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And Cadets already do.

Long term forecast for that Jersey City parade is 48 and sunny, which is about 40 degrees warmer than it was a couple of weeks before.

Vanguard 2015 will be entitled "The Spark of Invention" With Virus Attack by Amin Bhatia And an original composition based off of Invention no 13 in a minor by Bach. They announced this and played a bit of the show at the birthday dinner. Sounds nice.

All the years I lived in the NYC/NJ metro area, I saw the St. Patrick's Day parade in person only once. 1984... I was dating a woman who was a police officer in NJ... and she was friends with some folks on the NYC force. So she got us passes to the reviewing stand. Spent the day rubbing elbows with Mayor Koch and others. Unbelievable.

PS - very happy and proud to say that my son will be marching with JS this summer.

Not sure if any discussion on this has been started (couldn't find any recent), but with the info put out so far about the 2015 show, things sound like they could be very interesting. The title alone, "The Spark of Invention," is worthy of starting some hype (IMHO).

You're probably right. I'm not very familiar with SCV

Wow... Talk about a complete 180 from the past two seasons. I can see this show mirroring what made them so awesome in the late 1990s and mid-late 2000s.

Geez...somebody DENTED them already! What...hmmm? Oh....never mind.

"Spark" of "Invention", hmmmmm ... So ...

Live music from around 3:35:25 to 4:05:55

... Man... I simply do not want to ever know what the 76 cents was for!!!! Sin Tax ...

I had the pleasure of watching my grandson play trombone with the Fort Worth Youth Philharmonic Orchestra tonight. Up until recently I thought he was a cross-country runner, or basketball player, or baseball player that also played music, but watching his intensity on stage at Bass Hall, and listening to his playing (and watching the technique) shows me that at 14 he's a real player. Even neater is that their excellent tuba player was in Iceland looking at school (can't make this stuff up) so Kevin sat in on tuba, 2 seats over from Connor. What we do is worth something - in some cases it's worth a lot - we have inspired people to love music and to want to play better - in some cases to want to play supremely well. We've bought instruments, we've taught our kids, and more important we've gotten out of the way and gotten them better teachers when they had all we had to offer. Our activity has made a difference in the lives of thousands and thousands of kids, and almost 100% for the better - nothing's ever 100% good. The last piece tonight was "Jupiter" from Holst's "The Planets" I was listening to Connor playing the trombone part that the Cavies played - big and majestic and pulsing. Life is good. Life with music is better. Live with low brass music is best. Good night from the Lone Star State - back to frozen Boston (where it's supposed to snow again tomorrow) tomorrow night.

the alumni corps show attendance at DCA is smaller than that of prelims. And as less and less fans of "old time drum corps" are around or travelling, we'll see attendance drop unless shows become more modren, and corps younger generations had connections to start alumni corps

The schedule shows 14 shows on the West coast between June 19 and July 12. Corps numbers range from a single 4 corps lineup (in Oregon...sad, but understandable), to 12. The average is 9 (rounded up from 8.85). Also note that gthe final three shows include Louisiana Stars....and if a 2nd year corps from near the Mississippi delta can make a tour to the west coast for 3 shows (out of a total of 5,the other 2 being San Antonio and their home show), than other corps can make the trip. Given that mid-July has always been the last show weekend for the West (2007 aside), I think we've been served pretty well...it'd still be nice to have finals out here more than ONCE IN FOURTY-THREE YEARS.

I know I'm late to this answer but....what west coast are you looking at...Peru??? Open class (12): BDC, BDB, SCVC, City Sound, Columbians, Eruption, Gold, Golden Empire, Impulse, Incognito, Thunder, Watchmen World class (6): BDA, Cascdes, Mandarins, OC, PC, SCV 18 corps...13 of those in California ALONE. Not to mention 23 championships in World class, 7 in Open class, and 8 in the Div III/Div II days...plus one addtional Div II from a corps that has since folded (Esperanza). 39 titles. East coast corps numbers (not counting the prospectives)? Open class (4): 7th Regiment, Costal Surge, Raiders, Spartans, World class (5): BAC, Crown, Surf, Spirit, Cadets 9...HALF of the number of corps in California, Oregon, and Washington. # of championships: 11 Open, 11 World...22 overall (HALF of those being Cadets and Crown) You were saying?

A photo I took on August 12 2010, 1 of 4 I took that day, the other 3 were of Indy and friends. It was my first time viewing modern drum corps since 1983.

