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Saw about 5 minutes of Crown arcing up last night (were they getting ready to record?). I have a feeling that the 12 measures of running, stereophonic triplets at about 220 bpm (which goes on for about twice as long as you think they can possibly maintain it) followed by some patented "in your face" Crown power, will over shadow any concern over vocals.

Well, I guess I can show you guys the work we did at Stanbury for the Troopers. Design by Stanbury Uniforms Brent Becker and the Troopers Design Team. I managed the process to delivery. www.stanbury.com Here you go! Meet the Bass Drum Line! Let's get them some FB likes! https://www.facebook.com/TroopersDrumCorps?fref=ts

Rookie drum majors aren't a big deal at all. I know plenty of "veteran" drum majors who were god awful... in fact know of some rookie asst. dm's who were respected quite a bit more than the head DM. All it takes is not being an ### hole and learning how to gain respect. Well.. actually you can be an ########. I am an ########, and any leadership position I have ever been in, I've had the respect of my peeps. (Or at least I thought I did )

1975-1982 wasn't TRUE drum corps. The pit was grounded, the starting line was eliminated, and horns had 2 valves! You want to field a TRUE drum corps, take a look pre-1970! But bear in mind that no amps, no props, no extreme guard uniforms, etc, may equal no trophies.. And as much as the activity has changed, it still remains a Drum Corps competition.

Found a video from the parade. You can hear the hornline starting right around 6:00. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQunJJBKFs8

Nice. Still clearly the Troopers but very up-to-date.

I like it! Modern with some touches of the past. Very nice!

Thats cool. Its when you don't remember being in Allentown last year that you should be concerned with age related issues. ( haha!)

I know I'm getting old, but Surf's show is the only one that I remember in Allentown last year....

The irony of it is all is that despite all of the elitism, alleged musicality of today's drum corps (band) shows, and undeniable excellence of the performers, they produce a less entertaining, enjoyable product. The only people who really like it are the corps staffs and the judges. There is something so banal about all of the artistic pretension of today: "bringing to life one's artistic vision in poetry of dance and music." Whatever. At least back in the day, there were few illusions about what we were; what we were doing and it's contributions to "art."

To me it's worth a lot. You've accurately portrayed the drum corps situation in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, vis a vis it's current status, where a fundamentally flawed view of it's own importance, and place in the arts establishment, has left it spurned by the majority of the hundreds of thousands of people who participated in the corps of the past, disregarded by the majority of people actually in the arts establishment, and beyond the talent levels and financial capabilities of most potential participants and fans. Boy! That was a long sentence!! Drum corps was viable as an all inclusive youth activity for people in low and middle income levels. Anyone could be in a corps if they so desired. It was locally based. Operated year round. And included many other social activities both during the off season. (Individuals contests, color guard contests, dances, hockey games, and the occasional military ball). And, during the summer there were circuit parties, picnics, baseball tournaments, and swimming parties, woven in around the contest schedules. Only about 5% of corps toured. Perhaps another 10% might make a trip out of state once or twice a year. And, even then they wouldn't go far. There were plenty of other corps in their own area to compete against, get to develop rivalries with, hang around with, and get to know. No one had to tour. Few could afford to tour. The entire activity was locally based, inexpensive to participate in, and OPEN TO ALL COMERS. Even if your corps stunk on ice you could still have fun. And, under the tick system, you always had a chance to improve your scores simply by working harder at executing your program, even if that program also stunk. There was no real money to be made in the activity. Even the big corps, (and there were always big corps) were very modestly funded. Corps Directors were volunteers, instructors worked for gas money, and maybe a cup of coffee. They all did it because they loved it. That's all gone now. Money uber Alles.

