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Absolutely. The junior corps I was with.... our "warmup and stretching" before starting drill practice, on whatever (often poor) surface, consisted of "mark time, march!!!" and off we went.

Can you split hairs and be offended any more than you are? Jeezes. Maybe/likely fired band director has money, family or a garage somewhere to live in. Heaven forbid.

https://bostoncrusaders.org/2019/10/boston-crusaders-welcome-kevin-shah-mike-jackson-and-more-for-2020/ Huge!!!!! BAC scores the biggest free agents of the off season!!!

Wow... same with my dad!!!! A NJ Teamsters local... not the one controlled by Tony Pro... but still not for the faint of heart. LOL My dad was a truck driver, mostly in and out of NYC, a lot of work at the NY/NJ ports.... and was good at schmoozing the Longshoremen who ran those docks with an iron fist. He never had a problem with them. And occasionally brought home an item or two that fell off the back of a truck.

My dad was a teamster in a very tough local. Grew up knowing many of his fellow teamsters. Never heard mention of being in the street but the other term was more probable. It always made me nervous when we’d get together to go fishing. LOL

If the Teamsters say "on the street" means fired/suspended, I'm going with that. LOL Never mess with the Teamsters. Or one might end up not on the street, but at the bottom of one's local river.

https://bostoncrusaders.org/2019/10/boston-crusaders-welcome-kevin-shah-mike-jackson-and-more-for-2020/ THE BAC BOD does it again!!! Huge news for the Corps as a whole, Not just the percussion. I figure that their style will have an influence on some of the Music and programming they do to incorporate and bring some of that signature Mike Jackson and Kevin Shah style that have made Broken City such a success in recent years. I really like that the BOD is tackling their weaknesses head on and addressing them right away with the exact thing that they needed, a fresh style change to the writing and they are getting it from the trendsetters in the activity. BRAVO!!!! I can wait to see what this team puts together.

I remember once Dunkin Donuts and orange soda

this was my first thought. i can only imagine that meeting with administration and the director today.

How about just marching. When I see people I marched with the 1st thing most people talk about is the bad knees from all that marching on every surface possible.

having seen sweaty feet lead to some sliding on tarps....

If you polished those bucks enough, they became hard as a rock.

If not, then there are some seriously conflicting styles working together...

So, is Colin and his crew out at Boston?

Man just remembered who made the bucks I wore starting 1972.... Hushpuppies.... supposed to use white chalk to keep them white... dream on.... 1979 Westshore got new black units so black dress shoes... got them Hills Department Store (remember them?) in Indiana, PA. Lol And to stay with foot health. Lastly special marching shoes from ???. #### things didn’t come in wide size for my arthritic toe joints. Only purely marching shoes were the ones I had the biggest problem

Lol the one year I was in college MB it was white bucks and sides of the soles were black (made no sense to me either). Westshoremen had all white bucks then so wide black magic marker to make the sides black for MB. Then after that mess Testors white paint to make the edges white again for DC. White shoe polish and white paint... go figure...

I think with Indy being under contract for a decade I’d rather see the regionals moved! Trust me, it’s about the same price for me to fly direct from Boston to Honolulu right now that it is to have to an indirect flight to little old Indy with no hub so I don’t want to go there but reluctantly spend the money. Regionals should rotate between a list something similar to this and not every region has one every year. Teams not touring near the regions don’t have to go to the opposite coast maybe that makes centrally located ones a Super Regional Championship with every corps and the other regions have most corps West Pasadena (Rose bowl) Denver Southwest (Super Regional) San Antonio Dallas (AT&T) Midwest St. Louis Madison Columbus Southeast (Super Regional) Atlanta Charlotte Nashville East Boston (Gillette) NYC (MetLife)

Yeah... DCA would have to find a wealthy alum with a drum corps background. LOL.

I have not heard of outside activities like marching band being allowed to use the Princeton stadium. Close to Princeton (which is indeed a nice stadium with terrible parking,) is the stadium at TCNJ in Ewing. USBands used to run the Central Jersey Regional there; the band I taught went there each year. There are lots of great restaurants in Princeton on Nassau St, Witherspoon St and Palmer Square. Rt 1 has tons of hotels and restaurants as well. Edit: Both of the stadiums noted are close to I95/I295.

