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Blackstar

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  1. Funny thing I've heard judges say for the last oh decade if not longer. "I would have scored them higher but I had to leave room for other corps" How the hell is that possible. If say the Crossmen come out on fire and percussion should be scored 18 out of 20 but Blue Devils and Cadets have yet to be judged. If they are better then they should get a higher score. It might be 18.5 and 19 but why should Crossmen get a 16.5 because they haven't scored that high all year and there are two more corps that have placed higher than them still to be judged? Slotting happens. Maybe not on purpose but it does. Drum corps is the ONLY activity where a group CAN"T go from last to first. Heck they can't even go from 6 to first.
  2. Money money money. It takes so much money to start a corps, support a corps and grow a corps. Back in the day almost every corps had bingo. Now very few do because of Racinos in most cities. I really don't see how people think they can raise the money needed without some type of outside business to support the corps.
  3. I'm hoping the links works because its really funny. This is comedian Rickey Smiley who has a syndicated morning show and also appears on the Dish TV Show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yIHOybMCMA
  4. When I log on with my tablet and check a thread I get the last page instead of the first.
  5. Crossmen 1984 Huntington W. VA I remember Mr. Robinson and a couple of staff members were looking over the corps. They started pointing at me. They came over and asked how old I was. I always looked older than I was but I didn't have ID. My mom had to fax it. 1984! Cost around $20. She was not happy! We came in dead last with a 56.
  6. So, could I start Star here in Delaware and would it still be star of Indiana or 27th Lancers Maryland? I know its not Indiana but you get my drift.
  7. That's the point. Lightening very rarely strikes twice. If someone had the money wouldn't they start a corps in their own image. I wouldn't start another Blue Rocks even though most people in this area would want another go. Yes a past member might but how !much would it cost to start out at that level. Good luck to anyone that can pull it off.
  8. With Southwind announcing their coming back the cries for the return of Star of Indiana ring out. I pray it never happens. Does anyone realize what a startup would look like? Smaller corps, less musical less original. It would be a shadow of its former self. And who is to say it would ever reach the same level as the original. Smaller corps such as East Coast Jazz, Pride of Cincinnati, maybe the Freelancers, Guardsmen or SkyRyders. But never Star or 27. Some things are better as a memory
  9. While watching the Arena Bowl I realized that these stadiums would be ideal for smaller corps to compete. At a field of 50 yards, closer seats it gives a better feel for smaller corps to compete instead of being lost in large stadiums or make shift parking lots. There are over 50 indoor football venues around the country. They play during the summer same as drum corps. The cost I think would be lower and offer a possible better return on revenue. Membership could be limited to 75 or 100 (2 buses?). Same rules as Soundsport or IDCA. Definitely feel it would give the activity a better boost then Soundsport.
  10. I know the season has just started but why wait until all the corps met. Thats the chicken way out. I'm putting it on the line right now! Cadets hold on to the lead, go undefeated and take it all. I called their last victory in 2011. This is not a favoritism thing. I didn't like thier show in 2011 and haven't like a Cadets show in some time. But a winner is a winner. In one of the tightest races ever Bluecoats barely edge out Crown and Devils for 2nd. Only 5/10's separate these corps. Phantom passes Vanguard at the end with a very emotional show. 7th Crusaders 8th Cavaliers 9th Madison 10th Blue Knights 11th Blue Stars 12th And it comes down to Troopers, Crossmen and Spirit. Will the Troopers make it after a heart breaking 13th place last year? Are the Crossmen ready to move back into a finalist position? Does Spirit have the show to stay a finalist? My heart says Crossmen, my head says Spirit, but I'm going with Troopers this year. We'll see right I am in a couple of months.
  11. People know the corps of today as powerhouses but many were "not as talented" as today. Cadets were not a consistent top 12 corps until the late 70's. Colts, Blue Knights, Boston were around 25-35 most years until the late 80's mid 90's. 27 was a very consistent corps until the end. Like Bridgemen the end came very quickly unlike Blue Stars that had some very bad years (for lack of a better term) until they came back into the top 25.
