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Yuck!

That depends on the individual who is doing the singing.

I'll stop from getting involved in rules and regulations but will say that was a great show!

More talking, less music - I can't wait.:(

Wondering if the OP is being sarcastic? I'm ok with the main characters being properly trained actors. Let's face it, it's not an amateur thing anymore. If they're going to spend the money to put on these productions, you may as well find real actors.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2048/170032...24554df16_o.jpg

To quote John Lennon, it may have been a long, cold lonely winter so far, but days are about to get a little brighter, as our 23rd season of DCPI gets underway today! We've got some very good turnout this season and a good mix of veteran competitors and fresh faces looking to make a name for themselves. Last season, Ivory Brigade proved that it is indeed possible for a rookie corps to win a championship, and now they'll have a lot of hungry corps nipping at their heels as they seek to defend their title. The season gets underway today with four regional events, and will see some early action tomorrow with the first Sweepstakes events of the season right out of the gate. Out west, we start things off at Fresno Central HS in Fresno CA. This event was looking like it may be cancelled up until a few days ago, when the Star of Jupiter corps stepped in to fill some spots on the lineup. In the southern region, the Confederate Regiment organization brings fantasy corps back to Wichita Falls, TX with their home show at Memorial Stadium. This is a fun venue to perform at and it's good to see a corps make the effort to bring it back onto the calendar. San Antonio Xpress and Texas Zephyrs will also be looking to represent their home state, and New Zealand's Aftershock organization is looking to make a strong impression as well after making their debut during last season. In the midwest, Ivory Brigade starts their championship defense in the Chicagoland area, marching off against Dark Knights and River City Regiment at the Benedictine Sports Complex in Lisle IL. Finally, out east, Johnstown PA's Richland HS welcomes the Buckeye Brass group of corps to town. They'll face off against veterans such as Pride of Salem, Harmonic and Valley Vanguard as well as newcomers like Hamburg Junior Buccaneers, Schuykill Thunder and Panther Prime. As a reminder, there is still time to vote on the poll question of whether to allow the top 6 placing corps from Open Class and Class A to enter the World Class prelims during finals week. This poll will remain open until the 31st, but I'll be posting reminders about it for the first few days of the season: http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums/index.php/topic/161548-allow-top-6-open-classclass-a-corps-in-wc-prelims/?mode=show

As Michael Cesario so eloquently put it, "They're not booing!!!" http://www.gaminnet.info/?p=2456

I wonder if they could form a senior corps called the "Bedmen"

Man... I wish. LOL. I have the Maryland Drum Corps Hall of Fame gig that same day.

I assumed Carmen travelled separately not because anyone was considered better or worse than anyone else but for a host of practical reasons we could spend all day thinking of. Whatever they did certainly worked both entertainment and placement wise.

There may be a Bluecoats influence at least, if the rumors are true that the Couchmen 2015 show is called RECLINE.

I'm pretty sure singing is music. Unless I've been lied to my whole life.

I'm just stoked knowing that a certain part of this corps will be returning this summer. I don't know what the show will be, but what I have learned from an inside source is that the corps will be VERY Scouts this summer.

This makes me laugh out loud and feel sad for you at the same time.

It really is a shame that Drum Corps & DCI don't understand the concept of free publicity, exposure & advertising.

Well if you want to get going on parades...well..nothing topped the parade in Bridgeport for the Barnum. Why did it seem that that went on forever? I have can still hear Nicko hollering "NUMBERS!!! NUMBERS!!". He would step out of line and point to some nice 16 year old. And please don't ask about the Gin and tonics prior to the Wildwood parade. What was a corps from Reading doing in Wildwood? I donnnnn't know.

Ironic that even with those perceived disadvantages, they were basically the silver medal show all summer, except for the final night. On my transcoded BluRay files, the " albatross" is less important than the quality of the marching and playing, and the battery which cut through quite well from their remote staging.

kinda crazy that after all these years we are still talking about 88 MS. I never saw the show, but I was lucky enough to see the crowds reaction. Yep, it was the bomb. Very loud. I wear my ring with pride.

I miss '99 more than '98, but I thought the 2001-2003 shows were right in their "modern" wheelhouse as well. I know the '03 show suffered from degree of difficulty (company fronts alternating passages from the opposite end zones?!?), but I thought all of the music they used was brilliant. Mike

Give me an SCV 1998 or 99 again, and my heart will burst. I miss THAT SCV.

