madscout96

It's probably too late to ask this, but where is everyone housed?????

I disagree. If the electric bass isn't plugged into an amp, and you try and play it, it still will make sound. It will produce the same pitches that it would if you had it plugged in. It would just be extremely soft, and likely inaudible to people in the stands. Electricity does not produce the sounds on the electric bass or electric guitar, it merely amplifies it. The sound comes from the vibrations of the strings, same as on a violin or guitar or sitar or banjo or upright acoustic bass. The latter instruments all are amplified acoustically, while the electric bass is amplified electrically. An electronic keyboard's sound is produced electronically. If it's not plugged into an amp, or if there's no power going to it, you don't hear squat. No sound is being produced whatsoever. Electricity is needed to PRODUCE the sound, and to amplify it of course. I think if some corps really wanted to use a woodwind, say a flute or recorder or something, they could point to the precedent that's been set by allowing electric bass, and argue that these woodwind instruments should be allowed too, without any rule change.

I still don't see where it says that an electric bass is allowed. An electric bass is electric, not elecTRONic. There is a difference. Synths are electronic. Digital pianos and digital drums and malletkats are electronic. Electric basses aren't.

What we're edging into isn't political correctness. It's what I call political OVERcorrection.

I'm still wondering about this myself...

I would guess that someone thought people would want to see for themselves what a drum corps pit looks like with an electric bass in it. That picture is about the bass, not the kids. Speak hypothetically? About what? There's an electric bass in the pit! In Spirit's pit! Are we supposed to pretend that we don't know which corps are using electronics in order to have a discussion about electronics? And what do you mean, "Now that electronics are legal"? Are you saying that the experiences that people had marching in the past was somehow inferior? And if that's not what you're saying, then what ARE you saying? I'm sure his son, as well as every member of every corps out there, feels supported. And I'm sure they know that there are those that will criticize them as well. When I marched, our corps received lots of criticism. We recieved lots of support also. Everyone will receive both, no matter what corps they are with.

I'll respond to your post the same way I did to another Spirit parent yesterday. Well, I'll just repost it. Again, this topic isn't about the kids. Nobody's in here criticizing the kids. Nobody's saying "yuck" about the kids. They're criticizing DCI for adopting of a set of rules that make drum corps into something that it's not, and for allowing a competitive environment where corps must use things that they didn't necessarily believe in in order to stay competitive. Your son is going have an amazing summer, one that will have a positive effect on the rest of his life. And he still would have, even if electronics hadn't been legalized.

First of all, this topic is not about the KIDS and their hard work, and their experience. Your daughter and all her corps-mates will have a fantastic summer. And if electronics hadn't been legalized, they STILL WOULD. I know you're proud of her, but this discussion of electronics simply cannot be hidden behind the kids. Now, to your point about if Spirit didn't use it. The point that I bolded up above. Yes, I agree, they probably wouldn't be taken as seriously by the judges if they didn't consider using everything at their disposal. But that's just the judges. I'd like to think that fans would still take them seriously and some maybe would appreciate them MORE if they used only brass and percussion and only amped their pit, no electronics. But yes, to paraphrase Jeff Fiedler, if you want to compete, you have to use the toys. So I believe Spirit, like many corps this year, will be using the new toys partially for political reasons.

I think they're BOTH cop outs. If a bass player does a bass solo or feature, he's taking something away from somebody else. A tuba player could have done that. Or the tuba section. Or the timpani player, or even marimba player. Would it be the same if it would be on electric bass? Of course not. But the point is to hear it done by brass and percussion. The point is to hear the Flower Duet from Phantom Regiment 2007 done with a trumpet and mello (right?), not 2 female singers. The point is to hear the Madison Scouts in 1987 play the piccolo part of the trio in Stars and Stripes Forever on a piccolo sop bugle, not an actual piccolo. The point is to hear jazz piano comping and melodic lines played not by a piano, but by marimbas and vibes. The point is to hear Santa Clara Vanguard in 1991 make the sounds of helicopters somehow with drums, not by pushing a button on a synth. I could go on and on...

