The West benefitted tremendously in Open Class when the Rose Bowl was DCI's site for Finals in 07.. 4 corps Open Class corps in the Southern California formed around this time, including two Alumni groups in Kingsmen and Freelancers. Post Rose Bowl- there is a great regional touring model. and a DCI Pacific Open Class Championship. My bottom line.....I want to see DCI have more regional touring models like California. So why do I agree with Cadets2 decision? .... In the absence of what was the Garden State Circuit, DCE, and DCI South - The reality is the East has DCA to supplement that model. It has experienced a "Renaissance" in DCA corps coming to field in the same way the West experienced it in DCI due to Finals 07. Windsor, Fusion, Gold, Alliance,, ...and now Cadets2. More corps, more regional touring opportunity. Hence, Cadets2 more than enhance that model. The reality is not DCI- but you still have marching opportunity, and that is what we all want to see. So....Win. Now, in support of other views....When I hear from friends and others who I either march with am fellow fans with- This is what I often hear.... They don't get why Cadets2 will cap their age, and are more importantly, allowed to do so, when all other corps they compete against allow all age to everyone. why are the Directors of other corps not speaking up at the DCA meetings or otherwise to vote against this? Also, they ask why someone must audition for a DCA corps...it's a foreign concept to them. They also see that being able to come in as an affiliate to the " Marching Music Major League World Champion" - presents an unfair advantage in recruiting. This, when many corps already struggle to find members. And lastly.....the obvious. ...Cadets changed the way everyone marched drill in the 80s and they believe in Music is Movement. So will they change drill in DCA to a point...where like "pricing out", they " drill out" other corps.? Will those corps die off because they fall behind those that adopt? The result of changing drill begins to force out the "old guard" in many corps Those individuals who were that nucleus that started the corps - quit. They are the individuals who are most loyal to keeping it going,- These are the guys you count on year after year....while some come and go- this "nucleus" comes back. Now....gone My friends are not afraid to march, over these opinions, as alluded to in a prior post. But what I think they are seeing with this is a point of being "disenfranchised" so to speak. They march DCA and are not in their early 20s.... So they don't feel it's right to be competing against a corps that will for the most part be- for youth. They feel in many ways there is DCI for that- and that that DCA should be an alternative to that youth mission of DCI. On an extreme side, they feel it's a gray area that needs to be worked out between DCI and DCA, The worst part about this...they stop marching cause of a feeling of no longer wanting to be there. I think it's like being in a marching purgatory for them They are not yet wanting to standstill and play as alumni...but at the same time dont want to march 150 to 200 pages of drill to march against a corps that has an average age of a DCI corps. They are somewhere in the middle.of the current state o things. They would march DCA2 - " The Senior Division but not yet Alumni Division" if there was one. I will be marching this season. At 34, I am not yet in " marching purgatory.". I look forward to seeing Cadets2 play "To Tame the Perilous Skies" and bring back 92......Well, one can hope. But what I don't want to see is friends of mine give up, nor others blow up after we see the results in Annapolis. I am having a hard enough time convincing friends to march because they already feel that DCA has gone the way of youth. Now with a corps that has an age cap...it has become harder.... But, I guess if they don't march,,,,,thats them, Not me.

I should have included the part from 2B that I was responding to so my meaning was clearer. He was calling on C2 folks to report on what was going on and I'm wondering if anyone (besides GH) is allowed to post on social media.

Please enlighten me. I see a number on their website that says about 100. I hope you are not impressed by 100. I have been to open houses with 100 people in attendance as recently a last month. Good for them, that is a great start. They'll be in better shape JUST because they are younger? I see your point, but I have to say your logic is a little flawed. Yes they are younger and their bodies aren't broken down yet, but they are also on a weekend only rehearsal schedule like the rest of us. Therefore they will only be strong if their membership maintains a solid monday-friday exercise schedule. Just like EVERYONE else. We are NOT talking about a true junior corps that is just jumping in to DCA. I am not a 38 year old NFL athlete, nor do I understand why I would need to be, but I run a couple of miles everyday and hit the weights as well just to keep my body up to snuf. The "old fart, beer gut, glory years" remark is intended as an insult and I don't know if I should say anything about it, but I'll add just this: quite a few people in every DCA corps are still in their "glory years" and have not even reached 22 years old yet. And again, we are NOT talking about DCI kids. We are now talking about DCA kids, just like the rest of us. I'm not sure what your "duh" comment is about. It is indeed built as an all age corps. That's kind of the point. Yes once C1 makes cuts those that happen to live within a few hours of Allentown will be welcome to try their hand at C2, if they are interested. I'm not seeing this as being a very large crowd, but nevertheless it will exist and good for C2. In the end, who will be the potential membership of Cadets2? Kids that are not ready for junior corps, kids that can't afford junior corps, and kids that can't sacrifice the time for a junior corps tour. Sound like anyone else? Maybe EVERYONE else? The only thing missing is the kids that have already aged out and love drum corps so much that they want to continue spending their summers doing it. My response to you in short: we both clearly think the other is crazy. I definitely don't think I am the one who is dreaming, but in reality the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. We shall see, and I look forward to it. I can say this for certain... George has got to be eating this up.

