BigW

F3 is no laughing matter. Sad to hear someone didn't make it, but when a tornado touches down in an area that doesn't normally get them and no one gets warned- yeah, everyone there can be thankful it wasn't worse. We had that happen here nearby in Campbelltown a couple of years ago. We were very lucky as well. I felt the quake here in Harrisburg- was a bit creepy. No damage, and nothing fell in my apartment. Just that made me thankful.

It's okay, Scott- but sheesh- just been trying to explain some things to a couple of semi obstinate folks that Ream also drives nuts here (don't get certain aspects about judges beyond the fact they're all incompetent and only good to blame for their corps failure to win everything in the universe or why they do not make finals) , and it really made me think about some things and it was a learning experience in some good ways for me. Very introspective. Another "...thing I learned at Westshore and never really knew I learned but was in the back of my head all this time..." : Being insecure about your ability or talent in this activity is the frikkin' kiss of death. Whether you perform, teach, or judge. You have to know you can do it, and maybe you're not the most talented cat, but by God, you're gonna work hard, you're gonna be as good as you can, you're gonna believe in yourself and your friends, and you're gonna perform, teach, or judge, and throw it down hard and be great. Man, Truman wasn't insecure about himself. His confidence was infectious! People from other corps that stick in my head- George, Jimmy, Butch, Konga, Pepe, David Bruni- insecure about their ability to make things happen and be a champ? Umm, no. Not those guys! Dave was quiet, but he knew where he wanted us to be and he knew he would got us there, and I know I still feel a foot taller when he's in front of the hornline at alumni. One of those "Go out there and fight legends and kick their XXXXX because we worked hard today and know our crap as much as they do or more!" feeling. Eric Kitchenmen? Rich, John Kreitzer... insecure? Pfff. Nuh-uh. Frank, nope. Ray Eyler, no. It ain't being cocky. Just knowing you can do it and not worrying about failing in the back of your head or whether you goofed or will goof. Knowing you still got stuff to learn and you'd better keep learning or your brain ends up like a zombie's. Gary was big on that, and yeah, he's not an insecure guy either. I guess I'm shocked when Ream or I or a couple of others say what's on our minds and are being honest and forthright and people just flinch and panic. And they've been around some good people who certainly weren't insecure, too! Any one that projects confidence and any thoughfulness in their genuinely held beliefs freak them out! Crazy. Ream will point out stuff to me I haven't thunk of, and I'm like- "Yeah, I didn't think of that! So, where does that lead now? Maybe I have to be more thoughtful about where the truth lies on this subject..." It engages me, it doesn't scare me! Why does it scare others, especially Drum Corps people? Just wanted to talk to guys I've been there and done that with about this stuff. I know I'm not crazy- well, about not being insecure......

