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One of the Orlando years there was a DCI exhibit at Epcot with various memorabilia. Included was a letter to DCI from an irate fan complaining about all the things he didn't like and explaining why he was through with DCI. On the last line of the letter, he requested a copy of next year's schedule.

No... the electronics add dirt to performances throughout the season. So do trips - I mean tarps.

Oh Lordy. The parties and after rehearsal bars were just as instrumental in creating bonds if not more than the time spent together in rehearsals, tours, buses, gyms and competition. They're one of the most important things about drum corps. Please don't tell me these are all rituals of the past and have gone away.

We are extremely excited to be heading back out to the States in 2020. One of the main reasons why we are unable to participate in the DCA World Championships is actually due to the school term starting the week before when it normally starts the Monday/Tuesday after. This would have a massive impact on the tour especially with the amount of students and also teachers we have involved in the corps. Added to this, we already have the members who are in school to request a couple of days off for DCE Championships for each year so I feel a week added on would be what we potentially call...taking the ####! A side from all that we are really looking forward to experiencing DCI and looking forward to debuting on the circuit next summer. Allentown was mentioned earlier and I do believe its our intention to be there on one of the nights. More details will be available soon. Keep an eye on www.facebook.com/kidsgrovescouts for more information.

I am sorry you are leaving the activity but I hold out hope that you may return someday. If that day should come, we will welcome you back with open arms. Godspeed.

Kids have been doing drugs on tour as long as I can remember. I think every corps had a kid or two or three that did drugs. To this day, I have never done recreational drugs but I did drink beer in the drum house .

No war here. It’s all about peace and 2020 Phantom Regiment. SUTA

Actually I prefer the term 'Hopocalypse'

Worked a DCI/YEA show in Maryland, circa 2000s, for several years. One guy... same guy, every year... would come up to me and gripe about the corps and the stuff they were doing. "Oh... so-and-so is here. Okay, let's play our 1972 shows to keep him happy!!!"

Cappy and I have butted heads, but he's far more in tune with kids marching today than you are.

For someone who doesn’t care, this is about your tenth post on this topic. You have a strange way of showing how you don’t care.

Ok, it's a silly point to get stuck on, I know, but it got me to thinking that there really *hasn't* been much turnover in Open Class lately. So, based on DCXMuseum and a Google search, here's the corps from the last 10 years that went inactive after competing at DCI: Open Class: Racine Scouts (last competed in 2015), Coastal Surge (2014), Revolution (2012), Forte (2011), Platinum (2011), VK (2010) World Class: Pioneer (2018), Oregon Crusaders (2018), Glassmen (2012), Teal Sound (2011) OC isn't so much a fly by night operation anymore, especially in the last 5 years, and having butts in seats didn't really help some of the WC corps either. (I suppose a larger point could be made that there were just as many non-monetary reasons as there were financial ones.) Mike

I suggest a few people should open their own forum to take their war offline and out of our ears. Grow up!

Didn't need a committee. For a couple of years, we had one parent who was the "Personnel Manager" who every kid in the corps was scared to death. He was an old Marine Corps DI and fit that image in every possible way. Mean as hell, zero sense of humor and you didn't want to cross him. His own kid, naturally, was the biggest goofball trouble-making prankster in the entire corps. This kid once while the corps was enjoying a day off swimming at a public pool did a cannonball into the shallow end - what no body knew was he had a tube of fake blood in his hand and let it fly as soon as he hit the water. The whole pool thought he cracked his skull open. He was also famous for doing the Baby Ruth in the pool thing a year later ala Caddyshack years before Caddyshack ever came out. How this kid ever survived his youth at home, I'll never know.

You might be right. The man has more energy in his pinky than I have in my whole body.

I guess the classic “made for the dome” moment that pops in my mind is Troop’s infinity chord.

Of course.he is Jeff......you don’t know me personally, do you? I could very well have a degree in youth counseling. I’m sure Cappybara appreciates your validation but he can speak for himself. Nothing irks me more than being pigeonholed because of my age......and posters who feel their opinions are more valid or they have a closer connection because they are younger. Really? A bit of respect for one another goes a long way on forums like these. Don’t you agree? Folks are missing the point I’m trying to make in all this misinterpreted back and forth gobbledygook. Cut each other a bit of slack! Have respect for other posters and not be so quick to attack one another because they don’t agree with you. For heaven’s sake we all love drum corps. I enjoy about 85 % of the discussions on this board, so I won’t give up on sharing my viewpoints. This poster is not done yet.

trying to nail him down to one spot at one time for a design meeting might be the problem: Mr. Constantly on the go-san.

