Leaderboard

So, I made it to Castleton this afternoon. I recently retired from my job, and it is an amazing feeling of freedom that I can relax and enjoy the corps without having to even think about when I need to go home. That said, everything here is exactly as you would expect. The corps IS full, with no holes and morale is sky high. There seems to be 72 brass, 9/5/5 battery, a large front ensemble, and a massive, extremely experienced guard. Cool day today...barely 60 with a wind, but mostly sunny. This is year 6 for this senior staff, so it was awesome arriving here today and being greeted by the usual cast of characters. This, seriously, is comfort food, and as I get older, I'm not taking any of this for granted.

It’s staggering, and yet the tuition is only affordable to the upper mid-class, and tuition is insufficient to cover the costs. If you are in an economically underserved class, how can you reasonably join a corps? How is this a sustainable model?

I volunteer for a school district and a community food bank and had to go through two separate background checks…it’s pretty standard these days. As for younger folks to step up, it’s a major time commitment to go on tour and fewer people can make that commitment. I think volunteer hours should be included in any fund raising event a corps puts on and parents of marching members or recent age outs is a good place to start. After aging out elevendy million years ago, I came on board as a touring volunteer. Spent years of vacation time from my job “giving back”. Wouldn’t trade that experience for anything!

I see what you did there, but didn't know until i looked up the peom. If i am right on thinking on the direction this is going, i have to say I love when BD goes this direction. It pisses some people off lol, but I LOVE IT on how well they interpret these kind of shows.

I listened to the same podcast this morning. Another thing that stood out to me was that the current model is actually a reaction to student needs/desires. I am the parent of a current marching member and if it were to be another limited tour this summer he wasn't interested in marching again. He started in an OC group and is now in his third season with a finalist group. And I quote my kid "...if Drum Corps went to a shorter tour and shorter spring training, therefore easier shows, It is just more high school band and I did that...I'm out." We did the competitive sports thing too and it was just as much if not more expensive than Drum Corps and no where near as beneficial nor inclusive. If it were only about costs, the cheaper corps would be full and they are not. In fact, they are the ones with the most openings. Shorter tours...not the answer either as OC groups are on the look out to fill membership. I'm not saying that we should do nothing to help but when was the last time we volunteered or donated? Purchased a T from the souvie stand? A great way to give is to sponsor a meal so look on your fav's socials and make it happen. Donate to scholarship funds or start one up. Lend a hand when they stop near you; kitchens always need hands. Just do something...anything to make it better.

For our OC corps, the armchair math came out to about $90/day in 2019, though we didn't really count it like that. But including move ins, it was about 56 days total, so a much shorter tour. I do agree - I'm just not sure how this is sustainable in the long run, especially asking kids to foot a higher and higher bill. While I do get the argument that $5,500 is a relative bargain, it only matters if you have the $5,500 to begin with. 😞 Mike

It was the best of times....

honestly right now, i think stupidity is the largest issue in the world right now, and there's no cure.

Late to the Convo here but It has to be Michael Gaines. He was hip and Fresh in 2000 and he is hip and Fresh now. He has the distinction of knowing how to stage Guard really really well. His work in WGI keeps him at the Apex of Trends within the Guard world and he understands how to manipulate and stage Hornlines properly. His work speaks for itself.

I remember chipping in for bail money while at a show for someone who got busted in Wisconsin. 😂 I think that was 1976.

Actually, one of our drum instructors marched with you. And yes, colorful characters. Size of some sections would fluctuate depending on who was or was not in jail that week.

I’m guessing you and I both marched with some really colorful characters back then. And I am all the better for it.

Guess who's ordering tickets today :DDDDDDD

Considering the fact that Blue Devils have already hired Matt Hartwell to be a part of their visual staff for the 2022 A Corps, I have to surmise that whatever happened at SCV definitely wasn't criminal in nature or incriminating in any way. Beyond that, the lack of hesitation before hiring him would seem to suggest that whatever did transpire wasn't enough to to give them reason to pause before making their hiring decision. This may concur with Matt's statement that the 3rd party investigation found that the issues at hand were more systemic within the organization vs. a problem specifically with him.

For reference AAU basketball, traveling baseball/softball teams, all star cheer, and dance teams can cost upwards of $10,000 a season. Usually the parents are driving or flying the kid around the country too. A gifted music kid taking private lessons, attending summer music camps, attending workshops/seminars, playing in the local youth orchestra, etc. can easily cost $20,000 to $30,000 a year. Have you looked at what it costs to attend Interlochen? The full six week summer camp is $9,950.

Certainly hope so for safety and insurance.

When I marched 27th, it cost me $400, but since I housed with the Zingalis and May was such a great cook, I really didn’t spend any money on food, or at least not much.

JD was in fact fired.

Tread softly!

it seems to me the board has a lot of power when it comes to things. probably because of the revolving door of directors the last 10 years or so

Point well taken.

And these programs are also aimed at upper-middle class youths. Just like current Drum Corps. And there are ways that some with less resources can participate, just like Drum Corps. But the era of a youngster walking in from the street obtaining an affordable life-changing, character-building experience is long past. And I think the activity is worse off for it.