Some more perspective to help frame this discussion… First, slight correction regarding the comment above as it pertains to the Cavaliers Alumni Corps…there were some “millennium” (i.e., 2000s) alumni, but they were a small percentage overall. For example, although we had members from all 60 years, we only had one from 2007. The distribution of members was roughly a bell curve centered over the ’79-’84 seasons. There is no right or wrong formula regarding alumni corps, and pretty much all of those that have performed at DCI have been successful and entertaining, perhaps to different degrees. The secret is exploiting the corps’ unique emotional connection with the audience. 27th got the largest crowd reaction for a couple of reasons. First, they performed in front of the largest crowd – Saturday night, upstaging the competition in the opinion of many (maybe that’s why the alumni slot is on Friday now). They also brought back a beloved defunct corps. A bit of an aside… Some “purists” will claim that by allowing non-alumni, 27th wasn’t really an “alumni” corps. So what? The people who were in 27th Alumni all shared one thing – they loved the old Lancers, whether they marched there or not. Furthermore, eastern Massachusetts is unique in the sheer number and density of corps that used to exist; many of the alumni of those countless, small corps were able to recreate a bit of magic under the respected banner of the Lancers, the regional powerhouse. I bring up this point because Bridgemen aren’t an “alumni” corps either, but that should make no difference in whether or not they perform at DCI. Star, Anaheim, and Royal Airs shared the same emotional hook as 27th – resurrecting inactive corps. SCV and Star did basically stand-stills, but they played beautifully and the guard did their thing. Star was helped in that their oldest alums aged out in ’85, so they didn’t have to train piston-rotary alums who don’t read music! Star’s use of the integrated video was also smart and compensated for the fact that, unlike other corps that have performed in the Friday night slot, they had less of an “identity.” This is not a negative comment, just an observation; Star had a short history and changed their look and style often. Their unifying theme was the excellence year after year, but the videos helped complete the story. Madison and Cavaliers (like SCV) represented existing corps and (like Royal Airs and Anaheim) marched full shows. The emotional impact of Madison’s performance is undeniable. The corps has historically been in-you-face, exciting drum corps, so the MSARP was huge and in-your-face, and the hometown crowd loved it. Cavaliers have been so phenomenally successful in the last 20 years, it is easy to forget the other great moments the corps has provided in its 60+ years. So, CAC chose NOT to perform anything from after the ’92 season (Mars and Jupiter were played in ’95, but also in ’85). In addition, a stand-still just wasn’t an option for a corps with the Cavaliers’ visual tradition, so the 1960s opener “Bully” was set to a Mike Gaines drill complete with diamond-cutter at the end – with septuagenerian members. But when you think of the Cavaliers overall, you think of integrated, machine-like execution. In my completely biased opinion, I think CAC had the most balanced and best performed of the alumni shows. The point of this overly-long review is that there a few lessons for the Bridgemen… 1) A Bridgemen DCI performance should be something special, not a continuation of business as usual. The Friday not spot is usually a one-time spectacular. Thousands of DCI fans have seen the Bridgemen at Allentown since ’06; unless the corps is going to do something more than a larger version of that, there’s no need to bring them to Indy. 2) People remember Bridgemen for being wildly entertaining and humorous. But they weren’t entertaining just because of the humor – they were entertaining because they executed fantastically across all sections. Just watch/listen to the shows from ’77-80 (and the drum lines beyond that). Schtick is no substitute for quality. I know several of the members – the good news is, they are more than capable of bumping it to the next level in execution. 3) I agree with others who have said that the current corps needs to vastly improve its visual program and guard over what they have currently. There are definite cultural issues to overcome first regarding the latter. 4) Humor will still be important, but I also agree that things like the San Diego chicken are facile and the reference doesn’t age well. The twin geniuses (Kerchner and DeLucia) are completely capable of coming up with a fresh way of presenting this essential Bridgemen ingredient. I also hope they do it with Surf this year without playing a single actual Bridgmen tune. If Surf does a Bridgemen tribute, then what role is there for the Bridgemen? Finally, I think it is a mistake to use modern corps criteria and recent Bridgemen performances as the indicator as to whether or not Bridgemen are even worthy of consideration. Remember that 27th was created from scratch in two years. CAC and MSARP, although representing existing organizations, created their corps in even less time. The Bridgemen have had an organization since 2005, and that provides a very solid base on which to build. There is no reason to believe that a Bridgemen grand reunion at DCI couldn’t be unique, emotional, and completely entertaining. Of course they should be invited! Rick Bridgemen '06/'07 CAC '08 27 Lancers Alumni '94

