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While DCA is gearing up for their biggest weekend of the summer, we've already concluded our summer season and successful return to the field. It was great to be back, and we're looking forward to bigger and better things next summer! To close out the season, we'd like to share with you the one returning corps of 2014 that you won't be seeing in Rochester. Here is the final 2014 performance for Chops, Inc. Drum & Bugle Corps, in exhibition at the Drum Corps Expo in St. Peter, MN. Enjoy! http://youtu.be/NwF7mJVLBRc

I must be crazy but I'm all for Star or any other "big name" corps coming back small and build or otherwise... The more the merrier. Let's not get too wrapped up in the past to lose the potential of a future. The more kids marching the better. Freelancers, 27th, Star - etc - any of them coming back is a good thing. Be it full size or 30 members. IMHO.

After reading your post I'd be hard pressed and really surprised if you really mean that you wish them the best...I call BS. To suggest that DCI was punishing BAC for having a camp on Easter weekend is absolutely ABSURD. To even suggest that the organization purposely scheduled a camp during this time to pull families apart in your premise is laughable at best and indeed very insulting to supporters of this fine organization. You sir are a troll!

35 is the cut-off limit. EDIT: See Spandy's response below for more accurate explanation. If I can take a moment to defend Class A: I know having a 5-corps Class A "field" is kind of a bummer, but it fluctuates every year. Last year there were 11 competing small corps. Year before had 8. DCA's Class A model has mostly been a success. It encourages corps designers to program within their means and has been stepping stone for several quality groups that made the transition to Open Class (Fusion Core ... need I say more). *shrug* I guess it comes down to personal preference. I'd rather see a two-tier system where the lower tier corps don't have to over-extend themselves in order to be deemed "competitive." Having one giant field of corps all clawing at each other just doesn't seem as interesting to me.

