FTNK

OWND

Where someone marches is a very personal and complex decision that only they can make. People bash kids for being "ring chasers" but there is a lot more involved. That was the case with me. People should withhold judgment when they don't (and can't) know all the facts about why someone left. In my situation, I absolutely made the right choice...

The judges want Bluecoats to win DCI so they make them move up a place (or break out of a tie) on finals night. See: 2004 2005 2006 2008

Judgecam

Skipping the elaborate theoretical and pedagogical debates, I am going to just say that if your drum corps hornline sounds like a 200 member high school show band, you're doing it wrong.

It's there. Log in, pull the dropdown menu in the upper right hand corner to "Drum Corps International." Click the "On The Field" tab. Select desired year. You will find the top 12 for every year (with some exceptions).

A new and original thought! And argued so eloquently!

Great show, really subtle and sophisticated, wonderful music book. Everything an SCV show should be. I like how they took so many pieces from outside the genre (choral piece, string quartet, string quartet/string orchestra piece, percussion ensemble piece) and made them work so beautifully with brass and percussion. I mean, the only piece in the show that had any brass originally was the Bartok Piano Concerto No. 1, which is an awesome piece in itself and pretty much my jam. (OK, at this point I decided I had to pull it up on FNet) The guard was really good that year, and I love the body stuff they did. Classy uniforms. The Bartok is so driving and totally ######. I love how they integrated the percussion into the ballads with the the snare rolls in the beginning and the suspended cymbals on the front sideline in Adagio. The percussion feature is cool as hell and the crazy pit part right before the brass re-entrance (about 4:22 on the Fnet video) is totally righteous--controlled chaos. One of my favorite drum corps moments comes soon after that when the tenors answer the brass line (it's hard to explain, but I listen to that part a LOT on the State of the Art 2 CD).

The OP hit the nail on the head--Crown's ballad was fantastic and PR's mello soloist has to be one of the best in the history of drum corps. There were a lot of really amazing musical moments this year, though. Which I believe is something we can all agree on and appreciate.

You could have James Earl Jones tell Simba about the circle of life!

This year probably Bluecoats, last year definitely Crown.

I really like those picks for the most part, but there are a few things: Crown doing Beatles: Kiwanis learned the hard way in 2004? 2005? that playing Beatles tunes is more trouble than it is worth. SCV doing Metropolis Symphony: Yes plz. Academy doing Ballet Sacra: Cadets did this music in 1993 and Capital Regiment did it in 2004. Not out of the question, but might be a little played out and/or suffer by comparison. Cavies doing a "Fantasia" show: I'm assuming you mean the Disney movie Fantasia? Good music, but I think the rep would fit better with Phantom than Cavies. Then again, it would be nice to see Cavies go in a new direction... Boston Patriotic show: The 2002 show was a patriotic production...might be too soon. I kinda hope Cadets actually use part of the Age of Anxiety symphony. And the Bernstein Concerto for Orchestra (part of 2006 closer) deserves another look IMO. If it's just a WSS/Candide/Jeremiah rehash, I'll barf.

A lot of people were picking Cadets to win in 2008 as well.

It was rained out in 2006 as well. Hallejulah, praise the Lord!

Well spoken, sir.

The best thing about Bb brass is that it allows the lower-level corps to sound good. Top-tier brass programs have improved, but a lot of those lines sounded good on Gs as well because they had more mature, experienced musicians who could adapt to the new horns. The lower level corps' members didn't have that experience and maturity and ability to figure out a new instrument as well/quickly, so they struggled more. The result is that since going to Bb brass, the top brass programs have improved significantly but the lower level brass programs have improved IMMENSELY. I think it is one of the main reasons we are seeing such great quality from top to bottom in the last few years and why corps are so competitive throughout the activity.

(Member falls while we were learning ballad drill) How the #### do you fall in the ####### ballad?!! (To which she responded with a sheepish "It was bumpy!") Covah down ya ####in' dope! Reset to G, as in Gahfield, a corps who could actually ####### mahch! Jose, is that your little Cuban head bouncing around out there? You look like you're talking a ####in' stroll down to dah ####in' taco stand! The great Marc Sylvester

No, but DCI's board of directors can choose to not approve CR to participate in their events.

The burden of proof lies solely upon the corps' administration. It is one thing to hope for the best but the future Capital Regiment backers, members, and parents need something more than optimism and some vague statements to go on. If the corps can't explain the steps they have taken to improve and prevent a repeat of the past, maybe they shouldn't be fielding a corps.

I'm not sure if it's whole corps or just the hornline, but I have it on good authority that The Cadets had only 15-20ish age outs. Either way, that's scary. The last time the corps had a large return was 2007, and that corps was generally considered to be good.