Even though it may have been a non-issue for you or something you witnessed does not eliminate the feelings of someone else's unique experience. Simply put, I am searching for someone who is willing to offer a different perspective other than my own. While I believe we can all find similarities within our years as members, I think the drum corps experience is different for everyone.

In my area "on the street" refers to a person living on the streets. Someone losing his job, permanently or temporarily, being "on the street" but actually living in his house, is not quite the same thing. It is a bit disingenuous IMO.

Not sure why a band or a corps director would allow bare feet on artificial turf. I remember being on artificial turf at U of P (Franklin Field) in 1976 and feeling the heat . As a music educator I would never allow that!

I actually have more today! LOL

With eraser soles?

For the Bay area you are not terribly far from Concord either and if you push it, Mandarins in Sacramento. I agree it might be expensive but with enough time and planning; and referencing back to the business model thread, collaborating on expenses for cost savings for/between corps it could work. Plus we do claim the activity is about educating kids. A west coast finals might add to that aspect.

At least in indoor, there's a good likelihood the custodial staff at a show swept the area. Also, most indoor units have some sort of bag or support crew so performers can wear flip flops until the last second. Much less likely some idiot would be breaking glass bottles in a gym than on a grass field. There is literally no reason for a colorguard to be barefoot in an outdoor performance. If they can point their hooves in dance shoes, it's not bad training for pointing in the winter (just gets a little easier).

And our “nutrition” was if we had a choice of fast food places for meals.... oy..

even in indoor, i wonder if it's a smart choice anymore

Several of those ladies are life-long friends and the most common complaint is earlier than normal onset of wrist and hand arthritis - which kinda makes sense.

Especially in Cleveland.

50-cent beers, at any venue that can sell beer. Packed stadiums, coast to coast, guaranteed.

Princeton University in NJ has a great stadium.... and no Ivy League football on Labor Day weekend. Lots of hotels nearby, two major airports reasonably close (Philly and Newark, plus a smaller one in Trenton) and Nassau Street in Princeton is awesome... restaurants, pubs, etc. But unfortunately, the parking situation there is not good. Some sort of shuttle system would be needed. Plus several streets near the stadium might have to be all but shut down to accommodate corps vehicles. And that isn't easy.

I do think it would be cool to see Finals in the Bay Area (Santa Clara). That stadium (49ers) is quite good for drum corps, and there is a ton to do in Silicon Valley (Santa Clara, San Jose, Palo Alto, Cupertino, etc.). I always loved being in Madison, with the Scouts being the hometown corps. Seeing SCV be a hometown corps at Finals would be neat too. But that aside, I do believe the Bay Area would make for a great finals. Yes, it's an expensive trip for midwest, east, and southern folks. But for a one-time deal, I would be there.

I loved going to rehearsals 2 nights a week and loading up on a bus Saturday morning to go to a show in NY, PA, OH or Ontario. Being with 60 to 100 friends is pretty cool! Sweating your butt off to get better at marching and playing is priceless. We ate at fast food places ALL the time! We drank soda/pop and water wasn't a big deal then (different times). We competed against a lot of corps and usually different corps every week. One Saturday you could see Derry Patriots, Cambria Cadets, Precious Blood Cardinals, Royal Crusaders and the Buckeyes. Next Saturday....Squires, Greece Cadets, Syracuse Marauders, Mello Dears, Alpine Girls, Mark Twain Cadets. Next Saturday....Opti-Lancers, Seneca Princemen, Etobicoke Crusaders, Durham Girls, St. Johns Girls, Flying Dutchmen. Then off to Marion, OH and Butler, PA to compete against 30 plus corps that you haven't been up against before. What kept me in? I was the oldest of 5. Although I played sports with my friends a lot, my mother wouldn't let me play football or hockey. My father was an alcoholic and the more I could stay away with that the better I was. My dad was just not home and was never abusive. I just didn't have a father that I could talk to. My "father"was the corps director (John Hathaway) and some of the other dad's that helped out. I loved playing and marching and the fact I had so many friends, some of which I went to school with. After I served in the Army I continued to instruct but over 10 years ago I lost interest. I hated going against the same corps every show. There was no variety as many corps died off and it became boring. If you know me you know that it's never about accolades and definitely NOT an ego thing. I will never be in any hall of fame for drum corps. What I did as a marching member and an educator means more to me than anything. I didn't march with a DCI top 12 corps, I marched with an "A" Class corps from upstate NY that I enjoyed as a teenager! I learned from some great people and hopefully it helped me to be a better person.