Love 'em...Love 'em...Love 'em!! They look fantastic. Can't wait to see what you guys have for us this summer. See you all in Atlanta! Dan

I'm very happy to see the gray pants. I have been clamoring for this since they went to the blue jump suits several years back. I am tickled that they've retained their overall identity. However, I think the overall look is a bit chintzy...a little bit too "costumey" looking for my taste. And...It's not too late, but I would really like to see the scarves make a return and let's not forget...they have never made finals without them. Please don't mistake my criticisms for being unenthusiastic about the 2013 Troopers. I'm just committed to speaking my mind.

Let's get them some FB likes! https://www.facebook.com/TroopersDrumCorps?fref=ts

I think I like it. Much better than what they've had recently. Nice job Stanbury!!

That's true.

Congrats to all! It was a kick to both have marched with and known Bobby Hoffman esp. Even BEFORE he became BOBBY HOFFMAN...great guy! As for my boss, the inimitable Bobby Bellarosa, I couldn't be more pleased. Now he's in Buglers'HoF, Cadets HoF, and WDCHoF. Hopefully, there will be more to follow. Sincerely....mario

This topic was beat to death last year.

Cool pic.! (Carl stands out like a sore thumb) LOL

To the points brought up by Mike Boo and Mike Davis (or Fred and Bob, to use her primary pseudonyms :hehe:/>/>/>/>/>/>/>), HS marching band really isn't a replacement for local drum corps. I'm not saying that the smaller corps of the 50s, 60s and early 70s gave a more enjoyable performance than today's HS bands, since enjoyment is entirely a matter of taste. Indeed, I think the enjoyment of the audience is well down on the list of reasons why one might wish that the state of play today was closer to that of 50 years ago. No, I'm talking about the experience of those who actually matter, the kids. In my school district, proportionally fewer kids have the competitive marching experience today than had that experience in the 1950s through, roughly speaking, 1980 or so. During that time all the HS in my district had competitive bands AND those kids were within 15 miles of small drum corps. The numbers of drum corps were small in the 20s and 30s, but after WWII rose quickly to 2 senior and 6 or 7 junior corps within 20 miles, all of which were active through the "Golden Age" of the 50s and 60s. Sadly, beginning in the early 70s those drum corps died off one by one. For lots of reasons, not all of which were the result of DCI. Many have remarked on the effect the Viet Nam era draft had on junior corps directly, and the effect the general post-Viet Nam culture had on support infrastructures that kept small corps going. I think both those observations are apt, but I have to observe that my junior corps, the last survivor of the "Golden Age" corps, was killed off by a new corps started by a guy who marched in a DCI World Champion corps, and who actively promoted his start-up as being the "World Class corps" our area deserved, as distinct from the "little corps" in town. That "little corps" had been good enough to make Class A finals in US Open and DCI, but that was still small potatoes. By the way, that "World Class corps" lasted four years. So, today there are no junior corps in my area. Those high school bands, which by your thesis are the modern version of community corps, aren't there for the kids. While all the bands in my county school system competed when I was in school, in recent years half to three-quarters have not competed. The next county over is just as bad. One third of the "County Schools" don't compete and half the "Independent Public" schools don't compete. In my area, as in much of the country, the county and independent public schools have geographically closed enrollment. And NONE of the private high schools in either county, to which parents have taken there children to escape the public schools, have competitive marching programs. Scratch that; none of them have ANY marching programs. The high school bands of today that are competitive aren't analogous to the small corps of our day: (1) A school band can become non-competitive at the sole discretion of the director, in some cases. (2) In other cases, the HS band is at the service of the football team first. Any provision for a competitive marching program is well down the list of priorities. (3) Often, I hear from kids that they don't want any more to do with their school than they have to. Representing the school by marching in the band is a total non-starter for those kids. I guess I would like some acknowledgement that it isn't just a matter of saying "Kids don't need and wouldn't use the Class A corps." Some of them do, and some of them would, and it makes me sad that they aren't around.

I woudn't take that assignment for all the tea in China. A rookie DM with only God knows how many vets would be about as welcomed as a wet dog at a royal wedding. Why do you think that some corps select their DM's only from the existing membership? JMO.