ok ladies n gents, boys n gals... you wanted the best, and YOU GOT THE BEST! I present to you, KISS LIVE AT THE ACRO... wait whoa whoa... whoa. wrong notes. I really need to clean this apartment better. Sorry this is late but I forgot I had a softball game today. Ok, so lets get these couple of house cleaning items out of the way. If you have 4 exhibition corps in your 9 ensemble show, and three of which do not move, you did not book the best show possible. You can only watch groups stand in an arc for so long before you want to revert to Angry Birds, Flappy Bird, or some other silly bird game on one's phone. Now I have the attention span to survive this, but the majority of the audience did not. #Foodforthought Also Band Directors, if you bring your band to a show, and you let them talk through the entire thing, yes, even during the competitive corps, you shouldn't be surprised when people around you shush them, and then give you the stink eye. If you're reading this band director guy who was there last night, GET IT TOGETHER MAN! It shows your band is bush league and has little respect for the performer on the field. So shut em up, smack em around, do whatever you gotta do, but if you don't instill some pride and respect in them, your band is going to suffer and become the potty break of the shows you perform in, if they haven't already. BOOOOO. (yes, that's not BLoooo-ing you read) Seriously, your kids were jerks and you're inept at keeping them in line. Fix that. The venue itself is pretty nice. Has a decent viewing angle, lots of metal backfield stands to bounce sound, and space for souvie booths. (that was only used by DCA to sell souvies) And the field looked to be field turf. It did have a slight arc in the middle of the field, but it wasn't as bad as the one at Sevierville, TN. (a four foot mountain) So that shouldn't affect anyone's show. The food truck they hired, should be fired. It shouldn't take 15 minutes to get a hot dog. When you ask the order taker "what do you have?" because they have no marquee, and she says "burgers, dogs, fries, pizza, fried dough, and cheesesteaks", and I order "2 slices of pizza", and then she says "we don't have any pizza yet" even though its the beginning of the show and then i order "2 dogs please". And then lose life waiting on the simplest of items. Hashtag... FIRED. As usual, I'll give you the good, the bad, the ugly (cue whip crack), the fantastic, and since I've seen some of these corps already, we're going we are going to play a little game called "What was good enough for the last show, is no longer acceptable". Yes kids, you heard it right. If I've seen you once, and you haven't done anything better than last time... BOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Get it together. Did you really think those same old catch phrases are going to work again and again? Who do you think you are? Emeril Lagasse? Bam! Sidenote #1. As championships is next week, we will also play a little game I call "Its too doggone late in the season for that!" Yeah... all of you out in the virtual marching pitch know exactly what I mean by this. Anywho... here's a review. The venue: JFK Stadium. (apparently every city in 'Mericuh has one) The corps: Excelsior, Sunrisers, Windsor Regiment, Bushwackers, Conn Hurricanes, Westchester Brassmen, Conn Alumni, Park City Pride, Cabs Alumni. So here's how this NO BS REVIEW is going to go... the corps for scores i'll give you first, the standstills and Cabs Alums... I'll put you at the end. ok? ok. As always, if your world is one laden with sugar coating, you should stop reading RIGHT NOW, and go find yourself a nice puppet show to attend. A show review this close to championships isn't going to be one of unicorns farting butterflies or jolly little leprechauns serving you beers by the bucket. As Mr Wolf says "If I'm curt with you it's because time is a factor. I think fast, I talk fast and I need you guys to act fast if you wanna get out of this..." Excelsior: Approx 40 members. Ive played in a corps that was nearly this small, I get the issues you may have in design. So I'm sympathetic, to an extent. I understand keeping the corps between the 35s, which they do, and keeping them in front of the back hash. That makes good design sense. I like the unis. suits with shakos. cool vibe. I dig it. Their show "On the way to mars"is a cool idea. Michael Jackson, Michael Buble, Bruno Mars for a perc feature, and a few other charts. So its a fun idea, it needs some execution help, but its fun still. I like the arrangements, they work for a small corps. It just seems like a very young corps. The have a soloist who doesn't march ANY of the show. He stands on the sideline the entire show. He doesn't play the entire show, only solos. He looks perfectly able to march the show, he walks back and forth across the pit to play a solo here, and a solo there. Cmon dude, a corps with only 11 or 12 horns REALLY needs another one on the field, so that... I don't understand why this choice was made. It makes it appear that someone is a decent soloist, being featured with a very young corps. And this isn't advertised as Excelsior featuring (Insert Soloists Name), it's Excelsior. One team, One goal. As a marching member, I would not be thrilled marching around at rehearsal watching this guy just stand there all day. But I digress... Moondance started out strong... and then the big hit held a rather large ensemble tear between the Pit and the Horns right behind them. Several horns missed the release in this hit. "its too doggone late in the season.." for missed releases. Overall there was a lot of upper body noise in the horns during the show and I couldn't tell a definitive marching style. So they may need some basics block time before next weekend. Bruno Mars was a cool idea. The perc has most of the chart with the horns coming in for the chorus, good idea, but the horns didn't come in together, and they didn't release together. All in all, the brass sounds timid. Afraid to push air through the horn or make a mistake. Cmon kids, if you've got a small horn line, you need to find a way to sound like a big line. (The Mandarins of the 1990s do this AMAZINGLY, youtube them and you'll see what I mean) The guard has some ok work. Not too complex but enough to keep them busy. In this chart they got a little sloppy tonight. The work was there but timing was off between individuals. The ballad... has clicks in the battery, that did not line up. 2 & 4 or 1 & 3? pick one. so that REALLY stuck out as it was off. The closer, started ok, but they just ran outta gas. The intonation in the horns went south and there again were ensemble tears between the pit and horns. Overall these are signs of a young corps. You can tell