FTNK

It is much better to give up on drum corps because of what might happen than sit through several seconds of a drum corps show you don't enjoy. I mean, we could be talking about minutes here. It's a shame Cadets didn't march difficult, engaging drill or play brass instruments or drum or spin in 2005.

Not cool

Wow, that refurbished truck looks awesome.

Pittsburgh, PA: June 22 Erie, PA: June 29 Maybe Massillon on August 3rd...maybe finals...

Wow, that's a lot of video on demand.

I am gonna head down to Cadet-land within a week, I'll let you know

The instrument or the player? lol

Obviously if you post a completely negative opinion, people are going to disagree with you...not saying people should be allowed to attack you personally, but you can't expect people not to have strong disagreements. I'd also like to ask you to prove it; I searched every corps in last year's top 12 on the video searches...nothin'.

Cadets could have an adjustable-length drop sash, so on "throwback night" they could just let the length out almost to their knees and have it flap around early 80s style.

Interesting--people used to be going from PR to Cavies, and now we have reports of people going from Cavies to PR.

The audience segments were abysmal. And honestly, as much as Steve Rondinaro and Dennis DeLucia think they're celebrities, hearing them banter awkwardly about whatever is pretty much like nails on a chalkboard. More camp reports are good, but only if they really give the fans what they want, which is basically music excerpts and the like. No one wants to see interviews with 17 year old bandos talking about how excited they are to be marching corps or show designers babbling on about the visual narrative of their show or a montage of snare drummers playing 8 on a hand or people doing basics in January. I think the idea put forth before of having some caption heads come in and talk about different shows and what made them so great is a good idea. I listened to Gino Cipriani's interview on MelloCast, and it was very entertaining. That guy has some real personality, and I'd love to here him riff on why so and so's brass section was so great, etc. I don't know about having shows from too far back...even 2004 was a huge decrease in picture quality; to quote my mom, "Are these tapes of tapes?" Also I am not too keen on having lower placing and OC corps in the mix; the difference in performance quality from 2007 Bluecoats to 2006 Blue Devils was striking, now imagine that multiplied tenfold.

I have heard about a bunch of people marching Cadets then going to BD

I had two years of spring training/all-days at some high school, and one year where we stayed in dorms at a college. Staying in dorms at a college made a HUGE difference. Being at a high school, everyone has to sleep in the gym, just like tour. Everyone has to go to sleep at lights out. Being at a college, though, you have SO many options, and you can go to bed whenever you need to. There are plenty of places to go and work on your dotbook or whatever you need to do. Any you can shower and just hang out after rehearsal is over. We ordered Chinese and pizza to the dorms a bunch of times. So yea, I can definitely see how one could feel that spring training is the best part of drum corps.

Maybe they were shown in the order of least to most votes? In that case the whole "judging" thing was pretty pointless--not that it wasn't anyway.

Pretty much how I voted, except I have 2004 Cavies over PR. But 2008 PR getting the top spot was pretty much a guarantee.

According to Gino on the Mellocast, Cadets will have a synthesizer and a MalletKat.

It'll all be interesting who does what where and how.

This just shows everything that is wrong with the drum corps activity. Hoppy is really driving everything into the ground. If only DCI had done what Scott Stewart had said. Thread complete.

Indeed; how soon people forget that the same Carolina Crown that the fans (and DCP) have been slobbering over for the past two years was absolutely vilified for the use of spoken word and singing in 2004 (great show btw).

Also the "Judging System" tab is an explanation of the judging at that Vegas show.

Yea, I'ma have to restrain myself and not go down until the end of the month...after they actually have some show to see!

I used wifi on my laptop to watch the streaming live events last summer and it was fine. I have a cable modem, your mileage may vary.

A bold statement considering the source. Might just have to take a little drive down the road to Johnstown this week and see how things are looking

It's the middle of May. Corps are starting to move in, REAL drum corps is starting (not those lame winter camps), programming ideas are solidifying, members are being molded into performers...and the start of the 2009 DCI season is a month away. Let's face it, there are a ton of compelling stories and questions this season for a lot of different corps! Blue Devils: Will their show be retro? Are they going in a new direction or following up in the vein of 2008? The only thing that was can be certain about is that their show will be performed with a peerless sense of professionalism and polish. Crown: What will they make of their show? The announcement was vague, is the show going to make sense? Are they going to move up to the top 3? I have no idea, but I will enjoy finding out. SCV: What's their Appalachian Spring going to be like? Having performed the piece this past semester, I look forward to seeing how it is arranged and presented. How will that whole synthesized piano thing work out? Will they move up in the standings? Will they capture the crowd? What will the drill be like (I'm guessing awesome). Can't wait to find out. Cadets: How are they going to make WSS stand out from previous versions? How is the corps membership going to respond to the pressure of the 75th anniversary? What is the show design going to be like in general? What is the performance level of the corps going to be like? How is the drumline writing and performance going to be different now with new staff? Are they going to recapture the crowd? Can't wait for this. Bluecoats: New staff, show seems to be a new direction. What is it going to be like? Will they move up? Will their drumline and hornline be even better than the last couple of years? If so, things could get really interesting. Cavies: New brass arranger, going to some contemporary classical repertoire instead of original music...How different will the show be from previous years? Will they be going in a whole new direction? Will they return to competitive dominance? Phantom: How do you follow "Spartacus"? Will there be a surge of new talent at Rockford or a letdown? What is The Red Violin going to be like, and can it be another classic? How about those new Quantum horns? Blue Stars: Will they continue their historic climb? Can they establish themselves as one of DCI's elite? What will "The Factory" be like? Troopers: Can they continue to climb? How will they balance being contemporary and competitive and stay true to their roots? I await their show eagerly. Madison: Can they climb up the ranks of the top 12? There's an awful lot of fierce, close competition from top to bottom. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out. Of course, lots of other compelling stories and questions to be answered for a lot of other corps. Additionally, even though this may arouse the ire of some, I'm interested to see how electronics and mic'd brass are utilized by the different corps. Basically, I can't wait for the season to begin and to see it all unfold. What are you looking forward to? Is it June yet?

I really wish The Cadets had a bigger and more professional web presence.