Women's softball: Why do they toss underhand? Is there a league? What do they do in real life? Do their pitching arms hurt? Why is the ball so big? What, why, how, what if, why? Table tennis: Is that the same as ping-pong? Punkin Chunkin: Throw far. Pumpkin goes sploosh. Farthest wins. Beer. Lots of beer. Lots and lots of beer. People happy. Everyone goes home. Stop at gas station to get rid of some beer. Buy chips and Red Bull for rest of drive. Get home. Talk about pumpkins flying through air. Go to bathroom. Go to bed. Dream of flying pumpkins. Hope bed is still dry in morning. Drum corps: No, it isn't just like your local marching band. Well, yes, it's kind of like your local marching band, but better. No, I didn't mean to insult your local marching band. Yes, I've heard they've been invited to the Tomato Soup Festival Parade. No, I don't want to buy a band turkey, but thanks for asking. Anyhow, drum corps is different from marching bands in a few ways...such as it costs more money and the corps travel all summer. Why do they have to travel all summer? Well, they need to do so to compete. Why not just compete locally? There is no local competition, so they have to travel. Why don't all the Colorado corps compete with all the other Colorado corps? There's only one Colorado corps. Yes, I know there are a lot of marching bands in Colorado. Yes, I know many of them are really good. Do drum corps parents travel with the corps to all the competitions? Uh... Can a kid who isn't a super player get into a top corps and learn how to become better during the year? Um... You want to know if they sleep in three-star hotels? Not exac... How many members are from the corps' home town? You see, it's not about...uh...I'll tell you what...This will make it easier. The more I think about it, drum corps is just like your local marching band. Your band is doing a "Glee" show? Yeah, that sounds like fun. Put me down for two band turkeys.

TVs are a dying medium anyway... granted, they will still be around for a long time, but their use will be declining with the spread of high speed internet.

wow...you need to check them out 97-02 are epic in Glassmen history. Awesome music, powerful hornlines, top tier drumlines and eye popping visual and drill!

It's also a HELL of a lot easier to understand. Technical details aside...whoever sends it the farthest wins....easy. Drum corps is NOT so easy to explain. It's like fencing. Most US sports are the run real fast/throw real far/put the rock in the hole type that are pretty easy to understand. Fencing, tho, has three different weapons, target areas, sets of rules, etc...it's very difficult to explain to someone watching it what's going on. Same as drum corps. What's the pointy of getting something onto the Holy Land of TV if no one can understand it? You expect people to stick around?

Totally agree with you (and I appreciate you saying that as a brass player and not a percussionist who might appear biased)

Afer watching them for many years, I am pretty much convinced that Minnesota Brass could stand there and read names from the phone book for 11 minutes and make it a great show... so this concept should work just fine.

Wait, Dan, this allows the business side to dictate to the creative side what their money can be spent on. Not only do I not see the corps going along with it because it will restrict creativity, it is contrary to your basic business thesis that business should be separated from creative. OK, I can see how bundling services could be greater scale than each of the corps purchasing their services independently. And I can see the corps going along with signing up because of the potential for the extra savings coming their way and not having to struggle with logistics of food and travel. But the cost is too high, contrary to the desires of the G7 corps of unrestricted creativity along with maximum income. Wouldn't you think that the "GH-mindset" would choose to create their own revenue stream (they are, greatly, now) in return for "pre-show", "stand-show", full blown electronics and instrumentation, etc. They want more money, sure, but not at the price of creativity, as I read it. I don't think the monetary savings is enough incentive to give up creative control. Financially, an investor will be able to negotiate greater scale savings by including all the corps and accepting the attraction to the fans of the corps up and down the classes. Neither an investor, nor a food service provider, will naturally be inclined to limit participation to attain greater scale because scale is not an issue of quality, it's an issue of quantity. He'll have to be convinced that having a 10 corps activity will draw more fans than a 40 corps activity and that applying scale purchase will leverage the returns. At the base of that argument is that a TOC-scale activity will have a greater dollar draw, annually, than a 100-show season. That presumption has no basis in historical fact even if you allow that the TOC shows drew well. Any investor doing due diligence will be dubious to this base assumption in the revenue. In order for this to be rational there has to be a history, or an assumption of potential, or a good line of B.S. to accept. And underperfoming has much more detrimental effect on the corps than the current system, as outlined by BobSmyth. To generate $8-million in revenue with an average ticket price of $40 takes 200,000 fans. I'm guessing that average attendance at the regionals last year was around 8,000. That's 25 shows in major stadiums around the country per season. As it stands now, it takes 100 shows at $25 per average ticket and 3200 average attendance to make $8-million. It's quite a leap to think that you'll get more than 2.5 times the fans, paying 160% more for a ticket to attend 25% fewer shows when you take into consideration the travel and lodging expenses to attend shows that are then much more difficult to get to.