Well-- yes, we're all human. What Bill assumes is that the read is always incompetent, that the adjudicator is incompetent and that everything done is effectively always worthless. He sounds like that young man on another thread from Kilties as well. I wonder where the young man learned that from. The second you start second guessing yourself and fill with self-doubt about what you observe- you may as well tie everyone, pat 'em all on the back, and tell everyone- "Great job!" Wishy-washy decisions made during a contest as an adjudicator usually result in bad final decisions and unhappy people in the long run. If you have no self-confidence in this activity that you can do the job- I don't care if you're a performer, instructor or adjudicator, you're never going to succeed and do a good job. Self-doubt is the biggest enemy in this activity. Not another corps, not the judges. You MUST believe in yourself and your corpsmates, or fellow judges. If you make a mistake, apologize- fix it, move on, get better. Don't think that adjudicators don't take their run downs and go over them again after the contest a few times to think about what they might have done better. They do. I do. I can assure you the top DCA soloists don't have blowing it in the backs of their minds when they step out of the form. They believe in themselves. Or... you hear stuff that makes everyone wince in the stands. You may not want me evaluating you, Don- but I assure you I shoot straight and I'm ethical. You may not agree on my assessment- It may not be perfect- but it's the best one I can make and the best call I can give based on my education and experience. I would say any other adjudicator would tell you the same thing. It's not easy, and some of you clearly haven't been in the hot seat, and would rather criticize and throw bricks. Sad. It's easy to do throw the bricks unless you've actually been in the situation. It's what most people do- blame the judges for stealing the contest. Blame them for ruining the season instead of realizing that maybe they should have worked harder in rehearsal- maybe made show changes or better use of rehearsal time as an instructor, etc. It's sad that you two seem to think the adjudicator is constantly flawed and always at fault. It does answer some questions that were on my mind, especially about the one young man from Kilties griping and whining about the Sunday number on another thread. If the griping and assumption that all adjudicators are innately incorrect and flawed every time they try and make a decision is endemic to that organization- which perhaps it is seeing another veteran member gripe and say effectively that everyone that adjudicates doesn't know what they're doing and should second guess every decision and assessment they make because they're imperfect and everything they've done all season is flawed as well--- it's a real problem and an obstacle to the ultimate success of said organization, period. Again, easier to point the fingers at the panels and absolve the 'man in the mirror' than actually try and get the corps' act together. Keep up that kind of negative attitude, those young adults from NJ who've been taking a beating all year from those incompetent nincompoops in the press box who've have been busting their humps to get it together regardless of the beatings might be performing in finals instead.

Amen. 4 hour bus ride= at least 200 miles. If you had the guys driving the Westshore buses BITD, it'd be 250 miles plus and I'm not kidding! Diesel fuel= let's assume a wicked cheap 3 fifty a gallon. I'm sure it's more than that, but let's be kind. According to the MCI coach website their "green" motor coach gets about 6.5 MPG. Let's assume we have three buses. We won't count the equipment truck in this- jsut the busses. 200 miles, about 30 and three quarters gallons of Diesel per coach, that's 92.25 gallons of Diesel, and with my conservative 3 fitty a gallon, that's about 323 bucks. For fuel alone. For just the buses and fuel, not counting in how much the bus company actually charges for the run. That's real money. Throw in your equipment trick, assuming it gets the same mileage- you're over 430 bucks in fuel. It's not cheap. Ed-- While distances aren't as far as perhaps they are down your neck of the woods, they ain't close, up here either. Especially when you're trying to maximize your valuable weekend rehearsal time. If you have the commitment to make a 6 hour run to practice- all the more power to yah and all respect. If I wanted to go pester Liz, it'd take about 6 hours if I were lucky with a lead foot and I drove non stop. The thing is- if the distances are a greater disadvantage down your way-- not to be callous, the corps down there just have to work all the harder to overcome the issues. There aren't any bonus points added to a score for travelling farther to a contest. Carolina Gold seems to be dealing with the travel issues very well in fact, and I'd bet the last thing out of any of their mouths would be griping about the suicide runs to come to shows. It's all about getting things done and working hard in spite of any drawbacks or hardships....

Dude, you going to Reading? I owe you a soda or an adult beverage afterwards. I thought I was going crazy.