They certainly have been trending towards medal contention the last 5 years: 2010: 7th 2011: 6th 2012: 5th 2013: 4th 2014: 4th But like others have already stated, there's a lot of stubborn company up at the top (dare I say competitive inertia!). Since 1992 the Cadets haven't finished any lower than 5th (wow!). Also since 1992 the Blue Devils haven't finished any lower than 4th (just insane...). Nothing has occurred to suggest those streaks will be ending this season. Mix in new powers like Carolina Crown who have been a top 5 corps since 2008 and it has become crazy tough to medal. Hope is certainly not lost though as the Bluecoats showed last year. An extremely well designed show with a dash of innovation and a highly talented group of performers to execute it is a recipe for success. The success of the Vanguard Cadets and the rise of SCV in the standings the last 5 years shows they've been successful in developing and recruiting talent, so that part of the recipe seems to be coming together. They have a stellar instructional (and leadership) staff that has championship experience so they certainly have a team capable of designing something top notch. If they can now pair up a championship caliber show design with the growing talent base they appear to have cultivated, a top 3 ranking seems feasible. They've played it safe the last 3 years and while they have created beautiful productions with recognizable music that many have enjoyed I wonder if this is the season where they take some bigger risks. I've enjoyed their recent productions but it seems we're due for something different from them. And if they produce something innovative (like the Bluecoats did last year) that could be just enough to crack the top 3. Taking more risks can certainly backfire too but as they say no risk, no reward. Extremely eager to learn what they have in store for us in 2015 and here's to hoping they can take it to the next level!

That's kinda the crazy thing: there is a lot of solid talent (both design + membership) at the top. Blue Devils and Cadets seem like a lock for Top 3, though Cadets have been out of Top 3 twice in the last 5 years, 5 of the last ten seasons. Blue Devils have only dropped out of Top 3 once in the last decade (really, only once since 1994). Bluecoats are the "newbies" (relative) to Top 3, so it would be easy to guess Bluecoats may drop back out of medal standing. Of course, that would be a goofy assumption founded on nothing but historical stats, having medaled only twice in their history: they could very well come out guns a-blazing and WIN DCI in 2015 for all we know! SCV haven't medaled since 2004 but have been steadily improving the last couple of seasons, going 7-6-5-4-4 the last five seasons. While Crown has medaled twice, winning DCI once, in the same span. LOTS of great corps at the Top vying for a spot!!

Star, like the Nexus 6 replicants, even apparently had a short lifespan, and to quote Tyrell "the light (star) that burns twice as bright burns half as long"

The similarity between '93 Star and BD 2012, 2013, is that these show productions met with some level of booing, and some level of becoming hot dog eating time for some fans from coast to coast when the '93 Star show came on the field. Both BD and Star likewise did and do have have levels of jealousy present and levels of resentment that both Corps organizations have more money and resources than God. That perhaps muddies the water of objectivity perhaps in some quarters, then, and perhaps now. BD is todays version of '93 Star in my opinion.... certainly in the level of jealousy and open hostility present, imo. '88 Madison had no such response anywhere at the time of its live performance at Finals in 1988. It won with the judges, and was a huge hit with national audiences. The '88 Madison Scouts DCI winning finals performance equaled or even exceeded at the time the audience response received ( for example ) at last summer's Finals performance of the 2nd place 2014 Bluecoats wildly popular " Tilt " show production.

http://yea.org/programs/cadets/cadets/news/662-happy-birthday-to-former-director-doc-cinzio This guy never gets the credit he deserves for saving the Cadets from extinction several times while summoning the help that revived their later success. While others later take much of the credit in their own re-telling of the history, Doc's actions saved the corps several times from much earlier extinction. Without his self-sacrificing, there would be no 2015 or other seasons. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ad multon annos. Skol!!! Buon compleano, tanti auguri, cento di questi giorni!!!

I heard lots of vets in all sections.

I think the past two years have produced beautifully executed and substantive musical arrangements, requiring a high level of musicianship, technical control and individual stamina. It can be more challenging to play sustained notes than a blizzard of machine gun phrases (although the latter hypes the excitement for sure). Something cool for this year is that, among other things, half of last year's snare line is back this season along with excellent new kids, so it is no surprise that they are well positioned to crank again this year.

Last year I was excited about the music but of course all the narration and a patriotic theme was worrisome. It was probably a 4th place show that they performed the s$&t out of. Honestly, I went to a few shows and thought their marching was phenomenal. Throw in extreme competence in all captions, and there's your medalist.

