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Yep, lots and lots of talk...... but I don't see him on any Corps BoD or for that matter running a corps!!

Just saying.......you sound like you have all the answers.....seems like you should be able to fix just about every corps in the activities financial difficulties!!!

Well, there is talking and doing.....

Easier to play an arm chair quarterback than to actually play the game isn't it??

Just imagine how financially sound the drum corps activity would be with Stu at the helm!!!!

Was this your first year?

Your nibbling at the worm by replying...,,,.

You're going to get pretty much the same ratio as what are in corps. I'm a pit person.

Frank, You are wrong about the tapes... I personally have the MP-3 of the Renegades 2009 Ensemble Music Judges' recording for DCA finals. He made commentary about something important and close to me in the show. I listen to it regularly... In fact sometimes it is my work out recording!

wow... this thread is timely for me as I leave tomorrow for DCUK and DCE Championships... I will be (ably assisted by Joe Siracuse) covering both shows for Drum Corps World... a few comments... As one of the Kidsgrove Scouts eluded to, drum corps in Europe - although done on a VERY high level - is far closer to the DCA model than DCI... (weekend warriors) best to consider it unto itself than try and squeeze it into any American stereotype - but my goodness... didn't Kidsgrove do a wonderful job of that? Rob Swindells can write drill for ANY drum corps... I can't wait to see them back to back with The Company... Whoever said Inspires got a gift in 2002.... absolutely wasn't there.... they could easily have been ranked higher and got a severely LOW score in prelims.... I honestly believe that the judges held the number back as in the back of their mind they were as a group saying "they couldn't have really been that good"... as far as any of us AT THE SHOW were concerned, finals was a correction and could have even gone higher... The drum corps work ethic is the amazing thing... the same work ethic we (yes I was there) had in the 1950's and carried on into DCI and DCA has been adopted by drum corps everywhere... as Bill Cook left the writers for Sports Illustrated shaking their heads after watching a Star of Indiana rehearsal and writing the Bobby Knight article on how he took his athletes to watch Star rehearse to find out what WORK ethics really meant... corps/bands in Europe and Japan (and elsewhere) are slowly turning heads as they demonstrate the potential success of a large number of human beings all working HARD together to achieve a combined success and excellence of performance... Watching Kidsgrove 2 weeks ago proved to me that they belonged... not just because of the final product in the stadium but because of watching many hours of rehearsal and HOW THEY REHEARSED... and in 2002? I met Inspires when they arrived. I watched them warm up the first time... before they were done warming up, I was on the cell phone with Mickey Petrone... All he said was "WELL?" My response, "Holy SH.....t! A whole bunch of DCA corps have a BIG problem and that problem just flew in from Japan... These guys KNOW how to do drum corps and do it VERY WELL!" and all I had seen at that time was warm ups... We should all be proud of the drum corps work ethic and the importance of this work ethic on the lives of thousands of our participants and the effect it has had spreading around the world... I recently had contact with Inspire's Director Takahisa Ogihara and know that they are investigating coming back some time soon... Let's all hope this happens...

I was going to suggest "15 Minutes of Fame," but it might be too soon.

