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How dare you post information about the show before the Blue Knights are ready. My son's friend's girlfriend's neighbor's lesson teacher's student marches with BK and they are all (every single one) very disappointed and heart-broken that someone would leak information. They couldn't even get anything done last camp because everyone was just crying and crying. They might even fold in protest and go start a street-performing troupe they're so upset over what you've done.

My guess is, there are two concerns at work in this decision. Yes, finances are one concern. More importantly, an even bigger need. The need to preserve and expand the Empire Statesmen core mission. That is, to entertain audiences however and whenever possible. By casting off the "arms race" expense of required weekly competition, the rigidity of doing just what can win on the field, plus keeping more local, the group can satisfy it's mission further into the future.

Too bad they couldn't park in front of the Pres and blast a full version of "Conquest" at him!

Color guard fanatic, spinner in heart and soul. Aged out of DCI before I got good enough at music or guard to join... Played Tuba for 4 years in high school. Baritone for 6. Flute for 8. Piano for 3 And more that aren't long enough to matter. Haha. I just wanted to put my salutations out to the crowd, and hopefully get to know some of you DCP people. =] Nick EDIT: Forgot to add 4 years spinning flag, self taught rifle and sabre spinner both 2 years. =]

The Sunrisers are proud to announce their 2013 program, "A Western Fantasy." Through the music of Aaron Copeland and Nobuo Uematsu, daring men and women will harness their fantasies of a new life, brave the unknown, and risk everything they know for the hopes of a fresh start in the western world. What adversaries would they face? What would they find? How would they do thing differently and rebuild their society? Their hopes and dreams will foster a broader knowledge and spark a new enthusiasm for the expedition, its courageous members and its accomplishments in a WESTERN FANTASY for a new beginning.

Oh great! Here come the 'back in the day' guys talking about Real Drum Corps as sleeping on broken glass in the parking lot behind the tail pipe of the oil smoking bus so as to keep the mosquitos away in the 107 degree at 4am summer heat!

Different brands have different ranges. There are F-C, F-F, and C-C xylos. And I have a set of marching bells that are A-A, while the generic concert bells are G-C or F-C (although now there are extended range glocks available...) BTW, I will have to say the premise of this thread bothers me. Mainly for the reasons more eloquently rebutted by other percussionists in this thread. Why are brass players considered more important musicians than the front ensemble percussionists? That's exclusionary, and offensive to me. I will say that there has to be an equilibrium of the size of the front ensemble somewhere. I see groups with 4,5,6 marimbas and maybe 4-6 vibes too. At BOA, I saw one group with 8 marimbas! The "golden ratio" of how many of each instrument to field has changed over the years, whether that be ratios o the brass sections, or battery percussion, or now the discussion of the front ensemble. Just one more thing to discuss, I guess.

So I guess that execution, barring a massive train wreck, is no longer a factor? Why bother working at perfecting one's performance level if it's all going to come down to an opinion from someone who isn't on top of what is actually happening within the line? And some folks think that the 'tick system' was no longer the way to go. So, if I understand what is being said, it all boils down to what someone in the stands THINKS you are trying to accomplish rather than what you are actually doing. Oh boy, let's hear it for mediocrity! JMHO Ray P.S. I'm STILL glad and proud that I marched and played the years that I did.

Hopefully the teachers will be compensated...

Longer school hours are not the solution, because time is not the problem. Neither is money. Here schools are pretty simple... last day June 1, first day September 1. Much of Europe is uniform as far as dates go. Spending per student where I live is several times less than the US (based on PPP, not actual), yet students here outperform those in the US (including every state if only compared on that level) by a considerable margin. The reason is very simple... 1) Teachers are paid a competitive wage compared to other options in the market. In addition, culturally, being a teacher is considered a highly respected position and teachers are given very attractive pension opportunities if they remain in the teaching profession. 2) The system is structured that continual parental engagement is mandatory. Schools are not taking on the full responsibility of educating the student, but exist to support the parents in educating the student. The push for extending education hours has nothing really to do with education, but rather extending free babysitting hours. There is a considerable need for education reform in the US, part should include uniformity of schedules and days (there is no need for constant wheel reinvention) and massive pay increases for teachers.

