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Speaking as a 60 year old dinosaur, I have no problems with the concept of the costumes of today. Having spent the last 42 years of my life following/marching with/teaching/following BAC I will say I have always loved the classic red white and black look. And who could forget those rifle unis of the 70s with the black pants and boots and the white Waldos? But times change. The only risk with the program centric costumes is that they can be hit or miss. I liked the Wicked Games look (which was really a hybrid of the traditional and the thematic). I was not a huge fan of the SOS costumes ( a thought shared by many of the members) but I loved the GOLIATH costumes. Ultimately, they need to be work for the members. And no, we had nothing like the level of body movement responsibility back in the day like the kids have now. One last thing....somebody delicately hinted that "most" boys aged 17-21 would not want to be seen in the spandex type costumes. You are wrong. These kids would be horrified if you asked them to wear what we wore. At one point in Boston's history, they wore YELLOW satin tops with red shakos and BLUE plumes. Taste and preferences have lot to do with timing, wouldn't you say? At this point of uncertainly, I just hope there is a 2021 season to look forward to. What the corps including Cadets wear or how they accessorize is the least of my concerns. I truly hope and pray we never ever hear each other saying something like "Remember when we used to go to drum corps shows?"

From the outside looking in, it seems to me that some people's insistence on using the term costume instead of uniform is an attempt to disparage and discredit the merits and aesthetic value of modern day uniforms. Essentially, they don't like it, so it needs to be given a term that they perceive as more degrading.

As someone who is only 4-5 years removed from drum corps age, trust me when I say that most marchers do not mind the modern day uniforms. A lot of them even prefer it because of how breathable and comfortable they are.

Some people definitely use the word "costume" with that intent. But this thread started with the Cadets themselves doing so.

All Febreze really does is make you smell Febreze along with whatever odor you are trying to cover.

You dropped an ellipsis. Or a couple hundred.

It just feels so bizarre to me that we're nearing the end of the "season".

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again. I loved 27th’s uniform. Essentially, khakis with a khaki shirt and accessories. Very comfortable. (And the Aussie was bad ###).

Automatic "guilty"? There are several ways to get removed from the pool. My last summons I thought I would be dismissed for my occupation as "teacher" but they kept me & I was nominated as foreman. My lawyer friends told me most defense attorneys don't want teachers because they're usually judgmental with prejudice. I told them "guilty" & they just laughed.

August 1, 2002, 11:49pm ET - Tour Day 70 Lynn, MA → Pennsville, NJ We made up for yesterday. We didn’t get a whole lot of sleep, but we rehearsed hard and got better today during practice. We had a great show and then enjoyed a good amount of free time because it was a drum major only retreat. After the show, I sat front and center for the Blue Devils’ victory concert. It was a great experience as I enjoyed listening to their hornline blast (with quality). I think BD is my favorite show musically this year (after ours of course). Tonight was one of those moments where you realize why drum corps is worth it. There are a million reasons to not do it, but all the sacrifices make it even more meaningful in the end. There are only two show days left and then some rehearsal days before getting to Madison. Lynn, MA Blue Devils - 94.5 - All captions Boston Crusaders - 91.45 Glassmen - 89.6 Crossmen - 88.0 East Coast Jazz - 81.85 (Next post is August 4.)

My money is on the wool top beating Fabreze 😈

Too bad Febreze had yet to be invented.

Couldn't find a complete video of Geneseo Knights from '83, but here's part of their show from DCI East prelims.

How about "The Erstwhile Cadets"?

They don;t seem to mind it. I also know they wouldn't want to wear the dated looks of the past either.( I have been around these people for decades so i know and hear it all) To be honest the comment itself on "WHAT" most young men 17-21 would want to wear is a bit presumptuous Don;t mind the young men in guards wearing it? There are lots today. I also know plenty of " Old" Men that would have loved to be in the activity today. Not that what they or we did wasn't great

The Cadet uni I wore from 70-72 was actually new in 1962. It was just so hot! Parades in it were awful. I was pinned together by Aunt Nellie every time I wore it so the pieces stayed where they were supposed to be. I love the contemporary costuming; it just makes a lot of sense today.