Alumni Spectacular Lancers Alumni – I absolutely loved your arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that arrangement before and it was just lovely. You had a wonderful show and I loved the change of pace with the singing. Nice work by the guard. Also thanks for the info regarding the battery drums. That’s going to be a great help. Freelancers Alumni – We performed selections from Jesus Christ Superstar with the Naval Hymn as our warm up. The audience seemed appreciative of the show. We love having the additional performance opportunity of the Alumni Spectacular. Makes the corps’ trip all the way out from Cali that much more satisfying being able to perform at the Alumni Spectacular, which is my favorite show of the entire weekend, by the way. Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights Alumni, Toronto Optimists Alumni, Yankee Rebels Alumni – You guys were my Jolesch picture-taking, pit equipment pushing/loading, hurry back to the stands corps so I didn’t get to see you. Mighty St. Joe’s Alumni – I get excited just typing that name! Really amazing show. Georgia. Goosebumps. The end. I don’t know what else to say. I love you guys. Oh yeah, the single tenors were neat and picking up the shakos… very funny. Hopefully your drummer was okay after the show. Yes I know I use the word “love” too much in these reviews. I don’t care. It’s the Alumni Spectacular. Lots of love going around. Preston Scout House Alumni Band – It’s no secret. You guys are my favorite Alumni Corps AND it turns out I was sitting in front of your cheering section during the show. Yay!! I’m always amazed by the glock player. How do you play that and march at the same time? It doesn’t seem possible. I’m in awe. Of course your DM is my favorite DM of the entire weekend and my corpmates are sick of me telling the story of how I got to meet him at the hotel last year. I don’t care. I’m telling that story forever. Oh yeah, back to the show… It was awesome. More awesomeness. Even more awesomeness. TOY SOLDIERS… my favorite part of the whole weekend again this year! And then you ended with some awesomeness. I may be a little biased in my review. P.S. I was told the 2013 calendar wasn’t available yet this year. I need my fix so someone tell me when they’re ready. Reilly Raiders – Strong, strong guard. Amazing job weapons line. Whoever wrote that guard book deserves a medal. So simple (as in old school, not necessarily easy), clean and effective. The corps as a whole made some huge fans of Freelancers Alumni at the show. They absolutely went crazy over your tribute medley with all the uniforms and corps references as did the rest of the audience. It was all just a little before my time but my corpmates were out of their seats hooting and hollering. Don’t get me wrong, just because I didn’t quite know the significance of some of the songs doesn’t mean a darn thing. It was still so much fun. Your show was the definite favorite of all the guys I was at the show with. And the bottle dance into Bridgemen. Very nice. Park City Pride – First, kudos to guard again. I mean the cymbals, I mean the guard. Gosh, I don’t even know what else to say. I was totally enamored by the guard and they had some beautiful silks to boot… oh and the backfield DM. Very entertaining. I love the philosophy of how this group was formed and I’m so grateful I get to see your wonderful shows every year. New York Skyliners Alumni – Oh Skyliners, Skyliners, Skyliners. You guys. No, seriously… you guys. Starting with Aquarius. I don’t know what it is about that song but it always moves me and with the Skyliners sound... perfection. And Summertime and New York, New York. Love it! You guys are always my favorite “sound” of the Alumni Spectacular if that makes any sense. I am truly desperate for you guys to do a mini corps show again in the vein of this show and the mini corps show you performed in 2007. Pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top? Bridgemen Alumni – Yay. I’ll say it again. Yay. Just so you know I’m stealing the backing up beep “bit”. Every time I have to back up for any reason for the rest of my life I’m going to beep and then of course I’ll think of you guys. I did miss the city sounds of the car horns and whatnot from last year’s show, but I guess I’ll let it slide if you promise to put it back in next year. Don’t know what else to say except you rocked. Hawthorne Caballeros Alumni – I was so excited. I never got to actually see the Call to the Bull before and I was sitting right next to the group when Mr. Ponzo played it this time. So exciting! I love the fact that the competitive corps takes to time out to support the Alumni Corps. It must be such a blessing to have such an active, large, supportive organization as the Caballeros. Now on to the performance of all you swishy pants alumni. Two words; loved it. Did you think I was going to say anything else? I was tearing up at Don’t Cry for Me Argentina. So beautiful and a bit haunting actually. A very nice moment along with The Prayer and beautiful, beautiful silks. Amazing job tonight. I did want to do a special shout out to all the Alumni guards. You’ve all improved so much over just the last three years and I love it. You all are so much fun to watch. I am also including Boston in that statement even though they weren’t here this year because they, too, have a wonderful guard. Also, huge thanks to Kevin Gamin and company with the Live from the Pressbox blogs to help refresh my memory to write these reviews so many days after the fact. Lastly, I know these Alumni “reviews” are pretty useless and offer no true substance as far as a review goes… but they're fun and I don’t care. So there.

