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Amarillo Texas is another example of this... I don't know the real answer but one might infer that is has to do with the fact that the corps was founded by a bunch of guys from New Jersey rather than Spain.

hornplayer on the field and puker on the bus

Cadets, Sun, lives in Ca. Fireman.......had an unusual "Sunriser" name. Nanci I sent you an email.

I pronounce it.... HISTORIC

"Haw-thorne"

Rant on! http://deadspin.com/the-national-anthem-should-be-played-with-instruments-m-1499729678?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow So this post on FB got me thinking about one of my pet peeves. Singing the National Anthem at DCI and DCA shows. No disrespect to the great fine youth out there that have great talents to sing the National Anthem at our DCI shows but for christ sakes this is a Drum and last time I checked a brass orientated medium we launch. Why in the world do they insist on sending out someone to SING the National Anthem when we have such talented musicians to perform it? Rant off!

That gets to the root of the subject.

I've noticed an absence of Music City. They're back - and they had a tremendous turnout at their December camp. They made the top 25 for the first time in 2013. I wouldn't expect anything less from them in 2014.

If you listen to some old recordings from the 60's and 70's you will hear the announcers say it with the 'y' sound sometimes. In Spanish "LL" is an actual letter of the alphabet (and so is "ch" pronounced chey.) Any word with a double L is pronounced with the y sound i.e. tortilla (tortiya), ella (eya) and of course caballero (cabayero - meaning gentleman.) I would imagine that since you would have to be speaking spanish for it to count, it is perfectly acceptable to pronounce the L's in English. This message has been brought to you by the New York State Education Department and their mandatory 4 years of foreign language studies.

Yeah, really!! I think it would be great if drum corps age-out, a current member, a small section of a corps, or an entire corps would perform the National Anthem at every DCI show.

lurk off... Meanwhile, back in late June, early July 1982... lurk on...

I think what is FAR more likely is that the issues that are plaguing DCI and its member corps are FAR more complicated than just a seemingly simple "fix" can be. For example, if we want to significantly alter/limit corps' touring, it might save money for a corps' tour expenses line-item, but there would also be significant new problems to deal with: corps still having to pay to feed members and house them for longer periods of time, corps would lose performance fee revenue & souvie revenue, fans would get short-shrift because the opportunity to attend shows would be diminished, members would lose opportunities to experience that thrill of performing (which is the main reason members go through the craziness and extreme work to participate), the tour would have to be completely redone to accommodate a different tour schedule, show sites may have difficulties moving show dates if necessary to accommodate the new schedule, show sponsors might lose money if the pool of corps is limited to regional participation which may lead to flat-out losing shows, less shows = less opportunities for kids to be exposed to corps live which might diminish turn-outs to corps auditions, etc. We on DCP totally love to break things down to simplistic, black and white problems & solutions. As in most facets of life this is ludicrous, and the difference between not being able to implement radical tour changes quickly vs not caring to enact change is is often more true than we might realize from our extremely limited & myopic vantage point.

You mean like this...

