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Mike McIntosh posted this today...

With the return of JD Shaw and some of the old staff, I've compiled a list of the top 15 songs from phantom regiments past that they should revisit in 2020 1. They 2. Need 3. To 4. Move 5. Forward 6. And 7. Not 8. Keep 9. Playing 10. Music 11. From 12. Their 13. Past 14. Shows 15. Death Hunt

Yup. Blue states like Cali, Illinois and New York are driving businesses and residents out at record rates. They are bad at governing.

Occasional OT items are ok, but if you want to start a discussion on a totally separate topic, such as women in design and teaching positions, please feel free to start a new topic.

Please refrain from personal commentary about posters and their motives, etc... Focus on corps staff changes, which is the point of the thread, after all.

Sounds like a bunch of constant complainers about the current state of social affairs these days.

This I can agree with. Especially when the conversation has led to "here is an example of when a blue state made a decision, therefore blue states can't govern." That's as bad as "I'm a woman and didn't want to teach drum corps, therefore all women have the same opportunity to decline." Heuristics being thrown about left and right.

Bluecoats https://bluecoats.com/news/2019/9/5/staff-design-and-production-teams-gear-up-for-2020

The judges still watch for clean feet? I thought they were interested in how the props moved across the field and what pretty shapes you make with them. Bonus points for being able to place soloists and entire sections on them.

I have a novel idea. How about the person that is best qualified for the position regardless of what naughty parts they have or what type of naughty parts the choose to engage with is selected. Isn't that the definition of equality, you know, actually looking at someone based on their qualifications?

I’ll leave this right here https://regiment.org/2020-design-staff/

Just quoting for two reasons: 1) Gotta like stuff about the home team, and 2) can we get back to the topic of staff announcements? Gender stuff is worth talking about - but maybe in its own thread please?

I’m not jumping into that pool. I’m just wishing a nice person well.

Well...the kid patched together enough academic, music, and ensemble scholarships that I'm technically not paying for him to go to college ( very little anyway). He paid his first year of tour fees. I figured for the education he's getting tour fees can be classified as "tuition". If he keeps his current educational trajectory ( i.e. grades) and graduates with 6 years of competitive drum corps, 4 with the Cavaliers and 2 as a Drum Major, I figure he's done about all he can do to get ready to go work in this crazy field.

JD Shaw’s headshot could not look creepier

I think where he’ll really help is just making sure that whatever movement they do is uniform and still looks good. Even in this day of ramps and pedestals, corps still march and I would hope that keeping that looking clean still counts for something. Tony thinks up all the crazy stuff and Bob helps the marchers pull it off.

good grief. I'm pretty sure this thread is meant to be FUN

Ridiculous. Stop looking for gender issues.

Moderators!!!!!

See, that’s funny. I am chuckling. I hope I’m not scolded.

Generally speaking -- an organization, a team, a person, a company, even a planet, for that matter ... are never static. They are either going up, or they are going down, almost nothing stays the same. Given the number of participants left standing, I don't think anyone can honestly state that DCA is growing in any way. From the outside perspective, it seems to be fighting for survival now. Maybe not financially (I have no idea), but in terms of relevance to the community. There are many reasons for this, many have nothing to do with drum corps, but DCA is off the radar for many people now, fans and members. This is nobody's fault, the answer is not to point fingers or lament about how things were in 1982. Society, the country, music, the activity -- everything is different than 1982. Everything is different than 2002, in fact. What worked before will not work now. But unless DCA takes serious, brave and intelligent steps soon, to change with the times and evolve as a competitive circuit, and to increase participation in the community on all levels ... dark days lie ahead.

If you weren’t watching you might swear it’s Bluecoats. Why more corps don’t do this style of music is beyond me.

Now it is time for them to program my annual demand...er...request and do the Janacek Sinfonietta. Nothing else is worth doing. Well, maybe not! I'm sure they'll have a great show in 2020... ...pssstttt....do the Janacek

There are numerous corps out there that would be improved overnight by naming Will Pitts as their new arranger...IMHO.

In many ways I feel bad about the situation. I did not find his arrangements as horrible as some who post on the site have, but I do agree the arrangements were not “Phantom Regiment.” I do feel that Will Pitts will land with both feet on the ground. He could even be exactly what another corps needs. It would not be the first time a different situation yields different results.

I wish him well. I don’t know him but he seems like a really nice guy.

That's some yummy word salad you got there.