ATX Winterguard is excited to enter our 5th year of competition in TCGC, TECA, and WGI! What: Auditions for ATX and A-2 Winterguards When: Saturday and Sunday, September 15-16, 2012 Where: San Marcos HS, 3201 E. McCarty Lane, San Marcos, TX Cost: one-time, non-refundable $50 fee For more details and to register for auditions, complete an Interest Form on our website! www.ATXwinterguard.org

So I was checking out the Aimachi video that Boo posted, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJe84VeOIs Since I saw them live at DCA, I've been watching the Kidgrove Scouts too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM-Pum1CEM0 Finally, I saw Patria from Guatemala because of the BD trip there I know there are groups in Indonesia, Europe, and other places in the world. It's great to see Drum Corps and the marching arts in general in so many countries around the world. Still the question remains... What part of the world can rival the US, or at least come the closest to rivaling us in quality? Are there groups in China that could compete here? What about Brazil? My guess is that Japan is the closest, followed by Europe. What do you guys think? I know many of you are very knowledgeable about the marching arts around the world. Is there a region or even a country that can rival us? Where is it? Who comes the closest?

After returning to finals this year in Annapolis, The White Sabers administration would like to announce their Open House and Awards Banquet Weekend. On Saturday evening November 24th, the corps will hold their annual awards banquet, to remember their 2012 achievements. The following day, November 25th, at the Livingston County Municipal Building, they will welcome back old and prospective new members to begin the 2013 campaign, with what hopes to be their most succesful Open House. All are invited on Sunday with times and addresses to be posted on the corps website. Things are happening in Southern NY. Come on down and see for yourself!!

THANK YOU FOR POSTING THESE CLIPS!

Pit.

Fear Joy Sadness Alone Blah

Phantom 1985!

I definitely noticed his penchant for mindless drivel after listening to his second installment on The Marching Roundtable. I think he means well, but he's caught up in the business of being an artist with its usual motto of "everything must be meaningful and deep" nonsense. Maybe I'm just jaded after studying and taking a billion art and philosophy classes that anytime I hear anything that resembles a search for the metaphysical, I roll my eyes.

Jersey Surf

Hear, hear. In summary, I think its a great thing that Gray is doing less of the creative decision making and some new folks will get the opportunity to actually take the corps places without being second-guessed. There was some amazing talent that was wasted this year on a boring and predictable overall design concept. Please, whatever you do, don't lay blame at the feet of the horns and drums--they got it done. I won't say Gray is arrogant, ineffective, or uncooperative, but I would add that the number of people who have left the corps (even mid-season) since he arrived speaks volumes about staff unhappiness and self-worth. Seriously, have you ever had to endure one of his motivational or philosophical conversations? It seems as though the most dangerous place in the world is that space between Michael Gray and a microphone. He loves the sound of his own voice so much that he is drawn to a video camera like others are drawn to oxygen. When scrolling through FanNetwork videos, I no longer watch the official Bluecoats videos for fear of having to endure some long rant on how the Bluecoats' show conveys some nebulous or meaningless mindset. This is so much the case that I know which videos he has scripted, even though his voice may be absent from the video--others are doing the jibber jabbering for him.

With all due respect to the Jim Ott award winning Carolina Crown for 2012, the cleanest horn line of them all was the Blue Devils. However, most underrated of the big boys goes to the Bluecoats. The Bluecoats proved, once again, that their hornline has been among the most consistent, impactful, darkest, cleanest, and bad#ss sounding hornlines of recent years. Staying with the "Blue's", how about the Blue Stars? The Blue Stars were among the loudest hornlines last year (the loudest award goes to Crown in 2012). I enjoyed their book. I still think the Blue Stars deserved to be in finals, but, why digress any further!

That's why I really dug BD's hornline when I saw them this year. Not the most musical book on the field, but definitely the most difficult in terms of arranging. All sorts of crazy atonal stuff in there that would put Stravinsky to shame, and played remarkably in-tune.

I honestly don't know, and I don't think any of them know, either. Having aged out in 1979, I was a volunteer driver that summer (and was driving the other of the two rental vans that fateful night). I still remember watching that exhibition from the front sideline, in tears from the moment the first member came through the back gate and onto the field.

I just wanted to say to whoever downvoted our posts: thanks for taking the time to read our posts and acknowledge us in some way! :-) Auditions are THIS SATURDAY 9/15 and THIS SUNDAY 9/16! Join us for our 5th year of competition in TCGC, TECA, and WGI!

