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E=McHorse Jesus Christ: Dance Derby Superstar Samurai Machine (Or better yet, West Side Samurai) Constantly Risking Juliet

To be honest, I missed the reference. Thing is, so much of what is going on here lately seems like a competition for poster with the funniest post. It often seems like this has become "Last DCP Comic Standing" and much of what is being posted is not funny.

One of the main reasons is that NY schools are in session until the end of June. Thats already 2 weeks into the season. So, no high school kids and no schools to rehearse at till almost July.

DCI 1999, Madison; BAC FINALLY made it into Finals after so many years of struggle and survival. Seeing so many alumni at finals who made last minute arrangements and came from all over the U.S. to be there to witness it and experience it with the MM's. After putting in so many years and so much effort to get to that night it was tremendous.

Mandarins, especially the year they won Div III with 9 horns. I've yet to see another performance group that could vary in size so much from year to year and yet maintain the quality the way they could back then.

Have you read Inferno to the end? It ends with their emergence from hell just before dawn on Easter morn. "We mounted up, the first and I the second, Till I beheld through a round aperture Some of the beauteous things that Heaven doth bear; Thence we came forth to rebehold the stars." A huge build and hit to Ode to Joy would be a great way to end the show.

I couldn't agree more. To me this is the Blue Knights. So simple but so effective.

I'd merge those "Demons" and "Angels" shows from 2011....

Since we are in the lull period between seasons and leading up to another exciting LIVE season, I am offering my services again on a limited basis. I say limited since I do this voluntary only and I do have a full time job so please be patient. I only have capacity to work on a few projects. In another thread Eleran posted how it would be nice to have judging on show design. I agree. Anything to bring more involvement to the league then just caption crunching. There was a time we had some pretty active directors here. Show design is not my skill but I can assist graphically. If you are a new director and are in say need of corps logos I have done this work in the past. I have also built corps banners, show posters, and some uniform work on a template built by a previous OP. I have not updated this link in a long time but it does show some of my previous work for directors here. http://starorg.awardspace.com/starorg_creations.htm Here is also a uniform rendering (below) in this format I spoke about. This was a previous version done for the Polaris Regiment. If interested in assistance please PM me.

Counting down to lock...

AND let's not forget a few parade corps in lower New York with great programs, the Saints and 20th century and the Brassmen where all 3 reward it's college age members with LARGE academic scholarships. These are all great corps doing the right things.

Last time I checked, the Sunrisers were a New York corps and have been on the fast track to success since Dave Hobart and Larry Visconti assumed leadership. New York drumcorps isn't just upstate.

I was going to name the thread " 2muchcoffee" but thought that would encroach into your domain..

Double the travel time between shows because there will be a bathroom break every 10 feet or so... ...can't tell there are no yard lines.

Having missed out on that experience myself (I marched in '85 and '86) I can really appreciate that. I can't call it a regret since I wouldn't have marched anywhere else, but I am saddened that I never had that experience. I do feel pride though anytime I see them knowing that without our '86 group persevering through a very difficult year there very well may have not been a Crossmen anymore.

Being on the field performing in Finals was the highlight for me. Outside of that I think about the crowd reaction at the end of Madison '97 Another highlight was the class shown by the members of BD towards the members of Crown when they won their first title in '13 (same could be said of BD and Bluecoats this past summer for each other as well)

I had the opportunity to meet this young gentleman, and his parents. Yes could he play, a special hookup was made for him with push buttons on the wheelchair, these activated the valves. he had lots of air to fill the horn, great intonation I did some work on his Willson baritone. His father stated this youngster is probably more adjusted to life than 90% of all others. One day at a time. He even sat in his wheelchair and helped load the trailer. Yes this was someone special Paul Collins The Brass Shop

The 1971 Audubon Girls... General Butler Vagabonds of the early '70s... New London Surfers... Americanos 1994...

Carolina Crown: Hit: 2012 (Both variations from the show) Miss: 2006 (Uniforms are kinda boring and the two colors just do not go together) Next up: Santa Clara Vanguard

I'm with Big Bad Man on this. I too was part of the hype machine here especially in 07. I always have hope for the Scouts, but it's become hard. In the 90's almost the whole corps was from WI, so if anything the talent pool is so much bigger than it was, hut they are going else where. At some point they will realize that announcing a show is a good buzz generator. Look at what the Cadets have done this winter. I left this site for a few years, hut came back ever hopeful again. I'm very excited about the changes and hope for a great year. Big Bad Man is calling it like he sees it, period. I agree with him almost all the time. We both want a great show, a return to the top 6, some screaming soloists etc...

Well, if it helps to preserve you.

Blue Knights: Hit: Unfortunately, I caught someone massively ticking (check the feet), but the 1992 uniform is one of the iconic looks in the history of DCI: 1984-1990 (the miss)... not so much. Next Up... Carolina Crown

Upon first reading, I missed the "L" in the middle... All of which made me want to respond "Ancient Show with members wearing double-breasted Chest Plates."