that the kids are working hard, but don't seem to know where to listen on the field yet. So they've got some work to do on this show and lots of youthfulness to overcome. I'm not saying it can't be overcome, but it needs more time than they have. Keep working all, hit that woodshed hard and come out strong next week. check it out... Font coloring due to joy over the new sashes. It's the little things isn't it? SUNRISERS: First off people of Loooooong Island... I like you. And I really like this show. I'm still humming it today. BTW, Thanks for putting the new sash on the uni. You're not the sun without the orange. And you've improved MILES beyond when I saw you weeks ago. So keep that in mind before you read on. That being said I've got a bone to pick with you. So have a seat. It's not like your staff hasn't already let you know these concerns, but for everyone playing along at home... read along. Are you seated? Great. Procession of the Nobles... this is a brass fanfare every brass player knows, and its on several symphonies audition list for brass. Your have about a dozen exposed notes at the top of the show to set the tone, and you fracked nearly every one of them. And then when the sops came in, they fracked those notes up as well. So lets have a chat about this shall we? Ok... "Its too doggone late in the season for you to butcher that part!" There, I've said it. If you practice nothing else this week at home, you, HIGHBRASS, need to shed this until its perfect. Because there is no excuse for you to frack the butterflies out of it this week when you played it better in Secaucus. Don't be the person cut from that part because you didn't put in the time to clean it yourself. bah! ok. i'm better now. We won't breakup just yet. You get to your first big hit, and WHABAM!!! In Tune, everyone listening, everything hit great. Are you still seated? great. I didn't get many WOW jump out of my seat moments at this show in general. And you gave me a reason to fist pump (yeah.. NJ style) and get on my feet. Thanks. Your first hit, and in fact, ALL YOUR HITS hit awesomely. No BS. Every hit was a big fat Jim Cramer BOOYAH!! So thank-you for jump out of my seat moments. In Gallop The rifles, were on par tonight. Great work ladies. Timing was clicking along well, catches were not just in time but consistent in handling. So cheers to you for that. Corps in general you all really make me smile when you get your Jester on in Gallop. Keep selling those jester moments. They are a great happy place in the midst of a darker show. The will make you smile when you see this next week. I guarantee it. There was a little phrasing issues in Glory with the brass. Some people hanging over. Also, the slow step... cmon all, gotta define the style. Right now we still get variations in the feet across the board throughout the show. The backstep is most of it, but overall the feet just look sloppy and not defined from a style standpoint going forward or backward. Firebird. Bari player. Nice job. Nailed it. Mello... you sounded a little flat on it. Yeah yeah yeah... "quit calling people out dude. You don't know us" Shhhhhhhh. I want you to succeed. The corps really closed this show out well tonight. They finished it much stronger than they started and that's something to be said. Because in the closer they're running around the field while two dudes in fancy jackets have a saber fight over some chick. Speaking of this sword fight. Ok... I hate to say this but it looks like you gave two dudes fancy jackets, sabers, and said "go to it!" without any scripting or attention to the music at the time. Cmon... if its on the field, its supposed to be thought of in advance. The guys don't support what the corps does because A. they don't do anything big enough to be seen through the thick of the corps moving around in front of them, and B. they just do the same clink clink clink back and forth, you hit mine, i hit yours...yaawwwwwwwnnnn zZZzzzzzzZZZzzzzz. So when the corps finally gives them the moment of the stabbing and gets on their knees, it feels like an after thought. So it needs some help. Or some choreography... or both. But it didn't work for me tonight. sorry all. that moment was meh. Overall, from the last time I saw y'all till now. WORD UP SUNRISERS!!! seriously. Top shelf and the improvement is there. You do so many things well now that the little stuff looks bigger than it did before. Keep working it. I'd love to see you all in finals and I think you can do it with this show. Just gotta clean up a couple things... cough fanfare cough. Thanks for giving me butt out of seat moments. Windsor Regiment. yeah the cream font doesn't really work that well on here, does it. Hmmm... ok... instead you shall become... Windsor Regiment, the color of the liquid in my glass. Speaking of, I need more wine. Be right back. They have about 80 performers total. WR Had a great low brass sound tonight. full and rich. The opener in general was ok, but had some moments where time just didn't sit well between the pit and the horns, and the pit tends to play out, without listening behind them. At least it sounded that way here. I got lots of MARIMBA!!! seriously, i love that you're not afraid to play out. Gotcha. Now I want y'all to play together. I think they got a new tuba, because they had one lost little sheep with a really big piece of brass wandering around the field searching for bo-peep. Keep working little buddy, you'll find her. Or you'll at least stop looking like a ping pong ball bouncing between your other sheep. 2nd piece. mellos... intonation. listen to each other and blend those suckers. Guard... I like your work. I think they had a rough night tonight. There were several drops that I don't remember in Secaucus. So maybe it was just an off night. But again, championships in a week. We'll find those drops under "its too late in the season for that stuff". The percussion feature has the battery working overtime. There's some really great stuff being played and these ladies n gents are doing it really well. There's was a couple of minor tics, but honestly, they sounded really well in this. big booms to little booms, all of them have some good material. I can't wait to hear what they do with it in a week. Horns though... their feet distract me during the perc feature. Lots of out of step-ness and body control. Just remember, even though its the perc feature we can still see you, and you still need to perform all of the work to a top shelf level. Bridge over troubled water. Started out ok. Then little by little the horns lost time in their feet. So it was a little shaky. At least it felt shaky out where i was. And then the bari fracked its solo. Cmon man. "its too late in the season for that stuff" I