What Crown did this year did more to push the activity than what BD did and I'm not even a Crown honk. This argument is thrown around alot, and I use it alot too, but there isn't anyone on DCP asking for less variety! People want to have that wide spectrum. Why does it seem the corps that is most avant guard also have the highest execution scores? Why do less avant guard shows have lower execution scores? Is it just a coincidence or a twist in fate? No, avant guard shows are designed differently but are judged the same way as non-avant guard and that does present a huge advantage. The judges are better at seeing inconsistencies in shows that resemble past shows or use traditional visual and musical methods. There prowess in these shows means there critique will be more detailed. Judges have less experience with avant guard shows and much the same criticism of form development, transitions, audience engagement, visual audio coordination, effect, etc. cannot directly translate. But anyway I don't want to derail the thread! So I will say that throwing baby dolls can get messy!

..is FAR better than tyranny of the minority.

If I could give 20 greenies...I'd give it to this post! In many ways, DC design teams are a marriage...a partnership. A slog through opinions and personality that survives if you give it time and acceptance that all can contribute. Talking about new staff additions is always fun to gab about here on DCP and certainly can give a corps a bounce in alumni opinion and support, but success is build on stability and how the design team works in the long haul. Every now and then one addition makes an immediate difference (Paul Rennick) but he was no stranger to the team already in place at SCV, so that almost doesn't count.

On the other side of that, who's had the greatest success? Corps with stable, consistent, and EFFECTIVE staffs...BD and Cadets, primarily. When you have creative and administrative staff that's been at the corps since long before any of the current members were leacherous gleams in their daddy's eyes (Downey, Gibbs, ScoJo) and they long ago learned how to effectively work together, that says a great deal....the revolving door looking for that perfect staffer and them only giving them a year to get the job done doesn't work.

They would have been 2nd. It was a great design. A challenging design, that they achieved very well for the most part. Would have beat Crown, because Crown never achieved their drill. Some one said something about 2005 Cadets in 2006? I think they would have blown everyone out of the water in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014,,, well you get my point. I wasn't too fond of that show the first time I saw it in Allentown. But OMG I love that show. It is awesome. And it is the best COMPLETE package The Cadets have ever put together. Actually the best complete package any corps has EVER put together. That show was ####### clean too. I don't know. They were great in all captions. And IMO were more effective than any BD show since then. Especially the visual design. And that ballad. OMG!

"Irregardless" is not a real word. Peace, Fred O.

Fine Stu... no Drum Corps will do a ####### thing until they are totally sure that they will never, ever... ever have a problem under any and all circumstances that might arise. Guess how many corps (or any other businesses for that matter) would be left. If you want to make this about you, start another thread. For the record have heard of creditors asking/demanding full or more payment than originally requested. Usually because the creditor gets in a bind and needs to throw others under the bus to try to survive. Fighting something like that can be more expensive than paying. removing personal info... had more sleep... .

Actually Cathie, I would disagree with you 100%. Reviews of Alumni shows are FAR from "useless". Competitive corps get scores as their feedback. We do this for two reasons: for ourselves and for the fans. When someone like you goes out of their way to provide us feedback in the form of a review, it is SO appreciated (at least by me!). So, THANK YOU for taking the time to write down a couple of your thoughts. And thanks for enjoying the shows. My only hope is that you were able to enjoy our show as much as we were able to enjoy putting it out there for you! (The royal you) (p.s. - Yours was an excellent review!)

And then there's Jersey Shore and Honey Boo Boo. It seems a large portion of the population is engaged by absolute crap.....

Let's not be condescending. Yes, the reaction to BD was different than that of some other corps. Is cheering the only indication of engagement? If so, then you're assuming every fan in the seats is pretty one dimensional. In the conversations I've had with my circle of people who are involved with, or fans of the activity, the general attitude is that while BD's show wasn't particularly accessible, but very engaging. Most didn't get it at first read, or even at second read. That didn't stop them from appreciating it, or even enjoying it. I myself loved that show, but the first time I saw it, I wasn't cheering or freaking out. The ending of the show wasn't really written for that kind of response anyway. You didn't hear a ton of crazy cheering at the end of Vanguard's show in 2000 either. The ending of the show didn't call for that. Didn't stop the show from being "engaging". Speaking of engaging, here's dictionary.com's definition of "engage". to occupy the attention or efforts of Notice that it says nothing about cheering, or a vocal response. Only that it holds one's interest. I can tell you, very few people were not paying attention when BD went on at the shows I went to. Again, the term engaging is NOT ambiguous. Lots of shows are engaging in lots of different ways.

