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I heard the opener back in January but I didn’t recognize the music and couldn’t ascertain a theme from just listening to it. Only thing I can say for certain is it sounded dark and a little ominous. Mello part was tasty from what I remember. Of course this could have changed since then so I’m just waiting until I can see them in person. Can’t wait to hear what Mackey cooked up for them

A perfect lead-in to what I felt was a good contribution to this fabulous thread:

I don’t know, Chief! While i would LOVE some La Fiesta, Legend would have me throwing MYSELF!

Aggressive definitely from what I recall. Battery was going for it. Sounded like a minor key so that definitely made it sound darker. Wish I could have figured out a theme but it’s difficult hearing only one movement in audition camps. Maybe we will get more intel after this weekend if someone goes up to watch on Sunday

If BD was going to bring back any music from the 70s-80s, might as well bring back the single baddest piece of music to ever grace a football field. La Fiesta, BD 1984. Game over. Everybody go home. See you in 2025. No one is topping that. BD throws down La Fiesta in Indy, the heck with throwing babies. We will see grown adults getting tossed around Lucas Oil.

And i was there!

I’m yearning for a super dark show this year. I feel like it’s been some time since we had a great one in the top mix. What made you think it sounded ominous? Lots of low brass? Was it aggressive? I’m dying for these themes to come out already. 😂

Troop sure found their wheelhouse. Take Mandarins dark and make it darker. I don't know that it will ever win, but they sure keep you on the edge of your seat while performing. Every year now it's like watching an intense, high drama movie.

LISTEN! This masterpiece was my introduction to Blue Devils via audio cassette of their 76 show, it was in the 90s though, specifically their 1992 season. I was watching their 1992 finals show, while listening their 76th on cassette. 76 got stuck in my head ever since. This piece (Channel One Suite) I am dying for them to revisit, so badly. I am praying for this. Here's A Buddy Rich version.

Ok, I think we have BD’s 2024 show figured out. Like 1998 (Romeo & Juliet / WSS) it is a mash-up. Bonnie and Clyde and Sid and Nancy. Uses music from the musical Bonnie & Clyde (which is a real thing) & the Sex Pistols. Note that the four names are alluding to a four-peat. Glad we figured this out. Good work everyone.

IDK if BD will four-peat. But I am confidently predicting that if there is a four-peat in 2024, it will be Blue Devils.

Same here. The highlight of Legend was the cymbals kneeling in front of the snares with the soles of their shoes spelling out West Is Best.

🤣 Not really saying i want it in a dark theme, i want the dark theme differently, but I'd love to experience Channel One Suite in a modern show. I Want to experience what you beautiful people experienced in 76.

I was too. My girlfriend at the time was a flag in their guard. I was ecstatic for her and other friends in BD, but it was also bittersweet.

I can almost guarantee that whatever Mackey cooks up is going to be dark, as I mentioned before, because that is what he excels at and that is something that Crown excels at. My hope that is even though Matt Harlof is the new residing head director for Avon HS he still has the time to put into Crown, after all he isn't just the brass caption head there anymore. He also oversees the percussion caption as well now. I want crown to go all out this year, they really have an opportunity to take the field by storm this year after the success they had last year.

That night in Philadelphia (1976) was a seminal moment for the activity.

As a Max Verstappen and a Blue Devils fan, I endorse this post! Max has been sheer dominance since the early stages of 2022 when he swapped a few races with Le Clerc in his Ferrari. But he eventually pulled away and only lost a handful of races down the stretch. Then last year the only losx not to Checo early in the season (and I think, as you noted, he may have had car troubles) was the Singapore race when Sainz won on a night when it was just not working for Max. This year he is looking as dominant as ever. I think he's been on every poll (not counting the Chinese sprint race). That gap he put up on Hamilton in the sprint Sunday after he passed him after he worked out his battery settings was astounding. Made me think of Schumi pulling away and leaving everyone in the vast distance 20 years ago. Now, if only my college football team could be as dominant as BD and Max instead of our hated rivals. But, you can't have everything!

That’s good to know. I’m a brass player but even I could tell it was bad last year.

New guard caption head is a solid program builder - I'd imagine the trajectory will change (or at least start to) immediately.

One of the few times I have seen Buddy Rich smiling

I don’t care if they win. I do hope guard is better but I realize that is a long building process. Especially from where they were last year.

Did you pick up the cello & harmonica in the intro?

they had me at hello

Which is a link to Youtube That ballad.

One month away from move-ins! Getting more and more excited as the season grows nearer!

i told him if they are, we'll know by Allentown

My dad's set was a marine pearl slingerland kit from the 1950s. He had it down in the garage when i was a kid for awhile, it spent a lot of time in the attic. We got it down and set it up again for him after retirement but then they wanted to use that for a spare bedroom again and it went back to the attic. When it came time for him to sell the house and move after mom died. He was ready sell it and his older brother had a neighbor who was a drummer and learned he also collected kits. The guy was ecstatic to see dad's drums...complete with most of the calfskin heads intact. I think only the snare had been replaced by a synthetic head. The thing was in pretty good shape and the guy lovingly restored it then had dad over to see it and play on it one last time.

Flomarching with Mandarins just released the artist names of the source material. Along with playing Agape by Nicholas Brittell in the background of the video

That's almost a bargain compared to some of those others. I couldn't even tell you who Tom Petty's drummer was and his studio set is $69K?