Yes, you do base it on that given performance: But- did you read what I said in the first statement? I don't think so. or, maybe I wasn't crystal clear enough. Let me spell it out and try one more time for those who have never have sat in the hot seat and just don't get it: Corps A comes on and does not perform as well as Corps B from last week. Should the judge not go back to their tote sheets/previous scores and score Corps A below that given number for Corps B based on their direct experience and comparison? Or should they just make up a number? What do you think the judge should do with Corps A? Give me an answer- and do it quick! You only have a couple of minutes between corps to be fair and as accurate in your evaluations as possible. I don't understand how you have a disconnect with this at all. Corps C performs worse than last week when the same adjudicator judged them in the same caption. Shouldn't the adjudicator lower the score accordingly from the previous week!? What's your answer to that? Explain, please! What don't people understand here!? If you were an instructor in Corps C and you know your corps was worse, you hear the judge's tape and realizes they know it too in comparison to what they heard and saw last week- and your score isn't lower--- what would you think about that judge and their number management and their consistency or competency? I'd like to hear an answer on that one! If you think what I just explained above is incorrect, then perhaps you need to "give up" because you're not reading and getting your arms around what's going on and why. If a judge did not do exactly what I just explained, they wouldn't be in any competent judging association. At best, they'd be sat down for a talk on "numbers management." That's all Adjudication 101. If I were a DCA staff member and found an adjudicator was inconsistent with their numbers from week to week and there was no relationship on any of their evaluations in the same caption from contest to contest- I'd protest. I wouldn't be the only staff member screaming at DCA officials. DCA wouldn't have a judge on board that didn't understand that concept and apply it properly. For that matter, neither would any HS band circuit! Good googly-moogly, people. Yes, you judge the show in front of you! But you also take your previous reads of that corps and of other corps and use them as additional tools to arrive at a fair and accurate evaluation! What's not to understand here? What other way is there to do it!? Use a ouija board? Give me an answer that makes any sense that's radically different from what I outlined above. I dare yah.

Otherwise... how do the scores relate? If I saw someone the week before that did a better job in that caption... should I give a higher number out to the corps I see in front of me at that moment that wasn't as good!? Is that fair to the group I saw the week before? Is that fair to inflate a number to the corps I just saw? Is that something someone with integrity should really do!? And you're saying that's a BAD thing to do that? That's what adjudication IS in part.... Sheesh! I think you'd better clarify your rather loose statement. What do you think an adjudicator does!? Throw darts at a board for a given week so the scores go up or just add .3 to both boxes every week so everyone goes home happy thinking they've grown? What I described there is a "linear system". BoA has used a Linear for 30 + years, DCI uses it- and I darned well assume DCA *still* uses a linear to give some form of rough comparison within its circuit. There has to be some kind of a relationship from corps to corps from week to week to give the system some validity. There will be a statisical window, sometimes a larger one than at other times. You can't just throw out x on week y for giggles. Well- you can... but again, that's a mockery of the system. Adjudicators keep tote sheets and rundowns from previous contests from that season for just that reason. You want to know where you stood with a corps, and where they stand now. You want to be a consistent adjudicator, and fair instead of just picking numbers out willy-nilly for that week. Why is that a bad thing, huh? You're telling the adjudicator to just wing it and throw out what they think will stick and make everyone happy on DCP and not worry about comparing the number to their previous scoring? You want to talk about a real problem and a mockery, that's what you appear to be advocating. Believe me, DCA instructional staffs keep a close watch on those things and an adjudicator's previous track records with other corps as well as the track record with their own unit, and if they started to see wild fluctuations or bizarre relationships, they'd be asking serious questions to that adjudicator, and deservedly so. It all interlocks. And yet... that's bad. Yeah. Uh-huh.

Travelling to shows outside "normal territory" is extremely tricky. There are only so many hours in a weekend. Performed in a DCA contest in Broussard PQ back in 1982. Serious logistics and planning. Hotel stay, etc. Even being placed in a strategic spot on the road net, for Westshore to go to Syracuse was a 5+ hour bus ride. Rochester, 6. Things aren't exactly as close as one thinks up here in the NE for the surviving corps to get around. Atttendance was very tight at Bucknell. Scranton had a good crowd, true-- I walked up and got a great seat on the 48 but I was just looking for one seat, not a block for family. Reading will likely be sold out from 30 to 30 and packed into the rest. Why travel when there are shows that are closer, especially with corps budgets and fuel costs? Yeah, it would be fun if at Westshore we'd have went west to an MBI contest, but that would have been a rare and special event.

