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"Conservatoire du Trompette avec un Valve" That's where the famous Bibliotheque de Arban houses the world's most extensive collection of triple tonguing passages, including the Martin and Wilkie archives. It's in the Pavilion de Amerigo Laus, right next to the bronze cast of the Bouche de Pepe.

What's with all this "heart attack" schtick? You're all creeping me out. Shovel, schmovel, blow, schmo...Hire the kids from the high school band to clear the driveway and watch from the living room with a hot brandy. That's far more economical than cardiologists or snow blowers, plus you'll be keeping the little buggers from playing those god-forsaken saxophones for a while. F

Off topic - although there hasn't been a topic in a while - some amazing players and teachers up for vote in the Buglers' Hall of Fame this winter. Boggles my mind when I see some of these folks' names and think about their careers. Glad (honored) that I slipped through the cracks before some of these younger cats started to be considered. There's one young man up for consideration that played in a group I taught for a year and I taught him not a single thing, while he taught me a pile. A student of Professor Swan's of course, at the "Shore de Jersey Conservatoire du Trumpet avec Un Valve"

After clarifying the scores from the Pittsburgh event, here are the first set of Sweepstakes scores from this weekend's events.

On the subject of licensing, it was interesting to read in this article at the New York Times that because a winter guard approached the singer-songwriter David Byrne (he of Talking Heads and True Stories) with a request for permission to use his recordings for their competition show, he became fascinated with the world of color guard and convinced some other pop artists that "the choreography would be served well by live music" -- and so some guards will be performing live this summer with Byrne and others in New York and Toronto. He finds guards to be “wildly creative in a vernacular way ... an under-the-radar art form.”

See? Those of us "of a certain age" have this "kids will work" illusion, or even better "kids will work for money" illusion. Kids no longer work - period. They play the saxophone. We pay for the lessons, drive them there, and lobby George Hopkins to accept them into DCI. They work at rehearsal, and soccer, and school (sometimes). And I'm not going to have a heart attack - I was raised working, and NOT playing saxophone. I get achy, but I don't have to worry about co-pays, or expensive surgery because after I gave up my Blue Cross / Blue Shield at retirement I turned my health care over to the Veterans' Administration (gasp) - the positive spin of which is that I'll never need complicated surgery because the VA practices a one size for everything Euthanasia. So - shovel on, Motherf*ckers!!! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. I'm made of wrought iron. Old, bent, creaky, rusting. Not even close to dying of a heart attack or anything else. I despise the VA way too much for that.

My wife, Carolyn Lamont - like the Loch Lomond Lamonts - is descended from the Scots - and is the cheapest living human being. I'm pretty sure that her philosophy is a) keeps me out of the house; b) she doesn't have to shovel it. c) maybe I'll die and things will be quieter. d) She won't have to keep going to drum corps things. She's one of those "Classically trained" musicians with her MMus in Composition from Boston U. First time I took her to a show she said "that's pretty interesting. Can't those instruments be tuned?" (in this particular case the answer was no, as it was that little senior corps from Easton). She claims the Blue Devils, the year Kevin or Danny aged out, are the only drum corps brass line she ever heard in tune.

Ray, investing in a snow blower might be cheaper than deductibles, co-pays and/or the ultimate box. We'd like to have you around a bit longer. Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow.......... Be careful friend.

Its a shame that the folks who own the musical rights don't soften their stance against youth music activities using their music. Everyone in the music industry talks about promoting & funding youth musical programs, yet they go after them when they use their music. Its too bad.

Waiting to hear some tales of fun and sun from Mr Peashey. After I come in from shoveling. Have to be ready for tonight's 3 - 6 " before Saturday's 18" which we'll pile I have no idea where, with 12' - 18' walls of snow on both sides of the driveway.

When I was 1? ####, the good years just don't last, do they?

These two shows stand out in people's lists of favorites, and they seem to go along with other choices that have similar drum corps values. Does the one you prefer say something about what you think drum corps should be? Of course, feel free to qualify your answer in the thread.

Meet TeamBush 2015 is a series of introductions to the members, staff, and administration of the Bushwackers Drum Corps. We want to highlight and feature the people who make this Corps unique and exciting. Up Next: Tom Heider, Snare Drum Well into his second season as a member, Tom Heider is a great success story […] ... Read the rest of the article here - http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/2015/02/meet-teambush-2015-spotlight-tom-heider-snare-drum/

Happy "This-Is-What-He-Said" Day

and maybe see about getting some people from Spartans and Centurions as well?