Correct.

Just to clarify, the Rite of Spring is FAR from minimalism. The movement didn't start until the 1960's with the likes of Phillip Glass, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and others. Minimalism is characterized by ostinato with very subtle changes to harmony, rhythm, and texture over a period of time. Nothing very subtle about the Rite of Spring. Speaking of which, I'm excited to hear The Academy's arrangements this summer.

ya know, a corps on the field would be a great offshoot of this!

They are among us now and are pontificating. Is the Rapture soon? It is almost 2012.

MARWAN!! . . and Liz and Rob I miss wearing coat #97 just about everyday. As the Renegades say, "the view is better from the field." The naysayers may have piled in but I bet the hotdog chompers, true fans and member-supporters would enjoy the enthusiasm and showmanship that the banana men ALWAYS deliver. oh yeah, and . . HYPE!

So instead of the same corps medaling every year, the same corps would medal every OTHER year.

I don't think it's necessary to do this; I prefer an absolute scale with all participants. That way all corps know where they stand in comparison with everyone. They can decide who they aim to be competitive with. This is a youth activity, so no need to break the groups down any further for sure.

As I said in a previous post given enough time to prepare the bridgemen alumni or any other alumni corps (no matter under what name they might appear) would put on a show just as good as Star alumni. Star in 2010 were amazing and I'm delighted to say I was there because I never got the chance to see them when they were still competing. Nobody would expect to see the same bridgemen from the early 1980s in the same way in 2010 nobody expected to see star from the early 1990s. Nobody's judging this performance, it's no more than a 15-20 minute trip down memory lane for the vast majority of the paying audience.

I wore out video tapes watching Star, SCV, etc. Didn't stop me from enjoying their alumni projects. never had the chance to see Royal Airs back in the day, enjoyed them very much. Cabs are wall to wall "rehash" and fans everywhere love them. trust me, look at DCI the last few years...stuff being "rehashed" has drawn some of the best audience responses. but doing new for the sake of new is one of several factors that killed attendance. so what's smarter business?

That's not not even this years picture of Allentown , of ALL THE PEOPLE WHO STAYED IN THAT TROPICAL RAIN SYORM.

touché !!

Again, I absolutely LOVED The Bridgemen... they were legend. For whatever reason, the alumni corps just simply isn't up to the level to be playing at finals... regardless of what they are playing, if it is new or old. Take the emotional aspect out of it for a second and try to view it objectively... somehow it simply just isn't there. This is reality. Apart from that, I'm not really a fan of any alumni corps in general, and was really not all that enthused when there was a push to put together an alumni performance of the corps I was in as a kid for two reasons: 1) There is simply no way it could meet par for the brand established by the organization 2) It distracts resources and attention from the current kids out there I'm sure it would be fun to play a bit... but better to do it under a different name and vehicle (Star United is a good example of how this can be done exactly right).

Actually.....and this may offend a few.... But the Bridgemen lately seem less intent on being " the Bridgemen" and more about being a designers vanity project. The humor has been sorely lacking, and the humor as well as the quality made Bayonne what they were. Sadly this issue has affected many alumni groups this designer has been affiliated with. If they got back to being " Bayonne", cleaned a few things up and eliminated some drama, I'd be all for them going to DCI week. But they need to make some changes first, and based on my viewings the last 3 years, they don't think they need to change. Shame, they had a ton of momentum out of the gate, but too much bs squandered it

I was a huge fan of the Bridgemen back in the day, however, the Bridgemen Alumni is hard for me to watch. They don't even come close to the level of performance and excellence that was the Bridgemen. The Bridgemen Alumni have no entertainment value for me; sorry, just my opinion. They are better suited for the DCA venue and have little to offer after watching the best DCI has to offer.