____________________________________________________________________________________________________ City Sound Drum & Bugle Corps Los Angeles, CA. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE http://www.city-sound.org Contact: Nathaniel Lewis Tel: 323-228-7231 email: nlewis@city-sound.org “Murray Gusseck” 2014 PERCUSSION ARRANGER FOR CITY SOUND DRUM AND BUGLE CORPS Murray Gusseck is considered an innovator and trend setter in the world of marching percussion. He has been a musician since the age of 7 when he studied piano and violin. At age 15 he took up playing the drums and has been performing in bands ever since. Murray made his mark as a teacher and composer with the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps, of which he has been both a performer and instructor for almost 20 years. He became nationally known for a unique compositional style, a signature sound, and a propensity for achieving a smooth drumset-oriented approach to this musical genre. Murray helped start Tapspace Publications in 1998 with friend and partner Jim Casella. He is the author of Parking Lot Etudes and co-author of Fresh Perspectives For The Modern Drumline, both of which have grown to be mainstream publications in the world of marching percussion. Murray attended San Jose State University in San Jose, CA as a music major specializing in world music. In 1998 he joined up with schoolmates Nima Rezai and Dan Heflin, and friend Chip Webster, to form "Merge" an eclectic world fusion quartet consisting of Chapman Stick, saxophone, keyboards, and drums. The group toured and performed in northern and southern California for several years, producing their self-titled CD "Merge" He has taught and/or arranged percussion music for many top high schools and winter percussion ensembles throughout the country. Currently Murray lives in the Portland, OR area where he helps manage Tapspace and plays drums locally. He is sponsored by Pearl Drums, Remo drumheads, Zildjian cymbals, and Vic Firth drumsticks. With the newly formed 2014 City Sound Drum line, we feel Murray’s percussion arrangements are not only vital for the new un-conventional 2014 show, but sonically on the cutting edge of percussion charts arranged just for city sound. We here at City Sound are all extremely excited that Murray is part of our staff. Sincerely Nathaniel W. Lewis, Executive Director City Sound Drum and Bugle Corps http://www.City-Sound.org

And speaking of uniforms, I liked it when Guard uniforms were uniform. I'll go take my geritol now...

You know, scanning your profile, there has to be a book in your experience, starting in Bayonne in '69 and climaxing lying on your back at Franklin Field in 1976... And the cast of characters - Claire Emmons, Jerry Moorecraft, Ed Holmes, Wilke, Bobby Thompson, Hoffman, Delucia, and all those North Jersey kids. Not sure who Joe Pesci would play but there has to be a role there. Man, you experienced one of the richest traditions in the history of our activity and arguably the greatest transformation from the depths (sorry - I know it doesn't seem that way to a member) of 1975 to the heights of 1976 and beyond. And all that with essentially no money. Zippedy. Just the greatest heart ever to step out on the field.

Check out this promo video for the 2014 Penn State Eclipse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc1O1tBzLvA It was filmed for a contest to be featured on the Jumbotron at homecoming. You can vote for it here: http://www.collegian.psu.edu/contests/article_b2460e5a-2d32-11e3-8051-0019bb30f31a.htm Thanks for your support!!

It's not I guess... but I was merely pointing out the an applause meter is not the way to do it.

"Show designers must give fans music and shows they can identify with" Which shows specifically and which music specifically do you think audience members can't identify with? Your only example can't possibly be Blue Devils... A large portion of the music used this year was used in the past. There is a mix of classic and modern pop, classical, jazz, broadway, movie score, concert wind and a number of styles and designs to appease a wide breadth of audience. I was pleased that I have a number of shows that could identify with through design and musical elements... So the question is which "fans"? which music? which shows? "Audience Friendly Shows are viewed as non-competitive" How can this be true if the fan favorite award (when they did it) the past few years has been a top 5 corps (Carolina Crown)? Tell me, was SCV's 2013 production of Les Mis not Audience Friendly or is 4th place viewed as "non-competitive? "being loud or stationary for too long is automatically written off as un-muscial and/or uncompetitive" This is only in your mind. Blue Devils 2009 should put this idea right to bed. LOUD and SITTING STILL for a long period of time... won 1st. "the look, sound, approach, and even the cut of a corps uniforms is relatively standardized across the country, just different colors." Is that why Carolina Crown's 2013 uniforms were widely embraced as catatoniclly boring and unoriginal? and no one made a fuss about it because, as you claim, it is a standardized look and color. Or maybe The Cadets are actually behind the curve since they have maintained the same look, color and style of their uniform since the 30's and any variations made were never part of a controversy. I know I always get confused and can't distinguish between The Cavaliers and Phantom Regiment (their "hats" are practically the same.) Look, you need to really stop and enjoy what you have in front of you. You get so caught up in what you think DCI ISN'T instead of what it IS. And if you actually did that you'd realize that its not as bad or UN-entertaining as you think. You literally have to let yourself enjoy it and stop distorting what you're viewing with your nostalgic past. "Don’t we want a unique corps that wears a cape?"