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I have to believe this day in age with several corps having had financial management issues, abuse allegations (more than one persons alleged abuse) and a number of safety and care of membership issues, that any PR or media team at any org, would have a release of ANY communication, be reviewed and signed off by leadership, before publication. No org in their right minds would allow their social media team or PR team carte blanche on communications. Or they shouldn’t. And if they do, then they risk the backlash that may be generated; deservedly.

I thought I was going to die when I did RA when I was 44. And that was old timey stuff.

Who am I kidding? I'm in pretty decent shape for my age, but the first time I have to run backwards or sideways like a crab I'd fall and break a hip.

Both shows offer great music, Superstar being the the more musically sophisticated and Godspell the more accessible. I'm surprised no one has mentioned the iconic take on the former score by the Argonne Rebels. Fans and their fellow competitors loved it, but the pure musicality and seamless coordination between brass and percussion were woefully undervalued back in the Dark Ages of the adjudication system. The Opies were far ahead of their time. Godspell would play well today, given a treatment similar to the 'Coats "Lucy". It would stand out against all the darkness offered up by a good number of other programs.

Thanks. I now know why it is called Spring Break.

Not to mention the physical requirements thing. I can barely get up and out of a chair with without a "arrgghhhh ohhh man that hurts".

Alumni Corps should come out full blast with cyborg themes!

When my dad had his hip replacement they said the surgery will take “about an hour” and they were right. But all I could think was “HipCrafters; a new hip in about an hour.”

Agree. When an organization’s credibility is on thin ice, it is best to be overly cautious. Makes me wonder if all the ‘new, transparent SCV’ is just lip service?

Many times the person running the social media account is a hired employee with social media experience who probably has no idea about these abuse allegations. They have no reason to know, and probably have no idea why a piece of music the corps has performed is controversial.

Same here. Well, they'd also have to overlook the skill and ability rule.

i love Godspell....my HS did a really great version of it ( and WSS too...man did i have fun playing both)....but i'm not sure Godspell translates to the field as well....kinda of repetitious.

Troopers played “Day by Day” in 1973. I think 1974, too, but I’m not sure.

Look up Plymouth Canton doing JCS back in 1993…more akin to modern drum with all the electronics, vocals, props, and body movement. It’s like the anti Madison 1999 production of JCS…they were playing a completely different game than anyone else back in the 90s

Apparently someone zoomed in on an image from Mackey's social and re-entered by hand into a score program to try to get early access to Mackey's work for Crown. Mackey saw it and just posted a bit of the full score!

yup. just like cadets social media team releasing stuff about auditions only for hours later the corps inactivity ( using their words, not the actual reality) being announced. i get how some may be offended, but i'm not going to trash the organization

True w/ knees. And shoulders even more so - consider all the ways that they can move. I’m looking at a shoulder replacement in about a year or so. My whole right side will be metal - shoulder, femur, ankle. Concerning recruitment- I hope everyone is able to field the numbers that they want.

haha rimsky-korsakov go brrrrr

Red Team! Hah. If anyone should be pulling April Fools stunts in Drum Corps it should be the Cavies.

His was pretty textbook hip replacement. He was to the point where there was bone on bone but it hadn't done the worst in breaking through or anything. So it was the usual fairly small incision, go in and scrape out the goo set the titanium rod into the femur then the self installing hip thingy that expands. The video on it was pretty nifty. I've gotten the impression from people who have had knees done that knees are more complicated because they move more different ways

Mine occasionally clicks but no pain and my OS made my leg as straight as an arrow. My advice is to find the best surgeon you can because it does make a difference.

Lol.... I prefer kelly green

Oh wow! I imagine the rehab can be brutal. Hang in there - Godspeed!

Yow. That’s bad. I hope you heal well.

Ouch!! God Bless you brother. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

I forgot about my new knee. lol 😂

It's ok; they've got you covered. Most groups now travel with a Level 1 mobile trauma unit. Hip replacement? Not a problem... 😂

So things posted to SCV social media don’t get approved by SCV management?

I wouldn't even do one of those stand in a horn arc things anymore. No offense to anyone who does that but I don’t want to wear a costume anymore. I’ve been done playing for 22 years and absolutely fine with it.

Gotta love a good Rick Roll in 3/4.

SCV's April Fools prank announcing Scheherazade 3 is in poor form. Sure, make light how this abuse survivor at Vanguard's hand (corroborated by your current CFO/former board president and alum herself) asked you never to revive Scheherazade. She assured me to my face you wouldn't with witnesses present. How much longer can your staff claim they didn't know? You need a qualified communications director. The internal synchrony of this organization continues to be its downfall. On the one hand you've corroborated past abuse, while on the other, you make public jokes for internet points. These kinds of things keep alumni away... or do you simply want us to remain splintered? It's getting difficult to tell. Worse, I've been actively encouraging other survivors, who say they're ready to disclose their stories of abuse to you, to come talk to you. Insensitive actions like this make me want to stop. Especially if they'll be treated as callously as this. Announce the real show material and get on with it.