I had an idea about CT, 7th Regiment and Hurricanes are going to the Holyoke parade in Holyoke Massacusets, maybe we could work something out where we go after the parade?

... Man I'm tired - when did I get so old? Hmmmm ... my guess is that it started somewhere around 1952 ... :-)

Singing is music. Narration is not. I would rather hear 72 brass play than one person resite. or When the spoken word is spoken over the brass line. and is louder than 72 brass.

"Surplus proceeds"? What drum & bugle corps has surplus proceeds?

Hello all! I'm William or you can call me Will. I've been in band since 6th grade, marching since 9th grade and I'm two years out of high school. I have previous corps experience marching guardians last year but this will be my first time marching world class. Any questions email me at reynoso192@gmail.com, the link to my gofundme is http://www.gofundme.com/mgmvl4 any help would he greatly appreciated. Thanks guys :)

Www.Alchez.com. For cd's and merchandise . Send me a note on your thoughts . Cool all !!!! SEE you ALL this summer.... AL CHEZ and THE BROTHERS OF FUNK BIG BAND See you all this summer. http://www.alchez.com/#!cd-and-merchandise/c3mn

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

An message from our corps director: The Centurions Drum and Bugle corps will take on a new direction for the 2015 season. As a rebuilding year, the corps will focus on its membership and staff while strengthening its relationship with the alumni and community. With a conservative rehearsal schedule, performances will focus on (but not limited to) Ensembles, Individual, Exhibitions and Parades. “The fun of performing” will be emphasized this year as the corps embarks on a road less traveled. With this in mind, the corps continues to seek enthusiastic, motivated and creative individuals to bring this vision to light. To be a part of this new adventure, contact Nick Yaworski at nyaworski@sbcglobal.net or 203-720-2858.

Relative to the CT comment. Most drum corps and competitive marching bands are in SW CT with a small half dozen around New London and another half dozen around Hartford. Interestingly, DCI does NOT broadcast any of its theater productions in Fairfield County, the most populous in the State and also the county which has its own marching band circuit known as Musical Arts Conference (musicalartsconference.com) DCI theater showings in CT are not well attended; Waterbury and Branford (low of 7, high of 24 persons) options were often dropped due to lack of attendence; Manchester area mall got best consistent attendance over the years (no more than 4 dozen persons at any one showing0 followed by Milford Mall. While Nassau and Suffolk on L.I. have a combined population of 3 million, DCI has only ever used one theater showing for its screen productions. Usually the chosen theater is on the border of the counties, not far from the L.I.E. and parkways (which are highways. Here we drive on parkways and park on driveways.) Westchester County occasionally has a DCI theater showing; parade corps are few, competitive marching bands even fewer. The city of New York is its own quagmire when considering where and when to show given the number of transplants alum from elsewhere in the nation and the paucity of the marching activity but for a few schools on Staten Island. The many parade corps that once existed are gone except for the Crimson Kings in Chinatown.

This is what he said. This is what tesmusic said. After so many years of failure and mockery, can we at long last be done with narration? Impossible, you say?

[pattingmyselfontheback] Nerve-wracking, but I won it one day in 1984!!! [/pattingmyselfontheback]

Congratulations to Executive Director, Tom Maiello, on being elected to a 3-yr term on the DCI Open Class Advisory Board. He is pictured here with Open Class Coordinator, David Eddelman. Read the rest of the article here. ... Read the rest of the article here - http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/2015/02/maiello-elected-to-dci-open-class-advisory-board/

Let's just say you would probably be surprised by the back story of how this season came about and what could have been. I'll leave it at that, because this isn't the time, nor the place, for that discussion.

Well, except that outside of percussion, where the winner was 4th, the 2nd place corps scored under the winner in all of the performance captions, even finishing 4th themselves in Music ensemble.

Corps finished 5th, 6th or lower and still won DCI over 30 years ago. Heck, SCV was tied for 5th in Marching and won the 71 VFW Nationals. The show design is irrelevant if the performers do not perform their show well to maximize what the designers create. That has never changed.