Garfield Cadets 1985 and Phantom Regiment 1996. It'd be a 24-minute show.

...To Tilt for America

Waffles, purple pants, and #toomuchsynth

Though I thought Crown's 2013 semi performance was stronger than finals performance (only by a hair)' their finals performance was still electrifying and had that certain "it" quality that made it an amazing finals, but for me it was an encore performance I will never forget, in Foxboro, MA, pre Gillette days, in 1994. On that hot, murky night, ecstatic fans who had already enjoyed a great show were treated to 27th's "Once More in 94," perhaps my favorite drum corps moment ever.

"there's no one size fits all for a mouthpiece, but I think you all should play on this..." seriously. bah.

1972...DCI's first Finals night. Warhawk Stadium, Whitewater, Wisconsin. The announcer was down to the final three corps when the tornado thundered its force. The winds drowned out the announcement of the Blue Stars in second place. The order was given for all corps to evacuate the field immediately, leaving equipment if necessary. A four foot high chain link fence surrounded the field with only two small gates at the corners of the backfield. The order also called for the evacuation of the 15,000 members of the audience who had already begun to flee the non-protected grand stand bleachers (that is, no sky boxes, domed roof, or any cover.) The nearest building at that time was 1/4 of a mile across open fields. Many, many of the audience and corps were from areas unfamiliar with tornadoes. This was the night that running was invented as DCI's principal training exercise. That no one was killed or seriously hurt stands as a miracle even to today. No one heard the Anaheim Kingsmen announced as the first winners. This was an age before cell phones, internet, no texting, and no protection to score sheets. That DCI survived its first championship is quite the highlight.

Could you imagine if they didn't win? That crowd was so hyped up on Phantom. BD had a decent show too...but still. Everyone thought they were Spartacus... haha

1986 at the end of retreat - SCV turned to face the champion BD and saluted them by blasting Great Gate at Kiev to them.

This has been discussed many times before. The only way a drum corps can survive a lower cost per member is to have equipment, uniforms, gas, food and facility costs go down. Those who are involved on the business side of the activity know what I am getting at. The post about the music summer camp (sorry, I dont remember the posters name) is very accurate, just sending your child to any overnight camp for a week will cost close to $2000. Compared to that, any corps is a bargain. Seems like a lot of the talk is about the cost of marching in a world class corps. For some students, that is the only kind of corps they will march in, wether they are good enough or not. One thing that is not memtioned is how some corps will string you along having you come back for 3-4 camps then cut you when a vet comes back, or make you an alternate dragging props for the summer at $100-$150/camp, but that is beating the dead horse as they say. Depending on where the OP lives, are there any open class corps in the area. They are usually cheaper, but you do not tour the whole summer. Tradeoffs. The corps Im with has quite a few lower middle class and poor college students. We set up payment terms (including a 12 mo payment schedule) to help out, run fundraisers once a month, we give them a sponsor letter with instructions on who to go after, point them to sponsor me pages, and ask the alumni to help out. With all that, some still can not come up with the funds to march. I guess if the child wants to be in a drum corps, there are ways it can get done. If they only want to be in a world class corps, all I can say is you have to abide by their rules and policies.

This is a veeeeery slippery slope. As both a HS music teacher as well as being just a year and change away from being a HS music father, I get both sides of that coin. I think (hope) what you meant to say is something similar to "at the HS level, do parents have a little more say in the direction of the marching band: if there is no interest, or means, for the group to compete, say, at BOA Nationals then the band director would have a hard time forcing that issue." As far as "goals" of a music program, that is typically, and should be, dictated by the music directors: they are the ones with training, degrees, credentials, and experience. Directors and parents both want what's best for their students, and I would defer to the teacher/band director nearly every time when it comes to goals of a program & the best way and means of achieving those goals (note, so as not to appear too biased, my current 7th grade son will not be attending my high school, so I will not be his teacher)

Director's bracket - Harold Robinson: Founder Crossmen Instructor's bracket - Mark Thurston (Percussion arranger/caption head) Crossmen

Drum corps experience is already becoming a requirement or preference on many band openings. Band director friend on the hunt told me he has seen it (and did not apply since he never marched) and a quick Google search confirms this. And it will only become more prevalent as drum corps becomes more accepted by traditional music education. If you hope to become a band director, marching drum corps is a good idea.

That? That was two years ago, not last year.

The hype is really gaining momentum!

That's because they have so many vets returning. (3-5 year vets).

I just don't buy the Hannum magic anymore and don't think he'll improve them that much. I mean, what has he honestly done lately at the DCI level. Hall of Famer for sure, and deserved. But lately, what's been the quality output. I just don't buy that this will be a step up. Especially since last year he was there and nothing changed, IMO. I don't buy it.

Like what Centerville High School did this past season with their show "A View Askew"

I get your point. However, that was 2.475 2014 points. New season, new shows, new members in every Corps... Score differential means little in year-by-year comparisons.