know you're gassed by then, but you gotta push through. I will say the battery from start to finish, played beautifully. Great dynamic work. Louds were loud, softs were soft and mellow but still struck with a purpose. Good job ladies and gents of the battery. Keep it up. Guard in the closer, you've got some really clean work, and then some drops. So the really clean stuff makes the drops stick out more. work that toss stuff at home this week and it'll be right on par next week. There's a point in the closer where the corps does this high step. And I loves me a good high step. But I loves me a good high step that has definition to it. This one was sloppy tonight. Lots of toes not pointed at the ground, or maybe its some toes not pointed forward at the top... i'm not sure what its supposed to be. I don't get the style. I guess that's the issue. It needs cleaned to be effective. I'll leave it at that. Overall, the show is also miles better than I saw them at Secaucus. The battery is really the highlight here and plays above what I think they are getting credit for. The guard has cleaned work to a point where it is exciting to watch them, and the horns have a low brass leading the charge on the field. Great work all, again, I'm anxious to see what a week brings for this group. BUSHWACKAHS!!!! This was my first time seeing them. they've got between 90 and 100 people on the field. i think. To be brutally honest I REALLY like this show. I like the idea, I like the music, I think if the wrong DCI corps saw it they'd steal it like a bunch of gypsies and claim it for their own. I think its one of the strongest show concepts, maybe dare I say THE strongest concept. Because it makes you think, but not too much. Its just enough depth to make the average homer go WOW and the seasoned fan say Word UP. So thanks for that BWs. That being said.. i totally understand the noise you create in the sound system. But, to me, it doesn't fit the world. Not the placement, or the effect, but the actual sound itself... it sounds thin. Its too... synthetic a noise. It feels really fabricated instead of something that is either electrical or physical of nature. Especially when you lead from that into the woodblock marcher effect. But hey, that's just my $0.02. I do love the opening pre show part and the build up. Top shelf! Your mellos rocked my sox tonight. literally the best mellow line of the night. in tune in the opener, tight fingering, booyah. The baris though sounded fluffy in the opener. They didn't have a good articulation for the chart, so everything felt a little smh. The battery in the opener was very tight. Good job boom booms. Overall, i heard a lot of feet in the horns. upper brass especially. "its too late in the..." yeah yeah yeah... we get it dude. Seriously. lift up out of your backs. They do this little for lack of better term "Nazi step". Which is a cool effect. And is great in the placement and the horns rock it while playing. But after a couple reps they start to break down mentally on it, and it got sloppy tonight. I think it just needs cleaned and rep'd. but great idea. fits really well. Of all the ensembles the 'Wackahs finished their phrases the best musically. They had lots of tight cutoffs and pushed air all the way to the end. So cheers to them for that. They have this guard ripple effect to close out the opener, which is pretty schweet. seriously, go watch these folk for this thing they do. you'll thank me for referring you. Once we get out of the opener and into some slower parts the feet style started to break down individually, and intonation went a little south. I think they were using this as rest time, but really need to push and perform this stuff. Its a great sequence for a ballad type piece, so rock it. do it! There's a bari solo in the second piece, played beautifully. Good sound, articulation...etc. Right on! Keep that up. You make a former bari player smile with stuff like that. In the third piece the sabers did some mind blowing work. seriously, they are the highlight here. they were on point tonight and the toms as well. way to steal the show here. good clean work in the booms. The bari feature needs some articulation cleaning. They just went back to fluffing stuff like the opener had. I think some woodshed action will fix that. The muse hit was the last BOOYAH moment of the night. seriously. in tune, in time, and in, your, face. I don't like Dick Vitale but his expression "GIVE IT TO ME BABY!" is the only thing I can think of to say here. hats off to you for that hit alone. Honestly the closer needs work from a visual standpoint across all the sections. Spacing is a little suspect and lines are pretty much garbled, but they kept pushing air, and the booms were really tight, and the guard was getting all angry and throwing down all over the place, so as much dirt as there was, it was a really exciting way to close out a great program. If they can somehow clean this badboy of a show in a week, I think they'll surprise some people. But there's a ton of dirt across all pieces of the puzzle. Which is why I can't say I was like BOOYAH at the end of the show like I was at the Muse hit. Because the Muse hit was clean, and tight, and the end was really dirty. so it didn't read as well. But overall, an exciting and intriguing piece. totally entertaining and made me a fan right off the bat. Good job Bushies. Hometown HURRICANES!!!! so yeah. i saw these ladies and gents in secaucus. between 80 and 90 performers. they too improved immensely. I feel like the rest of the corps has caught up with the guard. go hurcs! keep working. They had a really good tuba sound tonight. it really sounded like one big-*ss tuba. nice work tubas. gold stars all around for you. The first hit of the show is balanced and played really tight. This was one of the few pits that I feel listened intently to the corps behind them and made a conscious effort to blend and balance with them. GO PIT GO! seriously. it brings the corps to a whole new level when we have the front ensemble working with the corps behind them. go you. Once we get out of that hit we get some horns that stick out here and there. And some feet in the sound. The backstep is most certainly a culprit of this. I heard a ton of feet on that. lift up y'all. thats a fundamental that shouldn't be an issue at this time of year. The rifles overall, just became my crush. They are just clean. And awesome. Solid work, performed beautifully throughout the show. So hats off to them. I'll expect them to release a 2015 calendar due to this awesomeness. Rifles through the year. Get on it, Mr June and Ms July just became my heros. The second hit, was not as effective as the first. (magnificent 7 type hit) maybe it wasn't air