BigW

Johnsonburg Grey Knights are doing things up their way off and on AFAIK.

DCA has always been that way. Not an excuse as much an observation. Hence RCA, ICA to get the start-ups places to compete BITD. I wonder how many corps didn't survive BITD that might have been able to make it work if there would have been more support that had some numbers and were decent enough to make a respectable showing.

I've cringed from comments in the crowd about some of the groups trying to make it. Also saw one in the early 90's where it may have been their only DCA performance before they imploded. I learned a lesson from that organization- Just because someone might have some clue about teaching or show design, doesn't mean they can handle the business aspect of running one of these organizations effectively. The look wasn't good. The problem is, some of these groups struggle when they start. Really struggle, and I can see where some people don't want to see that. Perhaps some groups are way better off in a Mini/SoundSport environment where they can just play something decently without worrying about running all over the turf. On the other hand, there are some start-ups which I've seen that have come out of the box with a really enjoyable, quality product. Encorps pulled that off rather nicely. Credit where credit is due.

YOU. BET.

I know where people are going on this and I get that. My thoughts- Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer. Information and knowledge is important.

Tell yah what-- I felt I was more entertained by Thunder Brigade at the Ijamsville show a couple of years ago then one of the actual competitors.

Some of these groups are more watchable and listenable than one might think.

Yep yep. Even then... would be tough to make that stick where I work.

Can you split hairs and be offended any more than you are? Jeezes. Maybe/likely fired band director has money, family or a garage somewhere to live in. Heaven forbid.

With eraser soles?

Many boards and administrations want rid of them to stop the competitive band program that takes away attention from the football team. There's been a 'don't make waves' attitude endemic to many school administrators and boards. Anything that causes any headaches is usually eliminated as quickly and efficiently as possible. In Texas you can't eliminate the band competition per se, but maybe you can get rid of the BoA comps and restrict them to UIL only (Hope I got that right) and easily find someone who can still grab the Division 1 ratings for the program and keep parents from yelling about that. And if folks don't think solid band directors are a dime a dozen, Been in an interview for a prestigious HS instrumental music program in PA where I was told by the school principal I was one of 12 finalists out of @ 100 applicants, any one of us were more than capable of running the program. Plenty of grist for the mill out there.

Clarification: "On the Street" is a term used by Teamsters in our Local and other Locals for getting suspended or fired. Thank You. Example: "X got 5 days on the street for constantly shrieking like a Banshee at work and the Union got his job back." Recently happened. Have already had issues with X by the way over this...

No. This isn't an overstatement. I've seen a good band director fired over a prank his kids played on him. I'll PM the link to the article if it's still on line. The kids built a fake bomb that evidently looked like a real one and attached it to his car. Everyone had a good laugh, har har har. Fake Bomb put in band room storage locker, discovered by custodian who thought it was the real deal, bomb squad called in, band Director, out. One of the most decent people I've dealt with, especially because I'd have called 911 the second I saw the bomb on my car and the kids would have ended up in hot water. Yes, a Director can easily be fired over injuries suffered by his students at rehearsal or performance. Or sued. It's why one of the perks of being an NEA member is a Million USD policy for lawsuits filed against you at work. The number might be higher now, I don't know. As someone who's done the job, if the incident happened with the heat, esp. in Texas... I can see someone easily getting fired and or sued over this. Good band directors are literally a dime a dozen. 30-100 applicants for one position, usually. One slip-up, out the door, find a new person with the right background or one down the street.

It's a common sense thing here. 2 minutes to check the field and make a determination? It's not hard to do. "Buck up and learn the hard way" ends up in lawsuits, fired directors, and staff. Seen too many otherwise decent and good people end up on the street over things like this.

124 miles. A bit better.

I would think it would be common sense to take the surface temperature of the turf and figure out if it's hot enough to cause burns. Higher than x, wear something on the feet, period.

Add Western NY if you want. Sun is from LI..., though the White Sabres location does make them at least a tad of an outlier. What's the closet DCA show to them? The one in Milton, PA? That's 153 miles. Granted, they have been able to deal with it extremely well, but they're not exactly part of the geographic nugget of DCA as it currently exists.

I would say we at Westshore were fun to be with. I would hope those from the Cabs, Sun, Bucs, and Thunderbirds would feel as positively about us as we did about them.

The corps hire the staff and design team. The Judges are told how they want to be judged by the member corps. Keep that in mind when throwing the bricks.

Well, they look the goods. Can they work together well? If so, solid choices.

You can set the bar and boxes wherever you want them. You could set the low number as 80 and then split the boxes as one wants. The question would then be how much room do you have to manage/stuff numbers into and get the rankings right. I do think part of the problem was after a time... you'd look at Drum Corps World scores on the bus and say, "Jesus, this Belchville Birdherder corps somewhere near Timbuktu got a 14 at a show! Who the heck would want to march THERE?" Stuff like that was I think a part of the factor of killing off a lot of the little corps, as well as the lack of money. Who would want to march there? It was humiliating for the members- it had to be.

Likely the answer is 3: Money.

Any background on them?

Snitches just get stitches.

Scott's one of my Big Brothers from Eta Rho chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi.