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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/14/2020 in all areas

  1. I think you're better off going to The Cadets directly to get the answers you need as opposed to listening to people on here who have an agenda.
    8 points
  2. They have decided... ... that you are not orcs.
    6 points
  3. This entire thread has devolved into an Abbott and Costello routine.
    5 points
  4. Everything that came after this opening paragraph needs to be rethought after you calculate in to your analysis the fact that you conflated "Show Expenses" to be the "cost of renting facilities". That's not correct. The big elephant included in that total of about $6.55mm is the cost of the corps. Memory fades with age but, IIRC, something along the lines of $2.5mm to $3mm of DCI's revenue gets paid out to drum corps as "performance fees" (called all manner of things in the actual DCI record-keeping, I suspect). You can cut costs on stadium facilities (good luck) but, to cut that $3mm paid out to corps, the corps voting membership has to agree to cut their own pay. GOOD LUCK! I'd bet they pound the crap out of that expense statement before they agree to cut their own pay. You'll have those cost no matter where they play. In fact, it's true that the ED's job is to negotiate the very best deal with the stadiums, et al, for the strict benefit of the member corps, not for the benefit (currently) of DCI's income statement. What they save in negotiation is, and should be, paid out the to corps. (This is a whole-other discussion!) Still, after correcting your numbers down to around $35,000 to rent an "average" stadium, that also makes sense. No, N.E. Brigand, it doesn't cost $35m to rent an average high school stadium but it also costs a whole lot more than $35m to rent your average professional domed football stadium, too. Just do some simple deductive thought using, say $75m to rent Alamo (I truly have no clue) and logically crank that up to, say $125m PER DAY to rent LOS (again, I have NO idea) and you can easily see that four very expensive regional stadiums can lower significantly the average cost per high school stadium. Do HS facilities "cost" $20m to $25m to host drum corps? Yep, you bet. And the big, new fancy Texas stadiums are probably much more. Now, I very much appreciate your thought process and I'll anticipate following your rationale after you've corrected your thoughts with these corrections. This issue stumped me and a bunch of others for a day or so in a 990 discussion years ago until I discovered that "paying" the drum corps is an expense on DCI's income statement. Show revenue is income, paying for corps and paying for stadiums (and all the rest) show up as expenses. If you scan all of the expense lines, you'll not find any entry line item that identifies "corps pay" or any such thing on the 990. It's buried in "Show Expense". The only thing I see in the '18 990 that could be dubious is the ubiquitous "all other expenses" category that collected just under $1mm. OK, that's not huge but it is a little under 10% of their expenses. "Other Expenses" is always for things one deliberately wants to hide or, more likely, "When There's No Place Else To Put Something" -- on the 990 form. That DOESN'T mean that they've not identified those expenses, it's that there's no place on the 990 filing to report them. You know, like strip clubs, expensive steak houses, and private jets to San Antonio. (I'm KIDDING!!) I think it's illustrative to look at the numbers in comparison to others. For example, how has that number ("corps pay") changed across 990s?
    4 points
  5. "Cheer" ties back into Drum Corps and band. I get a newsletter called "BIG," by Matt Stoller, about the economics and politics of monopolies. Today's newsletter was about Varsity Brands, the monopoly behind cheerleading competitions. (They're also owned by Bain Capital, BTW.) In one of the episodes of the show, "cheerleaders complain that they can't watch cheerleading on TV anymore, because Varsity streams its competitions over its for-pay app Varsity TV, moving ESPN out of the picture." Have seen ...twice?... written online (I think once here and once on Reddit) that Varsity would bid if the Cadets decide to sell YEA, to start expanding into the band world. That would be a very bad thing, for many, many reasons. Varsity has regulated out rival apparel companies, directly owns gyms where cheerleaders practice, and lobbies against regulating the activity as a sport, because it would then impose limits on competitions and practice time. Example - in another quote from the newsletter, their CEO "admitted that in at least one contest, cheerleaders got more points if they used more Varsity equipment as props." BTW, cheerleading "causes more than half of the catastrophic injuries for female athletes in America." Mike (instant expert, 'cause I read one article. Granted, it was about 30 minutes before I saw this thread for the first time, so... timely!)