I know it’s cool to hate on Flo, and I’m NOT saying they’re perfect, but it’s probably the best/most affordable option we’re gonna have for watching shows. The Fan Network wasn’t sustainable and if memory serves correctly, the quality wasn’t really all that great there either. Again, I’ll be the first to admit that Flo has #### the bed on a few occasions BUT some of you take the b*tching a little too far. Let’s just be happy we don’t have to settle for watching a vertical Periscope video of a show with Nancy screaming “wooooooooo” every time her child does something cool.

Sponsorship from Peanut Butter Companies. Sponsorship from Jelly Companies. Athletic Shoe Deals. Sports Drink Sponsorships. Performance Wear Sponsorships. I went through the formal process with JIF trying to get a sponsorship for my Son's corps after he showed me a log that he ate over 950 Peanut Butter sandwiches on tour. I contacted the powers that be and tracked down the total amount of Peanut Butter that the Corps bought and consumed from Spring Training til Finals. I thought it was a pretty impressive case for sponsorship. And I got shot down. But that doesn't mean that DCI couldn't do that in aggregate.

I wish everyone could be so lucky as to not have seen or experience any homophobia during their marching career.

And why not ? Its also not about "creating a problem where one does not exist". Every person has their own unique experience, its just another perspective. I agree that being gay and in drum corps is nonissue, but as my dad always told me, "Not everyone thinks like you do, nor do they see the world the same way you do, Not everyone fits nicely into the same square box like you think they should sometimes."

I'm struggling to see why this even needs to be bought up. We're all the same in DC whether we're straight or not. I've never been in a corps/band where a quote "queer" member has been given harsh treatment or made to feel any different to the next member. If anything this just singles them out. Just my opinion.

You weren't alone. A few years back ( wont say the year ) where I taught, at least 30-40% of the drum line was gay...A lot has changed even in the past few years...thankfully Question though: If you're not outing a person what photos are you taking? If you're following a person around how will you protect them ( If they want it ). . If you are gay in this activity you know how the activity above many activities accepts their gay brothers and sisters. JMO but this may have been a great story maybe 20 years ago., Today, I think it's more about normality and many look at it as just that. Is there and will there always be those who are threatened by someone different than them? YES , but I think every year THEY are the ones in the minority...JMO It is interesting, don't get me wrong would love to hear more PM me if you like. I do think though most people ( all people ) in drum corps just want to do their thing and just are more interested in not so much being singled out BUT treated as normal as the next person. Thankfully I do think I see more of this than it was say decades ago. Now that might be interesting, Interview those who were gay in the 60s 70s or early 80sin Drum Corps compared to someone now. Now that's a culture shift. I do hope your experience was a good one.

Looking forward to seeing and reading about the member experience throughout the season.

You have a good point. I have been in Indy as the first note is played, with plenty of empty seats, and have seen some of the most heartfelt performances. Last summer, I dragged myself to an open class show in New Hampshire on a day it was hotter in New England than Texas (by one degree), and the heat did not bother the kids who did incredibly well. My guess is that Legends, Southwind, and Heatwave were meeting Spartans and 7th Regiment player a huge role in the excitement of the shows, and the fact Les Stentors made their return appearance did not hurt either. My guess is that the kids do love to perform, and I am sure an enthusiastic crowd in a smaller venue is a wonderful feel good moment, but I would imagine performing in front of 10,000 people is huge as well. For me, Allentown and Indy are huge joys to attend, but I love the at home feel of smaller shows too.

That's disappointing if he is not involved next year. His writing/arranging is fantastic, as well as a fresh approach to enhancing the overall musical package.

I loathe domed stadiums, but understand the need.

This thread is meaningless speculation. If we had all the facts, there is a slight chance of some real exchange of ideas...otherwise, this thread is in the fictional category.

https://bostoncrusaders.org/80th/

Sorry kids of today.....THIS is music!!! A timeless masterpiece for a bygone epoch with rebellion, imagination and fantasy. All your f-bombed peppered "lyrics" and computer generated beats have no soul. Now get off my lawn

A Nice picture posted by the corp Director today of what appears to have been a labor day Design meeting for the team. All the same guys as the past three years.. Enjoying some stability on the design team is great to have in this silly season where most of the other corps in the neighborhood seem to making some changes..