You can't march in a drum corps this summer because you can't give up an entire summer of woodshedding on the sax. Let me say that I think it is GREAT that you plan to put in that much time and effort! Music will stay with you for life and bring you great joy. However, you won't spend your entire summer practicing sax, not 14 hours every day. I'm not saying you lack the will to do so, just that it would be a lousy idea. :smile:/> Could you give up each weekend? Could you give up two hours on each weekday? This is not me being snarky, these are actual questions. Because if the answers are yes, you might find a DCA corps near enough to march. You will gain valuable experience and great friends. You will also gain references. When you DO audition for a junior corps this fall, the director at your "dream" junior corps will be able to call the director of your DCA corps, who he won a DCI title with back in 19 mumblety-mumble. Or the junior corps viz caption-head calls the DCA corps viz CH, who she judges with in WGI. Or the junior corps mello tech calls the DCA corps brass CH, who arranges for his high school program. If you step up and make the most of the experience, the good word will get spread. These cats all know each other, or at worst have a common friend who marched, taught or judged with them. Plus, you will get a Summer full of performing to STOOPIDLY enthusiastic audiences. :thumbup:/>

I would so love to do this....if I hadn't aged out in 1978.

Some people assume that what's true of the 100 people closest to them--they loved corps x, they hated corps y, they were drunk, they were rude, etc. etc.--is true of the other 10,000+ people in the stadium they had almost no contact with all night. I was in Pasadena all three nights stone sober and unaware of any higher percentage of people at the stadium being drunk or stoned than at any other drum corps show. I'm sure there were people who were, and it's too bad they significantly wrecked the time of some others here, but none of this has anything to do with whether or not California should get another DCI championship someday.

Come to think of it... I introduced myself and then my mom to him and some time later... he introduced his mom to my mom. Many of you know my mom.... in less than a month... she'll be 86 years young!! SHE is my Drum Corps Hero!!

The parade is also being streamed live: Video Advertising It steps off at noon EDT ...

That is the first example that always comes to my mind. The unleashing of that power in the opening fanfare of "Walk Him Up the Stairs" was scary. The company front in "Let it Be Me" was nothing short of mind-blowing.

Loudest corps I ever heard? 1978 Spirit. Made Skyliners' volume sound like a PBC corps. (you have to be from LINY for that reference)

My memory was off in my reply to Andy but found a picture of the scoreboard. IIRC, this is the pic that the NY Daily News ran with a short caption of what happened. Full Masslive article with pic

Wow, how quickly we digress... Since the original purpose of this thread was lost from the start (be it my statements or others interpretations), let's just put this one to bed. Sorry, Dan

If someone from Cadets adm. or webmaster is monitoring this, I have a question. What's with all the misspellings on the Cadets official stuff this year? Performance hasn't an "n" for tomorrow's schedule, Children is misspelled for the Allentown concert promo video, and earlier this week "tertiary" was spelled ti... As you practice so shall you perform. We expect excellence from the Cadets.... ALWAYS! That's the Cadet creed. Check and re-check, and don't rely on spell-check. Bring back Allison! Respectfully, A devoted but disappointed fan who posts this here plus sent it to the YEA office which is closed for the weekend.

I think I can buy that...or at least most of it. When did any of this move to the number of titles BD has ammassed? When I talk of success, I talk of financial, social, and public success. None of this is directed at their competative successes, just their stability as an organization. Dan

Well this year is an interesting year for me... I am going to the Houston show and then it looks like i'll be in Delaware after the show, so I might as well go to the Allentown show on Aug. 3rd... So this should be an interesting year for me!