The IRS form 990 is the tax return for non-profit organizations. As such, all of the financial data for DCI and each corps is exposed for all to see; 990's are open for public view because of the filer's tax exempt status. That is, if you can figure out how to read them because the forms are notoriously hard to read and decipher, especially for non-financial people. The financial stability of DCI and the individual corps is a hot topic in DCP-land. My hope is to present the finacial data here in little bites, giving plenty of room for discussion, in hopes that we all can become more familiar with the facts about the financial health of the activity. My method for studying the 990's is to analyze the trends over as many years as are available. Typically, there are three years of 990 data available and my goal is to spot the trends over time, subject to the 990 forms available. A word of caution: nothing that we can present here is a full explanation of the background story of the numbers; complete explanations are not part of the forms even though notes are an integral part of the form filings. It's just raw data - income, expenses, assets, and liablilites - it doesn't explain how the numbers came to be. As a result there will be a natural tendency to speculate on the reasons for the numbers - something that DCP'ers are very good at. But the real back story can only be explained by the financial people at DCI or the individual corps. Still, I've always believed that numbers can tell a story. My hope is that, by presenting the numbers here, that story will reveal itself to all of us. Disclaimer: While I work in the financial industry, this thread is not official in any capacity, and does not reflect the position or opinion of DCI, any corps, or my employer. All data comes directly from Form 990's found on www.guidestar.com, is presumed to be accurate but is not guaranteed to be so. All opinions expressed are mine, personally, are not audited, and are only based upon my amateur interpretation of the 990 forms. With all that in mind, here we go! Fun with numbers! EDIT: For those who may wish to skip to their favorite corps, I've added the following index of post numbers. First the corps name and then the post number where their 990 discussion begins: INDEX OF CORPS 990's (Name: Post number) DCI: 2 YEA!: 134 Blue Devils: 204 UPDATED 2011 NUMBERS ARE IN RED Cavaliers: 286 Carolina Crown: 367 Phantom Regiment: 437 Santa Clara Vanguard: 469 The Bluecoats: 525 Boston Crusaders: 576 Blue Knights: 603 Madison Scouts: 647 Blue Stars: 669 Spirit of Atlanta: Not available Consolidated Summary of Top-11 plus DCI: 724 The Glassmen: 739 The Troopers: 767 The Academy: 808 The Colts: 824 The Crossmen: 845 Pacific Crest: 869 The Mandarins: 891 The Cascades: 917 Jersey Surf: 957 Pioneer: 969 Consolidate Summary of All Corps: 994

I've heard a few camp recordings and some inklings as to what their source material will be, and I must say I'm excited for them. The music is very mature and the design team seems to be going for a more intellectual show...something I think the corps will need if they hope to topple the Blue Devils.

Excited to see what they do, last years was absolutely insanely hard. They've got some balls.

This is very, very, very cool. They will be the highlight of the parade! :-)

people with air mattresses are in insult to drum corps anyway and a sign of the pansy-ness of today's youth. electronics, Bb instruments, and air mattress are what's keeping drum corps from reaching greatness.

Another thing that makes things easier is today's technology. Regular electronic updates, social network, and performance touchpoints provides opportunities that didn't exist not so long ago. Plus, the level of talent is at a higher level today in most cases. It's really quite amazing how efficient today's performers and instruction staff are. In fact, an entire discussion thread could be devoted to modern instruction and development techniques used by today's music educators.

I am shocked.......not.

Sorry to have to correct you, yet again, on this. Marching xylos were (are) the exact middle range of the standard concert instrument, chopping only a 5th off the bottom and a few notes off the top. Same goes for the marimba which knocked an octave off both ends (not counting the bass of extended range instruments). Marching bells are exactly the same as their concert counterparts, and marching vibes were actually the lower range of the concert instrument, taking only a 4th off the top. So to say marching keyboard instruments used only the upper range is simply not true at all. One big difference in sound from then to now is of course mallet choice. I was one of the first to rebel against the klangy mallet sound of the 70's and would only use mallets appropriate to the "normal" sound of an instrument, even when judges (yes, judges) insisted we should use something more ear shattering. We still projected just fine as evidenced by recordings. Of course 4 keyboards using softer mallets could not compete with 60+ horns at FF, but why should they? They don't really do that today either, serving an appropriate role between the louder impact points. I think the biggest reason for having big pits is BECAUSE THEY CAN, and that's really the only reason. Any talk about needing more to fulfill an artistic vision is silly, especially with the aid of amplification. No arranger writes 20 different voices of similar timbre simultaneously. There's a heck of a lot of doubling that really just isn't necessary anymore. But they do it, again, because they can. Incidentally, the mallets in my avatar pic are Balter #5's, a medium rubber which I still use quite often in a concert setting, as the more nebulous attack of a yarn mallet tends to get lost in a larger ensemble sound.

