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Remember September 12, 2001? We were shocked... we were angry ... we were grieving ... we were raw. But ... We were gentler with each other ... we were tenderhearted toward each other ... we were kinder toward each other ... we were united. May we grow back into that latter space.

I'm pretty sure God is telling them to fold the tents on this organization. The optics on this are just terrible and they apparently can't do anything right. Hopefully the newer new director will be smarter than the last two were. It doesn't seem to be a very high bar to hurdle. Who in their right mind has an employee get injured on the job and then dumps them at the hospital and never follows up with them again? The Cadets better hope there is more to the story because that is about as sorry and callous of a response an employer could have.

More than anything else I remember being pi$$ed and resolved. I shared in the 9-11 thread where I was when it started. On 9-15 my ship served as the armed escort for several oil tankers headed into the Persian Gulf to pick up fuel for the naval force that was assembling. Normally when you go thru the Straights of Hormuz you get harassed by small boats from Iran and Oman. They point guns at us, get in our way, shoot flares, etc and we just ignore them. But on 9-15 we were ready to light somebody up. We took the tankers in at flank speed with our ship at battle stations. We had all of our guns loaded, both helicopters in the air with hellfire and penguin missile, 2 F18s circling overhead and a P3 Orion flying next to us with Harpoon missiles loaded. If someone took a crack at us it was going down. On that transit, the Iranians didn’t even come out of port. They knew it was the wrong time to play games with the American warships. We actually got a bridge -to-bridge call from an Iranian warship (in-port) and all he said was “good job USA”.

During my many years working with the Cadets and other drum corps, I had torn my labrum, torn my ACL, Broke my big and middle toes, broke fingers and had multiple 2nd and 3rd degree burns. I even had a big azz chair fall on my head. I never thought about suing a drum corps and I'm sure they would pay my hospital fees if asked.

Sure, we can stop talking about marching bands and just get fans from off the street. Yes, that was sarcasm.

No, the $75,000 is the threshold of damages in order for you to file a complaint in federal court. So, he's saying his damages are over $75,000. The number of counts of the complaint don't have anything to do with that monetary figure.

Looks like YEA / Cadets are being sued over a workplace accident last summer. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/16135225/1/antonelli-v-youth-education-in-the-arts/ Note - as actual court documents (with names) have been filed I don't think this falls under the 'undocumented accusation' aegis.

2008 Spartacus. Watch her head hit the ground. No props involved but that looked like it hurt.

They should be, but they aren't. DCI does require that they meet certain OSHA requirements, but there's no formal inspection process when it comes to the quality of the construction, etc. That will probably change by next year.

You're absolutely right. I would not read too much into some of the comments here. I think some folks are getting off base. I don't think anyone here is saying BD didn't win. BD won, fair and square. Bluecoats were really close. Both were super successful shows. Although there is only one winner in each division, most people do not leave a drum corps shows thinking about losers. Typically after Finals, or any show, I think about how successful all the corps were, especially those that made top 12. But many of the corps in the 13 - 30+ range have had amazing summers. DCI is more of a positive activity for youth to perform. We are not putting 2 corps on the field at the same time and having them beat the snot out of each other like in football. There is some subjectivity to the scoring system, so there will always be debate over who won, who should have won, who you liked best. It's all good and fair, but I wouldn't take it to mean anything more than it does -- we all have favorites. From a purely competitive standpoint, I think DCI got it right. From an entertainment perspective, the fans won because there were many great shows this year.

On a related note, I have noticed modern drum corps now involves running around and climbing/hanging on props such as scaffolds, ladders, see-saws, impromptu mini-stages, and various other OSHA nightmares. I assume members now sign wavers and corps have liability insurance?

It's going to be a really long off season!

World domination.

None of you are "right". Money is fungible, so you cannot make absolute proclamations of fact about which corps expenses cause member dues to rise vs. increasing other sources of corps income. You are all entitled to their opinions, though. (So am I. My opinion is that regardless of who pays, additional truckloads of props make the activity more expensive.)

How so? Corps already turn away many who audition, at today's costs. A summer of DCI is a very good deal as opposed to activities like Interlochen summer music camps. Soundsport groups are springing up, and they cost much less than WC competitive corps. That plus the occasional new Open class corps. World Class corps are there for the elite. That is true. But, it is supposed to be the very top of the marching/music food chain, with thousands of bands at varying levels making up what used to be hundreds of smaller class 'B' corps.

There have been fatal, prop related, performer accidents in recent years on Broadway as well as in Cirque de Soleil; I fear the current 'props arms race' in DCI will lead to a performer getting seriously injured (or worse). IDK how much the recent emphasis on safety addresses props, but I think prop safety is something that needs to be closely scrutinized.

before we draw conclusions it might be best to let it play out...

I’ve been contemplating your comment for the last five minutes, and I can’t figure out if you’re serious, or if I missed something? I would like to see some minimalism. Classy and understated, but also complex and interesting.

Wow, this type of thing sure does show who the haters are. In one thread, they pretend to be supportive. Then an allegation like this happens, and those same people show their true colors. It’s pretty funny. Shut this corps down. They suck. Directors are all incompetent. Yada yada yada. We have only heard one side so far.

