Leaderboard

Here's a little preview of the quality of this 400-member band directors group. I'm pretty sure it started with a bagpipe - really moving stuff. https://www.facebook.com/marc.parulekar/videos/317914267763791

Got some friends & colleagues marching. Five total that I know; 2 sousaphones, 1 trombone, 1 quad, & 1 piccolo. One of the sousaphones has been training marching 3 miles per day around their school's track with the horn. The quad did not do any training & said his back is killing him today after starting their rehearsals. (No report on the other two, but the piccolo is probably 'daisy' fresh this evening & smells like Chanel No. 5.) 😂

So much for the “next year they’re doing white unis and a “good guys” cowboy show.”

Hell of a show. I love that Troop does it the cowboy way. Nothing coy, just "Here. We know what we're going to do. Marinate in this for the next 6 months."

It was either that or die. YEA didn't want to manage them anymore, and they had someone in San Antonio who was willing to take them on. The worst move would have been to fold.

"The People's Timpanist"! Loved watching & listening to her skills this summer. Her tuning & finesse @10:49 Love the percussion book; "tasty beats"! Incredible on my Dr Dres ✅

And here they are today at the 9/11 Memorial playing Taps and the full arrangement of Amazing Grace. https://www.facebook.com/100010550850063/videos/888948122487891/

Enjoy me and the Glassmen on the 3rd to the last track!

Unless you competed against them, in which case they were the Saggy-Baggies

Playlist created on YouTube with all of these recordings. If you have others you would like me to add to the Playlist, let me know and I will add them.

Not only that, I personally am much more prudent with my taco budget.

What a strong year for the People's Front Ensemble and CrownDrums. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzFhdUwMLdo

I love how early Troopers announce their show relative to other corps. Prospective members know what they are getting into and fans get excited for it. I respect the Bluecoats approach to show announcements, I just prefer it earlier like Troopers do.

Ding, ding, ding. Placentia FTW.

Who eventually became Noxious Aroma. 😄

Or sucking-airs.

Soooo awesome!! I don't usually watch it but I will this year. Thank you Band Directors! Would Drum Corps have ever existed without y'all?