Louis Armstrong would've gotten back to me immediately..lol

Exactly. Forget beer pong or whatever. Our "drinking games" back then consisted of "Open beers and drink them until you fall over."

Probably the same thing many others of that era were thinking of. My bachelor party in May of 73 was it for me. A 30 pack will last me over a month now. Nothing like one cold one after a softball game.

Sounds like the Harry Caray of Drum Corps.

Given the corps recovery from GHS*, and the 50th anniversary of the first female guard, I have no issue with them to-date. Of course, I do think it is time to move onward and upward and not dwell on those things moving forward. * = George Hopkins Syndrome

Minnesota Brass Inc. (MBI) and Inver Hills Community College of Inver Grove Heights, Minn., have embarked on discussions aimed at a music-education partnership that would further their respective missions. “We are thrilled about the potential of a long-term relationship with Inver Hills Community College,” said Katy Matuzak, Minnesota Brass executive director. “MBI has a strong […] View the full article

Still shaking my head over people being accused of being closed minded if they don’t like something. My sister hates my favorite food and thought the problem was she hated the taste. Now I realize she just isn’t open minded enough 🥵

clearly obvious you don't run a business with that attitude.

Yup, I agree with that. If the person chose to join just to post what he did, fine by me. He deserves respect whatever his stance is. Everyone has their own reasons for their personal decisions.

When dudes treat women like objects for hundreds of years, your being offended at their putting women at the forefront of the activity is now secondary.

I share your sentiments, Mr Kimber. I still listen to your ISoMike SACD corps recordings from the last decade ... the pinnacle of audio capture of drum corps. The beauty in the sound is when acoustic, not ampilified. http://www.isomike.com/highaltitudedrums0708.html

Yes folks, if you know who Mr. Kimber is, you would not be so quick to dismiss his opinion and observation on the sound of drumcorps coming through some of the sound systems currently in use. If I remember correctly, he came up with a special way to wind cables to shield them from almost any induced noise around them, allowing for much clearer recording and playback. Electronic sound is the man's business. https://www.kimber.com

Mr. Kimber, as a fellow sound engineer and mixer and a strong supporter of your ISO recordings of the Blue Knights and others released on the SACD format, I understand where you are coming from here. I also agree with you on the sound of drum corps on CD. Much like you, I also lament the shift from unamplified drum corps to amplified drum corps. While I have no issue with the use of sound "effects", I do have a major issue with deploying microphones all over the field to increase the sonic impact of the corps. It is overdone, poorly implemented, and takes away alot from the excellent shows on the field. While some may be critical of your departure from this activity, I am not one of them. Everyone has their reason to support drum corps, and leave it as well. Knowing your history as a audiophile and your accomplishments in the audio field, your reason for leaving makes perfect sense to me, even if it doesn't to others.

This, and what Jim said. Not a huge fan of some of the stuff going on with modern-day drum corps... but hey, it's a different era, different game. Overall, still a fan. If that ever changes, I hope I go out with the class shown by the OP here.

Now, to the substance, but SUCH GREAT GRANDSTANDING you do! Wow! Academy award-worthy! Nobody here needs reminding of what they SHOULD think drum corps IS. We each get to decide that, and a decision contrary to yours is not selfish. You have no idea how much money the OP has spent to support the activity. I'd bet it's many times the cost of show tickets or T-shirts. "For The Kids" has been demonstrated every year for 15yrs according to him. Respect THAT - don't denigrate his non-support in the future. The activity is not just about the kids. THAT attitude was dead LONG ago when as kids have found other ways to grow up besides cross-town rivalries. Today's drum corps, with its million-dollar productions (which obviously appeal to you) are designed AS MUCH to generate ticket sales and support as to give the kids a wonderful experience. The two are not mutually exclusive and today's kids get a WONDERFUL experience. But, what would that experience look like today if there wasn't a gate with butts in the seats, and screaming Moms and Dad's buying t-shirts? Surely, you're not that shallow. I hear musicians, see artistry... and I still support. The OP sees the A&E and can't stand it anymore. I get it. Flaws? Geesh, you're young. The current product is wonderful for you. Me, meh, but I still support. For the OP, it's "Meh, I'm done". The activity had better hear that. Remember, he's only been here for 15 years. Already, too much change. The average fan-tenure, according to Vaticinate last polled, is 3 years (I hear ya', Cixelcyd); I wonder if the type of disdain you show the OP contributes to the, apparently, continually decreasing average life of fans. You're not sorry to see him go. If you were, you'd be more sensitive to what draws money out of his pocket, not yours. The activity will go on without him, for sure. But plot the activity's historic path to maturity as it stands and it's a clear argument that the "magic sauce" that A&E promised isn't a solution. You may call this "flaws".