not true.....bitd when there was alot of movement it was a hot mess ....subjective even more than now even though it was a so called tic system......movement is fine BUT..you cant leave this to an audience with no criteria..thats insane..and how would you do that them...what would make the judging fair at all? judging has many flaws but leaving it to and audience is another can of worms.....if thats what people want then do away with judging all together..i would venture to say that would be the death of drum corps and fast for many reasons

I don't buy the original premise--that the stands were full back in the day and they're NOT now. Like TimK, I went to the CYO Nationals, Beanpot Invitational, and East Coast Classic (all in Boston) and the stands were PACKED. I, too, went to Allentown and THAT place was packed on BOTH nights, with crowds EASILY larger than when I marched in the early 80s. A HUGE crowd was at the TOC in NJ as well--I was there! Furthermore, didn't San Antonio and Altanta regionals set new records for attendance? At 52, I guess I'm a Dinosaur, but honestly, some folks my age insist on looking back with rose-colored glasses. Touring didn't kill all those little corps from the 70s and 80s...mismanagement did. And yeah, I love my Legacy dvds for all the memories they bring back; but as a visual guy, they put me to sleep compared to the Cadets/Crown/Boston/SCV/Phantom, etc of today. A two-minute "concert piece" with no drill and endless sequential drop spins in the guard bores me to death. Thank God the activity continues to evolve!

Created a little video announcement :-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arMXmTnRvdc

I didn't say any such thing. I will say we're better off with sustainable corps than we are with selective, inflated memory of a drum corps past. HH

When people talk about the bigger crowds from BITD it seems like they often refer to finals. One thing I do wonder is, as there were more corps back then in prelims in the same place, is it possible that a fair number of that full looking crowd were corps kids from the many corps whose seasons ended one or two nights earlier? I'm not making a statement about what is better than worse, but as people analyze the situation that does seem to be, if the case, a difference worth considering.

That's interesting. I would like to hear how you see this coming about. What would happen to instrumentation in (what used to be) DCA - age restrictions in DCI, tour management, etc.

maybe you didn't see it because you didn't read all the text.

This statement says it all. Can you imagine kids today wanting to be a part of the activity the way it looked in the 1970s?

I completely disagree with the BD analysis (no surprise there). Your reference to their show being "garbage" was uncalled for and deflated what was a pretty good review in total. Opinions are what we do here, but that was a bit cowardly and hurtful for no reason. I suggest the next time you want to trash the work of the talented folks that design these shows and the kids that work all year to perform them for you....first pause and THINK.....then if what you're about to type is what you would have the courage to actually tell these kids to their face.....then go ahead. If you would not say it (and I suspect you wouldn't)....then press delete!

Marching french horns sound absolutely nothing at all like mellophones. The advantage mellos have over flugels (aside from tembre) is the key. Since they are in F, they are a true alto voice. I love it when I'm able to combine the two. I will even replace third trumpets with mellos, and give them a mix of Trumpet 3 and mello parts. That way you get the best of both worlds, while darkening up your trumpet ensemble sound. As for marching French horns, I wouldn't use them, but not because they don't sound good. They are incredibly hard to play, especially in F. If you have Bb french horns, they can be easily doubled by baritones.

Although I suppose one cannot automatically rule out that ABBA will make its way into next year's BD cavalcade of musical numbers...

I love the "they were due" comment, and I don't believe it at all. They were not as clean as BD an any caption other than brass, and yes, they were running around like wild banshees, but needed to clean it more and as someone said, percussion didn't help their cause at all. RM

Well, let's be realistic here. Crown cleaned the crap out of that drill. They just didn't quite get to BD clean. The fact that they got as close as they did is to be commended. There were only two times where they did crazy drill, and not for all that long, but when they did is was monstrous. They also had some issues with body that did get cleaned up in the last week too. There's clean, and there's BD clean, and Crown, for the first time...almost got there. I suspect they will next year.

Crown is not long overdue for a title. They need to earn it. I agree with your review in that Crown'a brass was terrific. It is too bad their percussion was not up to par and that they were unable to clean their drill. To win the title Crown is going to have to be strong in all captions like BD was this year. BTW, my favorite show this year was also Phantom.