being pushed, maybe it was the fact that it was now 30 degrees outside. Hey summer... WTF? get back here and quit screwing with us. The hit was clean, and tight just not as exciting as I remember it being. The bass booms were the best of the night. good clean stuff, and exciting. its great to be able to hear the space, as well as the notes. so cheers to them for cleaning the butterflies out of it. The toms... held up as well as the basses. again, great work cleaning the space without notes as you did with notes. cheers to that. so the battery feature was clean and really musically played. miles above what it was weeks ago. There were a couple hits after the perc feature that didn't read well tonight visually, maybe stuff got changed, i don't know but it was kind of hard to see what the forms were. And the baris started to get feet into their sound around this part. I think it was the Candide stuff. There's a hit where the corps spreads the legs to give a little oomph, and they need to define the feet on this. some kept their feet close, some really far apart... this sounds like a minor detail but they stand there for a bit in it. i'm sure they'll clean it up. Overall once they got past candide i think the corps started to run out of gas. intonation started to go south with the temperature dropping like its winter or something, and the corps overall seemed gassed. The last couple sets didn't set up well and though the ending is exciting to watch, it just didn't communicate as it was pretty dirty. I'm sure they'll focus time on this stuff. Overall the whole show has cleaned up to a point where minor details now looks like glaring issues, but that's just my viewpoint. I'm sure they'll get some rep time on this stuff, and the horns will work out some shed time at home and the Hurcs will grow this patch of grass into a DCA eating machine. (see what I did there... yeah) So overall a good sample of the corps for this upcoming weekend. I'm happy to have seen the Bushwackers and Excelsior. Do I think any of these corps I saw tonight has a shot to bring home a gold... not really. But I do think they have programs that will make happy to spend money to see them perform. Which in my book, is what counts. Did you perform for my ticket price? So as all these corps have a little prep time left, the only question I have for the performers is this. "How good do you want to be?" In a week they cut their legacy. It'll be in the form of a CD recording and a DVD. And then they'll be stuck in virtual marching land forever. Or until the inter webs fall apart. Do they want to be ho hum, or just ok, or do they want to take this week, shed their notes and work and be the best doggone performance they can possibly be? How do they want to be immortalized in electronic form? So get on it ladies and gents. Make sure you do everything you can to be awesome. Because next weekend I'll be there in the stands. I don't care what the dorks in polo shirts think. I care what you do, and if the people are entertained. So bring it! Make me stand on my feet and cheer. Because I want to. Good luck all. Ok... onto the standstill types. WHAT?! You thought just because you're in the exhibition category you were going to get off scott free? Well just turn that car around Dad. This hear is a review of the highest/snarkiest quality and wouldn't be complete if I didn't say a little something about y'all. So pull out those valve/rotor combos and put down that cigarette, because its onto the arc it up types, parade prancers, and old school disco drum corps redux. Conn Alumni. you all have a great sound out of those G bugles. And you have great phrasing and releases. The sops are kicking. You have one lady playing lead that kills it. in general, the high brass was great. the low brass, dragged at times, but would catchup and be fine. all of their soloists were in tune, and played their phrasing wonderfully. Westchester Brassmen. great arrangements for a parade corps. and a great low brass section. for what looks like a very young group they have a very mature sound. The play Georgia on my mind like they wrote it for Ray. seriously. way to rock that chart. They also have a sfx p< in Cant take my eyes off of you that is really amazing. I hope I can hear them somewhere where they're in motion. Park city. they played pretty well. i heard something about them being very newly formed. so cheers to them for getting this group together. overall they play really well. they have some intonation things with the mellos once in awhile, but overall, good work. they could use another contrabass. because the one they have, though he is honking away, in tune, and in time, he needs some support. keep working all. hope to see you at more of these things. Cab alumni. you make me happy. the fanfare was tight as usual. and the intonation was exceptional. seriously, you're the spitting image of drum corps history and you do it so well. please don't ever leave. DCI needs to have you play at their events as much as possible to keep the memory of what drum corps was years ago. Because you do it all so well. In time, in tune, and exciting. seriously. Who can't smile when they're on the field? they continue to impress me with how well they handle the stupid g bugle. sombreros off to them. They played taps for Red tonight. (a Maynard Ferguson based arrangement) and ACED it. There was no better tribute than what they did. You made me stand up for the entire chart it was so beautifully performed. A couple last thoughts. Overall, this was a good show. Not a great show. i don't think that many standstill corps was a good choice. It started to feel like time filler and it took away from the performers. I think placing a standstill between the competing corps broke up the flow. Which was a very bad choice from a programming persecutive. I was really happy with the venue. i think this could be a nice DCA regional type place if they ever had the desire to do that sort of thing. And though I don't think any of the corps that competed tonight will make a run for a gold, i do think that they are solid finalists if they do the work at home this week. There's no one that can't compete with what I saw. So keep working all. You impressed the heck out of me, some of you being my first take, and some being my second look. You've got one more week. PUSH IT! Be the best you can be, and give the crowd a reason to stand on its feet. I challenge all of you performers to push harder than you've ever pushed this season. Shed those notes. Toss gear in the backyard. Hack on every hackable surface. But push yourselves to be the best possible performer and bring the noise. You only have one more shot to cut the best possible performance you can do. ICE IT! Cheers.

