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Two days and I get to see em. I know I've already said this, cannot freakin wait.

I have to chime in here, because this is a huge pet peeve of mine. You can watch a show with an open mind, and still wind up disliking it. I hate it when someone calls somebody else "close-minded" just because they don't agree with them.

Wow. Harsh. I'm sorry you feel that way. Try to open your mind.

In today's era of chop-and-bop, it's nice to hear Blue Stars playing some nice jazz for an extended period of time. Can't wait to see them on the field!

Sorry to the haters and bitter dinosaurs (of which I'm one). This IS innovative. If this is where the activity is headed.....count me in.

Well... except for the 2005 season opener, when the spread was 2 points... the 2006 season opener, when the spread was less than one point... and the 2007 season opener, when the spread was a point and a half.

Drum corps has always been bands.

they look like Magic. But not in a good way... Hopefully just a bad picture.

I felt the same way about the jazziness... in fact driving back up from San Antonio (man ####### Texas is big) I was thinking about the show a lot. They rock well, they jazz well, they play well... They're breaking some eggs rather than playing it safe. I don't know where "Protest" fits in 2013 - but it may be perfectly placed - that's hard for me to call at 61. If kids (and/or audiences) are paying attention to life in the 20 teens, there's a lot of appropriate feeling being expressed in this show. Don't want to be political - I'm not smart enough - but I give them credit for trying something risky when they're defending their first Top 12 finish in a while. It would be much easier to play it safe. Fortunately, the kids are talented and into it. I think they're going to be a lot of fun to watch this year, and I stand by my observation that they have a couple of absolute show-stoppers written in. Going to catch some rehearsal tomorrow and/or Sunday - be fun to check it out with my son who began his playing career with Bones in '91. Hope he appreciates that none of these current kids were born when he started his Crossmen time back in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Also dying to see what his 12 year old son thinks of them, seeing as his dad joined Crossmen at 13.

1. corps were more local and people spoke face-to-face. 2. Mail was cheaper and letters more frequent. People wrote whole sentences and paragraphs even that were more than 140 characters. 3. There were more winter activities which involved corps and corps people. Many corps had guards in winter circuits and the rest of the corps would come as fans and swap stories; there were mini-corps, and other things like what Mike Boo had on DCI page yesterday about hockey. 4. DCI corps were still in local circuits as well as those winter meetings gave more time for discussion and rumor. 5. Prior to the time of mandatory regionals, much info was shared by corps who had already seen other corps in practice or geographic activities. 6. College campuses and college dorms were a hot bed for info as kids went to various corps and travelled People's Express. Just some of the ways...

I have a few short clips and pictures from tonight that I'm gonna post in the next 24. Hours. They had a good crowd of.. 40-90 people probably more this evening during rehearsal. I can tell you one thing, if they get the book clean, people better watch out.

I have found, mikespeed, that criticism is generally equal to "closed-mindedness" on the forum. Hence, the several red negatives I have received over the years for being critical of a corps I marched with over two decades ago. Critical assessment of a corps one has marched with has generally been perceived as the ultimate betrayal, even when it MAY be deserved. I generally think carefully about my posts and, although at times, I could have said something in a different way, I am usually satisfied with the content of my critique over the years on DCP and, therefore, have few regrets in this regard.

Please feel no need to apologize. I am the king curmudgeon.

In the Troopers thread you said you didn't understand the whole need to change and questioned whether or not the uniform would improve scores and also said that the guard uniform made you sad. Here it is innovative. Why can you "open your mind" here but not there if this is where the activity may be headed?

Pun intended, I hope?

The uniforms look awesome in those photos. I think that was a very good change, and it's going to give them a lot more visual clarity compared to last year's "giant blob of cream".

Maybe they should have had their show done

I have to agree with you...The progressive thinkers have gutted the appeal of what we know as drum corps. The big sound is gone...not just the brass, the perc now sounds as if it's played on cardboard boxes. Although many of the innovations over the past few decades are for the better, IMO, the dilution of the big bold sound striped away the excitement and allure.....so yes, todays corps are just a bunch of everyday bands!

Yes.

