skywalker

97 bones

Sure, deals will be made for woodwind instruments if it ever comes to that. But discounts do not equal FREE. These instruments are still MAJOR investments. Big money to be spent. And the added personnel and all that comes with that (stated earlier) is the BIG BIG BIG money that will keep if from happening. As for George cutting a corps, don't count on it, no matter how many silly uninformed rumors you heard or people who think they know.

Maybe if Phantom had gotten a 99.15, they would have been included. They didn't. So they're not. Are there people out there who seriously don't understand the poll question here?? Allow me to make it easier for those who lack the understanding: The highest recorded score in DCI history is 99.15. It has happened twice. The 2002 Cavaliers and the 2005 Cadets. This poll is asking which of those two shows (and those two shows ONLY) do you prefer. See how easy it is when you break things down like that? :)

Cavaliers. It's not even close, IMO.

Blue Stars got robbed. :P Hey, the 33rd anniversary of questionable judging at DCI Finals. Woohoo!!! (I'm just kidding folks. It's all good.)

The thing people fail to realize is that the directors and board members of DCI are also fans of drum corps. They are actually HUGE fans of drum corps. Most of them have spent their entire lives in drum corps. Most of them have sacrificed more for their involvement in drum corps than any of us can ever know. They may not like all of the things that many percieve "the ordinary fan" likes, but then again, if we could get ALL the fans to agree on anything, that would be a major accomplishment. Nay, it would be a miracle!

Nope. Those things don't add up to nearly what you think. And those things only would slightly reduce costs on things such as uniforms and equipment. Even with any discounts, those are still huge investments. There are little to no sponsorships and manufacturers discounts on fuel, insurance, buying another bus, paying for more staff, buying more food, redoing the equipment truck, bringing in more volunteers and drivers, etc etc etc. We're still talking about tens of thousands upon tens of thousands of dollars here. As far as trying to get a few woodwinds into the pit to be amped, I don't see that happening. If they're going to go through the trouble of legalizing woodwinds just so they can have one or two play in the pit through a microphone, then they'll just go for the whole shabang. In this instance, they'll either go for it all or they won't go for it at all. And when you take into account the considerable cost, I don't see them going for it at all. Well, George will try. But even his board can't afford this.

I'm not assuming anything, really. It HAS been attempted before and it failed miserably. It probably will be attempted again, and it will fail miserably again. I've spoken with 6 corps directors about this in the last 2 years. They all said the same thing. Corps directors (or the Boards of Directors who they answer to) will not vote for those kinds of expenditures.

Anyone who thinks that they would keep the personnel at 135 if they added woodwinds is out of their minds. They would raise the personnel limit to around 180 or so (or whatever another bus would hold), and THEN make the woodwind rule change. Not gonna happen.

This is why you will NOT see woodwinds on the DCI field of competition anytime soon....... Individual corps budgets are tight as it is. Fundraising is difficult. If you want to add woodwinds, you must: ADD $$$ to the budget for (at the least) one more bus ADD $$$ to the budget for more fuel.... seen the gas prices lately?? ADD $$$ to the budget for more uniforms ADD $$$ to the budget for more food ADD $$$ to the budget for more staff ADD $$$ to the budget for new instruments ADD $$$ to the budget to outfit the equipment and food trucks for the added storage space, etc. Not to mention insurance costs and the added need for more volunteers and drivers and other support vehicles. If people think the revenue generated from tour fees will cover these costs, they are fooling themselves. Plus, the budget increases will mean corps will have to up their fundraising efforts even more to be able to continue operations year after year. Some will argue that adding any-key brass was a huge expense. Well, this is not like any-key brass, which is basically replacing one set of horns with another. The resale value of the any-key horns alone makes the investment pay off far more than what it was like when you were stuck with a set of G horns for ten years or more. Some will argue that adding amplification was a huge expense. Well, this is not like amplification, which, even though it is an added expense, it's not a bank breaker. Amplification is an absolute drop in the bucket compared to the BIG MONEY we're talking about when you start adding vehicles and fuel and all that other stuff. We're talking about tens of thousands upon tens of thousands of dollars..... and then some! People around here are fond of saying "follow the money." Well, there you go. This is simply not an expenditure the overwhelming majority of corps can afford. Right now, there is really only one director I can think of (maybe two) who would vote for this. And even his Board of Directors would have to think twice before approving such expenses considering their recent (and very public) struggles with fundraising. From a purely logistic and financial standpoint, there simply aren't anywhere near enough directors who will approve this. And I can't envision that the situation will change in ten years as prices RISE. Translation: Woodwinds on the field in DCI = Ain't. Gonna. Happen. You may untwist your panties now.

Thanks for your comments. They are appreciated.

So everyone posting on DCP is a bunch of babies. Cool. Thanks for clearing that up.

I highly doubt that. You'd probably be doing exactly what you're doing now, only you would have entitled this post, "Bb Brass and the Demise of Drum Corps." Or some other thing that has changed which you don't like.

Now I've seen everything. GMichael1230 calling people out for being rude, belittling, and nasty. Forgive me while I go off into this corner and GUT LAUGH until I vomit.

SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!!!!!!!! IT'S PEEEEEEEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!