So-- assuming I'm on a panel that didn't see you on Saturday-- I'm supposed to take everyone's word in the audience or yours you were "Better" and look at yesterday's numbers from another adjudicator and throw up a higher number instead of looking at my tote sheets and rundowns from shows I've judged all season and place you accordingly based on box placement and relative to everyone else I've seen all season!? THAT would be REALLY meaningless. Whining ain't doing you any good. Brace up and buckle down instead of whinging if you want to make sure you're on at finals. Maybe that's not nice to say, but if I were in your horn line and heard that in an arc, you bet I'd tell you that during a break, or if I were on staff, I'd tell you that too.

Unless MBI made some serious strides in Ensemble visual and Guard... or that their horns are utterly through the roof- My thoughts are if they'd been head to head with Bucs this weekend, maybe you'd see that.

No. I just thnk the panel was just very tough on what criteria earned a given number that night in Scranton. There is a certain amount of play within the boxes and their interpretation. They were tight across the board. I think the next day's numbers with Cabs and Bush bears this out.

Fred dug anyone out there that had something to offer. He wanted to see a lot of people inviolved and enjoying what they did. I still remember Rook, Chumley and myself seeking him out at shows after our gig to see how we did, and if he dug us. He was always VERY encouraging to us young guys. It meant a lot to us! He'd be thrilled to see so many people and corps involved from all over the US.

I think people forget when you're at the lower end of the judging criteria and the boxes are rather large, getting even a bit better gets you far larger leaps than when you're at the top of the sheets, where snatching .1 or .2 is a big deal.

They may have done a better show. A lower stadium in Bush's case would have helped them a heap. I am of the opinion the panel at Scranton was also tight on numbers. The Cabs got a bump and a number more in line with what I thought they should have in Scranton. Knowing what I know from observing MBI and Bucs Head to head, the number Bucs have right now vis a vis MBI's number further bears out how tight the Scranton panel was with their numbers. Am I upset the Scranton panel was tough on numbers? NO. When you panic over things like that as a staff or corps member, you blind yourself to the real issue. GET BETTER REGARDLESS OF YOUR NUMBER AND EVALUATION, GOOD OR BAD.

Your point is excellent. At least in '92 you had Chicago Vanguard and Les Dynamiques appear. Getting DCA out of the NE has been very important. There's still a lot of work to be done- I know I've communicated with kids in the South to look into it- they've never heard of it!

One educated guess as to one cornerstone for DCA was the insistence on being fiscally responsible and the enactment of rules to ensure this if you want to be involved. I can think of at least one fly-by-night organization that came into existence and went in the early 90's in the wink of an eye because of a real lack of understanding of how to run the corps as a sustainable business. Another- and I'm sure this will generate some noise- was the 35 minimum member rule. Whether some people like it or not- most people don't want to pay good money to sit through a 6 person hornline and 6 drummer show. I've seen those corps BITD. Only the most hardcore of fans or people attached to those corps really dealt well with them and had any appreciation for that. The typical fan-- no desire to see that, period. Anoher really important step was Class A, so corps like the Govies could go at it against others with similar resources on a level playing field. Before that, everyone showed up for the big scrum regardless of size, and the little guys out there got pounded and eventually folded in part because they knew they couldn't get anywhere. Where will DCA go? That's up to the members. I don't see them taking a journey to pretentiousness, but I figure they'll go where they want to when they're ready to do it and arrive at a consensus.

.1 is statistically nothing when drawn from 2 different contests with two different panels. It means they're kind of within the same numeric cloud. What it does mean by my guess is that MBI really did something to seriously cleam up and improve the overall visual package in all aspects possible or that they have the horn line playing at an insane level. I saw MBI and Bucs at Bucknell, so that'd have to be what's going on.

Thank you, Joe. Around 1979, one of the Cabs explained this to a few of us at Westshore using the almost identical words. Maybe it was you? He also told us back at that time it was considered bad luck in the Cabs for a lady to wear one of their sombreros! Things have changed!!!!