    4 points
  6. I think this counts as real information: 2019 - 17th place 2018 - 16th place 2017 - 12th place (!) 2016 - 13th place I boldly claim not being coed had nothing to do with this recent placement record. I will further claim the move to coed was motivated by the need to *do something* to attempt to distract attention from Chris and Dann’s performance, which is unacceptable (my opinion). “Discriminatory” is just the B.S. bow they wrapped it in. The all male membership was no more discriminatory than all brass is for DCI.
    4 points
  7. I could have bet the house the drum major this year was going to be female. Let's be honest, the Scouts made this decision to stop people pointing at the dumpster fire that really nothing to do with being all male or coed.
    4 points
  8. well that makes you different (and special/helpful) you want the corps to succeed and you wait for announcements - you don't spew rumors true and/or untrue
    3 points
  9. Who’s on third? I don’t know.
    3 points
  10. It’s easy enough to judge if players are marching around with mics attaches to their bells. It’s also easy enough to ban certain types of field level mics that are designed to pickup sound from sources further away.
    3 points
  11. i am hoping all i am hearing is just bad rumor
    3 points
  12. 3 points
  13. 2 points
  14. Cadets will be on tour in 2020
    2 points
  15. So they know it's a problem and they don't want to fix it?
    2 points
  16. Simple Question: I am donating to a kid who received a contract.....should I be waiting for "some announcement" before I send the check?!?
    2 points
  17. I am fairly sure the 990 "Show Expenses" category includes far more than just the cost of stadium rentals.
    2 points
  18. Ah, but what happens when Yamaha then comes back and says "want free woodwinds? Buy Yamaha brass and percussion first." Mike
    2 points
  19. 2 points
  20. No, the answer to everything is 42. 😎
    2 points
  21. All - Many of us (not too fondly) remember the one-season, short-lived series on "Fuse TV" called "Clash of the Corps" Clash of the Corps followed the 2016 Blue Devils & 2016 Cadets on their tour to the DCI World Championships The series felt very flat to most of us - did a terrible job opening up our activity to a broader audience by making the viewers care about the participants or understand WHAT drum corps was about Instead we got corny slow-motion video set to bizzarre music So - it was with trepidation that I checked out Netflix new series "Cheer!" It's an activity I have no personal connection with or big interest in I did know going into it that (like drum corps) the highest level cheer teams were highly competitive The show is everything "Clash" was not It's full of life, really digs into back-stories on the members. You end up walking away from the series "getting" why the activity is so valuable and important to its members Drum corps fans would get it - so I recommend checking it out Perhaps someday a more talented production team will take another stab at "Drum Corps!" https://www.tvguide.com/news/6-reasons-cheer-is-the-first-must-see-show-of-2020/ https://www.netflix.com/title/81039393
    1 point
  22. For several years my delight with Drum Corps has been waning. My first experience with Drum Corps was in 2004 at the invitation of Dr. Thomas Root. It was electrifying for me. The sound had majesty, grace, and purity. I went to the souvenir trailers and purchased every CD I could lay my hands on. The quality of the recordings were much more variable than quality of the Corps on the field. None of the CDs were electrifying to me. Then for many years I endeavored to record all those elements, with various success. Along the way I provided yearly support for the Ogden Corps Encore Show. I recall clearly when I was faced with the first instance of canned show program, I was incredulous. In subsequent years the shows got even more canned and more amplified - rather than a race to have great musicians it was a race for expensive mixer boards, equalizers and speaker systems. As a side note there was also a race to incorporate props and scenery. During the last show in Ogden, I listened carefully - I was not electrified. I was electrified during some of the rehearsals that didn’t have the amplification running. It could be that there is a cumulative million+ hours of devotion within the members of a corps, and then all that majesty, grace, and purity is stuffed through a PA system. Now I have lost any interest in attending or supporting. I don’t like listening to amazing musicians through a vitiating PA system. Moreover I feel guilty about any of my efforts, donations, or support that subsidizes PA systems. It might be valid to compare the use of PA systems to steroid use, for my taste it sounds bad and feels like cheating. I sorrow for those million hours of musician devotion that I don’t hear with majesty, grace and purity. Ray Kimber, Ogden Utah
    1 point
  23. Trust me it was hard enough not to #### my pants with what I’ve heard and confirmed from multiple places. I don’t need all of you ####### your pants too
