marshamello

Great post!

I like how they are using the human voice as another percussion instrument. Some of the voice seems to be unnecessary but so does some of the music in most corps's shows at this time of year. That's why there will be so many rewrites to ALL aspects of most every show we see or hear in May. While some of voice needs to be eliminated, and much of it cleaned up and better timed to the music (like every other aspect of the show), I like the direction they are taking. I'm willing to give it the season to develop - as I will every other show, even those without voice.

I don't know about that. I personally thought that BD's Dance Yowza of the Century show in 2005 was more poorly designed than Cadets' 2006 show and BD had no problems finding the talent in 2006. And many would say that 2001 - 2004 (especially 2004) were not some of the best designed Cadets shows but you can't argue their talent level in 2005!

Thanks for the update. I sure envy how close you are to their camp!!! Keep us informed as you hear/see new things.

1995 Crossmen marched about a dozen bass drums for part of the show. I recall it being very clever how they kept adding and adding bass drummers and thought they did a great job at working the build up into the musical and visual effects.

From the YEA! site - sounds like the Crossmen have a pretty sweet Spring Training site!! Crossmen hitting the field to take on opener drill - Spring Training site set as corps enters last camp Drill to the opener, arrangements to the closer, and a meeting of the full design team are on tap for the Crossmen this weekend as they gather for their last camp before Spring Training begins at the end of May. The Blossom Athletic Center, located on Jones Maltsberger Road, is part of the North East Independent School District, and features an 11,000 seat football stadium with new artificial turf. This state of the art facility serves six varsity high school sports teams and all middle school athletic programs within the district. "This facility is first class," Chambers said. Along with access to the stadium, the Crossmen will use two well-maintained soccer fields and the outfield to a baseball stadium. The corps will house in the Jimmy Littleton basketball arena and use the Piper Bass Student Center for meals, both of which are within the athletic campus. Read full Crossmen article

I guess the issue is that they're tying to cover two very different audiences with the one program. If the intent is to expand the audience, market drum corps, and grab as much attention as possible, maybe a one-hour "best of (current year)" program would work better. You'd have to cut way back on the number of corps performances and/or the length of each show clip since you'd still want to have a lot of "a day in the life" clips. It would become much more of an entertaining "marketing" piece than the broadcast of a performance. Keep things short, keep thing moving, keep the audiences' attention. Then what about a pay-per-view event for the real fans with a broadcast of the top 12? I'd rather pay to see the full shows and not be bothered by all the marketing fluff - leave that for the "uneducated masses".

I've been a drum corps fan forever, but even I find drum corps on TV (or even on the big screen) to be substantially less captivating than seeing it in person. So I can see where it wouldn't get a big market share (and, therefore, not much interest from producers and sponsors) when there are so many more options for the casual TV viewer. Whereas I've been to a number of "world class" skating competitions and found that TV coverage gives more the sense of being on the ice and allows you to not miss a single move. I believe NASCAR must offer much the same where going in person is great for the social atmosphere but wathcing it on TV allows for more total coverage of the racecourse. Heck, it's hard to find an audience for the best professional musicians on TV - even the world's best symphony orchestras usually only get PBS coverage. However, I still don't understand where schmaltz like Andre Rieu and the like get their popularity and repeated TV coverage!!! Now, if we allow electronics and expanded instrumentation in drum corps, we may be able to attract a young crowd that wants to see repeated corps coverage on MTV, VH1 and the like!!! I keed, I keed!!!

Sorry, I wasn't online yesterday and I missed the opportunity to share the tribute to this great man. Thanks for the great example of humanity Joe!!!

Any word on the 40 pages of drill they were going to learn on Sunday?

1. Keep it annual but move it to late Jan or sometime in Feb - While there is certainly the fear of bad weather to deal with, Jan/Feb is the midst of the cabin-fever, dying for a little drum corps time of year. April is too close to the start of the next season. 2. Don't allow any corps to be in the show two years in a row - this will allow for more variety and will lessen the voting weight of the fans with shorter history in the activity. It will also help lessen the effect of any ballot stuffing. 3. Don't include any shows from the prior two seasons. 4. Moreso than eras, try to get a better variety by devising a way to include corps that were less successful competitively or had a smaller (or currently have an older) fan base - assuming a return to 12 performances, maybe something like: pick four shows from Group 1 (Group 1 consisting of each year's top 4), pick three corps from Group 2 (Group 2 consiting of each year's 5th - 8th placed corps), pick three from Group 3 (Group 3 consisting of each year's 9th - 12th place corps), pick two from Group 4 (Group 4 consisting of each year's semi-finalists who didn't make it to finals)

Thanks for the update. Can you explain more about how they are incorporating the narration - what did you find cool about how they do it?