  12. I'm bored at work....really bored. So I was wondering what is the average placement of each corps. The criteria is that they must have made finals at least once. Been in World Class/D1 at least 10 years. Some corps didn't make the 10 years such as Kilties, Star of Indiana and Kingsmen. Many corps scored high in the 20's and 30's in the 70's but rose as the activity declined. Blue Coats, Blue Knights, Colts et al. Troopers may be the most inconsistent corps going from a mid 20 cors the the top 12 back to the mid 20's. 1 Blue Devils 3.02 2 Vanguard 3.94 3 Phantom 5.05 4 Cavaliers 5.6 5 Cadets 5.61 6 Madison 7.56 7 27th Lancers 7.66 8 Crown 11.66 9 Freelancers 12.15 10 Crossmen 12.24 11 Spirit 12.41 12 Bridgemen 12.76 13 Blue Coats 13.29 14 Blue Stars 13.95 15 Suncoast Sound 14.18 16 Blue Knights 14.86 17 Velvet Knights 15.80 18 Sky Ryders 15.94 19 Boston Crusaders 16.63 20 Troopers 16.89 21 Glassmen 17.56 22 Colts 19.31 What does this all mean.....nothing really. I was bored...really really really bored today and it killed a good hour.
  13. So people knock SDCA because of the google results. But laud DCI for a format that has been dead for 30 years (A-60). What does the open class format do for small corps? Has DCI ever presented a small corps simulcast? Are they marketed as equally as the larger corps? Someone mentioned that Soundpsort does not pay corps but SDCA does. So who does more for small corps. At least they are spreading the wealth around no matter how little it is. SDCA does not have the financial resources of DCI and is very grass roots. Yes they need to market more. We preach that more needs to be done to help the activity but as soon as someone does something people sit in their lounge chairs on the internet and do everything they can to knock them. Sadly the more I read things on DCP the more I dislike this activity and the people in involves.
  14. ******* WARNING THIS IS AN ANTI-DCI THREAD******************** Once again DCI has jumped into someone else's footsteps. SDCA started as a way for small corps to be featured and get exposure that they didn't receive in DCI. Now DCI has started Soundsport "as a way for new corps to form and perform without the cost of touring" We need SDCA. Having a monopoly in anything is a bad thing. Having DCI control outdoor and indoor drum corps will spell the end of both. While Soundsport is the first thing DCI has ever done for smal corps its only a matter of time before it becomes the same thing DCI has. A way for larger corps to bully smaller corps into inactivity. I know I know, I have no proof if this so I'm not going to bother explaining why I believe this to be so. With the loss of DCM/DCE and others circuits, even the small ones such as GSC, there is no place where a small corps could perform every weekend with 100/200 miles of their home base. SDCA has been around for several years and has offered a solution and now once again DCI is climbing on the backs of others to take over another sector of the activity. We need to support SDCA in their efforts
  15. Not going to do a poll.....YET, but I'm wondering who people think had the best uniform ever. Then I'll do a poll per decade. My vote Suncoast Sound
  16. I hate when a question begets more questions. I understand this isn't a one sentence answer. I'm not looking for one sentence. Lets that Singerland's analogy of a farm system. Very few corps had smaller corps such as the Kiltie Kadets, Colt Cadets or Phantom Legion. Saying those D2/3 corps were feeder corps isn't true either. yes maybe 5-10 people might have moved up but not enough to really consider, say, Simplex Minutemen a feeder for 27 or Rivermen a feeder for Colts or Madison. People mention the cost. IN the 80s you needed horns, drums guard equipment and uniforms. Now you need all that plus 30 tables, or ten 20 foot boxes or 4 sets of stands, electronic equipment, a new uniforms every year, new horns and drums every other year. Which now means an extra semi trailer, staff bus because every section needs an instructor. When I marched we had 2 drum instructors, 1 color guard guy and a couple of horn people. Now you needs a snare tech, tenor tech, bass tech, cymbal tech, Every horn section has a tech. I