After seeing crown, bd, bluecoats, and cavaliers uniforms this year in addition to all the dancing and prancing by the hornline and drumline over the past few years DCI is not becoming BOA, it is becoming WGI. there I said it lol now I'm gonna go hide from all the negative replies to me saying that

Gaspee Days Parade 2013

Actually, he he has had several oppoortunities to go elsewhere at little or not cost. You would have to ask him why he remains at Boston.

The figures seem to support your theory, BRASSO. The lowpoint was just before the 2008 season. In '08, BAC had fewer than two dozen vets. Since then, the corps' trajectory from a membership standpoint has been a net gain of vets every year, to the point where there are now actually very few members who go off to some other corps. I also want to applaud "The Wise Men", a group of members who are aging out this year who joined in 2008. Six year vets in ANY corps are not common these days, and these particular members frankly have the skills to march anywhere (including Charlie, the bari soloist). As one of these brass players said to me last night, "why would I go anywhere else and 'step down'?" It's attitude like that which explains why this drum corps is 73 years old, and now finds itself in the strongest position it has ever been in, both on and off the field. It has always been my habit to not engage in the preseason hype that seems to beset some other organizations, so I won't do it now. After seeing the corps repeatedly during move-in, hearing them play last night, seeing the sophistication of the marketing, fundraising, organizational behavior, planning, and yes, those THREE 18 wheelers, I will simply say that the current BAC is absolutley an "ELITE" corps. This will be an interesting season.

I remember making phone calls to Drum Corps World or Drum Corps News in the early 70s to get scores. In 1974 I was working as news director at a Minneapolis radio station, and I'll never forget that Sunday in August when the Associated Press sent out the finals scores from the DCI Championship the night before in Ithaca, NY. I tore it off the teletype, and I still have it today.

My semi-educated guess: 1. Blue Devils 2. The Cadets 3. Bluecoats 4. Phantom Regiment 5. SCV 6. Carolina Crown 7. Cavaliers The rest will be a shot in the dark, which I don't wanna waste my time doing haha. Not saying it'll be a waste of time watching them, because I'll be very entertained I'm sure. Just not the slightest idea. Edit: This is after hearing BD, cadets, bluecoats (being the only one live), phantom, scv and crown.

On this first day of the 2013 season I just read an interesting article on Drum Corps World's site by John Simpson and his thoughts on B flat VS G bugles. A good read (even for us drummers).

I was listening to ELO's "Living Thing" and thought how awesome it would be to hear Crown perform a drum corps arrangement of this song, especially with the runs being played by ELO's string musicians. I would love to know what other songs you would love to hear and why

I couldn't believe someone actually gave you a negative click for such a positive comment. I'll be sure to correct that for ya. I'll be watching them this weekend thru the fan network. Can't wait!

It wasn't too long ago that the Crossmen almost didn't exist... a big change happened... and then some more on top of that. They had some POOR performing years after the move.. but smart business decisions behind that helped keep the corps afloat. Maybe someone should speak up more.. if they haven't already been doing so :P :)

And I think the dark comedy clown costume is going to work really well on the field All of the uniforms in DCI are designed to be visually effective at a distance. Making a uniform which accomplishes that AND is easier to move in AND is one third the weight also seems like sensible choices. But it's ok for people to not like the uniform. People have opinions and they sometimes differ. Heck if we all stepped back from being drum corps nerds and looked at the activity -- the whole thing is pretty silly. And pretending that kids running on the field are somehow "bad-a##" is actually pretty funny. But we're fans so we take things seriously -- sometimes a bit too seriously :-) It's all good. Go Crown !!

Although we have not always agreed, I have a great deal of respect for the way you say what you do on DCP, corpsband. Thank you for this great post, and the red negatives have never kept me from saying something I felt needed to be said, although they have helped me develop my skills in how I say it, in many instances not all, however.