First of all, I have nothing but respect for you, your service record, and the commitment you have made to helping bring Capital Regiment back. I believe your experience will be a powerful asset to the organization. With that said, don't you think the November camp is a little late to answer questions regarding the corps, changes that have been made, and its future? By November, most kids auditioning have narrowed it down to two or three choices, and having clouds of doubt and crucial, unanswered questions surrounding the corps is not going to help convince members (or their parents) that CR is 100% ship-shape and should be their drum corps destination. As you said, the burden of proof is on the administration of Capital Regiment. Why not explain how things have been changed and improved? The reaction from people who have previously been involved in Capital Regiment has been harsh. Why? Not because we want to beat down Capital Regiment and keep it from coming back. I think the alumni of the corps would like nothing better than to see that Royal Blue on the field and be able to cheer on their old corps. However, we would see the corps remain inactive than to see it come back and experience the same problems, with the same chronic issues, with members have poor experiences and being endangered, and then fold again. We are critical because we want it to be done right. And doing it right, in the minds of most of us, involves a complete change in the corps' executive leadership.

Tom, I usually enjoy what you bring to discussions on DCP but on this one you're completely missing the point. The point is: Rick Bays micromanages everything at Capital Regiment, in a way that antagonizes everyone, and won't let anyone do their job. He also is the Executive Director and his "board of directors" has no power over him because it is a small group that was hand-picked by Bays and made up of people who will always go along with him. It's kindof like the Soviet Union under Stalin; of course, there was a Politburo, but everyone knew Stalin was really in charge and even if the Politburo disagreed (which they wouldn't, since they were handpicked by Stalin and would probably be killed one way or the other for disagreeing) they couldn't do anything about it. Extreme analogy, but same basic leadership structure. Rick founded Capital Regiment and has been its director since day one. He has sole power over the organization and there is no real oversight from an objective board of directors. And he micromanages every aspect of the corps. Hence, in a very big way, "Rick Bays is Capital Regiment." Rick is not satan. In 2004, I had a great deal of respect and admiration for the man. The instances, such as the housing situation you mentioned and letting SW use the equipment truck and driving it himself (not to mention sending the CR equipment truck to Biloxi, MS after Hurricane Katrina to help feed people) show that he has good intentions. He started a corps operation from scratch and it almost grew into a top-twelve corps. But the management of a World Class drum and bugle corps was beyond his abilities, and he was unwilling or unable to delegate duties in order to make sure the corps was run successfully. Micromanaging and doing it all yourself might work when you are Div. III (which CR started as) but when you're 130 members strong and touring 14,000 miles a summer, things fall apart--like they did in 2006. I truly believe that he means well, but his attitude towards staff, volunteers, and members as well as his inability to successfully manage the logistic of the corps led to Capital's downfall. If Capital is going to come back, they need a fresh start. You're right. And I believe Rick Bays tried.

I know there are Japanese corps and marching bands and some others across Asia, but has anyone considered creating a marching arts association/circuit in China? Obviously it's probably impossible but I wonder, with all their economic growth in recent decades, maybe there are some wealthy Chinese businessmen who would support a corps to foster civic and national pride? Maybe you could have a whole range of programs, from "rescue league" corps that aimed only to keep kids off the streets, all the way up to World Class equivalent. Asian cultures seem to have a lot of enthusiasm for synchronized, coordinated activities involving large numbers.

In 2005 Capital Regiment had a prop. This has made a lot of people angry and was generally considered a bad thing. Anyway, this hideous abortion called The Sundial was wheeled around the field by two girls, often making up part of the drill. At the end of the opener, the high brass formed a circle with the prop in the center. At the Ankeny, Iowa show, one of the girls somehow fell and the prop rolled on top of her. She was fine but she couldn't get out from under it for a few seconds. In addition, the prop came to a halt, right when it was supposed to be moving across the field and up as the circle formed around it. So at the end of this dark, intense opener, you have a girl struggling, stuck under the prop and marchers improvising drill to avoid it.... In Arkansas, our program coordinator Wayne Dillon was working on the prop on side 2 of the field, thinking he was far enough out of the way to not interfere with rehearsal. Well, the staff in the box must not have realized how far out our drill went, because at the last second I realized that I and the rest of the tuba line were marching directly into the prop. We were blind because it was on our left side. So at the last minute I or someone else yells "Bail!" and we bring our horns down and run to avoid marching right into the ####### prop.

I pretty much stuffed my face 4 meals a day and ate copious amounts of junk food on the bus, but I lost 28 pounds in Cadets in 2006. My girlfriend at the time was concerned....but she liked how I looked after tour!