Possibly but his point remains a valid one regardless. The way she was treated on here was kind of disgusting.

EXACTLY!! With patronizing nonsense about "at least she had the good sense to dress appropriately" and whatnot, I just shake my head. Good-intentioned or not, a lot of criticism slung that judge's way smacked of sexist and it's no wonder we don't see a ton of females on judging panels (and the few I do know are the type that can argue and stand-up to the best of 'em)

Sorry, that was rude of me. I always saw it as a reference to Shostakovich's music and his defiance towards the Stalin.

DCP ding dongs overblowing a non-issue?!?! To HeII you say...

Cadets "Juxtaperformance" in 2001 comes to mind.

They'll be happy if the new judges score their corps well. If they don't, then it was a "failed experiment".

Hopefully after this season is over, those DCP posters who have been wishing for new blood will be happy.

why would you want a free day when you could have a free rehearsal block instead????

"Biggest jump" last year would've been Crown by a lot, though maybe that ending of Bluecoat's was close. Oh. PLACEMENT. My bad...

That guy attending his first drum corps show ever, sitting in the front row of a local high school stadium who looks down just before Scouts turn and blast during their closer.

Troopers. Just trust me.

I once read of the following piece of advice being given to a young athlete, who was feeling particularly intimidated by his coach. One of the assistant coaches pulled the young man aside and counseled him by saying "Just listen to what he says...not how he says it." Years later, that same player came to idolize that coach like few others.

So which is more educational for the members? Learning how to compensate by changing how you play a certain passage or having someone else turn a knob to do it for you? Main reason why I don't like the idea of using amps this way. Takes away form the educational and competative areas (we got a better score cuz we controlled the amped sound better).

THIS: (An adult in control of the sound during a judged performance when the performance/outcome is only supposed to be controlled by the performing youth) has been and will continue to be my main contention with the use of electronics in DCI.

I don't want to stray into yet another "I hate amps - I love amps" match up, but coming back to the judging intent of this thread, my concern is that the only people being evaluated at showtime should be the kids, and no adult should be influencing what happens on the field. If the guy on the mixing board screws up, is it reflected on the sheets? In my mind, it should be, but that means you're hitting the corps for what an adult did. Best answer in my mind is to eliminate the source of the controversy. I don't think electronics can be fairly judged.

demand really isn't an issue as anything electronic is mostly covered by upstairs sheets, and on GE, it's more of did it make it effective regardless of needing 1 finger or 8 fingers to push the buttons,. balance should be addressed on ensemble, tho it can bleed to effect is there are balance issues. To this day, I still suspect balance is an issue skirted by the judging community

Well, at Allentown last year a certain nameless corps had a pit member rocking out while holding a single key down with one finger for an interminable period during the closer. Butts were vibrating in seats, and the tubas were virtually inaudable. I'm sure this person is a talented musician but there's not a lot of demand in holding down one key for 30-40 counts, but there was a ton of talent being wasted in that tuba line. The effect? It annoyed the hell out of me. Great - we proved we can make a big noise lower than the range of 16 or so tubas while being considerably louder. Congrats. OK - now you proved you can do it, please stop......

Suddenly thought of South Parks (haven't watched in years) "Brown Note" episode..... You can do it but...

and apparently are only truly effective if your ### vibrates in your seat

Beating a dead horse, I know... but I'm still not getting the need for low-end "enhancement" in corps with 16-20 tubas.

I'm wondering how the music judge is going to adjust the brass score when he discovers 2/3 of the parts are being doubled on synth because the horn line can't hack it....

Good questions, and I am not sure I have all the facts correct myself, but here is how I had interpreted the rules on electronics: Amplification was still a go Electronic keyboards and synthesizers were allowed to be used but no MIDI sequencing was allowed. In other words, a performer had to be performing every note heard. Narration is still allowed, and can be judged (the human voice). However, a sample clip of narration is NOT judged because it is recorded audio (see below). The mixer/audio technician is allowed to be someone on staff. Acoustic instruments can be miced for solos if desired. When it comes to audio, corps are allowed to play audio clips (I believe only up to 20 seconds long per clip). This can be done via tape, disc, or digital audio workstation (such as a synth workstation, like the Yamaha Motif XF88). Audio Samples/Clips (No. 6) It is here that people can be a little confused, but essentially any audio clip you play is for audience effect ONLY. If it's sampled and/or looped it does not count as part of the music score (not judged), nor does it get credit on the GE sheets. In other words, it's only being done for effect to enhance the show for the fan. The Cavaliers have a violin sample this year, among other things. The Cadets use a snippet of Charlie Brown (Linus) in their closer. Stuff like that is not judged, or at least that was my interpretation. We often debate its merit, but from my knowledge of this, the only things that get judged are portions of the music score that are played in real-time in the pit or on the field. Pit Balance and the Audio Technician/Mixer - It is here that I believe some change needs to be addressed. I would prefer a student technician/mixer (just like the students on the field) who is held accountable for balance and is judged on the sheets for music performance and GE music caption. There would be no separate caption for it, but bad balances, muddiness, distortion, etc., can show up as negatives in the music captions.