WORLD CLASS The 2024 DCI Tour kicks off on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in Rockford, Michigan and concludes on Saturday, August 10, 2024, in Indianapolis, Indiana. In between, there will be 38 days with World Class corps in competition, an increase of one day from 2023, but a decrease of 7 days from the last pre-COVID tour in 2019 and 6 days from the scheduled 2020 tour. Key Match-Ups Blue Devils, Bluecoats, and Carolina Crown were the top 3 finishers in 2023. Boston Crusaders and The Cadets rounded out the Top 5. In 2022, Santa Clara Vanguard was in this Top 5 group instead of The Cadets. Mandarins joined the Top 6 in 2023, a spot rounded out by The Cadets in 2022. Let’s see when these corps first come together this season. Note: The Cadets will not be participating in the 2024 season. June 28th - Carolina Crown meets Boston Crusaders head-to-head at its first show in Muncie, Indiana. Blue Devils and Mandarins open their seasons in San Diego. June 29th - A Blue Devils - Santa Clara Vanguard match-up comes to us for the first time on June 29th in Los Angeles and should give us a quick hint at whether Vanguard is returning from a year off the competition circuit as a medalist contender or not. Keep in mind that other than not competing in 2023, SCV has not placed outside the Top 5 since 2011 (6th). Mandarins are also at this show. July 2nd - Bluecoats debut in Mason, Ohio with Boston Crusaders and Carolina Crown at the same show. July 16th - Blue Devils, Bluecoats, Boston Crusaders, Carolina Crown, and Mandarins are all at Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. July 20th - All World Class corps meet head-to-head in San Antonio. The 7-12 spots have been filled with Blue Knights, Blue Stars,The Cavaliers, Colts, Phantom Regiment, and Troopers the last two competitive seasons. All of these top 12 corps will meet for the first (and only) time prior to Indy in San Antonio on July 20. The corps on the cusp here are likely Crossmen (#13 in 2022 and 2023), Madison Scouts (#16 in 2023 and #15 in 2022), Pacific Crest (#14 in 2023 and #19 in 2022), and Spirit of Atlanta (#15 in 2023). Year-Over-Year Comparison Jersey Surf is engaging in a more traditional two-phase tour in 2022. As a result, the corps will not make its way to San Antonio. Combined with the alteration to what was the DCI Southeastern Championship in Atlanta this year, all 22 World Class corps do not compete on the same night until they arrive in Indianapolis. 2019 2020 2022 2023 2024 Days with World Class corps in competition 45 44 41 37 38 # of times when all World Class corps compete on the same day 4 (7/13 - DeKalb, Denver, Memphis; 7/20 - San Antonio, 7/27 - Atlanta; 8/8 - Indianapolis) 4 (7/12 - Denver & St. Louis; 7/18 - San Antonio; 7/25 - Atlanta; 8/6 - Indianapolis) 1 (8/11 - Indianapolis) 2 (7/22 - San Antonio & Sewell; 8/10 - Indianapolis) 4 (7/13 - Clifton, Ft. Collins, Little Rock, Northern IL; 7/20 - San Antonio; 8/5 - Canton, Edinboro, Pittsburgh; 8/8 - Indianapolis) Colts lead the way with 23 scheduled appearances followed by Carolina Crown, The Cavaliers, Madison Scouts, and Mandarins with 22 scheduled appearances. Jersey Surf has the fewest scheduled shows at 14 followed by Genesis at 15 and Bluecoats, Music City, and Spirit of Atlanta at 17. Carolina Crown added the most shows over 2023 with three while three corps decreased by three shows (The Academy, Blue Stars, and Genesis). There are no corps scheduled to appear at more shows than they were scheduled to have in 2020 prior to the season cancellation. Bluecoats have decreased the most (-11 shows) while Pacific Crest decreased the least (-2 shows). Please note that the numbers below include only Thursday of Indy and represent the schedules as they were initially released each year. They do not necessarily reflect the final schedules. Scheduled Competitions (including Day 1 in Indy) 2018 2019 2020 2022 2023 2024 2024 vs. 2023 The Academy 26 25 25 21 21 18 -3 Blue Devils 24 25 23 18 19 19 0 Blue Knights 27 23 24 22 18 20 +2 Blue Stars 28 29 29 24 24 21 -3 Bluecoats 30 29 28 20 17 17 0 Boston Crusaders 30 25 26 20 20 20 0 Carolina Crown 27 25 26 19 19 22 +3 The Cavaliers 29 28 29 26 22 22 0 Colts 29 28 28 23 21 23 +2 Crossmen 28 24 27 21 19 18 -1 Genesis 24 21 23 21 18 15 -3 Jersey Surf 20 20 21 14 12 14 +2 Madison Scouts 26 26 27 21 22 22 0 Mandarins 25 25 26 24 21 22 +1 Music City 21 24 25 21 17 17 0 Pacific Crest 23 21 22 19 21 20 -1 Phantom Regiment 30 28 28 23 22 21 -1 Santa Clara Vanguard 25 25 24 20 0 19 +19 Seattle Cascades 20 18 21 21 18 18 0 Spirit of Atlanta 27 24 26 0 17 17 0 Troopers 27 26 24 20 20 19 -1 Genesis will wait an entire week longer to join the DCI tour in 2024 compared to 2023 while Jersey Surf is going in the opposite direction thanks to the new combined shows with All Age corps. Seattle Cascades (5 days earlier) and Troopers (9 days later) also have significantly different start dates this coming summer. Days after season opening show when first competition occurs 2019 2020 2022 2023 2024 The Academy 1 1 0 3 5 Blue Devils 1 1 1 3 2 Blue Knights 8 8 8 9 9 Blue Stars 0 0 4 0 0 Bluecoats 0 0 4 7 6 Boston Crusaders 0 0 4 3 0 The Cadets 0 8 8 3 n/a Carolina Crown 0 0 7 2 2 The Cavaliers 1 0 4 2 0 Colts 3 3 7 0 0 Crossmen 3 0 4 9 9 Genesis 8 8 9 9 16 Jersey Surf 12 12 8 23 17 Madison Scouts 3 2 8 3 3 Mandarins 1 1 0 3 2 Music City 4 4 8 7 9 Pacific Crest 8 8 0 3 3 Phantom Regiment 0 3 4 0 0 Santa Clara Vanguard 1 2 0 n/a 3 Seattle Cascades 15 14 14 14 9 Spirit of Atlanta 4 5 n/a 10 9 Troopers 1 3 14 0 9 Longest stretch of “no show” days 2019 2020 2022 2023 2024 The Academy 5 4 5 4 3 Blue Devils 5 5 5 3 4 Blue Knights 2 3 2 2 2 Blue Stars 3 3 2 3 3 Bluecoats 3 3 5 5 5 Boston Crusaders 4 3 3 4 4 The Cadets 2 8 4 2 n/a Carolina Crown 5 4 6 5 4 The Cavaliers 4 4 2 4 4 Colts 2 2 2 4 3 Crossmen 3 2 4 4 2 Genesis 4 3 3 3 2 Jersey Surf 2 2 14 2 4 Madison Scouts 2 2 2 3 3 Mandarins 4 4 8 3 4 Music City 2 2 2 3 3 Pacific Crest 4 8 7 4 4 Phantom Regiment 3 3 3 3 3 Santa Clara Vanguard 4 4 5 n/a 3 Seattle Cascades 6 2 3 2 4 Spirit of Atlanta 4 2 4 3 3 Troopers 4 5 2 5 3