I'm sure your career/life is an amazing thrill-ride that's worthy of public dissection.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart Will.

lots of conversation about 2007 Cadets lately - here they are

I really like your take on things. Just wanted to comment on a few of these years. 1990 - Cadets were definitely the cleaner corps, but you can definitely make a case that Star could have won. Star of Indiana could have won from 1990 - 1993. It didn't happen, but there is an argument to be made. 1993 - I definitely think the rain hurt some performances. Star and Cadets did not have clean Finals runs. Monster shows by both. The Cadets visual program in 93 was really the height of what I call the whiplash or "run & gun" era. And Star was the future in so many ways. But if that Finals show was judged by today's sheets I do believe Phantom Regiment would have won. Much cleaner finals run and still tons of GE. In the end, the two best corps of that summer were Cadets and Star, and while Cadets got the nod, Star definitely changed the activity much the way Garfield did in 1982/83. 2007 I still give to Cadets, but you're right...the narration was cringe worthy and totally ruined that show for many fans. What a shame. What a corps! 2012 I have to admit I have not been a big fan of Blue Devils 2012, but with a lot of people I respect on here talking about that show more and more, I am beginning to explore it once again. I know other BD fans loves it, too. I decided to watch it in full the other day. I definitely dig it much more now. I had forgotten how harmonically beautiful the 2nd tune was (after the opening hits). They are constantly moving, too, and the overall visual program is way beyond what Crown did that year. I agree, too, that Crown's color choices were not to their advantage. Definitely going to watch more 2012 BD to get a better feel for the show. But I really love Crown's music from that year. 2018 - I could see this. SCV was awesome. I wasn't as fond of the first 3 or 4 minutes, but the rest of this show was unreal. What an ending! It is one of my top 10 endings of all time. Performance wise they were a beast.

Idk, for me inferno didn't have the member talent and insane music book and visual design that Power of 10 had (in terms of cleanliness and music book difficulty/achievement) nor did it have the conceptual depth/complexity that Ink had. Had it not been for the fact that the Cadets had a director who basically self sabotaged the show with those black unis, I think the Cadets would've taken the silver that year and possibly the gold. Inferno had the audience appeal much like Tilt did, but it takes more than just GE to win a championship.

Troopers announce caption heads Tim Leonelli Brass Lauren Teel Percussion Andres Hernandez Visual Samantha Madayag Color Guard Steven Strom Sound

To be fair to Will, I think we should realize that the leadership of PR dictates a lot of the direction and style of their shows. Will might be capable of writing Session 44 but there is no doubt the PR leadership would not allow it.

I don’t recall anyone saying anything negative about Will other than that his arrangements weren’t complex or interesting enough for a finalist corps. I don’t think anyone dislikes Will personally.

Brilliant. The laughter that brought deserves more than an emoji

Overly sensitive, too politically correct for their own good, offended by everything, always stirring the pot, operating with a "just because" mentality, social justice hipsters.

I’m thrilled and sad @ the same time. I don’t see Will’s name in the article. I truly want the best for him! I hope he remains in some capacity.

And there it is!!!!

Congratulations to Travis Larson on becoming caption head of Blue Stars Brass.

Thankful that there is really no breaking news out of Rosemont. Got to witness that team for 11 days in California and another 4 in Indy. Stability is the order of the day. Cavaliers will only get better. That swing out west this year was great for recruiting for 2020...and they have so much to build on.

Nothing that can be said while the Statutes are still in effect

Shouldn't that be Yea!?

There were no women in Norwood Park’s hornline in the fall of 1971. I walked in and said I wanted to play French Horn bugle. And I was in the line that day. Sometimes, you have to tell them what YOU want.

Just hire the best people. This never helps women. Usually, the qualified women don’t get the gig or the board position because they’re forced to appoint or hire the wrong one. Women are doing pretty well. I don’t feel oppressed at all.

Interesting it’s staged, very little traditional drill AND put on the field and arranged by many of the folks rejoining cadets team this winter also interesting is the full stadium standing O at the early season performance (June 2002)

The wording you choose to express your opinion (not a fact)(and which I have emphasized in bold so you can't miss it) is probably an example of what others may see as your condemnatory de-escalation of the person, not merely his score (both meanings.) Besides it's the opinion of a piccolo player complaining about a sax player.

I am actually OK with the judges’ choices ... except for 1980 ... 27th Lancers were the obvious champions ... every other year they were right on! 😂

I’d love to hear any stories of women applying for drum corps gigs and not getting them because they were given to men. I tried teaching band over forty years ago and quickly found out it wasn’t for me. And they wanted me to do it. I couldn’t stifle my laughter when I told a kid to hold up his horn and he said that he was exhausted from a long day at school. I was done.

Wow. People get super uncomfortable when inequality is pointed out. Reminds me of that quote... "When you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression." The state of California finally passed a law forcing organizations to address sexist and discriminatory behavior. The state now requires all publicly-held corporations whose principal executive offices are in California to have at least one female director on their boards by Dec 31, 2019. This law will soon apply to non-profit corporations. There is a big difference between a BOD and governance, but are y'all actually saying there aren't any capable females to be a caption head or serve on a design team? Or are you saying Blue Stars has a right not to have any females in leadership positions? Fact: one of the most important youth organizations can do to protect youth is have a diverse group of adult leaders so youth have an increased liklihood of having an adult to talk with/confide to. Y'all can get angry all you want. Speaking out against inequality is important to do. I hope you reflect on your discomfort and spend some time thinking about why someone pointing out gender inequality makes you so uncomfortable. Bless your hearts.