The only people who should be upset about how the teaching staff are selected are fans of the corps that finished outside of the top 12. Who cares what the color of their skin is or anything else for that matter? If they can teach, that’s good enough for me.

eh - the insurance company will settle this out of court. The document is designed to make it look as bad as possible - that's its purpose. as for non-communication the insurance company would provide a claim number and the reps would handle all communication and follow up - not YEA! as far as not transporting him home - perhaps more to that story? zero idea

That's just my mentality, I assume there are risk on tour. I try to be very careful but I wouldn't put myself in harms way. I wouldn't pick metal objects off the field during a lightning storm or jump into a dumpster of rusty cans but I expect to work very hard and look after my own well-been and if I get hurt I patch up and get back on the wagon.

Ok, I'll drop out from the convo and see you at Finals 2025. Yeah, right.

All I will say is that is a lot more nuanced than the first statement states. I was there when unwarranted criticism was levelled at 2018 finals, and I won't forget it.

Yeah, I got knocked silly , I had to sleep that one off. If it doesn't kill me, I'm pretty much good to go.

The document lays out the basic framework for the legal claim. It will get fleshed out with testimony, evidence, etc as the process moves forward.

I understand why DCI does it (better price with long term contract, centrally located, etc.), but it was more interesting when finals were held in various cities. Indianapolis could not be a more boring place.

It sounds like he didn't even get a coffee the way he likes his coffee.

What are we brainstorming towards? Increasing attendance at finals? Keeping corps around or at least enough to have a finals? Does DCA itself have any goals? I read their "About" on the website and summed up, we provide rules and encourage corps to be entertaining, but stay away from DCI rules. If DCA has no real interest in investing time in effort in growing the product, there isn't much that can be done. Even the low hanging fruit of sending out a mini poster to high school and college bands in the adjacent areas doesn't seem to be of much interest. I think it's just continue to coast until there are only 7-8 corps and keep lobbying for handrails.

As we used to say in the radio biz, where people changed jobs on a regular basis... he had a cup of coffee at YEA.

Amen and how soon we forget our differences make us stronger...

Today, when top corps audition hundreds of 18-21 year olds from all over the globe and pick the best among them, there is no need. Back when no one fielded a full corps, memberships ranged from 12 to 21 in age, corps members had to be local, and few brought prior experience/established talent the day they signed up, there was a much greater temptation to keep a key performer a little longer.

I’m thinking it was a big azz Bloo chair. 😂

REALLY wish Cadets would tackle the Ambient music genre. There are so many ballads that are just WAITING to be played.

Show design concepts isn’t the only poor judgement being made within YEA.

I put in my order (first time for me) while at Indy. I just got an email today about placing an order, so I guess they haven't processed anything yet.

My first Finals in 1974.... 12 corps at Finals and bottom 2 scored 40 something. Next year and more corps at Prelims.... 10 corps Finals. 😲

And keep on plugging... know that feeling👍

Not processed yet!

PBS? The same PBS that won't carry DCI with afar larger national footprint? The PBS that dropped drum corps because people didn't honor peldges and gets higher rating from repeats of Yanni concerts?

CYO only had juniors competing, but had specific rules about who could march, but they changed over the years. At first, you had to be Catholic and live within the parish boundaries. Non Catholics were later allowed but had to live within the boundaries and could not be more than 20% of the corps. Then the rules changed and if your parish did not have a drum corps, drill team, or band, you could join the one in the parish nearest you with permission of the pastor. The final rule was that 50% had to be from the parish but I’m not sure that was enforced since many of the corps that competed in the circuit were not church affiliated. There was also a rule you could not jump from one corps that competed in the CYO or Eastern Mass Circuits without one year of a hiatus. That was rarely enforced and by the mid 1970’s it was not enforced at all.

How about a band competition on Facebook? Post a video of your high school band playing their favorite song on Facebook and tag DCA. Every week DCA will select one band and highlight them on their website / Facebook page. Every band that enters will be in the running to win Finals tickets for their entire band and they can perform, if desired. I'm guessing that there are 200 unsold tickets for Finals. The band provides their own transportation. This gets the bands involved in the competition, they follow DCA for updates on the competition, if the whole band is involved in creating the video they will all be made aware of DCA, waiting for the results and the weekly updates will provide engagement. Just trying to come up with something that wouldn't cost a lot, will engage people most likely to be or become interested in DCA and doesn't require a lot of work on DCA's part. I'll take a wild guess that they would view giving away tickets as a huge expense, but it's only an expense if those seats would be filled otherwise. Likely that DCP members would be happy to assist with compiling contact lists for band directors.

I missed that. Missed the Auburn thing too. But at least I was around when 1984 Les Eclipses were disqualified. It may have been 1985 by the time the action was taken - the LPs shipped with them still included. I have no recollection. I only meant that I doubt DCI holds their corps directors to a higher standard than government agencies in determining document authenticity.

I couldn't agree more.

Ethnic diversity and finances go hand in hand. Sutasaurus is on the money in this regard.

This was only Indy. Your comment needs to be on the Allentown survey thread. On second thought, since Dan A's cell phone number is at the bottom of the survey under his signature, maybe that's why they left you and Terry out. Make that now his "old" cell phone number.😄

Big company front coming up... as that horn line gets ready to knock the stands down!!!

“But mister, I identify as a 21 year old.” ”Well then can you at least move your walker out of the way?”

It'd be the first ever brawl in the stands over whether A Day in the Life or Hey Jude is better to end a marching band show with. Mike

I don’t even know what the drug is supposed to do but the way they show marching band is pathetic. The director is on the field “directing” and doesn’t direct in time. She has some goofy expression on her face that is so fake it makes me want to throw something at the tv. The band doesn’t even march in time. There is a scene where the football team almost collides with the band—as if the two would ever be on the field at the same time! It’s like the worst SNL fake tv spot ever made but it’s real. Get off my lawn!