See, there's so much you could have said without punching him in the nose in the process. Daggers are not necessary. He has his opinion - you've been trumpeting your incredulous attitude towards legacy fans for a long time. You're consistent, if nothing else. Your opinion is as valid as his, but he didn't jab you, personally, or anyone else in posting his feelings. I value his opinion more as a result. "The older you get, the smarter I'll get" said every father and "Legacy Fan".

a lot of 2020 Cadets staff (and folks from the past) teach Stoneman Douglas HS Band in FL - a BOA band. Particularly visual & guard folks in 2018 show in Park Vista they were performing last when it started to downpour during the ballad and especially the closer you can see elements of Cadets influence in the guard work (large silks/long poles, swing flags in the ballad ala Cadets 1998) and then as the rain pours during the closer you can see a hint of that famous Cadets willpower. These things can be "taught" crowd goes nuts for the last 2 minutes - and remember, these are HS kids pushing through it - I enjoyed it enough to share:

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.

Tubachristmas is always wonderful to play in.

BD pretty regularly attempts rotating boxes that expand and compress as they move across the field. Easily the most difficult drill move done in DCI yet BD's done it quite a bit in the past few years. They had it in their original closer this year but ended up axing it I mean... Low risk?? Really?

I agree. It is disingenuous to say that this year’s show, or most of their shows, are low risk or low demand. That’s the problem with doing something so well that you make it look easy. Old guys like me keep harping on how we miss drill. Well, two of my favorite drill moves this year belong to the BD. And many of my favorite show moments in general (guard, music, etc) came from the BD. My HS age son said I laughed through the whole show, and it was because the show was creative enough to surprise this old guy all the way through. All of that is a testament to a well constructed program that the mm performed the heck out of.

Not sure anyone could classify a show like 2014 as 'low risk.' Nor the series of rifle tosses at the beginning of this year's show. Perhaps what looks like 'low risk' is instead knowing what your corps can clean before finals, or, alternatively, doing everything so well, including tough stuff, that it 'looks easy.' Another possibility: the BD image is always in control. This can lead to a sense that they are never taking a risk, 'on the edge,' even though a design might be very difficult to achieve.

I put this in another thread. However, I thought it should belong here as well. Blue Devils = Class as well. I want to say thank you to the Blue Devils organization. Over the past several years, it has been my privilege to host the corps. Yesterday, while my daughter was out in San Francisco, she ran into someone affiliated with the organization. After a brief conversation, this person realized she was my daughter and bought her lunch in thanks for my hosting the corps. Even outside the season, the corps always represents with the class that is Blue Devils.

At the very basic Level: Performance Excellence. They are the performance standard and have been for nearly three decades.. The top talent has always had BD as a destination corps, So if you perhaps started your career at a non top 10 corps and you have aspirations to march at the top of the activity and your talent has increased, BD will always be on your mind because over the last 30 years, they will medal. Their organic approach to Design allows them to build a show as a living breathing thing. And IMO it has raised the quality of all elements in a show. I have said numerous times this year that BD has mastered the Transition. They are always building for what happens next while the focus at the moment shines.. So what happens is that their shows always feel like your being entertained. Your always getting something to look at, something to listen to that is of top quality.. A quality that SCV and Bluecoats have picked up on.. The end result is that the judges always have something "Positive" to look at for 11 straight minutes, To me that is the sign of a great show, and for the last couple of years, they have had great shows..

Semi finals was the last show I watched on Flo. What I noticed at the beginning was the opening drill of walking in a clean formation towards the sidelines. They did a similar set later. Not difficult. Walking between tables a few years back was clean, but not difficult. During semis, to me, their rotating box was not clean at the end of the move. As it has so rightfully been mentioned, they are masters of moving from moment to moment and checking off the the boxes on the sheets.

The judges Money California Stability in staffing Unflinching, unapologetic commitment to winning. They write shows with more focused priority on winning than most other top placing corps. Just enough innovation to win. Just enough art to win. Just enough demand to win. Just enough playing to win. Just enough marching to win. They rarely dabble in anything that's too risky. I don't remember them ever being the most innovative corps any one season. And the few times they have pushed it a bit (e.g. Tommy), they recoil from the placement results and soon veer back to the tried-and-true BD approach. Some will counter to say that other top corps want to win, too. I wholeheartedly agree...and in truth other corps don't win as much because they fail to place as much laser focus on prioritizing wins. If I sound critical of BD, I am. I find this approach rather soulless, but I will never deny their success.