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Thought this might be some sort of rage thread against Will Pitts. Phew.

Nope. Sometimes a joke is just a joke.

It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to drum corps if I’m being honest. I needed a break from it. Yesterday while filling out residency applications I decided to listen to the last decade of blue devils music. Listening to all the shows from 2014-2019 especially brought a tear to my eye, I forgot how amazing the ensemble balance and blend is. Their sound just sizzles and hits you unlike any other corps. I do hope we will get to hear them again soon.

I understand where you are coming from when you credit internet chatter with some significant changes in the drum corps landscape. Certainly we know more about what is happening due to social media. That being said, as I think Jeff Ream pointed out well, print media was more responsible for GH’s situation than anything else. When sexual scandals appear on the Internet, often they are still viewed as gossip. It’s mainstream media that is still the one that plays a deciding role. It’s changing but hasn’t completely changed yet. With Oregon Crusaders, many of us learned about the situation online, and things escalated online, but staff and a good number of marching members voted with their feet before the 2018 season ended and word leaked of dissatisfaction. That’s not the folks on the Internet demanding change. Now if you look back on Internet accounts, the anger was accurate, but people were all over the place regarding details. Some claimed the corps almost folded between Atlanta and Allentown. Some said every marching member signed a petition, others has it about half. Remember too, that many claimed inside information from sources that had to remain anonymous, not always the most accurate sources. With Oregon Crusaders we learned there were problems but we had to sift through lots of over exaggerated and and understated information to find the truth. Whether perspective members were swayed by the Internet is hard to say. Now if parents of perspective members who may be paying the bill did a Google search, that young person would not be joining Oregon Crusaders.

Why would you assume a restart means slipping back into the dark ages of show design? I’ll be the first to admit that it’s going to be a challenge in 2021 for DCI, but modern day MM’s aren’t going for this plan at all. At all.

Great to see DSM-6 has finally come out.

This would be an incredibly fast way to kill drum corps.

Bells have always been part of Drum and Bugle Corps. Some of the top corps today started off as Drum and Bell Corps. Blue Devils are an example and I think SCV too. They belong in the activity and compliment the overall sound. But something’s gone wrong. Really wrong. Pits have become way-WAY too large and are too dominant in the mix. Cut their size down to 6 or less, or move them all to the back sideline so we can’t hear them. Less is more.

Ah, the steps of turning DCI into dino land. The only steps that seem useful are #1 and #4. #5 and #7 seem impractical. The rest simply pander to the older DCI generation.

Jimmer arranged the music of the show. Strong design team 90-92.

But it's not too late!

I would only add that "print media", even local outlets such as Allentown, now have an ability to connect to national audiences for selected subject matter instantly. That did not exist pre-Internet.

Honestly, I'm shocked this hasn't happened yet. YES, you want them up front for the visual aspect of their playing. BUT, from an ensemble standpoint ... and balancing the amps ... put them in the back. It would eliminate timing issues as well. Put a met in the pits ear (preprogrammed) and let 'em rip. AND!!! No more generator noise!!!!!!

I have the perfect solution if they don't want to limit Pit size to under 10,000. Move them to the back side line. Problem solved.

Wasn't one of the arguments for amplification that it would allow corps to reduce the size of the pits?

At least in the past few days someone posted '84 Vanguard high-cam. Note - it's not finals. The color of the pants changed for finals. https://youtu.be/ryqwkogBOHs

Reporters are people too. A long time? Only in 2018 did the irony arise of having Morrison as DCI BOD chairman when said BOD was charged with developing a raft of new policies regarding member safety, harassment prevention and reporting. DCI evidently had no problem with Morrison leading that effort - so it took a public outcry, developed online, to provoke change. You read them online, like the rest of us. For that matter, you posted the link to the Hopkins resignation news here. You were part of the online outcry. And to review, the chronology went like this. First news went online Wednesday 4/4. Hopkins resigned Friday 4/6. His story was not printed on paper until the Sunday edition (late Saturday, technically), 4/7-4/8. If online outcry was irrelevant, he would not have resigned until after the print version hit the newsstands. But that is exactly why there was no such thing as a 2019 Oregon Crusaders corps. Members and staff did not just quit after 2018 - they aired their grievances online. That drove away new applicants, to the extent where they only had 50 prospective members. And that is what ultimately sidelined the corps. I get it - DCI does not often listen to their fans, and they do not base all their business decisions on who complains loudest on their Facebook page. But you overstate this a bit. And in doubling down, you now seem to be in categoric denial that public sentiment has any impact, or that the online dissemination of news and airing of public opinions make 2018 any different from 1818 in that regard. Is it that hard to say "I misspoke"?