This comment right here convinces me that the original poster is just flame baiting. 10 posts ever on DCP for him/her, and it's all this nonsense. Admins, close this thread please.

According to the article, Glassmen, Colts, and BAC are performing twice?

I think I remember this guy posting on DCP a while ago, asking people's input on the subject. Here's his article. http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs/techno...orps-go-techno/

Whoah... bad idea... in case you were being serious about that. Why take away the majority of your band program's public visibility? You do that and you might make some administrators ask why they have a band in the first place?

I don't know, but if it smells good enough, it might get them BOTH together after the show!

Have you been around many drum corps staffs? It's the same market! For real though, When you look at them both side by side you can see the subtle differences. However, when I first saw the logo at a bar, I was like "Huh? Pearl is making vodka now?" I didn't have the drum logo to compare to right there, only the memory of it in my mind, and it looked similar enough to make me think it was either the same company or the vodka stole the logo from the drum (or fashioned it to make it technically different even though it's basically the same, like no underline etc.).

You be the judge.

I found out about the study when this thread first started, but didn't find out about Jim Rome's take on it until just now. I listen to him whenever I can (which isn't often because I work when his radio show is on), but missed yesterday of course. Here is a link to his website where you can read his take. http://www.jimrome.com/home/articles/article_3.html

Isn't that where Peg and Al Bundy went to HS? I seem to remember that on an episode of Married With Children. lol

Well, the Phantom and Trooper ones aren't really far off...

Also, excuse me for being unoriginal here, but ... Wouldn't the Cavaliers be a Chevy Cavalier? And wouldn't the Troopers be an Isuzu Trooper? And wouldn't Spirit be a Dodge Spirit? And wouldn't Phantom Regiment be a Rolls Royce Phantom? And wouldn't Carolina Crown be a Ford Crown Victoria?

I think THIS is the Mercedes you mean Santa Clara Vanguard to be...

Your horn getting whacked by some guard equipment, the 89 BD frack, someone moving at a 4 to 5 and then slipping and falling on the yardline while trying to come to a halt, a dropped 7: these are all HUMAN errors. They have been part of drum corps for a very long time. When things like that happen and they get notice by the audience, nobody gets upset because they know its part of drum corps. Just like when a ground ball goes through an infielder's legs, that's part of baseball (although fans might be upset at the infielder, they're not upset with the makers of the rules). But malfunctioning audio or electronic equipment isn't necessarily human error. That's why I think alot of people are much less patient with them (that and they didn't want them to begin with).

Go ahead and freak out about it then, don't let anyone stop you!

I saw and heard the video everyone's talking about. I know it was short, but I didn't think that the keyboards added ANYTHING that couldn't have been done with mallets or horns. It's like they were using the electronics just so they could say they used them. Showing DCI and the judges that they're willing to play the game. Using them not for creative purposes, but for political ones. I'm willing to bet you'll see alot of this from corps this summer. Just like in 2004 and 2005 when amped vocals were first legal, you saw alot of corps use them and use them poorly. Then in 2008 you saw very little. The Toledo show in August featured no corps that used any amped vocals at all. I was pleased.

Other people have argued other points in your post, and you've since reconsidered some things, and that's cool. I'd like to ask you about this part, about the idea that Christians in drum corps can feel like a minority. How could that be possible? America is a predominantly Christian country. I marched drum corps for 5 years, and in only one of those years was there someone else in the corps who was Jewish. The rest of the time I was the only Jewish guy in the corps. There were alot of guys with crosses hanging from their necks. You wanna talk about feeling like a minority? Don't get me wrong, I didn't feel even a hint of anti-semitism. But I was a minority nevertheless. Christians a minority? Maybe in ancient Rome before Constantine. But perhaps you have a different definition of "Christian" than I do?