One last thing to point out that may have gone un-noticed. Did you see the question mark after BD Haters. Maybe I was asking a question, not issuing a challenge. It's all about perception. Dan

Wow Brasso, you seem to be on a pretty short fuse there buddy. Really, I was just addressing other threads on the forum that talk about the downfall of drum corps and why that seems to be so prevelent. It's too bad you couldn't read more into the meat of the post rather than the few short quotes you use. I will accept that my role in choosing those words may not have been applicable to everyone out there, but there are certainly some where they apply. Sure is a great video though! Makes me proud. Don't want to turn this into a spitting contest...apparently it already is. Sorry about that. Dan

My bad guys, sorry to have upset you all. Dan

Oh sure.... when you address your opening remarks to " all those Blue Devils haters out there ", you really didn't mean to offend, and have no idea at all why the opening remark would " stir the pot ". Sure. Ok. You could have approached this is a positive way and cited what otherwise is a fine article about fine efforts done on behalf of your Corps in the community. Instead you lost the possible goodwill and the goods feelings the article could have generated on its own by your opening clearly confrontational remark you made. The fact that you seem oblivious to the confontational nature of your opening remark does not mean the remark did not have its impact as being offensive, whether you intended for it to be so or not.

To get some expirience this year, check and see if any DCA corps are in your area. Good way to get experience as rehearsals are weekends, leaving you plenty of time to prep for college auditions, summer job, etc!

That is a great thing they are doing. It makes me feel good, but I am sorry to say that I did not tear up. That having been said I do not see why you felt the need to use this as an opportunity to put down the "haters". Why could this not stand on its own? Why use this as an opportunity to deride those whose opinion of the Blue Devils is not complimentary?

The east/midwest corps coming out started being almost regular only after 2007. Prior to that (off the top of my head), Regiment had only come out in 1981 and 2003, we got Sky Ryders and Xmen in 83, Cavies and Madison a couple of times in the 90s, Cadets in the mid 2000s. the 2004 ToC was the first time in THIRTY TWO YEARS that the West had ever had an August quality show from ANYone. After 2007 we started seeing a more regular visitation from A corps from the midwest/east....but nothing like having an actual tour out here. It's hardly narcissistic for the West to ask for a SECOND nationals in FOURTY FIVE EFFING YEARS (resuming we shoot for 2017) Narcissistic? Oh please.... Oh yeah...and re crowds being mean to Cadets....I seem to recall any number of stories of crowds at Allentown not exactly being pleasant to BD. I supposed there are stoners and drunks everywhere.

:blink:/> really... :thumbdown:/> :thumbdown:/> :thumbdown:/> That's a pretty rude generalization, at best. As someone who was at 2007 Championships week in Pasadena, I didn't see a lot of that stuff you proclaim. I know you're probably just trolling and I shouldn't take the bait, but if you're going to make asinine over-generalizations perhaps your memory is a bit foggy and you forgot that the crowd was actually kinda surprisingly friendly towards Cadets Finals night. edit: hey I got some negatives but no actual intelligent reply - yea idiotic lack of discourse!!

Downtown Indy is alright, but aren't a lot of people sick & tired of going to Indy?

Oh jeez....BD rehearsed at Garfield HS in 84....with those high walls around the school, I felt like I was in the San Quentin Cadets!

Beats the heck out of my era when Aunt Nellie would hang our wool jackets inside out on the fence around her property near Garfield HS.

Don't misunderstand me either. I'm very impressed with the level of performance produced by the very few organizations still in competition. My sadness is for the ordinary kid, with limited, even very limited, musical ability, no formal musical knowledge, and very little money behind him or her, who used to have a place in his or her local area's drum and bugle corps. BITD EVERY corps had kids who fit that description in their ranks. Many of them became superb musicians, or very expert marchers, when they were given the opportunity to partake in the vast smorgasboard that the activity used to offer. As soon as there began to be serious money involved, the power, and the decision making were, (I believe) consciously skewed to favor those with the money. BITD the activity was never about the money. It was popular because it was cheap. Corps, even National Champions, had about 50 or 60 kids. In my small town there were 5, count ;em, 5 corps serving hundreds of kids from ages 8 to 21. That is what I'm saddest about; the fact that thousands of kids, just like us, have no hope of experiencing the joys we had. I'm no Hall of Famer, either. 95% of us weren't. It may be different in other areas, but up my way music education has all but disappeared in many school systems. It's considered expensive, and elitist, and of no monetary benefit to most students later in life. We have competing bands. But a kid can't just show up and join one if he doesn't have his own instrument, doesn't already have some notion of how to play it, and can't read music, or had no interest in learning how to read music. If that kid is a waste of time for the band then so was Louis Armstrong. BITD the cream rose to the top. Every corps had folks who were pretty to very good. Every corps had kids who possessed less talent, but could hang in there if they did their best. They were not excluded for any reason. Blessed Sacrament had them. St Kevin's had them, The Cavaliers had them. But so did everybody else. Every National Champion corps had them. Kids were the life blood of the activity. All kids.

