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You don't need to believe that. It's a universal truth.

I hope so too, but c'mon Tekk. This is what the off-season is always full of. But I'm not going to pretend I'm thrilled with the design choices they've released so far this season. Am I pre-judging?? You bet. Everyone talking about this subject, regardless of whether they like the concept or not, are pre-judging it. We have nothing else to go on. I've stated I hope the Cadets prove me wrong. They're my corps. And I've repeatedly made it known that I hold them to a higher standard which comes with higher expectations. I don't think that's a bad thing. Invariably, sometimes they will meet those expectations, and sometimes they won't. I'll continue to praise them when I like what they do, criticize when I don't, and leave it up to them to get me to throw babies. :)

If it is indeed true that the crowds are less fervid these days, I can guess that one big reason is that the crowds are less local. Drum corps used to be an intensely local activity, drawing members and followers from the same city or parish or neighborhood. Drum corps shows would feature several corps from the same city or state, many being in intense rivalries with each other. Now, drum corps participation is much more diffuse. The big corps draw their members from all around the country, even the world. As well, the major rivalries in drum corps are no longer regional, but national. So the result is a crowd with less emotional investment than BITD. Sic transit, baby. Oh, and as for the Lucas Oil place, I find it an intimidating and unpleasant place to watch drum corps. So many distractions and comforts, such awful acoustics, such a boxed-in, dark feel. Hard to get excited in there. Give me Whitewater any friggin day.

Truth be told, I am a bit torn over SCV's selection of Scheherazade. On the plus side, the work is a perfect match for SCV's style. Scheherazade is a luscious piece of music, and if you have never heard the original in it's entirety, you owe it to yourself to do so right now (preferably with a high resolution recording, using good headphones or stereo gear). Rimsky-Korsakov is a superlative orchestrator, up there with Ottorino Respighi. Scheherazade is ear-candy from beginning to end, and spell-binding throughout. But, programmatically, Scheherazade is a completely safe and predictable choice. It is a symphonic war-horse, performed over and over by orchestras great and small. It is used for commercials and figure skating competitions and quinceañeras and high school proms. SCV is pushing no artistic boundaries with this choice. They are playing to the audience, and perhaps thumbing their nose at the wild-eyed avant-gardians like BD and Crown. Someone in the forums mentioned that it would be nice if SCV took the term "Vanguard" more seriously. I agree, though in truth, SCV's history has rarely reflected the cutting edge of programming innovation. Their 1999 show was a striking exception, and that show happens to be one of my favorite drum corps shows ever. I keep waiting for them to return to this route, but I think SCV's main concern at this point is to return to the top three. I sure hope they do, so next year they can play that Brian Eno / Fela Kuti show they keep promising....

(snicker)

The G7 "mindset" in this circumstance seems to be quite different than the old G7 mindset, if you ask me. They aren't proposing to take over de-facto control of DCI They aren't proposing to kick non-G7 corps to the performance curb They aren't proposing to eliminate funding for non-G7 corps They aren't dictating a schedule that favors them on weekends They aren't proposing anything at all that would affect other corps, which is quite different from their introductory aims, don't you think? In fact, they are proposing to "...go off and do their own thing..." as many here suggested they do and said they'd be fine with, and they are doing it in a way that doesn't compete with DCI or the other corps. In fact, if you put your nefarious hat on and call this "money motivated" (of COURSE it is, why else do it?!), you could easily see that the door for other corps to participate could be wide open. MiM's band footprint could spread to all corners of the country with the dispersion of corps, and all the corps have to provide is the same commitment that the G7 corps have, run a profitable show on the circuit, and return that profit to the group without funneling it through DCI's dilutive pay scale in the process. Even the season doesn't compete with the DCI tour. If the straw man argument is that "some" have changed their minds about the G7 then, as of now, count me among that group. As in my business, my vaticination is data dependent. If the data changes, my opinion might, too. Not all of our feet are stuck fast in concrete.

I agree also..BUT I also find it interesting that some dont mind the G7 mindset when it benefits themselves or something they are attached to yet had a holy xxxx fit before...lol....not saying ANYONE in particular just in general and a few I actually spoke with on the subject who HATED anything to do with ANY of them...now , it's all good....like I said interesting, although people do have the right to change their minds...I also find it funny that people quote others ( happens in politics all the time ) from many many years ago and think just because someone said something 20 years ago they assume they feel the same way today...why?..could they ..yes..could they grow and change YES

hmmmm why would he ..he has his own

Problem with some though is they dont believe in anyone elses reality, perception and mostly opinions.other than their own...some fight I think just for the sake of fighting.................even if it happens to be many.opinions................but thats ok ( and Im NOT getting into it )...but thats also a 2 way street

Quick off-topic aside: Called Jimmy Cossetti yesterday but he was out (giving trumpet lessons - good). Dot says he is much much better with the single exception that his eyesight has not returned to 100% and he's currently unable to drive. Glad to hear he's concentrating on music - the great healer.

Honestly, as a former pupil of Mr. Thrower, I could give two ##### whether Bluecoats medal or not, because I will love their show and his writing even if the corps finishes 20th. He has surpassed Downey as one of the most proficient composers/arrangers in the activity, and this 'Coats and those kids have been the ideal conduit for his genius. The corps needs the visual element to catch up to the other two captions for those looking at placements. Again, I'm not so much caring about it. I love the freshness of the corps over the past few years and their innovation, I enjoy the entertainment they have brought me. If you hate on them , OK, I can respect that - but go isolate yourself in a small room to rage on them - keep the vapid, empty trolling off of here. It does nothing for you but bring you stepchild-like attention. Thanks.

