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That’s true but some of the storms…. 😳. We really get lightning down here. Plus, I have tropical forest all around me. You wouldn’t believe how many layers of surge protection are on this house. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I’m preparing my first turkey ever with 75 degrees weather outside. It should really be weird grilling ribeyes on Christmas Day. 😂

They are custom-made 3 valve G bugles hand made by the Horn Doctor (https://www.coolisbac.com/). And yeah he got all the tooling from Kanstul. B.A.C stands for Best American Craftsmen.

They're way ahead of where they were at this point in time last year.

The year I went to Atlanta, it was a beautiful day, sunny, about 82 degrees. I found it perfect, friends who live in Atlanta found it too cool, though not quite chilly. I wished the show was outdoors that day. A few years later, I got caught in the infamous deluge of Allentown, which reminded me of a show at Met Life Stadium in 2012 which seemed like Armageddon was about to begin. Since that time I’ve concluded shows that are within driving distance which in my case is usually less than an hour, let the rains fall because you can’t control Mother Nature. If I have to travel and stay in a hotel, domes whenever possible, even though I’ll complain about too much amplification at the domed stadiums.

Atlanta weather is known here by the locals as "bipolar". That said, rain that time of year usually acts much like the florida thunder storms. It shows up and goes just as fast.

There has been a decline in the number of shows in the Northeast for about ten years. Each year one or two shows will be removed. DCI would like to see fewer shows in larger venues that are centrally located. It does make sense on paper, but paper and reality can be two different things. I can’t speak for Buffalo or Rome, but most of the Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Eastern PA shows are in small to midsized venues with loyal and dedicated crowds who, as show sponsors will tell you do spend money and do donate to two corps that host many of the shows (BAC and Cadets), however the shows do not appear to be as crowded as they used to be and parking seems to be easier. So unless people have lost weight and are carpooling, numbers are down. I am also basing my observations on 2019 and prior, not 2021 which was an exception. What I have noticed over the years is the newer shows tend to be where high school bands are strongest. I also attended NIGHTbeat and Atlanta a few years back and kids from high school programs fill the stands at both shows. That’s a demographic many of the Northeast shows have not been able to tap, even Allentown.

Looking at the schedule and the lineups, we will be cutting shows this year. We are looking at Detroit, Akron TOC, and Indy. That’s about all that’s worth going out of our way for this year.

It’s nice to know that the area around the Braves’ old stadium is better than what it once was. Unfortunately, as others have stated, I don’t think I’ll be making the trip to ATL this year. If I’m going to book a flight to see a show, I need the possibility of a rainout to be at just about 0%. And from my days living in that part of the country, I know just how rainy summers in the south usually are. I’ll definitely be watching on Flo though.

If directed at me, just giving people warning there might be stuff going on behind the scenes. Done more parades than I can remember and know I’d appreciate a warning. Also lost an ancestor to murder so this hits in a special way. And would not want anyone else to go through it.

And some wacky packs out there are twisting this into yet another conspiracy to suit their sick purposes. Actually think this is on topic to drum corps considering how many corps do parades. Can’t even parade without watching your back

No more easy shows. No more nostalgia. They need to be aggressive and competitive with NEW music.