I agree. I wrote a column in DCW in the early 80s that was a faux press release from about 2015 in which drum corps was like major league baseball: a corps was trading some players to another corps and pulling up players from the minors. Even then, you could see that the small group of people who had taken over the activity realized that the fewer corps there were, the higher the salaries that those who remained with those corps could get. Early on, DCI funded the top 25 corps. Those who ran the top 12 stopped that and accumulated all the money in the hands of the top twelve. And in their own hands. They narrowed the market, narrowed the number of people who could hold the top positions and, since they held those positions, they ensured that they would remain in the top positions and earn the big salaries that the narrowed market allowed. The irony was that DCI was formed to promote drum corps, but the main result was that DCI promoted increased salaries for a very limited number of people, and that those few people ensure that they remain where they are and get the salaries that they could not earn anywhere else for their talent level. The ultimate irony was that, as collateral damage, DCI killed the activity. The anger I see is that those of us who saw enriched lives because drum corps took us out of our lower middle class environment, showed us the world, and gave us dreams for advancement, are sad that today's lower middle class youth have no such activity to raise them up. I'm glad that well off music students get to have fun in the activity today. But if it were up to me, I'd give the activity back to neighborhood kids who don't have many opportunities. And force those who want to earn big money in music go to broadway or hollywood where they belong.

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone....I remember reading that somewhere.

I am going to take issue with the accusation of this thread title. Just because I, or we, do not appreciate the current design trend of Dada looks into a Mirror Absurdly does not make me, or us, BD 'Haters'! BD, as an organization, is one of the best youth non profit organizations; not only within DCI but also within the entire realm of youth activities. And if you believe that mere disagreement with the current artistic philosophy of the design staff makes me a 'hater' of the organization, then you are either way too sensitive or completely obtuse.

Michael, I find your sarcasm a bit childish as discussing the season ahead of us is a legitimate conversation. Isn't speculating about the 2013 Drum Corps season similar to discussing who will win the Super Bowl next year? By your logic ESPN should cancel a majority of its programming and only report on post-game recaps. You would be taking half the fun out of sports. And for the person who called me a troll, I have not tried to hide my identity. Am I a regular poster at DCP... no. I simply posted my comments here because I thought it was the best format to get a sensible discussion. I have and will fully admit the shows that BD has produced have been very technically good shows and they have shown that by having two undefeated seasons (recently) and winning three of the last four years. I think the people who understand my argument understand and agree or can post justifiable arguments and others will just say I am trashing BD. BD is a great organization with great staff but I strongly feel they have lost their identity and their show selection for this year is not a great one. In a few years, fans will be saying play When A Man Loves A Women or Legend of the One Eyed Sailor not play Ritual of Abduction. As a BD Alumni... I hope they have another undefeated season but it doesn't mean that I won't enjoy someone else's show more and be happy if that other corps wins. But that is just speculation and won't know till I actually see some performances. Paul

Im looking for anyone interested in helping my new project: Starting a NEW DCA Class A corps in the Northwest Tennessee/Southwest Kentucly area. We already have a name: Horizon Drum and Bugle Corps, but thats about as far as we are now. If youre interested in helping, email me at horizondbc@gmail.com. Thanks!