    1 point
  24. 1 point
  25. would you just STOP
    1 point
  26. Farm Show building is worse and they hold concerts there!
    1 point
  27. There are some serious Masochist out there. If the number spot you want in the Lot is the Inside of a BD or Crown Horn Arc. Imagine that amount of body shaking impact but sitting in the stands. And this second point is where the next visual frontier is in my mind, Tarps in most cases simply do not work outdoor, but they sure as hell do work indoors. The Costuming and Floor Combination will provide a new dimension of effect that can be used in the marching arts. And finally Lighting. I've expressed my DCI - Cirque comparisons before and I think what is separating this idiom from other professional performance environments is the use of lighting. I think as long as the Lights are not changed while a piece of Guard equipment in the Air (which can be regulated by rules) then all safety concerns should be quelled. To mitigate costs, the Lighting rigs and control board can be shared with the corps and the programming can be saved on the corps own programming module.
    1 point
  28. Neither are all football stadiums. <shrug> Mike
    1 point
  29. This is whats possible on a 90x60 Floor. Most professional Arenas that can house an NHL game have a floor space capable of 200x85 and with modifications 210 x 105.
    1 point
  30. licensing concerns limited what you saw/heard of actual show music, either in performance or rehearsal settings
    1 point
  31. "Clash of Corps" was a total embarrassment to the activity, and should serve as a warning to any corps admin who's hubris ever gets to the level of BD's/The Cadets' admins. Just awful, cheesy, unfocused crap at every stage. Just because Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's brother/cousin/whatever is involved, it doesn't mean it's worth getting into. - It showed too little of the actual shows and pretty much zero instruction - It showed too much of the wrong behind-the-scenes stuff (members having a rough experience, the infamous dorm-room scene, etc). To me , a documentary that should serve as any blueprint to this sort of thing is "Madison On Tour." It was released in 2000 and got played on PBS before finals that year. Unfortunately, it's pretty hard to find. It showed off stuff from multiple seasons (93-94, mostly). It captured the RIGHT moments to show to a wider audience: - Actual instruction i.e. Jeff Moore and the battery doing a HS clinic - Actual show footage from the Scouts and other corps - Scott Stewart explaining his philosophy on the activity - And yes: some fun, random tour highlights (completely PG)
    1 point
  32. Eh one rainy spring I kept hearing that and “well we have more sets now” as an excuse/reason.... I posted here asking if more sets was worth the incomplete shows start of the season.... then it got toasty lol
    1 point
  33. was it misinterpreted? as no follow up comment ever camr from the organization or DCI, one can't assume. often when making a statement that can be misconstrued, clarifying statements are made, if nothing else to clear the air. none were made. also, there are private organizations. they can do as they wish and it's legal to do so.
    1 point
  34. i believe i have incomplete info, so i won't type anything here except for rumors say financial
    1 point
  35. I didn't even realize this was up for a vote.
    1 point
  36. There are so many more streaming outlets now with NetFlix, Amazon, Disney, Apple that there has to be a market for this type of in depth show. They recently did this type of show with F1, Drive to Survive. It really gave fans a BTS view and interviews and access to fans that is just not available in normal scenarios. It came out After the season so the interviews are candid and really get to the heart of the sport. It didn't focus on competition but to tell the individuals stories BTS the happen through the year. Netflix notoriously throws money at anything in their search for content that their Billions of viewers want to watch. Watching Cheer will lead Netflix to discover that there is a demo that is interested in the backstories alternate sports organizations in the US. I just hope that FLO doesn't hold the exclusive rights to anything DCI. Such a type of deal would prevent this side BTS project from taking off the ground.
    1 point
  37. Why have voting if the only result is "yes"? Inevitably, some proposals are going to get "no" votes. You have the wrong task force. According to Kathy Black in her interview with Dan Potter, it was the New Revenue Task Force that came up with this idea.