Absolutely no offense taken. It's just way to easy too get hung up on stuff that we can't control. We plan on doing our best to set a standard that everyone else will have to live up to. We'll see how it all turns out. Dan

GOD I LOVE THE WEEK OF DCA FINALS!

What makes the GE Visual & Vis Communication numbers between Cabs & Bucs so unusual is that the Vis Ensemble caption flipped from Scranton in the Bucs favor and the Guard spread was cut in half, yet GE Vis/Comm went to Cabs by a big spread. Granted, three different sheets, but it seems like one judge was on a mission of sorts.

We predict that we will not make finals this year.

there is no perfect system. and those that say one is better probably #####ed about that system when they competed in it LOL

I am absolutely thrilled to see ERIE THUNDERBIRDS and MINNE BRASS listed in this fracas! With Minne Brass going on in the middle of the pack, judges may have to do some numbers management. Now we need MASS BRASS and GOLDEN EAGLES fort a real throw down!

sorry not everyone has the balls drum judges do

June 1st EDIT: Bill beat me to it Of the thirteen corps who have won gold in Class A, six (Skyliners, Atlanta CV, Sunrisers, Alliance, Fusion Core, Carolina Gold) are currently competing in Open Class (do the math... that's 43% of this year's open class) Add to that the Govies, who have three Class A championships and have only missed finals once since first showing up in 04, and yeah I'd say it's been a success.

ok. I'm glad yall are still around. Cant wait to see you next season.

It's not a bummer at all! This year we made the huge step back onto the field after 5 years of doing parades, and we can hardly wait for the next big step in 2015.

I do not consider anything that has been done to be over the line for drum corps. Design and Instructional staff's make safety the highest priority. Just FYI, WGI put a new policy in place effective for this coming season. Over the course of the past few seasons, WGI has been aware of an increased use of props that could potentially endanger performers in competition. With the activity reaching new heights in terms of creativity props have gotten taller, more elaborate, and occasionally the risk has exceeded what we consider safe for our events. While WGI certainly does not want to stifle innovation and creativity in the planning of any program, it is necessary that we insure that an unfortunate situation does not occur. At the annual meeting of the WGI Board of Directors, the following policy was passed and will be inserted into the rules for all color guard, percussion and winds competitions beginning in 2015: WGI Sport of the Arts strongly recommends that performing groups and their directors/staff use the utmost caution and forethought in planning and use of props that might place participants (and others) in potential danger during assembly or use. Props built and/or used by groups at WGI events, including drum major podiums, that measure over six (6) feet high and are used in such a way that result in a participant whose feet are more than six (6) feet above the competition area must have appropriate safety railings in place. Participants are prohibited from jumping or leaping off any prop that exceeds six (6) feet in height unless protective padding is in place or other adequate safety precautions are taken. PENALTY: At the discretion of the Contest Director, including (but not limited to) prohibition of the use of the overheight/unsafe prop(s) or disqualification. Such penalty can be assessed based on a number of factors, including the height, number, and/or type of equipment subject to penalty and the possibility of a safety or property damage issue arising from the use of such equipment. If you have any question about any prop you are currently considering for your program, please contact: Dale Powers, Director of Color Guard Mark Thurston, Director of Percussion Wayne Markworth, Director of Winds We look forward to another season of amazing and safe performances in 2015. Sincerely, Ron Nankervis WGI Executive Director

Standding still certainly helps the visual program, thus appearing that they might march better.