For flash, skill, impressiveness.......tenors all the way. Crossovers, scraps.....totally bad azz. I will say nothing beats a beast bass line in the lot, but the bass stuff is better up close than from the seats. It's gotta be at least four tenors too, three guys killing it just doesn't have the same panache. Snares get all the glory anyway, they shouldn't win the DCP polls as well!

****ALREADY APOLOGIZED FOR USING "HATERS" IN THE TOPIC....my bad, let's move along***** Hello DCP, I love all the heated debates on here. It is so nice to see discusssions going on here rather than facebook or some other social networking outlet. However, I felt the need to at least take a few moments to address some consistent concerns amongst the DCP community at large. I have some experience in the area of electronics/sound reinforcement as well as brass arranging and sound design. I would hope you would all at least take this into consideration before flaming me into the pits of hell :) I'll try to touch on a few key points here, sorry if the thought process is a bit disjunct 1. "Thunderous Goo" A. If you are not right behind the judges at every venue in their exact spot, please don't complain about the mix. EVERY corps is mixing for the judges and if you are in the lower level just know that you will be getting an absurd amount of speaker sound. This is even more true in venues where the lower level creates a BASS TRAP that does not allow the desired electronic low frequencies to cut to the box. This is an acoustic phenomenon that is unique to each venue. Any corps at any time may be required to boost their subs to kick some more juice up to the top if the venue's lower level creates a BASS TRAP that cuts the amount of low frequencies traveling to the judge's box. Google BASS TRAP 2. Thunderous Goo versus sounding Tuba pitch In most cases, the offending goo is actually producing a tone that is an octave below the sounding pitch of the tubas. Even the greatest tuba sections can't project certain frequencies to the box at Lucas Oil. The synth allows the ensemble to project a discernable pitch and fundamental tone that would be otherwise impossible to create by acoustic means. At this point, a lot people would say that we don't need that sound if we can't produce it acoustically. My answer to that would be that I believe certain frequencies DO NOT project and CARRY to the box at Lucas Oil despite the best efforts of staff and members. At that point, one can use synths to ENHANCE(not replace) said frequencies to help them project to the box. Most notable of these are the low frequencies of the tubas. Not to mention that the regular audience member when they go to the movies are used to hearign those low sub frequencies. For all those that would argue that Drum Corps is what it is and shoudl be appreciated for it's raw sound as God intended...didn't Cesario make a mass decree to entertain the audience?? We are also obliged to entertain them sonically, and everyone and their Grandmas these days have surround sound and subwoofers when they listen to music or watch movies. This is now DCI's way of keepin up with the Jones's (more on that idea later) 3. Balance and blend Regardless of vantage point, there are times when a group's sound system is way too loud. Subs, Mains, Sampler, Synth...it is a delicate web of technology to be balanced with the acoustic corps. BUUUTTTT just because groups have issues with balance from YOUR specific listening point doesn't mean we need to burn the electronics at the stake. And even if that groups sound system is too loud that doesn't mean you can slam the entire concept of amplification. Obviously you need to learn how to use your sound system like an instrument. How about this example..."Man, the new bells on the Mellophones really project their sound to the box more than normal. Too bad they always overbalance the ensemble" ..."Let's burn them alive and get rid of Mellophones all together instead of teaching them how to control their sound"...seems logical??? Then let's not burn the evil electronics just yet, yes? But again, balance MUST be assessed from the proper point with an extremely trained ear. If you are a brass player you have a penchant for the brass balance, if you are a percussionist you lean that way....you have to have a true macro ear for everything. The top groups in the country are listening to every tape and balancing the sound system live via remote mixing with a listening vantage point as close as humanly possible to the judges for that venue. For those of you that complain and/or are concerned with a particular groups balance...TRUST ME they are WAYYY more worried (and knowledgeable) about their balance, and the judge's assessment of their balance than you could possibly imagine. Infinite tweaks and adjustments are made on a daily basis and if you continue to think said group who is in the top has a bad balance...stand right behind the music judges and take a listen....chances are it's pretty dang balanced this time of the season. 4. Ridculous statements All the horns mic'd through the PA...are you serious!?!? First of all, understand that there is a whole front ensemble that takes the majority of the highs and mid-high frequencies available from trhe speakers. Speakers aren't magical devices where you can keep pouring sounds into them and they just immediately respond by becoming infinitely louder. Only so much can pass through those speakers. And most of the time, the mallets and synths are at the end of the line, with very little room for anything else. People talk about sampling brass, and all sorts of ridiculous stuff...look, electronics are there to provide a sonic spectrum that the existing instruments cannot create. Vocals/Singing, sound designed effects, extremely low.high pitches are just a small example of these effects. FOr those that think brass will be sampled...Any uses of replicating/sampling brass will either be done A) so poorly everyone will learn from that groups mistake or B) be done so well it won't actually sound like the real thing and will become an entirely new effect. Micing solists with effects or not....Corps create MORE SOUND NOW. Speakers and MUCH louder battery instruments contribute to a much louder corps ensemble sound. I for one would like to hear a soloisy play with at least a semblance of technique and sound quality versus laser beaming a high note to the press box and hanging over the release just to probe how high he was actually playing. The actvity is evolving...to a STRONGER beast. Please help the progress, don't slam it. 5. Keeping up with the Jones's...if the top 6-8 groups are bumping their sound system at a given show and are integrating electronics into everything...ya gotta keep up.