GH said it will be a show similar to 2000's "look what we can do". It will use the 10 thing for sure drill wise but will be about great music, great fast drill and high level performance. I think because it's not bring weighed down by a theme, we'll see a great visual presentation to go with the meaty musical arrangements. Sometimes "themes" can be limiting of expression because a great drill move may be viewed by a judge as " well that was amazing but what does it have to do with your theme abc"?

Me too (well I liked 2013 Musically, A LOT actually, but not much else about it). I'm just interested to see how they will tie it together cohesively as a production musically, visually, and thematically. Do that, and they'll hit a home run. Miss, and it'll be another show like 2013 that I just listen to. Listen to a lot and love, but not watch, not remember for it's outstanding presentation of the theme. And it could be a very good show. My question is how will they portray "The Power of 10" in a refreshing way besides using multiples of 10 in the drill and section numbers, some 10ish themed props, and a 10th Symphony from a composer? With the creative team they have, I'm more optimistic than cautious, there's a plethora of things they could do. Just trying not to get too carried away on the unholy level of awesomeness I'm getting from this music program already. Don't want to set myself up to be dissapointed, but I'm allowing myself to be excited a little bit. They have my attention and sense of wonder in a good way, I'll say that. Just weighing the potential downsides as well as the upside they're giving us little teasers of.

I don't think Cadets have ever really had a "chop-n-bop" arrangement. Folks can find faults with their designs over the years, but I don't believe chop-n-bop is one of them. Also, I believe Cadets always "over plan," meaning their arrangements are purposefully longer than they know will hit the field, and then they make adjustments as the visual design/shape of the program takes over. Regardless, I agree that this sounds like a great start for their season (at least, as much as you can get a good read in a gym recording) and I look forward to seeing this show progress! Also, again, props to Hoppy for posting full movement videos: thank you!!

Isn't that the point? People say today's shows don't have any full developed ideas. You had BD last year, Bluecoats last year, this show is starting to live up to that category, and we haven't even seen anything else by others yet.

About what I'd expect from a brass player. It's a good thing we have drummers as drum judges, eh?

OK, Heh, here ya' go... Count sixteenth notes (one, ee, and, aah) in 180 time. Now split every other note so that half the line (or every other player) is only playing the "one" and the "and" and the opposite players are only playing the "ee" and the "aah" of each beat in the measure (a "split"). Now imagine doing it while alternating your sticks (a double-handed split). Suffice it to say that keeping 10 players in time splitting rhythms is incredibly difficult and they do it not once, but 4 times in that 3 1/2 minutes, at 180bpm, They did it twice for four counts, one for 3 counts and at least one double-handed. It's kind of like how the bass drums "Split" five-sixteenth notes between them - I know you've heard it - but with snares and only two splits parts (instead of five as in basses).

Its not about where you are on the field necessarily. Its about how quickly your listening and timing environment changes. Its physics. The farther you are from the drum major podium you are, the more you have to anticipate the beat in order to be in time. The drill for Pegasus in 1982 wasn't rapidly changing each member and sections position on the field, so for the most part, each section was only responsible for memorizing one particular way that the beat would feel. With modern drill responsibilities, not only is the physical demand of the marching far more intense, the changes in timing interpretation happen much faster, and with a much wider range. You have times when you see the battery cross the entire field in the matter of a few bars of music. Add in the fact that the tuning of the instruments has changed drastically, demanding a much higher level of attention to rhythm and timing that would not have been necessary in the era of mylar heads, and you can see the need for some communication on the field. I'll go back to my comparison to professional musicians. Give me one example of any professional ensemble that doesn't communicate in some way shape or form in order to come in together. It could be eye contact, it could be the physical act of breathing together. Some times its a conductor. Some times there is an actual count off or a solo introduction. But ALL music is communicating time between its performers somehow. If you don't think that is happening, then you aren't paying enough attention. If you really think you can stand people several feet apart, face them away from each other and teach them someone to play music together without any type of reference at all, then you have somehow discovered students with some form of ESP. In the case of marching music, it is no longer possible, with the current demands of modern drill to simply play with the conductor. Performers are too spread out, and their timing responsibilities change too quickly. The fact is, like it or not, some form of audible communication among section members is often necessary to achieve the level of precision that is expected. I'll say again, that I don't think it should bleed through. However, I would rather my students be learning to communicate with each other and have a few duts be heard than try to get them to perform in a bubble, and never learn to listen to each other.