We didnt do 1/4 what they do today and a constant diet of steak will kill ya....lol

I know it was just wishful thinking, but this one stings. 😔

Agree. I loved their unis. One of my all-time favorite corps from 1970 on to the end.

I don’t know, but is there something more to term? Are y’all insinuating something else? Me? I like costumes and I like uniforms, could give a rats a@@ whatever other direction you think this was going. Wonder twins activate. watch they will come along soon enough

My sis in law is a teacher... no comment 😈. 😜 At least I can never be put on a murder or assault case as had an ancestor murdered right before I was born. Can determine guilt or innocence ok but if guilty 👎.(Still PO’ed because would have liked to meet him.) So if asked if I have any bias, oh hell yeah. Funny part is my sisters hubby got called two months back 2 counties over. We’re going to compare notes which county seat is more boring. Lebanon or Carlisle PA.... Irony is in between county seat is Harrisburg which has lot within walking distance of courthouse. And I live lot closer to Harrisburg than Carlisle 😖

Thanks for posting this CrownBariDad. It was refreshing.

The only semantics that matter are those of the current marchers. If they consider what they wear to be uniforms, that’s enough for me.

Me and Stephan would be at the OASIS on 11th street watching the acts. Really regret not getting my eyebrows done before Cornteen.

Lmao went from late 60s-early 70s cadet top (with collar cup to make it REAL TIGHT) to buying Blue Devils light weight open neck blouses they used last in 1975. Lot of us were thanking the deity of our choice. 👍👼

Aunt Nellie used to hang ours inside out all around her fence in Garfield. The worst may have been 1971 Dallas VFW prelims, when I overheard two stadium workers saying it was 135 on the field level, as we were coming in the Cotton Bowl. Our jackets were already damp, as we had performed at a Dolphin/49'er summer exhibition game in Miami on the way to VFW's, and it poured on us that evening.

I do not mind the evolution to lighter materials for ease of movement (and laundering). You can still create effective uniforms that are practical for the performers of today. And if we must have a cottage industry of costumers supplying a fresh set of uniforms every season, we can do that too. But I see nothing wrong with uniforms being "uniform". This recent fad of having each performer in a slightly different outfit does not work for me. Uniformity is still an impressive effect worth pursuing, IMO - in both performance and costuming. And honestly, too many of these costume designs (not Cadets, but many other corps) are ridiculo-ugly. If the only defense is "but it really pops up at the press box!", your costume designer could "do better".

2011, 2005 were both alterations of the traditional look

Its true...whats cool today won't be tomorrow. its why for sure kids of today or tomorrow will never think what we did was cool. Although it was to us then. Well some of it..lol Maybe one day the kids of the times will want to go back to white bucks, wooly uniforms, squad turns, black riding boots and pleated skirts.....NAWWWW!....lol

i didn't originate it.

body today isn't drill of yesterday

Changing uniforms is one thing, but....."costumes"....for horn and drum line? Not seeing how that's an attractive concept for (most) young men 17 to 21. If it is, then this is a No Drum Corps for Old Men kind of thing.

remember when you sweat, it stayed wet for the whole summer OR you hung them up inside out in the sun..Wish febreze was around then...lol

I was watching a clip of the scores being announced from finals last year and I had to laugh that the one corps that could even remotely be recognized on just the quickest glance was the Blue Devils. They always seem to have that Blue Devils BLUE that just pops to the eye, as well as bits of recognizable shapes and design elements that are distinctly identifiable to them, and only them. A visual identity. It's a valuable thing that shouldn't be so easily discarded IMO. It certainly hasn't prevented them from being innovators in show design. Edit: (Looking at the clip again, the Cavaliers still look like the Cavaliers as well.)