Not everyone here (either in this thread or on the forum) treats criticism that way. Your generalization is just as bad (but in the other direction). And I think the red negs are dumb,dumb,dumb. But hey -- I don't run DCP. I can only observe that since adding them, there's far more clicking and far less talking. For a time last season I had many of the "silent posters" -- at least here in the Crown thread -- choosing to just forgo posting instead of clicking the stupid red button. I agree it often comes off as an attempt to "shout a poster down" with clicks instead of taking the time to engage them on the merits. I'll make the appeal again. If your a Crown honk (like me :-) and see postings which are basically trolls, just ignore them. No need to be rude and red click someone. If you disagree with someone, explain why they're wrong. It's a lot more satisfying (and contributes to the well-being of the discussion board).

When I first saw Crown's uniform, I thought it was hideous, but I tried to keep an open mind, thinking "Hey, maybe it'll look better in a large group." Having seen those pictures now...yeah, it's still hideous. You may fire when ready.

You're right. I apologize to the Crown fans for being off topic. I'm just a curmudgeon.

I especially liked the part when the drumline passed in front of the stands and each section played their piece separately...first the bass line, then the tenors then the snares...and then all of them together. The whole show this year is full of stuff that feature the different parts of the corps.Also...while the whole brass line is awesome this year, I want to give a shout out to the mello line. They are especially good.

Smoke signals.

Not being a drum guy....this part of Knee 3 is my favorite. Mr. Hannum did a great job with the writing.

Did I just hear you correctly? You "chose" not to march there because of the sleeves? Hmmm.... Perhaps if you take a closer look, I think you'll find The Cavaliers have had puffy sleeves since........always.....

Via Crown's Facebook page

A mighty tight beginning to the series. Gonna be a very interesting season, hehe!

Here are some pics from the BD

Hmm. BD is copying Crown's feather in the plume from a few years back. But in typical BD brag, "Mine is bigger than yours." ;-p

Good question. Speaking for myself, I've been following the pre-season closely and have been impressed with what I've heard. But, I don't want to over-hype. If the first competitions next weekend reveal what I'm hoping for, I may not be able to shut up.

Hey, if I had the time, or inclination, I would post reviews. And I have the added benefit of not caring what anyone thinks of my opinion! After all, my opinion is every bit as worthless as yours or anyone else's!

I just want to compliment the title of this thread.

I loved BK's 2006 and 2007 shows, but I whole-heartedly disagree on last year. I thought the show, in it's finished product in late July & at Finals was outstanding. One of my favorites of the year. I thought the design & creativity was just brilliant. Harvey

I hear you Kyle. But still no one has answered my question. You said you didn't want to pay for an incomplete product. Would you rather pay for no product? Or, if you consider the grouping of corps at a specific show the "Product," then youd pay for an even more incomplete product? I guess I just think its odd that alot of people are complaining about corps potentially not being finished their show this early, but there are other corps that choose to pull out of the show altogether, and everyone seems cool with that? I dunno, if I was paying for something, I'd prefer to get 90% of it than 0%.

shenanigans on the WGI route. You have corps here in the NE that have people tied to an indoor circuit that goes until the first weekend of May. One of them, year in and year out, has their #### on the field at the Beach. Is it finals ready? No, but the bookends are in place. They also have the most intricate if not one of the most intricate shows in the circuit every year. and, since 2005, they've lost what....2 shows? oh and they have done rewrites too. If you're still unsure of numbers in April and May, your admin team and staff hasn't done their jobs right. Losing someone here and there...it happens. If you wrote for 40 and you're still at 20 in April, then there's far larger issues

Given the pitsters I know, the glasses wouldn't be filled with water. Spring training would have a whole new energy as various "flavors" were experimented with for just the right musical texture. And imagine the joy the pit would have emptying said glasses after the show....the truck wouldn't be the ones getting loaded, ha, ha. Seriously, both Cadets and the Cavaliers used a few glasses in their pit performances a few years back. I don't have the years but some alums will know.

Considering there is a lot of controversy revolving around Crowns narration, this poll might give us a good idea of how the majority of fans feel about it. I don't know why anyone would give this a negative strike....this is an opinion poll. I gave all four answers possible. Its' not like this will affect what Crown will do, which it won't, I just want to know what other fans are thinking...........Let me say I love Crown and want them to win........besides this is anonymous.