Wow, you guys seem to be pretty rough on a corps that's doing exactly what they should be doing. The Bridgemen Alumni are exactly what they say they are: an ALUMNI corps. And as an alumni corps that's based off a great corps from DCI's earlier days, I think most people would be disappointed if they played anything other than what they're playing now. If the Star Alumni corps decided to keep playing every year, they probably would never differ much if at all from what they did at semi's, and judging by what some of you have said your opinions of that corps would probably change drastically if that ever happened. That's the difference between alumni corps and regular DCA corps, and why some organizations have both. Leave the change to the DCA corps and let the alumni keep entertaining the nostalgic. Oh and personally I would absolutely LOVE to see the Bridgemen perform at semi's, but not that and Allentown in the same year.

Hey, if DanielRay thinks what we are doing is "kind of sad" then I KNOW that we are just fine! ;P Seriously, we have no desire to compete. We are not the only Alumni corps that does this, year in and year out, because we love to perform, for us, but more importantly for our fans. There seem to still be a few of those, so we will keep doing it! :) There's more to drum corps than competing (whether DCI or DCA), and given the option of doing a one-time only gig at DCI or an annual gig at Allentown (as one of several shows and parades each year), I will take the latter every day.

OPEN AUDITIONS FOR CROWN DRUM MAJORS! http://carolinacrown.org/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=501:drum-major-auditions&catid=19:carolina-crown

So far I've only watched Cadets, Phantom and Crown. Of the three, Crown was the only one where it didn't get too intrusive, and still, there were moments even in their show. I can't imagine wanting more pit. I have the DVDs, not the BluRay. Maybe that's the difference.

There are a lot of corps in DCI right now that are better suited to weekend only.

Got mine yesterday. Watching now - waaaaaaaay too much pit.....

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.

The Bridgemen were .... unreal back in their day.... did things that absolutely pushed the boundaries of the activity.But... the alumni corps is Night Ranger playing a dinky soccer field in (####### Sandy!), compared to selling out multiple back to back shows at Madison Square Garden in 84. What used to be the epitome of cool is now just kind of sad.Sometimes it's best to just let legend be legend.

Apart from not getting the alumni thing in the first place, I just don't seem to understand doing essentially the same thing that was done 30 years ago, only dirtier and half as good. Why does Bridgmen alumni need to be frozen in time, rehashing the same tired tunes? Why not do something new, contemporary, but with the same attitude and in the DCA circuit? was the epitome of cool... Chet Baker in the 80's fumbling through those same tired tunes... 30 years later... a mere shadow of the legend... difficult to watch.

Nah. No one talked about that time when Paul Rennick went to SCV. Nothin' on DCP, that's for sure.

<sarcasm>I heard that Pioneer had 61 trumpets, 52 mellophones, 68 baritones and 48 tubas at their first camp numbering total brass at 229. I have no idea what the percussion numbers were.</sarcasm>

Those who give it value when it is inapplicable are doomed to do something stupid. I seriously fail to see how analyzing the way things operated in the 70's are of any value for supporting strategic business decisions for the present or near future. There is nothing there.

Take the top 6 corps in World Class as lineup for a show. Take the bottom 6 in the same class for another show. See which does better. There is no myth here. If these corps don't like such status... they simply can get better. It is not a caste system. As for rich getting richer? Are you serious? No one is getting rich in drum corps. If you think the budgets of these corps is actually a lot of money... and that staff is getting paid even near fair market value for what they do... I don't know what to tell you.

Practically speaking, unless it is a directly affiliated feeder corps... why should the top 7 corps care that much about corps in an open or A class? I don't see what's really in it for them. Again, if corps want more cash.... perform better. Not rocket science. It takes money to make money. Also not rocket science.

SCV 2009's company front. The first time I was part of a standing ovation at least a minute before the show ended. The moment that made me go, "Oh man, now I HAVE to buy the CDs and DVDs."

I've seen the corps perform. Not really my sort of thing... so, not much interested in digging deeper. Cadets2 will be an interesting experiment. If it works... this could be the way forward for many corps in DCI's current open class. As I mentioned... set a higher minimum standard for DCI, and a higher minimum standard for world class. The corps that I originally suggested as making up the A Class... now thinking the DCA model might be a better fit for them... and DCI adding a youth class might not be a bad idea.

I wore out old betamax tapes as a kid watching the Bridgemen, endlessly. I've seen videos of the alumni corps performances. Anyway, alumni corps are like going to watch a reunion game of the 1976 Harlem Globetrotters. And... once something has been done, what's the point of doing it again? There are loads of new possibilities out there to explore.