These two go together. The problem is that tuba lines are GETTING BURIED, no matter WHAT PITCH the synth is playing!!! I'm an advocate of low-end synth, but NOT when it covers the tubas. This is a JUDGING PROBLEM, because they refuse to call out the arrogant musical staffs at the top of the food chain. We have 16-member tuba lines for a reason: To be heard in any formation in an 80-member hornline. Now we have to deal with synth? Game over...just get rid of the tuba lines. Cadets should be first...pointless.

those who complain tend to post about it -- those who don't have an issue are much less likely to post "it was ok for me". not minimizing the issue -- just saying that the "evidence" you're citing is not reliable. if everyone in the audience on san antonio had heard what we heard on the FN, there would have been a thunderous herd of complaining (here and elsewhere) from the live attendees. the goo frequently just rode up and covered everything on the broadcast. it was technical issue and IMO did not accurately reproduce the experience of the ears in the stands.

I just don't agree with the idea that overpowering synths are somehow the audience's fault for daring to think they're too loud. Can we say that for a trumpet that sticks out of the ensemble as well? "They were just trying to project to the box - you're just hearing it wrong?" Mike

You make some compelling points. However they may have been lost right from the getgo in the unfortunate initial naming of your thread title to whom the comments are directed, ie "... the haters ". This is not advantageous in my opinion as sets a tone that is counterproductive to imparting a fair hearing to the points you want to make in a convincing manner upon that I am sure you want to have from your remarks. Just like a good pitcher that has a great pitch to throw, the art is not the pitch itself, it is in the delivery of the pitch, and the location of the pitch. You have a great fastball here. But you missed the strike zone because your delivery was a bit off right from your wind up that was fundamentally flawed.

I don't mind an open discussion about electronics. However, I do have an issue with saying that if you are not sitting right on the 50 next to the judges, that you don’t have the right to complain about an absurd amount of Goo. Before the Goo was so evident, you could sit nearly anywhere um and still enjoy the show without one significantly overpowering/overbalanced sound. So pretty much 95% of the audience doesn’t have the right to complain due to their seat location? That just doesn’t jive with me.

Thanks for posting. Wish you had participated in a few discussions before just nuking the topic from orbit, but I appreciate your thoughts. Hopefully others will feel the same. I disagree with most of your points, though. Not sure how this is a defense of goo. We know that corps mix for the box, that lower-seating gets creamed by the amps and that indoor venues are bass traps. If all of that means that lots of the audience is getting an greatly inferior experience, then it's bad for the activity. Personally, I don't think drum corps is going to grow its audience by trying to sound like a movie theater. It's much cheaper and easier to go to a movie theater if that's the experience you want. You are way overdoing the straw-man hyperbole here. If a new mello made a corps sound as bad as electronics sometimes do, then I would be complaining and hoping that the corps would change mellos. If the judges loved the new mellos, then they probably wouldn't. But to the extent that the judge's experience and the audience's experience diverge so much, it's bad for the activity. Not sure how this relates to the typical experience in the audience. I fully believe corps try their best to make it sound right for the judges. Unfortunately with electronics that's coming more and more at the expense of the audience. They already mike brass and it often sounds very bad, but that hasn't stopped them, so I don't know why you don't think they want to do more of it. So how does this fit in with your other comment? Why shouldn't the whole corps play with "better technique" and since when is playing loud bad technique? I prefer the arrangement and the performers to make room for the soloist. If the ensemble is too loud for the soloist, then amping the soloist is the wrong change to make. First of all, progress means better sound, better audience experience. So far electronics haven't provided this. Critiquing the aural experience of a show is all about encouraging progress. If a show sounds bad, that's bad for the activity. The judges may love the sound, but if the audience doesn't, that's bad for the activity. Please don't dismiss honest criticism as a "slam".