He looks like he’s right out of a Christopher Guest movie. 😂

Hey everyone, something real random here, but finally I have to find out the scoop of this particular term … on and off I sat through more drum corps rehearsals than anyone probably should have as a fan lol and it seems to be with the Gino Cipriani brass lines. during rehearsal. He will tell them to go on and off.. as a Brass player myself I can only assume this mean some players are playing and some are not. the question I have is, how do they determine who plays or doesn’t play? Is it simply even or odd? Can you tell it’s off-season with this type of question? Lol.

"On and Off" is the instruction given to whomever is operating the met during ensemble rehearsal. It just means that Gino wants to have the met on as the drum major is kicking off the segment but to have it turned off once the hornline comes in.

I think she was the best.

HELL. YEAH.

Troopers 2024 production: "Dance with the Devil" https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=733012992190384&set=a.359051012919919

…me too! 😎

Yes. In 1995. They actually put a pretty decent corps together in a very short time.

In either 74 or 75 the Blue Devils were introduced as being from Walnut Creek, CA.

Woodwinds didn't have a prayer!

I don’t think so. Cap Sound was under the umbrella in Madison, though.

There should be enough Tubas there to even make @Hook'emCavies light up. Any DCPers in that group?

You could add Pioneer(s) if you consider Cedarburg to Milwaukee. About a half hour drive depending on traffic.

I believe what the truncated tour, much fewer shows and economic realities are telling me is corps have decided that IAAI. (It’s all about Indy)

I was looking at the Cadets shows and travels in 2011 . That was their DCI Championship winning season with the theme “ Angels and Demons “. The Cadets had 35 competition shows that season . Their travels took them to coast to coast that season . They had season shows in California , Washington state , Oregon , Colorado , idaho , New Mexico , Texas , Oklahoma , Midwest states , southern states , then all the way up to New England , then back thru to Allentown , on to Indy . It was pretty impressive for them to win with such a challenging tour . Those that followed DCI that season know that their drill required a lot of marching and much of it high velocity too . Cadets actually were finishing 3rd in some early shows . But despite the extensive travel requirements and really not that much practice time with the 35 shows that season , they peaked at Championships and won all 3 shows there . Now some of the recent Top 6 Corps will be in about half the number of shows in 2024 than the Cadets ( and other Corps did ) about a decade ago . All this said , Corps now here a decade later are facing higher transportation and housing costs , and other increased costs that makes being prudent with their numbers of shows and travels a wide decision in these challenging economic times , imo .