think we now have more techs then we had drummers in 84. This doesn't take into account the increased cost of gas, insurance I think Fred might have it wrong also. The crowds are still the same in many areas. Its just the number of corps have gotten smaller. It cost entirely too much to field a competitive corps. My friend has an AAU team that travels. It cost each player $200 a season. Starting a drum line or color guard after equipment can be done for less then $10,000 for the whole season. For a 30 person drum line that's less then $400 a year. No other activity has done more to kill itself then drum corps. We had a national telecast that many could kill for and now we're down to a simulcast that probably averages 75 seats per theater. How much did we lose by not being on PBS. We keep increasing cost without increasing income to meet demand. Sadly, the only way to save this activity is to reduce the number of marchers, change the whole format, possibly going indoors with 60-80 members. Going to different seasons. Do you realize the attention we would get by doing halftime shows at NBA games or Arena Football games. But you say its a summer time activity. Well going into a winter or spring activity with smaller corps would bring more local kids meaning there would be more regional shows increasing the exposure which means more exposure which means more money per corps. An cycle of increasing success instead of the current cycle of increasing entropy. Oh please don't say the corps today are better then the corps of yesteryear and you would rather have 20 great corps and not 50 mediocre corps. Yes I'm in the group of I would rather have 10 Blue Devil/Cadet/SCV level corps, 15 Crossmen/Sky Ryders/Freelancer level corps, 20 Surf/Northstar/Memphis Blues level corps and 30 Pioneer/Rivermen/Sagniaires level corps. And even better 40 Bandette/7th Regiment/NY Lancers level corps. All on the field today. If you get a chance listen to some of the corps from the 80's, not just the top 12 but from prelims or lower classes. Best show I ever went to was 86 Allentown DCI East D2/3 show.
  17. Okay, first Merry Christmas. I'm looking a definitive answer to what makes this activity so different from others that stop its grow or hastens its death? In the past people have compared it to everything from pro sports to BOA. The reason I'm asking is because while listening to the best drum lines of 1972 I noticed that of the 39 original corps only 7 are still active. 13 of 48 from 82, 15 of 27 from 92. Adding the lower divisions you have 6 of 29 corps and 16 of 21 in 2002 plus 6 of 42 corps in lower divisions. Going back to only 2002 24 out of 63 corps are still left. That's a little more then a third of corps that year who marched last year. If this was pro sports there would be only 12 MLB or 10 NFL and 8 NHL teams left. Why is this activity so different then everything else?
  18. Love the Guardsmen. I bought some tapes from the late great ken Kobold of Guardsmen 76-77. Why had no clue since I only read about them in old DCW's and another drum corps paper.
  19. Suncoast Sound, Seattle Imperials Rivermen 27th Lancers Garfield Cadets Bridgemen Black Knights Les Eclipes Avant Garde Alliance (from Boston) would have been interesting to see how far they would have gotten. Blue Rock (hometown corps)
  20. I've watched several videos of different drum battles, in America and overseas. The thing that I noticed is the different in drumming between the top 12-15 corps and everyone else. The "big boys" simply cram as many notes as they can into a performance. The other corps try to entertain. Take the Crossmen Genesis battle. Sure the Crossmen were more proficient and better but Genesis tried to play and entertain the crowd. Take a look at E-Sarn vs Zone Teen Drumline which appeared on national TV in Thailand. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmQ2ay0P8Ss. How do you think any of the top 12 corps would go over on America's Got Talent or any TV sow outside of a DCI telecast? I know, I know. Drum corps is not for everyone and most people can't appreciate the nuances of the activity. But don't you think oi drum corps was more accessible to more people it might be a better activity.
