MiniSopGuy

I always like watching this thread too. I see our score hanging near the top in July, when we haven't even put the entire show on the field, but then we start falling like a stone the rest of the season. It actually pushes us harder to be cleaner buy the time we are on the same field with the same judges as everyone else in Rochester. SoCal Dream has now entered into our annual stealth mode.....see you on September 4th......

Garry I have to disagree with you on this point. In the 70's and 80's, there were considerably higher numbers of musicians. Now, we deal with kids just starting music in high school, if at all. Just looking at OC, yes there are some large and highly talented high school bands, but they are not the norm. Most of the high schools have smaller bands today than they did in the 70's and 80's. Those that were the powerhouse bands of the times are now some of the smallest. I think much of getting high school students involved is in the marketing of the programs. I remember corps coming in and making presentations to the band class when I was in high school. They would come in and talk up the corps, show videos and get students excited to march. It seems now that the only marketing done to high schoolers is a flyer mailed out to the school band director. If that person decides to post it, you might get someone to join. However, if the band director is not familliar with or supportive of drum corps, there is a significant chance that the students will not even know what drum corps is. Is there an easy solution? No. Are there things to still be tried? Yes. I think a return to the old way of marketing a corps to prospective members may be one solution. Personal contact with the band directors in your marketing area and letting them know your goals and objectives and how it will benefit thier program is important. If it will not benefit their program, they will not get strongly behind the idea. Follow that up with a professional presentation with all the bells and whistles to get students excited is a must. The first hard step is getting your foot in the door.

You have to have a program called "WinZip" on your computer. You can get a free trial version at www.winzip.com Now if you already have WinZip, then I am not sure. I have not seen the problem you describe.

But Tom, what about this..... It is bell front, brass, valved, and is definately "in any key" Only kidding, but had to throw it out there.

I don't know about that. The Nevada/California border crossing is always a real hassle for me!! It's like there's a magnet in the road that pulls me off the hiway and into Wild Bills casino!

SoCal Dream starts our July 4th weekend with the Walnut DCi show on Saturday, then the Huntington Beach parade on Sunday, followed by the Riverside DCi show on Monday. It's going to be a fun weekend!

Getting back to the question of corps status checks........ SoCal Dream has been working real hard and cleaning our show. Unfortunately, we have come up a little short of our goal to have the entire show on the field for our first weekend of competition. We decided that our closer is just not up to par enough to put it in front of the fans this weekend. We worked real hard to have the complete show on the field, but we would rather do 4/5 of the show outstanding, and leave it at that, rather than do the last 5th half-arsed. Next weekend will be a different story! SoCal Dream is hungry and the animals are restless. Don't poke at our cage or your hand might come back missing a finger or two.

As tom and Mike said, we are in SoCal. You wanna come play....eh?

Due to medical circumstances, one of our lead baritone players has had to step out of the hornline. We feel so badly for him that so close to the start of our performances he has to step away, but it was necessary to ensure his health. We appreciate all the hard work he did, as has everyone in the corps, in preparation for our first performance this Saturday, and we will miss having him on the field. We have 6 shows over the next 3 weekends then a 6 week break for adjustments and final cleaning befor our trip to DCA championships. If you feel like you have what it takes to learn a difficult show in a short period of time, please email membership@SoCalDream.org. In addition to this recent loss, we also have one mello and one contra hole to fill. If you are not marching right now, why not? Come down and join in with SoCal Dream.

There are a number of threads on the subject of what mouthpiece to use. But to answer your specific question..... Playing upper lead for SoCal Dream, I use a Marcinkiewicz E12.4, the Roger Ingram model. The other upper lead uses a Giardinelli 17s. I only know because he tried mine and liked it so I ordered it for him.

I really dislike the whole idea behind a "preshow". First the flying start, now preshow. I see it at high school competitions all the time and really despise it. Face the back field, or front if you want, do your basic 1 minute warm-up just to get the chops moving again and to let the corps hear the "acoustics" of the stadium. Set, wait for the announcement, and perform your backside off for the fans. Think KISS..Keep It Simple Stupid! Do only what is necessary to be ready to perform and wow the fans. No need for a preshow.

Sponsorships are such a great thing for a corps in need and we have one of the greatest sponsors for cymbals and gongs. Here is our latest aquisition: (I think we ned a bigger hornline!) To go along with everything else they have given us through the sponsorship: (I know it is a little washed out, sorry I didn't take the picture.) Dream cymbals and gongs is a great company to be affiliated with. The quality of their product is amazing and they have an awesome sound. Make sure you hear us on the field this summer and check out the look and sound of these new cymbals and gongs.

I have not read the thousands of posts about G7, but I do not remember seeing this anywhere. What would happen if say an 11th or 12th place corps suddenly came from out of no where, with an amazing show performed it super clean and won championships? Are they then part of the G7 and one of the G7 is booted? Or is the G7 the G7 no matter what happens placement wise and they say congratulations but still snub them when it comes to the "special" shows?

Yes we are in Class "A" this year, however we are not locked into staying in Class "A" and never have been. At least not since I have been with the corps and definately not since I have been in charge of membership and recruiting. In fact at the beginning of this year, it appeared that we would be over the 65 limit and were quite possibly going to be an "Open" Class corps. Unfortunately, after people saw how much it was going to cost them including the trip to Champs, that did not happen. We are in "A" Class, glad to be there, and real happy to get back on the championships field with the rest of DCA and also to be able to perform for our east coast fans that have not seen us since 2008.

After a lot of discussion and consideration of the current situation, SoCal Dream has decided to make the move to Open class for the 2010 season. We look forward to being on the field with the rest of the Open class corps and going head to head with our Renegade cousins from NorCal... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OOOps...April 1st was a couple months ago....sorry....hahahaha

Perhaps you have looked already, but There are duplicates of the USMC ceremonial sword for sale for $40 including shipping. If all you are using it for is an honor guard, they would be just fine. Ceremonial sword on Ebay

So I have not read the entire proposal, but does the G7 actually exclude the rest of the corps from DCi? If so, here is a thought. What if ALL the corps excluded by G7 decided to move over to DCA? We would have more corps in more places throughout the country. Someone said something about housing the members on their 4 days off each week. Who says they would have 4 days off? If there were more DCA corps around the country, there could be more DCA shows in more areas around the country and there could still be full touring corps. We would then have 7 day a week corps competing in DCA just like DCi. Is that bad? It is always said that DCA corps are lower quality than DCi corps(agree or not, that is the comment I have heard). If DCi corps were suddenly in DCA, wouldn't there then be "better" corps in DCA? If the shows were billed right, and the general public were educated properly, they would know that the DCA shows now have the same corps that used to be in DCi shows. People would still go and see the familliar corps. No, not the top 7, but how many shows always featured the top 7? Suddenly DCA shows could become the premier shows around the country. The question would be is if there were a DCi G7 show and a DCA show with 16 corps in the same area on the same weekend, which would you go to? Personally I would choose the show with 16 corps. It will probably cost less and have much more diverse entertainment. Of course the simple solution would be not to have a show the same time in the same area as a G7 show. The only thing that would have to change for the DCi corps that come over to DCA is they would have to leave their plugged in instruments at home and conform to the DCA rules. Not too difficult to do. If this really happens and the G7 corps create a division line from the rest of DCi and those corps decide to move to DCA, suddenly there would be 6 to 10 more corps out west and we could have a complete DCA schedule. G7 will probably go through and planned for correctly, DCA could have the opportunity to be there to pick up the pieces. ---Bob--- *****************edit*********************: Since this is such a hot topic right now, I probably should say that these are my opinions only and do not reflect the opinion of staff or management of any corps that I am affiliated with.

Not enough Old-New mix. I like the old school and new shows, but everything they are showing is too new. Unless you have all of the DVD's of the older shows, when was the last time you saw Blue Devils show from 1979, or Cadets 1984. I would definately like to see some early 80's shows mixed in with some from the 90's and 2000's. When DCi thought this up, and called it the "Classic Countdown" I thought they had a great idea. Start getting everyone pumped up for the summer season by starting out with historical shows and building it up to the current crop of shows. Then you hit the stadiums for the newest the corps have to offer. Bring that back and, for me, it will once again be a "do not miss it" event. P.S. Someone should send this thread to the DCi marketing chiefs!

Thanks everyone for your replies. Anyone else want to add your opinion? Anyone else use the Vipers?

This is great! We are so far ahead of where we have been in past years at this time of the season. We are definately right on track to make our goal of presenting a complete and outstanding show our first time out. If you want to come out and fill one of the few available spots, but think you won't be able to catch up, think again. Our profesional staff, and members, will do everything they can to help you catch up. Next rehearsal is this Saturday 9:30am-9:00pm. Come claim your spot!

The loss of lives is the worst part of this situation, but then you add in the countless homes and businesses and it becomes overwhelming. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this flooding. The Grand Ole Opry; Before and After:

BTW, I did try to do a search to find previous threads on this topic but "Marching shoes" came up with all sorts of threads about marching band, and "shoes" or "uniform shoes" came up with threads about uniform changes and shoes to wear for rehearsal.

What uniform marching shoes have you worn and what are your thoughts of the shoes? Mine: MTX - Pros: comfort; traction. Cons: Sizing not standard (I wear a 12.5 but had to get size 14 to fit); top lace hole and grommet have torn out on every pair when laced snug enough to stay on my foot; could use a little higher arch support. Your thoughts?

WOW! Hope all of MCL is safe, sound, and dry!