I knew that's why you mentioned that issue. Sometimes if the kilts don't away together and the body angles aren;t exactly right, it creates an impression of error, even when there isn't an error by the performer. The same with capes. You need to find a video of Governor Livingston High School out of New Jersey, who perform and compete very successfully wearing kilts and use them to their advantage, and move beautifully. It can be done. I've seen it. It takes very aware visual design and likely a a lot of intense work from the visual staff that understands the physics of how the kilts move in different directions. I haven't seen the Kilts myself, even BITD except on the DCI boadcasts- so I don't know what the situation is there.

You know me too well, and that's scary. It took 2 hours driving and thinking about the show, and another two hours to type up my ramblings and musings, but they're up. I had a great time. Scores, yeah, but since as Ream says, I don't have a horse in the race- I just want to see everyone put out a great effort, let the chips fall where they may- and they did.

Back on the road for a run up Die-81 to Scranton, PA to the Drum Corps Planet. Disc 2 of Don Ellis' "Tears of Joy" got me up the highway and in a good mood. I recommend 3 of the 4 cuts on it- cut 2, the original "Strawberry Soup", is a masterpiece. Good parking, and a great seat on the 48 yard line side 1, almost up to the top row. A great vantage point for watching and listening. Perhaps a better view than the best seats at Rochester. I'll be relatively brief for most corps I've seen, you can check the Bucknell review and other reviews posted for more juicy details for everyone but the Cabs, whom I hadn't seen this season. Fusion Core represented themselves very well, and I think impressed that part of the crowd that prefers things big 'n loud, which is an achievement for a Class A corps. I can see why there was some grousing about certain aspects of the show with another reviewer- but after thinking about it, I guess I personally look at the show and worry about what's there and not what could-shoulda-woulda about Fusion Core. I know I'm pretty darned sensitive to offending anyone myself with a show when I'm involved with the creative staff, and I don't really sense that happening on an onerous level. I see the point where there could have been more "authenticty" to the genre written into the musical program, and it could have squeezed more of a score out of the program, but what's there seems to be working well enough. My guess is that trying to do hard-core multi-layered meters and some of the melodic and rhythmic aspects of African music more 'authentically' might have been a bit too much of a risk musically with limited rehearsal time. That's just my thoughts on that subject. The issue this week for Fusion Core was a consistency of musical quality throughout the performance. Most of the time, their brass was dead-on, knock 'em flat. They read as a much larger brass section when they're locked in. The problem is when you're that good, when something goes a bit awry with a person or two, it can appear to be a really glaring mistake and problem. It's like if you walked by an otherwise pristine 1967 Corvette and then noticed a scratch on the door. It's tough to be in a 20 person horn line. Everyone relies on everyone else to be spot on the whole time. I was personally lucky not to have ever felt that type of pressure to perform. I was in a section of Lead Baris the size of Fusion's entire Bari section, so if I was having a rough go, I could pull my punches to avoid wrecking the ensemble- and also avoid getting killed afterwards in the parking lot... . Their hornline may have had one of those moments where the horn line just flushes all of the bad out of their system all at once, and then gets back to business as usual, knowing that won't happen again. As good as they are- I think that's what went down. It happens to every hornline at one time or another, and to do it now was a good thing for them. I think they'll be more focused and energized as a result at Reading. I felt a lot better about Bush then when I'd seen them at Bucknell. Still 15ish horns, but the battery plays their everlivin' guts out and rhythmically drives their corps like Ben-Hur on his chariot. I don't mean that they loud, either. They're very skilled and musical, and they work hard to work with and not against the brass. The brass are beginning to make musical sense of the book throughout the program as well. The pieces were in place