  21. The dumbest thing I read on DCP this season. Paraphrase, scoring a 20 out of 20 isn't a perfect score, it just means the judge thought they played it very well. I know I only have a GED but I always thought if you scored the maximum possible it was a perfect score.
  22. Did you read my full thoughts on the subject. No, you didn't because you wanted to paint me as a racist, which is so far from the truth if you really knew me. Boy, talk about fabrication.....
  23. The funniest thing of the night. Watching program directors explain the meaning of their shows. And most shows I didn't care about the theme of the show but did enjoy the performance. Craziest thing was Crusaders getting a point penalty for baby powder. Especially since it really wasn't on the field. Weirdest thing, the evil queen in Phantoms show. I expected better. Coolest thing tie between Madison singing You'll never walk alone and Troopers show. WTF moment, 3 way tie between showing the same Bluecoats tenor over and over and over again and showing the same women wearing the yellow blouse in the stand over and over again. And when rondo spoke on Cavies shows "secret societies and one of the terms used was Grand Wizard when talking about leaders of secret societies. You could almost hear the inside of his head saying "#### I didn't mean to say that". My daughter and I looked at each other busted out laughing. Biggest disappointment, the size of the crowds reports in DCP. Less then 20 at my picture house but I'm sure the other one was full. But most of that crowd is from the same high school.
  24. Just got back from the picture show. Less then 20 people in house. First time at this location. I noticed some trends this year, uniform changes on the corps proper, several corps not fielding tymps and way to many props, not a lot of playing while moving. I also wish they would cut down on the amplification. Many times the trap set overpowered the horn line. PC is serious and if they keep going their going to scare some top level corps. Troopers almost made me jump out of my seat. Wow Crossmen, had to follow Troopers which after such an emotional show it was hard to do. I had problems with the level of amplification in the pit. Especially the trap set. As a former Crossmen it hurts me to say they didn't move me. Bluestars, liked the show thought they kept their placement. Spirit of Atlanta, Still hate the uni's but liked the show. Wish they did more of Sweet Georgia Brown. Boston, first uni change and loved the way they did it. Great show. I was disappointed when I first seen the grey jackets but very pleased to see the red by the end. Blue Knights don't remember much of the show. Cavaliers, I wish they kept the cloaks on the while show but liked the transition. But I wonder why they placed so high. I think if another corps did this show it would be a 10 to 13 place show. I felt they played and marched it very well but its not an 8th place show. Madison, Loved the show wish the guard had different color camo's. Also liked when they sang "You'll never walk alone" and alumni stood in the stands and sung along. I was worried about the boys years ago with the low placements, then with the ugly Mexican wrestling show but they are definitely back. Phantom, okay this is were it gets ugly. During the intro Rondo mentioned the all girl guard. My daughter made the comment that they are all blond. Then I noticed that they were all white. I thought no big deal it happens. But then I noticed a lack of color throughout the corps. I was only able to find one African American. Is this an issue. No because I know they have had black members with African American drum majors. Just found it very strange. Bluecoats, I know this is starting to read like the fashion police but I loved the new uniforms. The show was great. I'm surprised they didn;t score higher this year. SCV is SCV, they do so many little things that makes a show crazy. I wish the drum line was featured a little more. Cadets Great show even though I'mnot a prop guy they used theirs the best. Drum line is off the hook, notes notes and more notes. Crown, I was wondering why their drum line was scoring so low. They have the opposite issue as the Cadets, lack of notes. snares play but that;s about it and when they do play with the horn line its not much there. At least to me. Guard is greatly under appreciated. Horn line top notch. I hope they win. The only complaint and its a big one is kill the narration. Its overblown and doesn't match whats going on on the field. Blue Devils, my mom taught me if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all................ Okay I will say great job to the kids, they did a great job.
  25. My daughter and I are going to Movies 10 in Newport DE. First time at this location for this show. Usually go up north.
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