I was going to write a review of the show, but with school coming up I'm pressed for time. So here are my thoughts. (I missed the first 2 corps.) Fusion - I like the show. I was down pretty low so I'm sure a lot of things were literally going over my head from the last time I saw them, but they had an off night. Lot of the hornline licks were dirty, a few small ensemble tears and the guard thought they were the star of the show since you could hear them all the time. Super distracting. Cabs - It was a tale of 2 shows. The first half of the show was off. Lots of individual issues, solo issues. I like the beginning electronic intro, though it seems a tad long. They did seem to have a very short tear between the battery, but they fixed it immediately. Second half of the show was noticeably better, though I feel they didn't really communicate well. I've seen the Reading crowd go nuts for Empire, so I can't really say that it was completely biased. I like that they got rid of the soft ending. C2 - I like the show. Would have been nice for it to keep to the original Cadets theme where they took favorites from some DCI corps and did it there own style. Still, enjoyed it none the less. They still have some holes and are plugging them in. Lots of feet and spacing issues. Really enjoyed the Z-pull at the end of Rocky Point. Had better communication to the audience. Was the first corps that I saw that I felt had a good show. Reading - Really liked this show. Not a complete fan of some of the arrangements and the Heat of the Day section seemed to go in and out of a groove (I'm biased however after 2002.) Was down low so I couldn't see a lot of the drill, but feet were a lot better. They move about 100 times more than there competitor and at times feet came through the sound, so it's really about pulling off what you have. The mello feature where they are moving across the field didn't seem as clean as the rest of the show. Lots of communication to the audience, however I think there were some more individual issues then usual for this time of year. Loved when the corps finally passed the pit and they just let everything rip. I thought that the contest would be close, and really felt that it would go in Bucs favor. Only because the Cabs did not have a good show, but I wasn't sure if Bucs individual issues would hurt them. I enjoyed the final encore and the send off of Commodore Gruber. He's put in a lot of work and has never been the type of person to demand the spotlight. A lot of people owe a lot to him and whoever comes in next has huge shoes to fill.

Fine, then feel free to leave the conversation and let others discuss it. I teach drum corps, and I know many others who do as well who post or lurk here. I'm interested in learning more about what other corps do in regards to this topic, and if something comes up which I haven't thought of before, I'd be more than willing to pass it along to my colleagues and others who might be interested in learning more about it. No, this discussion will probably not save any lives, but there's no harm in talking about and sharing techniques that could make things better, whether it's for the bands we work with, or the color guards or indoor groups, or even the best drum corps in the world.

Drum corps hire specialists for this very topic. What exactly is the DCP community going to tell them that they don't already know? They are experts for a reason. Lets not overvalue DCP conversation here. This is a fan message board. Most of the activity could care less what is said here.

and still apply. And some corps ( aka Govies) never intend to go Open.

Good points, Cathie. Class A was created (starting in 1997) for some very good reasons.

So obviously the off-season is in full swing, and we have nothing better to discuss?!?!?!

The bridgeport show could have used another competing corps, and one less exhibition.

Also possible though far less likely: a company front that is really a scatter drill gone horribly wrong.

Class A is very vital in recruiting and, I think, motivation for the A corps. Would you rather be known as Class A Champion or "throw down" thir/four/fifteenth place? Champion, second or third sounds a hell of a lot better to me and potential members as well.

See? Perfect example of why it's so cool DCA has so much variety! I get why you don't like it, but I just gotta say Bush's is my 2nd favorite show this year. Sure hope I get to sneak away from souvie row to see them at finals .