The Maslanka Piece that you really want to listen too which will prob garner the most source material is Movement V of the Child's Garden of Dreams. AMAZING Source Material and it makes a phenomenal Opener. The Bad Hombres Piece is percussion Heaven. Killer Source material which should translate nicely onto the field. Judging by the little clip of the drums shown yesterday it already has. The Ending of Symphony 7 is majestic. Mixed with Lacrimosa some epic stuff there. Really getting an Angels and Demons vibe from the source material. I'm sure this staff won't be as literal as that but, man does the Guard have alot to draw from if they want to. I really like the direction the staff took in which they decided what the Field would look like and them built out from there.

I’m not in the loop at all but I genuinely believe that BD runs a pretty tight ship. I think this may have been some kind of personality conflict with the new creative regime at SCV. Nothing more or else BD wouldn’t have made this hire so quickly.

However, many kids do, and corps try helping through alumni sponsorships and scholarships, payment plans. Virtual camps have helped too.

Maybe it's exactly what D.C.I. wants.. A quasi professional league of the finest musicians money can buy...No longer meant as a youth activity per se but rather a showcase for gifted musicians and dancers between ages 14-22 who add to their resumes drum corps for future references...imho

I believe it and I don't blame DCI either. They can't control the cost of housing, transportation and insurance. It's sad that not any kid can take part in the activity anymore.

I have a hunch Jeff was given the option based on many unconfirmed rumors swirling for, oh, 15 years or so

Source music here... David Maslanka "A Child's Garden of Dreams" Bob Thiele/George Weiss "What a Wonderful World" Antonio Sanchez "Bad Hombres (Y Mujeres)" Bob Crewe/Bob Gaudio "Can't Take My Eyes off of You" David Maslanka "Symphony No. 7: Mvmt. 3" Wolgang Amadeus Mozart "Requiem in D Minor, K. 626: VII. Lacrimosa"

I'd tend to agree. I was chatting with my movie group and linked the Drum Corpse Bride show after we watched The Corpse Bride. I mentioned the Annapolis show and three of them were "I'm in if you go! I didn't know there was one so near."

Lost track but last I saw local PBS station was doing Doo wop reunion tour as fund raiser. And instead of big night of DCI there are a couple of smaller ones a year.

Floriduh.

we can't return to 50 years ago. even 30 years ago has flaws. that the season starts later and there's fewer shows helps somewhat, but IMO the big drain is 4-6 weeks of spring training

1960s drum corps still exists, but it's called "high school marching band." The kids live at home, they don't travel for rehearsals, few overnights, parent volunteers managing a lot of the logistics,. they ride on school busses to shows, etc, etc. The current members in DCI drum corps have already had that experience. They want to push it to the next level. Going back to the old style makes little sense (it already exists - see above), and would kill the activity dead. If drum corps alums from the 1960s and 70s and 80s want to keep the activity affordable for lower income members, there are sponsorship programs out there at every corps that are designed to offset the touring expenses.

It’s not.

Their Visual staff is listed near the bottom of this page. https://www.scvanguard.org/vanguard-educational-staff/

just say it please everyone is going to assume the worst

Looks interesting! When and how did it get easier to get the rights to Maslanka’s stuff? For a while I thought getting rights from him was almost as difficult as getting rights from Bernstein’s estate these days.

Jeff F- probably. JD- I don’t think so.

well current leadership probably learned lessons from their last stop

Since this is a show reveal thread I'll drop the source music here...YouTube since that is allowed... David Maslanka "A Child's Garden of Dreams" Bob Thiele/George Weiss "What a Wonderful World" Antonio Sanchez "Bad Hombres (Y Mujeres)" Bob Crewe/Bob Gaudio "Can't Take My Eyes off of You" David Maslanka "Symphony No. 7: Mvmt. 3" Wolgang Amadeus Mozart "Requiem in D Minor, K. 626: VII. Lacrimosa"

It's not the staff that are the problem. Corps can have incredible staff and still be dysfunctional - the entire machine has to have all the cogs greased and running efficiently. This corps has struggled in this area for years. Until this gets fixed, it will continue to struggle. It's unfortunate, but true.

SCV fires people. Often.

We have no confirmation of what happened. Nothing except an original post from the poster and a link to the member concerned. Also, the many comments on his FB post. DCP loves a controversy. This website has been driven to the level of TMZ. Time and time again.

On social media, without any confirmation, backup, nothing.

Without the facts, & particularly with only one side of the story, this is all we got.

Hypothetically, The Blue Devils could tour only one week prior to Indy and they would probably still win finals.

Yeah for sure, i agree. I'm always intrigued and curious because, i just never know what they'll do. it's always not about worrying if the show is going to be good, it's the opposite, like on how good are they going to be, what treats have they in store for us. I'm so excited for BD! Daaaam i'm excited for all the corps.

A gentleman in the North End of Boston wants to know how many horns ya got?

It was an otherworldly brass performance at semis. I thought I was going to cry.