Eating hot dogs at yucco's while the kids practice

I was on the staff......prelims was odd, as I thought that we were good, but it wasn't an emotional job........still, I was confused, as there was clearly some dirt in SCV's show, yet they won............BD, on the other hand, smoked in prelims, won high drums, and frankly I thought that they would win prelims....but we were tied.....also weird was the fact that we won all captions in prelims except for percussion, where we were 5th (including 7th in field)....questionable (4th in field in finals)....all worked out, though, as they lit it up on Saturday night.....41-1....not undefeated, but as close as you can get....................

I was talking contests (re the 25 minutes).............parades were, and still are, a bear, especially long ones........I agree that they do not need to be wool........all I know is that uniform still works for me, and most of them today (costumes) do not work for me.....I don't think I am the only one on that....................

SOA and X-Men combine for a virtual mass brass session.

I don't know......I taught at the Cadets.......last year was 83......I think the 84 show was pretty good, and that many a corps would struggle performing it as well today.............36 years ago.............I savor the steak, because I have a bad (terminal) heart condition, and thus only eat one very small steak once or twice per month.........but I still love it...............

"more modern costumes"..........!? Ay-yi-yi

Timeless..................................many people like trying many different foods.........but I still keep coming back to a good steak and baked potato......always works, for me............................... if you time it right, you only have the uniform top on for 25 minutes........................if we could do it, they can still do it.....................(and the A/C didn' t work at all on our buses.....)

"more modern costumes that MEMBERS CAN MOVE IN".................I guess some of the champion Cadets corps in the past were not "able to move".....could have fooled me, as it looked as though they moved as good or better than anyone that I saw last year.............more accurate is the word "costumes"............go to Allentown and ask many fans how much they like them, as opposed to uniforms.....I dare you.................I am cool with guards wearing whatever they want, but some of the garb/costumes that the musicians have wore in recent years I would prefer pajamas to....................ridiculous...................ok, maybe I am old, but I don't hear, "wow, what a great look" from too many folks......................when they had a uniformed Cadet at the souvenir stand a few years ago, that was the sharpest look I saw all night...................DCI continues to move toward "WGI OUTDOOR".................where you can come in 4th in music and still win a championship...............or win music and not even medal...................the Cadet uniform the last few years has been a joke..............(a bad one)

Let’s worry about drum corps returning to the field ever first

I can see them wearing the traditional uni for a parade or stand still show, and maybe for Finals retreat the way the Cavaliers did last year. Otherwise they have not worn that traditional uni since the first half of 2015. It stings more with Cadets and a few others because they have such a long history and have worn that look for most of that time. It's been easier for other corps to move forward. Take Bluecoats. They never really had one standard look from day one. Their uniforms were constantly changing through the 70s, 80s, and 90s...well before the move to costumes. Same with Blue Devils. And there are many other examples. My suggestion to the Cadets would be to consider a slight name change. If the West Point-style uni is out for field competition purposes, perhaps consider another name. The Cadets sort of reflects a military nature. It could be as simple as adding a name in front of Cadets (like Garfield, but I know they are not moving back to New Jersey at this point), or it could be they come up with something completely new. They obviously do not have to do this.

"most likely not" =\= "ever" Mike

Outside investigators can be helpful in an “audit” situation. You want to make sure your organization is keeping up to standards and protocols so you hire the investigators to do a review. When it comes to complaints, outside investigators can be good, but if the results favor the organization, it can be viewed as skewed since the organization is paying for the investigation. In an ideal world, DCI would have outside investigators and assign them to a corps. The corps would pay DCI for the investigation, but DCI would pay the investigators. That can remove some of the appearance of bias.

When Ike Jackson himself is captured on a video making wildly inappropriate comments to HS students, then IMO the jury is not still out. The one video alone should have resulted in him being released from Ayala at least. As for the Mandarins, if their admin sees that video, plus the weight of the other reported commentary, then hopefully they do the right thing.

Mike, I think this entire discussion should be removed. This is a private matter for the organization to handle and its impossible to know whether any of this is accurate.

It looks like Macy's is still planning to have their parade in some form but with no band participation. Their official marching honor band, The Macy's Great American Marching Band, posted this on their Facebook page this afternoon: Saturday, August 1, 2020