    1 point
  38. Two things to correct here. First, if I remember correctly (and I think I do) it was not the RSTF that sent this up to the BoD, it was the New Revenue Task Force (NRTF). I'm not certain, but I don't think that committee members are identified publicly as a course of business. That said (and hopefully to quell suspicion) I've never seen anything that suggests these committees are "secret" either. Second to correct is your notion (implied, if not stated) that DCI or the committee had to "sell" the idea to the membership. Not so, as I understand it. The discussions I've read suggest the idea spawned from an idea of opening up A/I as a means to generate more revenue for the activity (not for any one corps or class of corps). I read somewhere that discussions brought forth the idea that OC might be a better use of A/I than WC. Also, Black's proposal for A/I consideration mentioned the future possibility of increasing membership in the future (although not part of this proposal). I have no "inside baseball" to share, but it seems to me that the idea was formed, vetted, had due diligence and discovery applied, was suggested for presentation for the membership to consider without any BoD recommendation, discussed, voted on, and turned down. I'm really not sure how much more transparent the process could have been to assure complete and unbiased consideration of the measure. And I absolutely don't believe that anyone at DCI has egg on their face, no more than any director's proposal failing has left egg on his/her face. Again, I never got the impression from the original proposal or from the Dan Potter video with Black that she or the BoD were recommending that the membership adopt A/I or not.
    1 point
  39. I am 100% convinced (not 99%) that COTC was the beginning of the end for G. Hopkins. The Cadet organization was utterly embarrassing. How much more interesting would Bloo vs Blue been?
    1 point
  40. Designers using woodwinds is dismissed as not being creative because they have been used in scholastic marching band, while designers using just brass are creative because they can't use WW? That make no sense to me. Sorry. A show design can be just as creative using WW and brass as it is using just brass.
    1 point
  41. So Genesis went too far for you then?
    1 point
  42. Having a couple days to think about it, I am actually not all that surprised by the final directors' vote on this. I have probably a couple hundred FB friends who are currently marching or have aged out very recently...in the past 2 or 3 years. While I haven't engaged in any of the discussions online, I have read a lot...particularly this past week. Surprisingly, there seemed to be a consensus (at least among these members) that there is no need to add woodwinds to DCI. As one mellophone player out it, "that's what we have college band for." Something I hadn't thought of but was being discussed by the members: there was a time when DCI attracted woodwind players who switched to brass for the summer. Now however, the competition to get a spot is so fierce that we are seeing almost exclusively brass players auditioning. It seems as though the brass players and drummers are fine just the way it is. The feeling seems to be that woodwind and string instrument players have their opportunities through collegiate wind ensembles and the like. While there still could be a change in the future, at least it looks like the directors bought us some more time.
    1 point
  43. Crazy how soon this happened but I think since Bluecoats 2016 show, Stanbury are on the cutting edge of costume design and Greg Logola will provide a cutting edge design compared to other offerings from Michael Cesario and FJM and Band Shoppe. One only need to look at the very literal take on the Goliath Band Shoppe customes last year to see that to reach a higher taste level a change was needed. I'm sure that take won't be made public but it was on people's minds in the activity. At least in my circles..
    1 point
  44. I was once accused of sympathizing with the Maquis.
    1 point
  45. They are BRAND NEW from the factory. I inventoried them personally
    1 point
  46. No apologies required Mr. Ryan. As mentioned, "rightful place" doesn't sit well with me in any activity. Too many sports over the decades maybe. Please continue with your love of D&BC, no matter what corps you are assisting.
    1 point
  47. Sorry for my choice of words in my previous post. That is why I do not post on forums. I was just trying to relay the passion and commitment expressed by the corps leadership. My apologies
    1 point
  48. Since we are wishing... 1. That Carolina Crown or Phantom brings back Belshazzar’s Feast **Unless there is some sort of John Williams- like moratorium on William Walton music. Which to that, my apologies for not knowing. But at least that would explain an absence of his music by corps for many years** 2. Bluecoats continue to play familiar music or massively entertaining shows. Also, they get a full show to perform at halftime of the Hall of Fame game, and it’s televised. 3. Cadets: Drill and symphonic music is an integral part of their show design. My love of this corps has stemmed from being the benchmark for music is movement. I would like a “wow” With those two things, symphonic and drill again this year. 4. Madison gives us a memorable and entertaining show.
    1 point
  49. For a finalist group to play this! https://youtu.be/3A9m2wvFSMU
    1 point
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