Bluecoats moving ahead to first place may not be al that far fetched. In the past few years, namely 2010, 2012, and 2013 many believed they were underrated, and while I probably was in that camp myself, I'm not sure who was ahead of them that I would placed behind them, but there was a recognizable spark and it's pretty obvious they are working at moving in an upward direction. When I recall 2012 and 2013, I see great shows with amazing elements and great musical books, but some flaws. As much as I loved what the guard did in 2012, when they were completely "Unmasked" I thought they looked a bit like the Walton's in their longjohns. The guard was great in 2013 too, but their attire while in keeping with the theme of the show, was not distinct. In comparison 2014 was somewhat minimalist, but the minimalism allowed a raw energy and passion to come through that I'm not sure I always associate with Bloo. If you combine what worked in 2012, 2013, and 2014 you have a major contender. It reminds me a bit of Crown We saw amazing shows from Crown prior to 2012, with great elements though a bit flawed. 2012 had a raw energy that if it had been channeled effectively could have topped Blue Devils if not at finals, at least at times during the season, but 2013 had Crown's strongest horn line to date, along with those great Crown moments so many of us love, with some original elements. So the question is did we see a "Grass is Always Greener" from Bloo to be followed with a "A Second Chance" and a 4th placed finish or was "Tilt" their equivalent of "For the Common Good" to be followed by an "e=MC2" ?

Same team that designed TILT designed 2013 and they placed 5th. I understand what your saying but Bluecoats need to be consistently hovering in the top 3 before having a shot at the gold although if you look at CROWN, they nailed the silver medal in 2009, a few fourth places, silver 2012 and gold 2013 so I guess we can see a similar trend with coats only they fell deeper and got stuck there longer after their 2010 silver medal before popping a silver medal in 2014. Hen again, there is staff retention issues but Coats certainly have a great staff in place now. Heck, they're all Cadets alumni.

True, but it's also important to consider that in order to move up, someone else has to move down. So far, we've seen lots of predictions about corps moving up, but none of them ever seem to include who they will pass in order to ascend. It's also important to remember that a corps can get better in terms of quality, design, and execution, yet still fail to move up (particularly if those above them also improve).

Oh, heard that one before too.

Oh? They're using trampolines again? Ba-dump-tsss

For sure, and I've ALWAYS found corps directors very upfront, honest, and sometimes blunt to a fault whenever I've emailed them specific questions about a show or policy. I don't email them often, but when I have I've gotten great responses. For me, the difference between, "it would be cool to hear some design commentary over BD 2014, especially being a movie nerd/lover of Fellini" vs "I'm gong to email Scott Chandler and grill him about nuances I might've missed the first time" are significant. To me, it's not really important enough to bug the director or designer, though I would listen to/buy commentary track on FN for that show in particular, and many other shows. Maybe if I trolled more designers/directors on social media I'd have better luck; Hop seems to have minimal problems replying to FB/Twitter questions about show design stuff maybe other designers are similar. I guess I mostly look at this as a wasted opportunity for DCI/individual corps. At the very least it could give their fans appreciation for shows they don't love & a better appreciation for shows they do love. It would educate fans on what goes into a show design, why imagery or music or visual design is happening and what designers hoped to represent, etc. I get saving room on discs for HD, and I even get logistically maybe it's not doable (i.e. maybe designers just don't have the time, or want to spend the time talking about shows after spending so much time already getting them on the field). But it's a cool thing DCI used to do and I think it would be a benefit if they brought it back.

More on that webinar on 2005, that I can remember: I think I had heard this before -- but they went in the "weird" direction after looking at the survey results from the 2004 members at the end of 2004. The members were ready to do what makes Cadets Cadets -- push the envelope, lead and not follow. The design of the show lead the music book. They mapped out how they wanted much of the show to flow, including the drill imagery in the Liquid number (e.g., "16 counts then waterfall, 24 counts then shower head, 32 counts then umbrella, etc.), and Jay took Equus as inspiration and crafted his own music book to fit the flow of the show. Obviously Sully took inspiration from Tarantino, Hitchcock, Herrmann. Sully thinks the Dancer in the Dark movement was some of the best stuff in Cadets history. Reminded me of the hellish mishaps with the amps early on in the season. Wireless mics were not working well at all. They had an awful first show, and Hop said one of the judges only had Cadets up by a little because they were Cadets ("I don't know how to judge that..."). Putting drumspeak in the show was one of the easiest and uncontested additions to the show. Came from when Hop saw some show in a theater or something, and during intermission some guy(s) were doing drumspeak/beatboxing. He thought "man, we can do that, and a lot better". They were frustrated with getting through to the audience in 2005 and very obviously 2006. Reminded me that they added more Twilight Zone material to the beginning before the doorbell. For 2006, Sully got on his soapbox a bit and defends the show content and approach. He does have a point that Cadets 2005-2006 really is what modern DCI now. We can have a whole thread on that...

I was hoping on finals night that George would come out of the door in a school girl uniform.