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Yes! And Aimachi was fantastic!

You REALLY realize you're getting old when the MOST-PLAYED drum corps music is the 1958 Hawthorne Caballeros .... I will NEVER get tired of them The kids could always tell when warm weather finally hit, because I would have the windows and doors open and blare that as loud as I could (I'm sure the neighbors didn't love it) .... too bad.

The audience at Dayton LOVED Aimachi. The reaction was great.

A possible candidate off the top of my head which comes to mind for scholastic is Jackson Academy.

Update: waiting for a room at a acute (twice a day) therapy place.... Great news is Kris was up walking a few steps yesterday with a walker. First walking since first half of February. Thanks for prayers and thoughts folks...

That could be the future of the activity. They were stupendous. I laughed. I cried. My ears hurt (in a good way).

I just spent the last week in the hospital. (Doing better now, here at home.) Had a lot of time to sit and think. What a "Wonderful Life" I had in Drum and Bugle Corps. SO, I wanted to Thank You, Drum and Bugle Corps for all it has "Given ME!!". Thank You to all the Corps I got to be a Marching Member of. Juniors: "Hurricanes" - Asbury Park, New Jersey "Shoreliners" - Neptune, NJ "Jersey Cyclones" - Keyport, NJ "St. Lucy's Cadets", Newark, NJ Seniors: (BS) "Golden Knights Sr.", Newark, NJ "Skyliners" - New York City, New York "Heat Wave of Orlando" - Orlando, Florida Thank You to all three of the Alumni Corps I was a member of; "NY Skyliners" - "Florida Brass Alumni" - "South Jersey Vagabonds". Thank You to all the Corps I Instructed or helped in some way; "Pensacola Diamonds", Pensacola, Florida "Bleu Raeders", New Orleans, Louisiana "Pine Tree Warriors", Lewiston, Maine "Thunderbirds", Seattle, Washington "Princemen", Pinole, California "Reilly Raiders", Willow Grove, Pennsylvania I was also very lucky to "Compete" in Corps as: A Baritone horn player. A Bass Drummer. A Cymbal Player. A Flag in the Flag line, and an Honor Guard Captain. Thank You to Bill Slaton (Tate HS Band Director), Mike Strasser (Tate HS Asst. Dir.), along with a guy that had marched with "Chicago Cavaliers, and a guy from the Casper Troopers, with me from St. Lucy's Cadets. (Three different Corps styles Instructing & Managing) When we started a new Corps. the "Pensacola Diamonds" in Pensacola, FL. WE got them to the FIELD, at the Florida A.L. States in Jacksonville in 1969. Alas. Mike went on to LSU , and we 3 Navy guys got transferred out of the area, and they folded. Thank You for being able to be a "Press Card" member of "Drum Corps News" and to have a monthly Column in "Eastern Review" magazine. Then also be a Moderator on 2 Internet sites. Thank You for all of you that cheered us on, in the Corps I was in. Specially at Contests like The VFW and American Legion Nationals (Top 10 in Both). At the National "Dream". (where I competed in both the Jr & Sr parts, at Roosevelt Stadium). Then at all the DCA Championships. I got to march in Both Divisions. (In Finals.) I got to do it ALL. "Those Were The Day's MY Friend. We Thought They would Never End" SO, as the song say's: "Thanks for the Memories". (A "Special Thanks" to: "Ray Priester", "Richie Evans", "Matt", "Tony White", "Tom Peshey", "Vick Kulinski", "J. Johnson", "Jimmy Hurley", "Jimmy Russo") Tommy Barrett ( Drum Corps since 1960) Reply, Reply All or Forward | More

wasnt this about Aimachi ?....lol

Can we all please agree that the Phantom Regiment 'puppet witch' was silly? Can we at least do that please?

Not one to ever miss a chance to slight those that don't agree with you, right Brasso? Their performance was great, and this will be another opportunity for people to perform. I think it's great for smaller groups, that would get swallowed up by a full field and big stadium. The arenas are a much smaller and more intimate setting, and can allow for small groups to display their talents more effectively.

I didn't watch that particular video, but they performed after IW finals so the arena was full and everyone dug it.

Bear in mind something. Based on history, any major change in hornline instrumentation ALWAYS comes with adjustment. And that adjustment takes time (and is generally an added financial burden to even the corps that support the change). With that being said, I think we are very foolish if we think that this all brass change is going to quickly and swiftly usher in woodwinds in the near future. If anything, it will likely hold woodwind's back even longer. Lets look at the history. Late 70s (I believe it was 1978 but correct me if I'm wrong) 2 Valved G bugles were legalized. 12 years passed In 1990 - 3 valved G bugles were legalized 10 years passed In 2000 Bb/Any key brass were legalized 14 years passed In 2014 All Brass was legalized So if we look at the history of the time gaps between "hornline instrumentation overhauls". the absolute SHORTEST time period was 10 years. Strangely, the time gap for the most recent change took the LONGEST of any. So I see absolutely no reason to believe that this all brass change will do anything but lengthen the time gap between that and woodwinds being legalized. Will woodwinds eventually come? I don't think anyone doubts it. But it will not happen for at least another 10 years. "Why?" Just look at the history (and history repeats itself). Even Hopkins's famous "woodwinds in drum corps interview" quoted him saying in June 2012s "we recently added electronics, so it may be a bit too soon to talk about woodwinds" (somewhat paraphrased off the top of my head memory). So even he gets that adjusting to an overhaul takes time. So no way! BECAUSE OF.....this recent "all brass" change, we won't see woodwinds for at LEAST another 10 years (maybe longer). Quite certain of that. Oh, and those of you worrying about sousaphones. NOBODY in the staffs/design teams have any interest. They are hideous in quality compared to contras and everybody knows it. Sousas are also cheaper....which some erroneously think will mean they will be inserted even faster. WRONG! Manufacturing companies make money from corps re-selling and endorsing their products to band programs...and they want to sell THEIR MOST EXPELSIVE products the most. Furthermore, even BOA is getting away from them. In fact, BOA is getting away from trombone "sections". Many of the top 12 band programs only use trombones for an occasional effect....which from what I gather, is all any of the designers are really interested in with DCI and even Madison (who proposed the rule) appears to only be using them in a small ensemble setting. I digress....as for sousaphones...you will NEVER see a full section of them in ANY top DCI World Class Corps. The only thing you MIGHT see a sousaphone used for is in a solo or small ensemble for novelty (Spirit Of Atlanta doing Dixieland maybe or now that Jersey Surf is using the VK/Bridgemen persona....a "gag" use possibly). I think we are making a mountain out of a mohill.