Cadets 90 threw a soprano in the air if I remember correctly. Does anyone have pictures from last night? What were the new tarps along the front end?

I think Phantom '91 is the only time anyone has thrown a horn across the field for real..... (watch close at the end, when they throw the helmets, and a horn goes flying) But then again, last year in Boston's show, there was the horn toss, that was missed a couple of times. I know I always held my breath when they tried it.... It's a cool effect though for the Cadet's show, really love all of the layering they've put into this show, could really push for the title, I hope so at least.

I think we should deploy Occam's razor here. The simplest solution to all this angst is to eliminate the amps altogether. Besides creating all this hand-wringing, they attract no new fans and drive some away. Unplug drum corps - for the love of God......

Thank you for the clarifications! A much more satisfying response with both the additional responses.

Addition to Original Response: The contributions of the amplified instruments, as well as the musical contributions of electronic sounds and textures, are evaluated within the realm of the music captions. They are not separated out and treated independently from the musical presentations of the corps. There is no "A&E." If there is a concern regarding the balance or alignment, it is mentioned in Music Ensemble adjudication, using the current sheets and guidelines. Credit is only given based upon the achievement of the performers. There are no points for simply owning the equipment. If the amplified or electronic musical contribution enhances the effect and impact of the corps' musical production, credit will be given for the achievement in Music General Effect using the current criteria. There is no removal of points, or ticks, for errors since all of the scoring at DCI is based on a "build-up" system. With the recent re-organization (of the adjudication hierarchy), there are no Caption Heads, per se. Comments from several of the judges who are now Judge Liaisons for Music, and the views of the Task Force advisors were taken into account in writing the original response to the original questions posed. Perhaps we need to examine the view that DCI judging "ignores" the musical contributions of the instruments recently allowed in current competition. It has not been nor will it ever be a "free-for-all"(where corps are rewarded for merely having copious amounts of electronic gadgetry). The Corps Directors and the DCI Executive Director would not permit that to be the case. It is noteworthy, however, that those amplified and electronic contributions have not been added as a single entity (A&E) in a vacuum. They are used in context of the musical production as additional voices, textures, and timbres to broaden the musical palette, and are evaluated in context within the appropriate captions. [Additional Content Provided Below]

I did submit the question and your post sums up my reaction very well. This kind of "fluff" does little to advance anyone's understanding. I tried to ask a question that would be relatively straightforward to answer and goes the heart of many of the issues surrounding A&E. Now I feel like I wasted my time composing and submitting the question.

Oddly enough, on the other side of that spectrum (lots of cool sound effects from SCV 91), I think that Star 1993 was just as creative and innovative in it's use of space and necessity. I'm convinced there isn't one note that isn't in that percussion book that isn't absolutely vital to the overall music design, and I think it's demonstration in restraint was innovative for it's time. Also, some of the effects used in Cavaliers 2006 were incredible; not only were cool "toys" used for color, but the way the front ensemble keyboard book was orchestrated was done to incredible effect as far as the timbres used. Same with Phantom's pit intro in 2007, as far as orchestration and the way the book was written to evoke birds in flight. I'm not a huge fan of that show overall, but the pit writing, especially that intro, was pretty innovative.

Yup. '91 was Santa Clara's "Miss Saigon" show, correct? No synthesizers were needed to create the sound effect of a helicopter, just some creative use of percussion. I think that with the addition of synths, we lost a huge amount of potential for creative thinking and performance.

My ignorance over Star of Indiana is legitimate. They must have come and gone during my absence from drum corps. Nice to know that the Cavaliers and Garfield are still at it. The whole "if you don't know you wouldn't understand" comment made by another post was funny. Great to see that drum corps folks still have a sense of humor.....thanks for the clarification

If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand.