dlp40

"In the Stone" St. Croix Rivermen '80 Corky's book put the Bridgmen's version to shame. Ba dut da WAAAAAAA...

Thought this would be interesting info to gather. Based on my own life and loves, I made the leap and managed to keep DC part of my military life. It can be done. Semper Fi, Go Navy!

hey CC, check out dapreacher, he's from MI too. Also, he is short on $$ so maybe the two of you could pool the $$ and ride together. The sum of the whole and all that jazz...

You are right my friend, and after wasting a lot of time in level II/III Drum Corps I, like many of my fellow DC alumni, went on to serve our country to protect the Freedoms that we (and the ignorant) enjoy. I wonder how many of us there are out there that made the transition from DC into the Military. Seems like a good pole question?

Amen bari_benzo!

Sorry, your opinion is neither true or accurate. Just coldhearted it seems... Let's take our beloved Blue Stars as a prime example. They ran for many years (25 SOLID years I believe) at level II/III and were no less of a drum corps than a level I corps. To all of those level II/III corps out there, I say BRAVO ZULU for keeping your corps on the field or even on the asphault. People like morganhill don't know squat about the great things that come from marching DC at ANY level!

Thanks Laurel, I'm the one who strayed off topic, but it's all related. We need to keep II/III DC healthy and unfortunately to do that, it takes $$. DCI can help, but having Championships anywhere other than in the middle of the US, will put a $$ drain on some corps that they just can't handle. I might be biased cause I live in WI, but Madison's Camp Randall venue is hard to beat. That is a Drum Corps town and probably the only one of that size. It makes me wonder why they are moving to CA. I'm thinking that it's political and some big sponsor said, "Move it here and we will give you___." Maybe I'm missing something here, but didn't Madison attendance break records? To me, that means more $$. BTW: I loved watching players develop and master their music, marching, maneuvering and musicianship (sounds better than military bearing) and it's catchy: The 4 Ms.

OK, I marched in the minors for many years and then we moved up to the majors. Here's my analogy: Baseball, Hockey are two sports with a SOLID minor league. Since the Twins play in that God forsaken dome, I'll use the baseball analogy. Both the Twins & the Saints play baseball. Same rules, same equipment, same numbers, etc, but in the minors... 1. The talent level is basically the same, with a few young players having slightly less talent, but the potential there is just waiting to be tapped. Players are developed in many different ways including help from their peers. 2. Practices during the off-season are more frequent as players basically work year-round and not just 'after' tryouts. 3. The fans are just as dedicated, if not more, because they are mostly comprised of parents and HARD CORPS fans. 4. For the fan, the price of admission is cheaper and the food is cheaper. There is usually parking on-site and tailgating. Definitely Beer. 5. Venues are more conducive to a intimate game. (The MetroDome sucks, the players look like ants) 6. Players have fun and it shows on their faces. (Ever watched a top-12 CG person following a drop? Big Smile throught Tears & Fear) Not a lot of yelling during practices or when you make a mistake. 7. The buses & housing suck, but they feed you good. You have more off-time and "planned" activites. 8. When you get called up to the majors, everyone is happy for you, even though they know you are in for many hours of unrelenting pressure and stress on top of playing in the MetroDome for fans who boo the umpires. Oh, ya, almost forgot. Drinking and Fighting. (oops, that's Tremendous Blast, sorry) (www.TremendousBlast.com) So that's my take, anyway you chalk it up, it's still Drum Corps, it's still takes money, and most of all it takes the dedication and support of the fans to keep it going. I love II/III DC. AND I love the Saints.

GRRRRRREAT! I'll bring stuff and I'm sleeping in the Magnum. Too 'ol fer tent'n. Need ta do some dead reconning on me plot to determine my course 'n' arrival hour. Me thinks it will be dark.

Avast ye maties, might we pass the hat fer dapreacher? How much does the good padre' need? RRRRRRRgg! Me tonsils are sore from'all this RRRRRRRgggging. Wha ta jolly dAAy. I feel ta need to end da dAAy wit a joke. What do ya call a one legged pie-rate wench? Eiiiiiiilean

John, You are so Tremendous sounding, I can hardly wait to meet you. Do we have to bring our own meat too? Is there a keg of the golden nectar to slurp from, or should we bring our own nectar in those little glass or metal thingees? Are we playing our drums around the campfire or should I bring a rubber?

I'm insane over the whole DCI issue. You don't need to be a Six Sigma Black Belt to read the numbers. PLOT, PLOT, PLOT!!! If you plot the declining numbers (even factoring in the available population AND increased participation in DCA & BOA) the slope will still resemble an Olympic ski jump. Get real you DCI defenders! If I had JMP on this computer, I'd run a prediction based on the formula of decline and give you the year that only 11 corps show up for DCI Championships. BUT, I guarantee if something is not done to support 2/3 corps, it WILL be in my lifetime. I'm 44...

Much more catchier and apropos: Super BS Alumni

It was often predicted in the mid 80s that DCI would be the end to Drum Corps youth (for the hundreds of THOUSANDS of the young, yep back in 50-80 those were the totals) that actually benefited from the youth activity. When DCI got a secure foothold in, the $$ was more important than the youth. I see it getting worse and soon, there will be all of us oldtimers marching in DCA corps with our kids. Heck most of us are doing that now. I say F-DCI. OK, that was harsh... How about bringing back DCM & BSA & VFW & Catholic DC (out East) for all the groups at 2/3 level. That is where I started, getting a uniform inspection before the down in New Orleans by an old big nosed VFW guy. We played and traveled with Jr. Blue Stars, Sundowners, Jr. Madison Scouts, Capitalairs, etc. It was how we progressed and occasionally one of the troops would make a leap for a DCI corps. Sometimes, like the Rivermen in '79, the whole corps made the leap. AND on the rare occasion, they actually made it! Top out at 22 in '80, but the corps was gone by '85. DCI needs to remember that drum corps is not only for the music majors of the world, it's for all who like music, dance and theatre. Young people. When was the last time you looked at the audition materials for a DI corps? Heck, 1/2 the musicians I knew couldn't sightread and our instuctors taught us measure to measure. If you could do a clean open roll, you were in the snareline. If you played drumset, you were a tenor. If you were a moose, you got tympany or the big bass drum. Oh ya, they are now in the pit and amplified... What happend while I was away?

Hey Smoothy, What ya talking about yellow and black? Where does the black come in? I only heard about a t-shirt. Can I wear a black skirt and black flip flops?