You’re an old timer like me. 😂. Did PR ever hold their show at Harlem high school? Or is that the IDBCA show I’m thinking of? I definitely remember that show in 1973 because that’s where the Viscounts got a 7.7. Total score. 😳 Kilties went on right after them. I asked Jim if he remembers that but he doesn’t. I guess the old saying that if you remember the 70’s, you weren’t there is true. It’s funny what the mind remembers. I can’t even go to Publix for three items now without a post it note but I can remember 💩 like that. 🤦‍♀️

I have to sit in the blast zone to cover up the ringing in my ears. Wish we had of used hearing protection in the 80s & 90s. I'd stand on the sideline if DCI would allow, but Mr. DiCarlo would probably call for security. I do have some old staff badges. Hey... 🤔🤫 😂

I have a feeling it has to do with the lack of interest and cost of copyright clearance, in that order. People will stop and watch corn hole and cute kids spell because they can relate to it. Most people can't relate to 20 year olds in spandex emoting on turf. It's the same reason HBCU bands get airtime that corps style bands don't. HBCU bands keep themselves relevant; corps style groups have edutained themselves into a niche activity.

I would. get there early and find a place to park, and just check out the park and tailgate areas, as well as the new souvie area.....the vibe is great. and get your cardio in going up the hill too!!

If Person #1 kill somebody 40 years ago (or last week), I wouldn’t want the son of that person to spend time in jail because they are related by blood. But I’d send that person #1 to the death row.

When I was 15, I ran over the small tree in my parents front yard that my mom planted lol.

Remember these times when she backs the car over the mailbox.

showed the 11 year old the Allentown schedule. they she insisted we go over the entire tour. she was hyped. my parenting plans are coming together as i have forseen

Never get enough marcher POV vids!

I would have loved to have been there but I was at the other show in Ohio. Weather was good and it was my first show in about a year so I was 🤗🤗🤗🤗 (I’m hinting around that I wish they’d have the two Ohio shows a day apart so I can go to both 😆)

Agree. Also … Bringing Sully in as an advisor adds all his creative strengths without any of the …shall we say challenges He and Jeff also have a long working relationship. Glad to see Tyler getting a seat at the design table. IMHO you need to have a balance of experience and fresh perspectives. Crown is always tweaking. Last year was fun to watch because the excellence really drove the effect as the season ended.

Very true. During Bimm’s tenure at Marian Catholic, his band won more Grand National Championships than any other band ever has. I believe that record still stands today though Carmel will break it pretty soon if their hot streak continues.

However there are still strong ties to Paramount with a lot of crossover staff members: Tyler Edrington Molly Favret-Edrington Katie Hopkins Madison Adcock Jeff Sacktig Byron Valentine Carrie Smith Also interesting to note the addition of Marc Sylvester in a consulting role. Will be interesting to see the design fielded by this visual team. I can envision (a) a more coherent visual design (b) improved guard staging (c) perhaps a more balanced approach to effect (d) more consistent attention to details.

Crown finally got around to updating their Staff Page. Design team includes: Reid Atkinson, Program Coordinator Michael Klesch, Music Director, Brass Arranger Mike Martin, Brass Arranger Kevin Shah, Front Ensemble Arranger, Sound Design Mike Jackson, Batter Arranger, Choreographer Sean McElroy, Staff & Ensemble Coordinator Andy Ebert, Production Supervisor Jeff Sacktig, Visual Director, Drill Design Tyler Edrington, Color Guard, Visual Design Molly Favret-Edrington, Aesthetics, Visual Design Byron Valentine, Visual Design Consultant Marc Sylvester, Visual Design Consultant Greg Bimm, Music Consultant

I've heard more than a few people say it... "Other corps have been dreading the day when Crown finally has a Sanford winning line" I don't necessarily agree anymore as people know I'm a huge fan of the percussion but in the past, there were definitely a few years that they would have been almost unstoppable.

Figured out the movie, it’s ballad of buster scruggs

If you get hit by field artillery, you will certainly B-flat.