and could be heard and understood far better than at Bucknell. I think sone changes were made to the harmonic densities which helped, and there may still need to be more tweaking of that sort for the end of the program, because some of the dissonances aren't locking in well and sound like errors. I was left with a feeling that they have nothing to lose, and given the strength of their battery and the fact that things are beginning to work for the corps, that they have a shot at a top ten if one of the current 6-10 groups slide or think the check is in the mail when they arrive at Rochester. If I were on staff or performing, I'd run as hard as I could to the end with this show. They owe it to themselves to see if they can pull that off, or if not, still put on a strong performance at the end for personal satisfaction and pride. If they can take a top ten, it'd be the stuff of legend. Next up- the Bucs. The review on the previous week by someone else indicated things weren't "perfect", some thought the week off before may have affected things. Not so for this week. All I know is that the hornline is very nuanced, they're so musical that they make the bar lines go away at moments, which in the Dr.Beat age is a nearly impossible task, and that they continue to reach out to the audience in different directions and emotions. Another strength of the corps is how nicely interwoven the percussion battery is with the brass. It really struck me tonight just how well-tailored the overall ensemble is in that aspect. The ending was fantastic, the big front with the battery flying in on the lateral and playing hard and musically, it's a fine, fine moment. Of course... I heard grousing. It leaves me thinking that the Bucs just can't please some people. They come out this year and rip people's faces off after years of griping they didn't do enough of that before, and they still gripe. They loosen up and cut loose in "Mambo" and some people still gripe. People griped they did stuff that no one knew unless you were some incredibly geeky mad-genius Music Major like me, and they do "Swan Lake" and "Mambo", which are "known" pieces of music to "Drum Corps Fans"- I'd think... and they're still grousing! Somebody- Tony-- lend me your rubber chicken so I can bonk these people upside the head next time I hear them? My conclusion is that some people will never be happy with the Bucs, and if that's the case, I feel bad for them. And no, it's not sheer weight of numbers doing it, either. I've heard some ratty 65 member horn lines and 30 member batteries that sounded like someone dropped empty beer cans and maracas on their drum heads for 12 minutes. Heck, I've beaten 60-65 member horn lines as a member of a 48-52 man hornline, so that's not the sole reason the Bucs win, either. You still have to perform with quality, period! Grumble all you want, you crazy grumblers, the Bucs are getting it done. One complaint- in a word, "FEET". Just so I don't come off as saying they're perfect- they have some noticeable feet issues in the hornline- they know it. They know they need to fix them. The thing is, EVERY corps tonight had that issue at one point or another. It's not someting that anyone has an advantage over them with. Next up, the Cabs. The Ferrari of DCA. Legendary. Passionate. A legion of fans who adore them, and if they could do it by will alone, will them to the championship. The Bucs are like Ferrari's nemesis in Formula 1- McLaren- also legendary, also passionate, but more calculating and technical in outward appearance, which drives the Ferrari fans up the wall! Both are very different, but respected as champs and for their successes. I did a bit of homework and got a look at some online videos of this season of the Cabs. Knowing the sound on a camcorder is awful as well as the speakers on most computers, I took that look and listen with a huge grain of salt, trust me. The scores were indicating the Cabs were gaining traction. They are. This year's DCI buzzword was "high-energy", and that term can be applied to the Cabs show. It's upbeat, exciting, very enjoyable, unmistakably the Cabs, and it has what I feel is the best visual package the Cabs have had in at least 5 years. The show has a lot of risk and tough moments to play and perform in it, and I think they're beginning to get their arms really around it in the brass and visual areas. They still have a lot of opportunity for growth, even in the next 2 weeks. I think they're in a stage where every run-through will feel better and give the corps members