This is the kind of posting we should treasure - let's keep it on page one for a while.

Did you mean sanctity or sanity? From some of the things that come out of the DCI offices, I sometimes question their sanity.

A great honor for a great man. If you ever wonder what drum corps is all about, just look to people like Joe.

I really liked the Cadets front/back effect in '05 but I thought the swirly shapes and washed out colors on the back of the '06 version was not very effective.

Based on the guard outfits, its' either 1986 (On The Waterfront) or sometime before 1983. I can recall all the guard outfits since 1983 and the only year since then that they were an all girl guard and wore the corps uniform with white skirts was 1986.

Unfortunately, ukalele is not a legal instrument (yet) whether it be amped or not.

What I can't believe is that you actually think that what you wrote is not rude but feel that ScribeToo was rude to use your own words to turn the tables on you! Now who's showing a "bit of ego, self-aggradation and god complex"?

First, whoever gets the job is not going to be paid but is paying $750 to be a member of the corps. Second, I'll pay that person $2,000 to go on a rant on Finals night about what the fans with open minds who are in favor of thoughtfully advancing drum corps into the future "believe". :D Third, if you want a narrator to go on your "anti" rant, you'd better find a different corps than The Cadets to approach! :P

Actually, it says that the selected individual can participate for a reduced fee of $750 (not that they will be paid to participate). I guess since the narrator will not be getting the direct benefits from working with the horn/drum/guard/drill instructors, they feel the individual should pay less than the rest of the members. Makes sense to me.

From the YEA! site. Someone make sure to tell Hrothgar15!!! :) NARRATOR - A Special Opportunity to be a Cadet Thursday, April 19, 2007 By: George Hopkins Dramatic voice sought for 2007 season The Cadets, as part of their 2007 production, “This I Believe”, are searching for a narrator. This position would be filled by a member of the corps. However, because of the integration into the show, and the positioning of the narrator on the field, this individual would not have another role within the production. Any applicant would have to be of age to be in corps, willing to travel the country for the summer, and able to pay a reduced participation fee of $750.00 for the summer. The corps is searching for someone with a dramatic presence; a voice of quality that will serve as the foundation for a number of the narrative sequences within this very special production. Both male and female voices will be considered. Anyone interested will be considered, but as George Hopkins, director of the Cadets noted, “ once the individual settles into the role, there will not be all that much of a need for rehearsals. As such, it would be advantageous for the corps, and for the individual, if he/she had other interests or rationale for participating in the drum corps experience”. Perhaps the ideal candidate would be a voice major, or a music education major, who while not a percussion or brass performer, would benefit from a summer of immersion in the marching activity. Perhaps the individual is a future band director who has not had all that much experience in the idiom? What might also work is if the individual takes on the role of the “Dr. Beat” assistant, supporting the brass and percussion staff through the day in working tempos, ensemble, and the overall production. Auditions for the position will be held at the Cadets camp April 27-29 and the individual would be asked to move into Spring Training, as close to May 17th as possible. The Cadets will also accept electronic submissions! All that one needs to include is a few minutes of speaking. Perhaps quotes from literature or poetry. We are interested in the ability to express emotion,with a sense of quality and authority. Please send letters of interest, including any mp3’s to … George Hopkins hopkins@yea.org YEA! 601 W, Hamilton Street Allentown, PA 18101

1989 - 5th 1990 - 1st 1991 - 6th 1992 - 2nd 1999 - 4th 2000 - 1st 2004 - 4th 2005 - 1st 2006 - 5th 2007 - anything is possible - but other than 1988 - 1989 they haven't been below 3rd for two years in a row since 1982

I think their opener is "Ouch! Watch your teeth!!"

WOW! Our nation's capital doesn't even have a classical radio station. THAT's a tragedy!!