One of my favorite memories of all time was when SCV played their retreat song. Instead of playing towards the stands, they turned and played to the Crossmen who had beaten them. Crossmen went nuts. Total class. And it made me realize what a brotherhood/sisterhood drum corps is.

Don't get me started. Next to props pits are second least return on investment. Wouldn't mind them so much but there are so MANY of them! Why?

BD went on last in 87, as they were defending champions.....which caused an outcry in some circles when Cadets got a perfect percussion score when there was still one corps to perform.

it was -1900-CAN DRUM. it wasn't free, you paid for it. and sometimes they got you several times as it could be updated very late

All of these resulted from (per your words) "outcry online". Where did 99% of us see those news articles? Online.

Blue Knights '91. I love this show. I love the music and the Zingali drill that year. For a while there was a local artist who did custom painting on their flags - each one being unique. I wonder how long they continued that tradition. And yes, I miss the dots. There is also a horn player in a sling still playing. I look at that and think about how absolutely dedicated these performers are.

Bwahahah. You're my favorite poster here.

So long as BD takes the big toy home, I don’t much care. What you or I think doesn’t matter one teensy bit. Ta-ta!

I feel the exact opposite. I thought BD was the best corps in 96, BD was the best corps in 99, and Cavaliers were the best corps in 2000. Of the 3, I feel 2000 was the one that could have legitimately been a tie. Mike Z

I concur with others, 1992 is one of my favorite seasons in DCI. I went to High School in Anaheim, Ca and 3 of our own (all incoming seniors) marched with VK, including the the great James Goodrich who played the "opera singer", so we had a vested interest in VK and man did they deliver. Broadcast: Madison Scouts were entertaining as well, love the way they kicked off the show with sop solos. The drumline brought with the most iconic moments towards the end of their drum feature with so much love from the alums. The Blue Devils - The dice and soultry hornline. Funny how Vern Johnson in the tenorline kicks off a small dance ditty with the Bell Biv Devoe's "Poison" drum motif while the hornline strips off their uniform jackets to set up "When a Man Loves a Woman" The Cadets What impress me about the show was the drill, cologuard and mellophone line. Cool to see that airplane formation. Star of Indiana For whatever reason, the first viewing of the show was not memorable, subsequent viewings got me to appreciate the show. Especially the hornline of course. The Cavaliers One of those shows that was destine to win a championship. That opener, good God!! The visual, just amazing. The percussion program, especially the front ensemble was fire. What a remarkable show. VK - What fun show and first time I noticed a corps causing the audience to laugh. The shark, enough said. Blue Knights (9th) - Can't go wrong with Copland Phantom Regiment (8th) - Was slotted 6th going into finals and let's be honest, not their best performance. The battery not so clean. Heck of a repertoire. Got to love David St Angel flipping off the judges during the retreat when PR was announced 8th, lol (3:15 mark of the video - vid should start there btw) Santa Clara Vanguard (7th) - Fiddler and that drumline was sick Crossmen (6th) - What can you say, wow. What a show. Appalachian Morning, piece in 5/4 was impressive, but the star of this show was no question Rainforest and that drumline was grooving. Goosebumps.

Those are stupid rules. It counts as a three-peat if it occurs in three competitive years.

7 STEPS TO DRUM CORPS RESTART When it's time ... 1. Fold DCI and DCA, form one new national organization that represents everybody, senior and junior corps. 2. The mission statement is to facilitate the formation of as many new corps as possible. 3. Make electronics illegal, to make it cheaper and easier to start new corps. Reduce show length to 9 minutes with a mandatory concert number to make it easier for new corps to compete immediately 4. Divide the country into 8 regions. No corps competes outside their region until finals week. The goal is to get more corps on the field, by making it cheaper and easier for everyone to get into the game. 5. Reduce all corps appearance fees, and all corps membership dues -- focus on creating as many local/regional drum corps shows as possible, and incentives for local sponsors to hold a show. 6. Every show will have senior and junior corps competing, with full retreat at the end for the fans. 7. Start a circuit of judged winter concerts (on stage, no drill), so the competitive experience of the activity is not so focused only on the summer. The above is all possibly silly nonsense, and maybe even irrelevant given the state of the covid-19 crisis. But, if I had a vote, the activity would focus on growth, not art or music technology, for the next few years.