HAHA ... for me it's playing the Skyliners' 1962 Portrait In Brass album ... I too have a "birth of dc season" ritual of hooking up my outdoor speakers and blasting my neighbors with the fine Sounds of the City concert ... plus other assorted tunes like Showtime on Broadway, I'll Walk With God, Skyliner (yes, that is a tune name), You and the Night and the Music, The Twist, Lullaby of Birdland, Doncha Go Away Mad ... and, of course, who of us don't sit on our deck every now and then listening to John Simpson's Rhapsody In Blue and Tommy Martin's The Fox Hunt ... ah yes ... it must be drum corps season again ... :-)

It's the future for what community drum corps could be and should be doing (rather than putting 15 horns on a football field). However, getting rid of the WGI approach to physical movement would help the concept latch on. Not every movement of the body or set change has to be accompanied by graceful swan-like movements of the arms and legs, apropos of nothing. It looks silly. Same thing goes for the percussion sections. I think the WGI folks are unaware of how goofy and pretentious that looks to the rest of the world.

George, I apologize. I know you're not a BD fan. I was focused on Crown when I typed that and, of course, you're right and I'm wrong. I love Cadets, too. And Phantom. To each their own.

Woah. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqC0cIEjDvs

Many WGI drum lines have eye opening, thought provoking concepts, performed well and in good taste.

Because you've been around so long, George, your humble honkishness for Cadets is well known. It is funny how people can see things so differently - probably part of the beauty of the art. Subjectivity is the realm of the individual. I've been around since the beginning like you, and Crown's show last year was one of the most inspiring I've seen in a long time. We each have our own, personal top-5 list from our histories in the activity, and Crown's 2013 show made it into my list. Up there with venerable standouts like Angels and Demons, Spartacus ('08), App Spring and others, BD among them. [begin sarcasm] Jeesh, more narration? Yuck, triple-tonguing. Again? Whole-corps unison ripple body movements are so passe. 16 person rifle lines throwing perfect 5's are done, well, every year, aren't they? I'm sure I've seen 12 tympani across the front sidelines some other time... ummm.... let's see.... If I see another 5-yard line to 5-yard line single file blowing FFF resonance for 10 measures to finish the opener, with the guard all flags in perfect unison spread across the entire remaining field, I'm gonna puke. I hate when the rifle straps all snap at the same time like that. Jeesh, irritating! Rhythmic narration counting the off-meter notation of the drum solo is so 2013! Come one people! This is...well, 2013! Still!.... Unison horn line sixteenth-note triplets at 230bpm? Seriously?! They're standing still! Spread only over 50 yards? Jeesh, and they could only pull off 12 measures? I remember when... hey! I'm hungry! "Familiar" story of legato, choir-sounding-like chords that actually do connote a warm, chocolate bath and, WHAT?, another love story? Man, DCI should tell these directors to stop doing love stories. I mean, the last love story on the field we saw was.... someone help me out here. You know, love stories, right? They're all over the place! And that drill design, good GOD. It's drawing the eye and pointing, YES POINTING! from the 15 on one side of the field all the way across to the 5 of the other side, right down, exactly, to where two guard members are performing near-professional ballet movements of two lovers kissing on a park bench! OMG, I swear, Cadets did that... no, wait, maybe it was BD, or maybe Spirit. I KNOW I've seen that chart before! And, of course, EVERY corps has an irritating girlfriend that doesn't know when to stop asking stupid questions when her boyfriend is trying to proclaim his love! I mean, jeesh girl, get a clue! Here we go! Back to more sixteenth-note triplets at 230 in the horn line. Please! Make it stop! Uggh! A rotating 3-D pyramid? Really? Is that the best they've got drill-wise? Ughh. And there goes the guard again, all 38 of them, with unison flags, perfectly timed, only this time they're using color! Oh, really? Color? BORING! I know I've seen that disappearing-through-the-bass-drum routine somewhere else. Really, didn't...umm...you know, who did that before? SCV? NOOOOOOOO! Slow motion! Not more slow motion! Didn't Crown JUST DO slow motion, like, what 3 years ago? Four? What, ANOTHER PERFECT attack on a 20-count Sfz with 18 counts of nearly perfectly linear volume progression? Good GOD, I don't think I can take this blatant, sheer repetition! Oh, and seriously, only 8 scientific references to Einstein in the drill? That's the best they can do? (After the cutoff, while the crowd is giving its FOURTH standing-O of the show...) Seriously, that show was so OLD and everything. I didn't see ANYTHING new at all! Uggh. They surely didn't beat BD with THAT performance! (end sarcasm)