First of all - I love how disagreeing with DCI makes you a "hater". That's a word 13 year old girls use to describe anyone who's not a Justin Beiber fan.... Sorry but if I'm not in the select handful of seats I just have to accept lousy sound? Maybe DCI should discount all but the select 20 or so seats if this is really the case. Is it your contention then that synths are only a stopgap correction for the accoustics at Lucas and will go away when the Indy contract runs out? If the mellos are playing too loud they get hit on the sheets for ensemble. Nobody seems to be doing much with the electronics from what I can gather. Part of drum corps is to evaluate the excellence of the performers. If they're blowing it they get nailed. It seems the electronics can't get it right even with an adult professional sound board engineer correcting problems while the performance is in progress. Less corps and reportedly falling attendance. Not sure how you can possibly say it's stronger. In short - crap spawns more crap....

I can't disagree anymore with your post. First off, I think both Blue Devils 2010 and Bluecoats 2010 would not be anything close to the same without their seamless electronic integration. Second, speak for yourself, the fact that DCI has decided to progress along the same lines as WGI in the natural progression of the art makes me appreciate it much more than I previously did (and therefore become a bigger fan). It's also led me and will continue leading me to audition camps, most likely at groups that are more susceptible to good electronic integration. Why? Because I enjoy their products more than others. Granted, I understand the balancing problems, but I think that the new palette of colors that groups are exploring is worth the risk. To the topic creator: Thank you for posting this. Good luck with the upcoming battle that you will fight.

OK,so let's breakdown Bloo's "tuba exposure." Opening statement: Tubas and Euphs alone, concert G mp, nothing in front of them. Opening LOUD statement: entire hornline in UNISON,tubas up front, side 2...field brass judge there every single time Opener, middle LOUD hit in Eb, tubas behind upper brass, but coming across the middle, with no one in front of them except guard Opener next entrance...all 16 in a line, with nothing in front of them, can hear every single note, and judge can get in front of them Opener closing hit,company front to end, tubas in an arc front sideline ...and alot of it split into two parts.... 2nd number, opening soft stuff..easy, until the middle F, low F octave drop...nothing in front of them 2nd number LOUD statement in Bb minor...one line of trumpets in front for a bit, then tubas in front with 8x2 block ...then their feature...which includes 100% body movement (not just marching or standing still) After that..STANDARD "in the back" drill for tubas (the ONLY part of the show I'd call "non-exposed") ..and not to mention 3-way splits in tuba feature (4 if you count the soloist, lol) ballad...tubas IN FRONT THE ENTIRE TIME, ####. Are you blind? 2-way split, melodic lines too, double-####. Can you not hear what they are doing? mostly in double-time. Yes, easy music when sitting down. Not so easy in drum corps. Closer, opening statement, tubas in front side 1, starting on Low F, and rising from there, climaxing in a tuba line company front on side 1 Closer, backfield side 2 next to drums, tubas in 2x8 block, playing "the vamp" split in octaves, with lower octave on Low G and Ab THE ENTIRE TIME, forte, growing to fortissimo, all on the back hash OR FURTHER. NO DRUM CORPS WRITER WOULD EVEN TRY DOING THIS, triple-####. Granted,at this point you can't get in front of them, but you can certainly tell what they're doing, how difficult it is, and how EXPOSED it is. NO ONE CAN SUCK! The lower part wouldn't even be heard by most tubas lines OF ALL TIME. It wouldn't even BE WRITTEN b/c of that fact. The closer alone is a testament to tuba excellence, Bloo style. ...entire closer split in 2 parts Finally, you can hear EVERY SINGLE NOTE of their show, even in the bass-muddling dome. If that's not exposure, I don't know what is. I'll be happy to provide a similar lick-by-lick example for other shows, but I can't understand the ignorance coming from people saying Bloo's book is somehow easy, or unexposed. EDIT for typos