TCM played GODSPELL today and I realized how much I enjoyed the production as well as the music .I know JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR has been used in DCI, most notably by Madison Scouts..Has anyone done a production of GODSPELL?..I think GODSPELL has played second fiddle to JCSS for a long time...I think I now prefer it vs. JCSS ..What say ye DCP folk?

Why not?

According to DCX the last time any music from “Godspell” that was performed by a DCI finalist was “O Bless the Lord” in 1976 by Blue Stars. Some music was performed after 1976 but not by finalist corps. No one has performed any pieces since 2003. “Day by Day” was the top choice with a few “We Beseech Thee” and “All for the Best.” I’m surprised no corps ever performed “Turn Back O Man” which could have been a fun piece and am very surprised no one ever did “On the Willows” or “All Good Gifts” both of which could be effective pieces. The list was pretty long for “Jesus Christ Superstar.” “Jesus Christ Superstar” is more adaptable to drum corps, with 1999 Madison being the strongest and most entertaining version (it’s also one of my favorite all time shows), but “Godspell” is a better vehicle for schools and community theater groups. A poorly sung “Godspell” can still be an enjoyable evening if the cast has good comedic skills. A bad performance of “Jesus Christ Superstar?” I went to an outdoor performance in Portsmouth, NH a number of years back. If the great Augustine was correct when he said “he who sings prays twice,” this production was a prayer of lament. All the Heavenly Host of angels and saints could not save that production, and that’s putting it charitably on this Easter Sunday evening.🙂🐇🐣

June 15th 😉

Same here! Just watched 1930 and Cabaret Voltaire last night. Great shows. That BD drumline in 2009, holy smokes they were cooking! They definitely had something to prove after the nightmare in 08.

That word 'really' is doing a lot of heavy lifting in this sentence. Maybe forging the birth certificate in one digit could fool a few but not changing all four digits... 🤣

If push comes to shove, and they really overlook the age rule, I'm available.

While I don't disagree that revenues are not keeping up with expenses as much as they need to for sustainability, the examples of those two specific corps don't underscore your point. Vanguard got into trouble not because they ran out of money, but because they had absolutely no internal financial controls or experienced managers running the operation. The stories they were self-reporting of how they overspent in 2022 were just plain weird. Financially they could have put a corps out in 2023 and not broken a sweat. Cadets are fighting a lawsuit which was sucking up all of their available funding. Spirit is also battling a suit, but doesn't appear to be having problems recruiting and putting a corps on the field. Surprisingly, the majority of WC corps are in acceptable financial condition, if you look thru financials.

I think this is a good service. It helps interested potential marchers to see what op3enings exist for those corps participating in it and looking for marchers. By filling in some basic , non intrusive info ( they're not asking for SSN, bank account #, etc ) the site can direct you to corps... even geographically.... that has openings you might be interested in. For many potential marchers, this is their first exposure to the activity and many don't know who, what, & where. The service is free and has only been available for a couple of years now. I think it provides a good service.

So to answer some of the curious questions being asked here-- These numbers include any group which chooses to participate. So it may not be the full World/Open/All-Age/SoundSport rosters. It's not like DCI is monitoring the number of contracts being signed and updates this comprehensively. Groups have to opt in to using it. At Northern Lights (SoundSport now but in the All-Age review process for 2025), we were given the option but opted out because we were recruiting right where we wanted to be. If you click the link that's attached with the current opening posts, there's a survey which asks you all kinds of questions like what section/equipment/instrument you want to march, what your geographic area/ZIP code is, and then even asks if you want a national/regional/local model and then suggests corps for you based on your answers and the corps who signed up for the program. The points everyone else here are making are still true-- these numbers also include Open Class or All-Age corps (some of who maybe would have been Class A in the old DCA system) who realistically aren't going to make 160-some members, but sign up for the program to draw interest/use DCI's resources to help recruiting. Hope this helps a bit! Edit: So to clarify, this means the data DCI posts there is just raw numbers on what spots are open from corps throughout the entire "league" who choose to participate, and is not indicative of "fullness" of the corps in the totality of DCI... if that makes sense. Numbers seem to be up as far as recruiting. Looked like unanimously every All-Age corps reported record high recruiting at the Jannuals (us included, albeit we only have two years of data to show). Doug Olmstead - Northern Lights Ops Director

It's the new normal in DCI. More corps are going to start taking a year off. I said it was just the beginning wtih Vanguard and Cadets have proven me right. The corps are dumb - they shouldn't be running DCI and setting policy, and the greedy and selfish top corps only care about themselves and not the health of the activity as whole. They are doing the whole activity in with their win at all costs mentality. I can still love them, but none of them are going to be around in 20 years.

That could be my next adventure. Mine are starting to make some interesting noises. 😂