Hey, Fizzle, Channel One Suite hardly fits the dark theme you want so bad! 🤣 i am cool with reprising Channel One. Much preferred over dark! And Buddy Rich played a concert at my high school in 1974 or 75. Hard to remember which, as it was, after all, a concert in the 70s. 🤣

Buddy Rich used several manufacturers throughout his career including Ludwig, Rogers, Slingerland, & Vox kits. But he mostly used the white marine pearl Slingerland kit. You can own his 1968 kit that's been discounted to about $23k from Donn Bennett. (Scroll down to the 7th row.) Several other famous kits available from his 'Drum Vault'. I'm sure financing is available. 💵 https://donnbennett.com/category/drum-gallery/drum-sets/

That was true for me as well watching Crown & The Cadets online. But when I experienced them live. 🙌 There's no comparison watching these shows online vs live & 'in person'. ✅

Sounds like they are going to have a great trombone player, a solid high note trumpet player and a deep voice singer. 😊

Hope i am not violating any rules here..... 76 Wrong video, oh well still a favorite piece (Legend of the one eyed sailor) ELECTRIFYING! 86

talked to a friend today who still kinda follows drum corps, but isn' up on everything. he asked about Phantom and asked "if they are killing anyone this year"

I think the ballad will be one of the great moments in DCI history. Sandi's keyboard arrangements!

Yeah. Having to google Buddy Rich. I feel old. And Buddy Rich was of my dad's era. I grew up listening to dad listen to him (then me during high school) on dad's Columbia Record Club LPs. Which he still has.

Bonnie & Clyde?

I remember hearing about this. and i marched in a different corps.

That's right! That's the spirit brother. We should celebrate success of any group whose rising to achieve the highest. We win in every ways, great shows, great corps, equals the best entertainment. We do this in pure enjoyment of the activity and pure happiness of the all the kids journeys'

I think I read that since Covid, Max Verstappen has won like 80% of F1 Races?? That is insane! The only time he loses is when his car has issues. No one has straight up out ran him since I believe 2021/2022. Blue Devils is Max Verstappen. Max Verstappen is Blue Devils. Depends on which way you look at it lol. FTR........BACs title is coming sooner than later.

You should have been in a Senior corps. 👍 Had one snare drummer light a cig just before he was told time to do warm ups. Muttered “I ain’t wasting this” and smoked it while warming up with rest of the line. When done he just turned his head and spit it out about 5 feet. Never missed a beat the whole time.

If DCP had the descriptions from a fraction of the survivors who have reported to me, MAASIN, and other proper whistleblowing channels... ... or if DCP knew about the young lives demolished by their drum corps experience... ... then there would be pitchforks from even the staunchest of detractors. Downplaying that contributes to the problem. For every 50 great experiences there may have been at least one adverse one. Through out history. But whatevs, amirite? Those reporting must just be weak or too sensitive... "not drum corps material." /s

Yes. absurdity.. I don't what gets into us social media Drum Corps fans. Its seems like every preseason starting almost without fail on April 1st we're .. Constantly Risking Absurdity .😉

After they killed it with Jojo last year, sign me up for more Japanese anime!!

Yep and that's part of the problem. Everything costs money and having 15 guard instructors is just unnecessary. Spend that money on getting a better product.

I was just trying to get the whining and crying started early. Lol. But now that I think of it, I screwed up and went out of order. First thing that is supposed to happen is to overreact to BDs Community Performance in Wyoming, when the show is literally bare bones and nothing of substance has been added yet. THEN I am supposed to cry West Coast Inflation after the first show. And I think the third thing is then make threads about performers sitting out like five years if they change corps to keep them from going to BD. Sigh, maybe I will get it right next year.

Something I was told at some point in Drum Corps or College that made me stop on a dime: "You teach like you were taught." Read my last post about what was done to me at Syracuse. When I heard that little saying, I was determined NOT to do that. I learned HOW to teach from my brass instructors in corps and my college Wind Ensemble conductors. Some people like my HS band director, what to do and not to do. Some, what NOT to do. Getting a grad degree in Educational Development and Strategies also got me onto strong paths as an educator. Regarding Xylo's quote, I've seen abuse patterns exhibited by a student in a band I worked with. Ugly and still disturbing 25 years later.

I'll preface this by saying I agree with the spirit of what this person posted in general. But, as somebody who was there, they do not know what they speak of with the Cadets regarding Hop. Of course the abuse was there before him, because lets face facts: the abuse was, and is, everywhere in the activity. No corps is immune from it. The cycle didn't start with Hop, but he codified it there. He was dug in like a tick. His grip, an ironclad stranglehold. He was in charge for 34 years, more than one third of the corps' existence. He enabled the abuse there for those years and directly took part in it. Once he took over anybody who marched there can tell you: Hop's culture was the corps culture. Outside the abuse, that culture generally was "work yourself to absolute death if you have to in order to succeed." The work was literally all that mattered. Not people, not physical health, not mental health, not nutrition, not safety - work, even at the expense of all of these things. That was the lesson he wanted us all to get. With that culture, they won 6 out of 11 years with incredible performances. We all bought into that culture. We were flat out treated like dog sh** - and we lived for that experience. Looking back on it I see the absolute insanity. I would never let anybody treat me like that here in my adult life now. But I let them do it back then. Because they were the champions when I showed up for my first audition and I was not. I was a kid. I knew nothing. They're the adults. They must know. This is how you succeed. I must be wrong. I'll just take it. Removing Hop drastically altered the organization and the culture. Immediately. The members from 2018 - 2023 were genuinely supported and taken care of to a degree we never were. It was a valiant effort. It was imperfect. But it was far better. Abuse is everywhere in the activity. Hop made the corps an even easier place for abusers and perpetrators to thrive. I hold him directly accountable for that.