IMO, and this is only my opinion, they would have won in '88 had it not been Madison's anniversary. My second-hand information is that Gail Royer knew it was a great show and intentionally repeated it in a year when there were no extraneous circumstances affecting the outcome. I've always believed what Gail believed.

agreed. it's been Cadets MO for years. and most people get it as Hop has had to explain it a few times. Gads...I have to defend Hop and admit I liked BD in the same year

Anyone care to start?

all of em. it's been discussed

Who was this zillionare that wanted to be sure that the corps aligned with his religious beliefs? And please don't say you want to protect their privacy. That would serve to cast doubt on the veracity of your statement. Personally, I say good to have not had that donation. Sounds like the would be many strings attached and not ones that would enable the corps to function as it needs to. Plus, this corps values are not confused and a statement such as that is insulting to hundreds and hundreds of BAC supporters. Maybe his values simply don't align with DC. Maybe he can continually and happily support whomever he decided is religioulsy align with his beliefs. Good luck to him.

LOL!

Yes, you can declare up but not down. And you have to do so pretty early--by Memorial Day, perhaps?

Hey all, Just wondering, does anyone need an outgoing personality to deal souvies for them during prelims? I'd be more than happy to man a table.

gypsies I'll fight off with a broom!

Thank You Chops Inc .hope to see you back in the thick of things next season Best of Luck

I think there are several corps that are "all that" as you say, this year. Thus, the closeness at the top of the heap. Dan

I postulated before the season started that SCV could play almost anything in '89 and win because, there was no way they were going to end the decade with only a single championship.

Outstanding review!!! FYI... I'm a Sunrisers alum, and "Procession" is a Sun classic, dating back to when the corps first performed it in 1969. You are right... that opening fanfare is a big factor in the performance of that tune. They clean that up, and good things will happen.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned aggression. That could be the element missing. Madison has always owned a good portion of the crowd when they perform, and their respect for the audience and appreciation are both evident in their shows. This has not changed, but the feeling is not always there in some recent shows, though as I say this I know I personally have loved their shows and 2013 ranks among my favorite Madison shows, but it had a power, impact, aggression, or whatever you call it. I'm thinking this is not something designed as much as something instilled. Perhaps as alums teach about brotherhood, which from what I understand they do well, they could teach the swagger as well.

I agree that there is some hyperbole going on here and I think drum corps staffs do an overall excellent job of training and taking care of their performers when it comes to getting them into proper physical shape to do what they're being asked to do. But at the same time I do think there is a point to be made about designing more and more dangerous elements into a show. Yeah, it seems silly to think that somebody is bringing up the possible death of a member to make a point, but all it takes is one really bad spinal injury (or worse, god forbid) due to a design element like a prop that wasn't constructed well, or due to an extreme element of risk where performers are thrown into the air, or due to some other safety concern that was neglected, and the entire activity will suffer. Not to mention the poor soul who suffers the injury. There is no shame or silliness in asking that these corps put safety above general effect in planning these wow moments. And I'm not saying they aren't, but it doesn't hurt to have a discussion about how to make the entire process better and more safe.

Hard luck? I believe you make your own luck. We go out and do our job, everyone after us is going to have to compare to that. We're going to control the things that we can control. Performance order, judging panels, all that other stuff is just wasted energy worrying about. We figure if we do what we know we are capable of, everything else will take care of itself. Can't wait to throw down next weekend and see what happens. Safe travels to everyone and we'll see you all Saturday afternoon. Dan

Yea, how dare those greedy ######## beg for enough money to pay their bills while on tour. Or be able to afford to eat somewhere other than the food truck once in a while. This is a charity activity, and they have no business asking for compensation for years of training and experience, and the very idea of being compensated for their time and effort is an affront to all that's good and proper.

Boerma did a pretty nice job arranging Strawberry Soup in '93...just saying...

I have a red set of drums.

Check corpsreps.com. Most recently (2000), the Blue Stars did an entire show of Carmina Burana, as well as the Raiders in 2003. Bluecoats in 1977 and Cadets in 1979 also played it. It's still great music. I wish I had composed it (and was getting all the royalties).

Absolutely meant in fun, "on any given night...", etc.

You know, I wonder how much effort goes into staff development. I love cars. My dad worked for Ford and as a result, I grew up associated with their brands - hence the "Lincoln," moniker. I have been fortunate to watch the workings and management style of Ford's recently retired CEO Alan Mullaly. He came in and fired few people as part of the reworkings of Ford yet his management style changed a corporation and will for years to come be noted as a template for organizing a group of people. The solution is not always to fire or replace people. Alan changed the attitude of Ford. Sometimes the right people are there but the right atmosphere isn't. What prevents being effective? Is it something within other people? I sincerely believe in the philosophy that everyone has something to give. I hope some corps learn from this and learn to enhance the staff they have. I hate the "fire them" attitude. I absolutely hate it.