more confidence with the package. This is good for them, but it will be a challenge to catch people. It's a worthy challenge, and they'll be up for it. When have the Cabs ever flinched!? That's not in their vocabulary. The battery has been working hard- they just lack the impression that they're comfortable playing together, and there's a lack of an obvious percussion to brass integration that the Hurcs and Bucs have in their performances right now. If percussion can make things happen, and they can keep getting more and more out of the program that is potentially in it, I think they might cause some ulcers for some of the people currently ahead of them. A shout out to the horn line- It's obvious they've been working this season to get a confident and aggressive, full sound out of their 48 members, and that takes quality musicianship to achieve. The Hurcs came out and I think gave a sincere best flat-out effort, one they should be proud of. A call out to Baris and Tubas, especially Tubas. Front Ensemble is still playing very well in their features, and the battery has some really strong and physically aggressive moments near the end of the show. I'm really thinking in the back of my mind that they may have the most thoughtful and aesthetically pleasing drill design in DCA this season. It's something I don't always take notice of, but they make you take notice by how well-crafted and well-performed it is. I also want to shout out to their guard. They perform wonderfully- and whomever created the equipment work and also cleans it for them deserves a nice dinner out from the guard members. Their guard is very, very musical and really enhances the music as it's performed as if they're also playing a musical instrument. That's very difficult to achieve, and they deserved the best guard award. Also, the costuming is quite pleasant. Some of the people who dress some of the DCI guards like they've come off the set of a Mad Max movie driving dune buggies with machine guns and shooting bazookas at Oil Tankers driven by midgets should take a look at the Hurcs guard and learn something about good costuming. It was good to see Park City outside for the first time. I've seem them several times at Serenade indoors, and The Forum is a huge reverb chamber, and not easy to play in and get a good read. they have a really solid sound outdoors! It was nice to see they do a bit of drill, and their rifle/cymbal ladies really add a lot to their program. As Fran said, they play a lot of good, familiar stuff that people enjoy and they play it well in the old-schooler style. A shout out to the snares, whom I thought had an excellent night, especially on their feature. I could tell they knew it as they performed. They bore down and played with everything they had. All due respect! The Cabs Alumni know the Scranton crowd is wild for them, and they cranked things up a notch for them. The drill seemed tighter tonight, and it was good that they moved the bari soloist in Brazil to a better location- he plays well and strong, and it's good stuff well worth hearing! Percussion seemed to have a great zen again, loose when they needed to be loose, and crankin' when they needed to crank in their solo. I went down from the stands as they came off, and the looks of satisfaction and excitement from their corps members said it all. They knew they'd nailed a good run for the crowd- Jimmy was understandably into it and fired up, it was all it should have been- and more. So the bullet points for next week at Reading, and I will be there-- -Scores stagnated a bit. Maybe a stingier panel in general trying to keep numbers under control. I'm thinking that's the case. -Hopefully, Fusion got the croodles out of their horn line before they go head to head with Carolina Gold. It shuld be an exciting match-up, with both of them bringing their A-Games the week before championships. -The Cabs are starting to gel, and have a lot of growth remaining in their show. Can they crank it up another notch or three and get a good upward bounce in their number next week? Why not!? They can, if they make it happen in rehearsals! -Can the Bucs work the feet a bit and get the last bits and issues buffed out in front of their home audience? And if so, where will the number lie? Same Bat-Time, same Bat-channel at Big Sounds on the 27th! Hmm... 415 AM, been about 2 hours typing away. I apologize for any typos and bad sentences. I'll fix them later. I need to sleep and I pray the daggone dogs in the upstairs apartment don't start howling again before noon.