When they come over to the US to march, they'll be able to count better, and won't ever drink arm-stirred kool aid because of their science education. :-)

oh, so they'll look like Crown, but in Blue

yes and no Tom. I've done both, and the percussion judge, while able to see the entire program from up top, will lose many nuances up there as well. especially with amps coming, sound WILL be lost upstairs from the battery, and then add in the brass voice. Plus....often you end up with a percussion judge and the ensemble music judge doing the same thing....and, LOL, often disagreeing. Yes, judging on the field has it's perils, but if the sheet is set up right, and is made to be a field sheet of sampling and not a catch all lets try and look at everything sheet, it can work. the new DCI percussion sheet is set up, IMO, better than any field percussion sheet I have ever seen.

It is absolutely relevant. Not only because the country not only outperforms every single individual state by a large margin (as I mentioned), but because education is not federally managed (only minimum standards are established). Education policy is primarily determined on a state level and administered on a district level. It isn't about population... China is ranked #1 in both math and science categories (US is #31 and #23, with Finland ranked #1 in overall performance). It also isn't about manageability across geography... Russia has a common education policy and curriculum across every single school in the entire country, but still outperforms the US. Spending is also not a factor... as most of the countries ranked above the US spend considerably less on education. Again, the issue is about priority in education policy. Interesting enough, in many of the countries outperforming the US, arts are a mandatory and essential part of primary education... sports are not.

Stop making so much sense!

What's the total population of Lithuania? Hang on, we'll send you about 300 million more people. Let me know how your percentages hold up. Peace, Fred O.

point taken jeff. well said.

My personal opinion only - this is a website full of pretty hardcore DCI fanatics. Considering we're here in mid-December still talking - thousands of posts per week - about drum corps. For all rational and non-insane corps fans, DCI has dropped off of the radar until May. It's not surprising we're going to troll for information and pass it around pretty quickly once we find it. This is the musical equivalent of tracking university planes as they shuttle college football coaches around for interviews. It happens - it's just the way fanatics are. (Meant in a good way!) I love BK, and this isn't specific to them, but corps really should have a concrete plan for how this stuff gets revealed, and a plan that's realistic. You can't keep your new uniforms a secret until the first show, 2010 Crown, else the first glimpse everyone is going to get has incomplete details and lime green plumes. Plan ahead, have announcements, pics and photos ready to go, and don't wait too long. Otherwise, you're gambling that people aren't going to be ... well... people... and the information is going to get out. And as much as it pains me to say this... it's not the end of the world even if it does get out. It's not going to cause any fewer - or any more - people to either attend or not attend, like or dislike, cheer or not cheer. Mike (I use the Star Trek analogy - consider this as equivalent to the trekmovie.com site/forums - they already knew what the plot of the new movie was, how the trailers fit into it, etc, before it was formally announced. Hardly diminishes the overall product we're going to see in May.)

wait a minute - you are saying the corps director for the Crossmen is Fred Morrison? and we all know the corps director for the Troopers is Fred Morris What a coincidence

you need to modify the Bluecoats rep to state that it is Mvt 5 of the piece you have listed.

I can honestly tell you this,...........RCA championships (DCA's little brother) would attract more fans to championships here in Erie back in the early to mid 70's, than DCA gets at finals today,..........

Honestly, saying that while Mr. Bruni was DCA President were DCA's best years, it really is a slap in the face to anyone who marched any year past that time. And it's not like we're talking oh the last 10 years have sucked. Depending on what year he actually left, you're looking at almost 35 years of sucking.......

Glassmen own their own rehearsal facility. As far as I know, the only other corps that does this is the Blue Devils @ Mars. I have heard it floated (somewhat often, really) that the corps "should" abandon G-West, but the facility is so deeply ingrained to the corps' identity that I believe most would view the sacrifice as being absolutely tremendous. The corps did abandon its failing bingo hall this year, which should help revenues as well.

A couple things that worry me: 1.) Do people even know how to read nowadays? I mean geez, look at the comments left on the article's page. You'd swear that some of them read the title and commented on it (highly likely). 2.) Did Coates need to explain the "tic bomb"? I think the explanation that it was a prop was just fine. I can't imagine that saying this was necessary. Comes off a little like hazing, but I can't imagine anyone outside our little world will read that far into it. 3.) If we get rid of the pit- that terrible, distracting, visual electronic mess at the front of the field we wouldn't need tarps! (PLEASE SEE MY SIGNATURE! sARCASM!) P.S.- Not the story I was expecting when I clicked on the title. I was expecting some youtube video of crown's "tick" bombing in a performance. Would have been MUCH funnier. Oh well, I guess I can expect that won't happen anyways.

Given his connections to Chicago, I'm surprised the Cavaliers didn't get this piece of graft. Or maybe Obama asked for the best DCI corps, and the G7 already plan to split off at the January meeting, making Boston the #1 DCI corps come inauguration day.

I'm sort of with you, I loved 2011 and 2010 as well (so did the masses....and the judges) , and was hoping that was the direction they would be going for a while. I will wait to see the show though, maybe it will be great.

Cue the "THEY'RE NOT A PERFORMING GROUP, THEY'RE A DRUM CORPS, YOU IDIOT NEWSPEOPLE!" comment in 3...2...1...

So now they're ONLY playing Barber? Good job, Cadets....this shows never been done before.....

Sphere with a rope attached? What, did they think Wile E Coyote set a trap?

that's strange... doesn't Obama know that the G7 are the draw? why would he invite such a podunk corps?

Maybe they'll be playing when they enter the arena and they'll be playing when they exit?

And I was in a SENIOR corps not All Age..... dangnabit..... I know I'd better be nice or you'll sic Wally on me..... For everyone elses benefit: I marched with Wally (aka Jeffs dad).....

you have to things here going head to heard that often don'tgo together like peanut butter and chocolate. you have the business decisions, aka worrying about how to pay for something. and you have the artisitic desires and visions, which usually do not give a rats ### about the cost. Now, I do think amplification can actually limit some long term costs, as it may extend the equipments life because it won't have to be hit so hard. so there I see some sound business thinking. Conversly, the artist will just want more, which only drives costs up initially. and quite honestly, and I saythis with love, some DCA front ensembles need to do some serious inward looks before the sound they produce are amplified. It could actually come back to hurt them on the score sheets.

Some people should spend more time contemplating more pressing matters.

While I have chosen to stay out of most discussions - after all - I AM retired... I will make a point here which might seem to support Lee's comments: When I was corps director of a top 5 DCA corps, as a businessman budget was everything. One of the things I tracked was how much was spent per performer overall and then I broke it down per section. It was as you would expect... Horn line was by far the cheapest due to larger number and the number of seasons a set of horns lasts. Color Guard was next cheapest. Then came the BIG expenses - first drum line due to the amount of ancillary spending necessary and the cost of instruction for so few members... had a staff member for each small group: Bass Drums, Tenors, Snares and even cymbals... Then came the PIT... The amount of money spent on the pit per person - instruction, ancillary items, amotized cost of equipment etc. was ridiculous... it was enough to make me sick. It made it obvious that the beginning of the end of the activity I have shared with you for over half a century was in the late 70's when the pit as we now know it began. The good news is that the pit gave opportunities for those performers that might have otherwise never have happened. Drum Corps is all about people (or at least is supposed to be) and I have many dear friends who played in the pit and deserve all the credit that can be possible to give to them. BUT, with the advent of electronics and its extreme cost, Lee's comments about limiting the pit some how seem to deserve consideration. Probably because I devoted such a large part of my life to this activity, but it seems now that every week I lose someone who was like a brother to me. This morning Joey Geswaldo, last week Dave "Waxer" Hayden - who's next? Whenever looking at the activity, its costs and its changes PLEASE remember the PEOPLE... and make decisions balanced by the people those decisions effect.

The OP prefaces his post with "not trying to make this a generation gap argument..." and then proceeds to make a generation gap argument. Frontline equipment has expanded in quality and quantity greatly over the last 20+ years. In quality, because the hope is to give the performer a legitimate education that can have transfer value to their HS or college ensembles, and also because the equipment design has matured in its quality of tone production. If you have a crappy sounding baritone or a nice sounding baritone, which one are you going to choose? Frontline quantity has expanded because it's no longer simply a 2nd tier voice. It contributes in meaningful ways all throughout the program, just as the brass and batterie does. Part of the reason for amplification is the fact that most pits still fail to cut, unless they commit to a harsh, bright timbre like hard plastic mallets on xylophone. There's no going back to one valve horns and Mylar heads and symmetrical drill and the tick system and whatever part of your 'hey day' you miss. Legitimate sized, legitimate sounding frontlines are here to stay.

Prolly how they did last year. YIKES!

This definitely sounds like it could be great. Hopefully next year Cadets will pick up on my suggestion to do some Hindemith, but until then Barber is a good step. I just hope there are no audio clips from Platoon.

Sounds like so much going on. I hope they're successful with it. I love the "a little more angry"...we need more of that from Cadets. No CHRISTMAS HAPPY MUSIC!

Perhaps they'll dance and play at the same time.

They've already been slotted in the 9-12 range for 2013, so whether they have a March camp is rather immaterial.