The recent information only shows that the G7 is alive and well. This is not a bad thing per se, but an acknowledgement that these seven corps are still in cahoots trying to make something happen for them. Moving into fall band shows is quite simply the maneuvering of USBands (YEA) to become the premier band circuit in the country. The USBands page states "State Championships for 2012 will be held in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee and Texas. Bands in Connecticut, New England and Rhode Island compete with one another in the New England State Championships." A little more national coverage doesn't hurt, and as far as I know not even BOA reaches coast to coast. USBands/YEA currently use well known DCI staffers for judging, including Mr. Hopkins himself. I am definitely no expert on this topic, but my general feeling is that fall marching band shows is not only a lucrative revenue stream for YEA and now the G7, but for the individuals involved with the G7. Staffers will be invited to fly in a to judge the shows, and of course will be paid/housed etc. YEA is already doing indoor winter shows, concerts, marching band, drum corps etc. I have heard the main reason some bands do USBands is that they pick up the phone when a band director calls, their website boasts 7am to 7pm business hours during band season. This is much better than leaving a message on an answering machine in someones house and getting a return call days later. YEA's organizational skills can't be denied, they are walking the walk so to speak. I have to admit to myself that DCI and marching band, indoor etc have become a business. We have people deriving 100% of their income from the activities, and as the marching arts business leaders become leaner and meaner we can only expect more. More competition, more professionals and survival of the fittest. The G7 coup attempt failed in it's original mission, but did take hold. I can see the end game of this being Music in Motion (MiM) and the G7 building brand loyalty with the fall marching band system and at some point in the future extending that loyalty into MiM summer band series consisting of the G7 corps. At that point DCI could become a non player, a partner to MiM in their endeavors, or direct competition to MiM for the summer experience. I do not have a horse in this race, I don't have the time or desire to fight change, and I have recently committed to stop wining about the good old days and go with the flow. I will be interested to see how it all pans out in the next few years. The bottom line for me is that the kids have the experience of a lifetime, just like I was given. I will help where I can.

bands that can afford to play will, like they do with BOA and UsBands. Those that can't won't. When it expands to say 10, then BOA should worry

Ha, la petite mort. The way Scheherazade brandished his sword made me think the Sultan had been, well, beheaded.

I don't think that Academy has been repeating themselves lately. In 2013, they opened with a narrator who solicited responses from the audience and they closed with a singalong of Billy Joel's "Piano Man", and they had nothing like that in their Stravinsky-derived "Left of Spring" show in 2012.

I know one should not judge beforehand, but man, the stages/big props thing makes me worried, based on the last few years of Cadets' shows and my own experiences in the corps. I marched in 2006, and the door, pink benches, and psychedelic backdrops definitely dragged the corps down in a number of ways. They were heavy and awkward to carry, required a lot of set-up and tear-down, etc. Instead of marching onto the field in a tight block, with laser focus, projecting strength inwward and outward, we were lugging plywood props with metal bottoms that banged into our shins. Time had to be budgeted in every rehearsal block for moving them and before shows to take them apart, load them on the truck, and put them back together. Probably 3 or 4 full rehearsal days were spent working out the kinks, and tons of guard rehearsal was devoted to them. In general, I think when their design team decides to use props, they don't think about all the logistical (on an off the field) and integrational (within the program) issues beforehand. I mean, look at the tale of 2013's towers. Figuring out how to move and use them consistently took all summer, and didn't ever really happen perfectly, and the climbing on top stuff seemed desperately added late in the game. In contrast, BD since 2008 seems to have a strong sense of how the props will create and define space and how the members will use/interact with them way before the season starts--be it chairs, poles, mirrors....more different other poles...you get the idea.

If Joe Allison wants to contend that the Madison '88 baritone solo would have been "more idiomatic" with a trombone, and that a high school wind ensemble which played one of the Holst suites with nine bell-front euphoniums and no trombones is "sacrilege", that is of course his right to hold those opinions. But we need to ask him to please be consistent: Unless he desires to be hypocritical, if a drum corps does the Rite of Spring solo on anything other than a bassoon it thus, by his standards, would not be idiomatic; moreover, by his standards, any drum corps which played Barber’s Adagio for Strings on Brass instruments would also be a sacrilege; and that also means that to him any corps which performs any work by Philip Glass out of original context would be an abomination. So, unless he is in line with those constancies, his ‘sacrilege’ and ‘idiomatic’ statements are, well, bunk.

Crossmen a possibility for finals for me. A 40th Anniversary Show about who and what The Crossmen is (and a change in the visual and percussion staff) could bring them into finals again.

Regarding the "Major league" comment - Let's look at the REAL Major Leagues (ie - baseball). Do they offer more choices, or force the best to work within some contstraints? To the best of my knowledge, there is only one level of baseball in America that uses wooden bats by rule (Major League and it's professional minor league affiliates). College, High School, on down all use aluminum bats. Likewise, what's wrong with "Marching Music's Major League" arrangers using all their creative skills within certain constraints? Using a percussion example, would '91 SCV "Miss Saigon," if it were done in 2014, use a helicopter patch, or would the drums have created that sound effect like in 1991? Which would be more impressive to the viewer?