Indeed. It's the same as saying the Cabs need to ditch the somberos, white blouses, and kick pleats.

Thank you, Jeff. And by the way- are the YEA! public .pdf files still missing the pages where they talk about money?

A bingo hall raises funds from individuals who come in and spend theor personal money. Not from other non-profit groups of people or organizations. There is where one difference lies. USSBA fees are taken from other non-profits. Yes, it is their choice, but the fees are higher than other comparable organizations. Can you have some facts? I'd LOVE to give you facts from the YEA! website and their rules/procedure .pdf file that is available for public consumption, Jim, but the last time I looked at it, transparency about cost was obviously NOT a keyword in USSBA. The sections involving fees for contests or membership fees were missing, yes, missing from the on-line handbook. The pages were mentioned on the table of contents and not existent in the file. If you find differently, post up the mumbers of what it costs in fees to USSBA to host a show and to be an active member in their circuit and let's compare them to what other circuts have their members pay and what they get for the money. I have a high degree of confidence you will find me to be correct. I have heard figures bandied about quietly in frustration because directors and parents don't like others knowing how much those figures are and how much of their fundraising efforts are sunk into those fees and how much of the profits from their contests when they host them are taken away. In know of at least one instance where USSBA "fees were waived" to attract new bands to host shows, but evidently, when that offer was retracted for the next season, the host I am aware of didn't go back. That program is in an area that's been depressed for decades and money is hard earned and tough to come by. And if their fees are so comprable to other circuits, Jim... then why are the other circuits in their region touting substantially lower fees and costs as a selling point? I know many defend USSBA taking a lot of money from HS Bands as their fundraiser. I get pooh-poohed when I bring it up by the YEA! peeps. Pooh-pooh all you want. Frankly, I think it's far more ethical to take the money off a bingo lady who walks in on her own volition to be with her friends and watch 22 cards than it is to take it from other musical non-profits, effectively forcing them to do more candy and sub sales so YEA! don't have to get off their own cans and do it for themselves! And as for the facts concerning the "big-name judges?" If you want to take the time, do a statistical analysis of the panels at USSBA shows on the YEA! website. As a rough guess, I'd say conservatively that at least 75-85 percent of their people on the panels in at least the percentage of their contests are very well trained, capable folks who care a lot about kids and do their best to proessionally adjudicate, rank, and rate and have solid backgrounds in the activity and knowledge. Are they "big names"? No. They're just like the adjudiators in the "other circuts". Very few of them- the other 15 to 25 percent, and I thnk I am being generous here in the ratio- are the people that he touts to draw membership and leads one to assume are out there every week at all the shows. I know some of the USSBA adjudicators personally, some for decades. Fine people, but not the "household names in the activity" they like to tout and dangle to potential members that you don't see until you hit the "big" shows, not the "Normal" shows week in and week out at the small schools. They have the every-day grunts working those. When I see the big names taking the time to hit a show hosted by the Belchville HS Bucketeers every weekend in remote areas at smaller venues- maybe I'll buy into that canard. Do a statistical analysis and prove me wrong based on the entire season's recaps and contests- not just the regional and championship shows, and I'll buy it. Right now based on my views of those files on the YEA! site- I do not. Finally, I know Ream has stated the fact after he dug it up that it costs more for a USSBA adjudication panel in fees than larger panels from another circuit do, yet the judges in the "other circuit" are paid more individually for the contest than the USSBA judges. How can that be? Where's all that extra money going? Not to the USSBA judges! Hopefully Jeff can re-confirm those figures for me. There are USSBA bands that have NOT used USSBA as the organization for their home contest as well. How can that be!? Short answer- they know that by using another organization, they will have kept more of the profits from the contest in their OWN pockets, which is where that money SHOULD be kept....

I also know several who left. Pay was not the issue in at least two cases. One left to get back to something more in line with the career training/path. The other three- at least one, there were issues. Serious ones. As for the one previous comment that every Band circuit could have the same accusations laid on it. In short- NO. I can't think of another circuit that's used as a way to fund-raise for another non-profit organization. That's for starters. With the possible exception of BoA, the big promises of "big-name adjudication" isn't something many if any other circuits use as one of their main selling points, either, and yes- YEA! delivers- kind of. Compare dues/fees. I think you may find unless one has a special deal/arrangement- USSBA fees are considerably higher. The next question is how other members who do pay more fees tolerate the special deals given for contests or fees to other organizations. USSBA/YEA! is indeed quite a bit different from other circuits- for good- and bad....