MARK74

Hope I can Help, Last year I cooked on tour for a DivII corps 100 members plus staff and support crew,for 24 days. I know as they read this they will probably have their own opinions of how well it went. FIRST LET ME SAY THAT YOUR FOLKS ARE TO BE COMMENDED AND APPRECIATED .ALWAYS (as a corps )LET THEM KNOW HOW MUCH YOU APPRECIATE THEIR EFFORTS. Trust me, it is an awesome task and at the same time VERY rewarding.You and they must remember "An army marches on its stomach ." O.K here goes as far as sandwiches you can vary it up PB+J as un"yummy" as that may sound once in a while with fresh fruit and chips or pretzels and lots of Gatorade , equals all you'll need to make it to dinner. Tuna sandwiches,go to a bulk market type store and buy the restaurant sized tuna cans ,always give an option of something other than meat sandwiches tho, because of vegetarian members or somebody who just doesn't like the meat your serving(grilled cheese works too). For dinners PASTA... could be spaghetti w/meatballs (again look to bulk grocery store (Costco,Sams club) Meatballs 140 for around $11.00,spaghetti noodles,hit the dollar stores,same for the sauce. You can feed 140 people for about a $1.00 each with a salad and bread too,and as always lots and lots to drink. AND everybody loves spaghetti. AS I'VE LEARNED THO, NOT TOO OFTEN.Other pasta dishes liked "baked ziti" etc. will work too. Something I had thought about doing THIS year was to see if we could get a bunch of moms or dads together a week or so before tour and make "cook groups". The way this would work is simple ,each group would be responsible for making one casserole each . Enough to feed the corps once each. Prepared by teams and frozen before tour ,with the right team work you can get 6 or 7 meals frozen and reheating is all you'll need. Baked potatoes with ALL THE TOPPINGS can be a really good meal . If you don't have a way to bake them on tour ,you've got time between now and then to make it possible.Hot dogs,Hamburgers, etc. Breakfasts,eggs,pancakes,cereal, fresh fruit ALWAYS try at every meal to have fresh fruit.Apples,Bananas,melons of varying types. Also canned peaches,pears,fruit cocktail,will do and you can get those a little at a time all year long. THE KEY TO ALL OF THIS HOWEVER IS GETTING FOOD DONATIONS canned food, vegetables and other non parishables can be collected all winter long . keep track of what and how much comes in it's important to the "plan".You should be able to feed 130 people 3 meals and a snack everyday for 24 days (with enough donated non-parishables) for less than $10,00.00 . GOOD LUCK AND MAKE SURE YOU AND YOUR CORPS MEMBERS AND PARENTS UNDERSTAND THAT WITH VARIETY (AND 2nds) You can focus more on the job you're there to do.

Most times when I "don't like a show it has nothing to do with the hard work of the members,or their ability to perform the show .My problem is design. I've marched and watched drum corps for more than thirty years and I appreciate all hard work, I just think as designers , people oops sometimes. If you have to explain it...You did it wrong. That's all designers MUST remember they have 10 minutes or so to tell the whole story in a way that allows somebody who doesn't know the story in advance to follow. As my art instructor once told me ...back away from the painting ..look at the whole thing and don't get sooo involved with YOUR favorite detail. Because it will detract from the whole effect. Sometimes WE like the idea when we design WE know what we meant. We must ALL get better at putting our story in a "language" that everybody understands without the drum corps version of a thesaurus.

Scott and anybody else who has ever heard the "I'll only march with a champion " line. Potential members who say that are NOT the kind of people anyone wants in their corps anyway. If the ONLY reason somebody joins a corps is for "the ring" then they have absolutely missed the point and think themselves a greater asset to your corps than they most likely would ever be. Aside from that it is an incredibly limiting demand to make of ones self considering that since it's conception there have been less than 10 corps to win in division l . More appropriatly that person is saying "I'm sorry I don't have the character to go to a "lesser" program and try to help develope it into something special so that others may benefit from my work somewhere down the line,I want it now ,for me, too bad for anybody who can't go where I can go. That's a shame but we did breed this attitude ourselves by focusing sooo much on getting the ring ,instead of being fun and educational. Don't misunderstand me I'm not one of those who thinks that losing is wonderful and that it's losing that builds character and it's all o.k if we all just have a chance to perform,I'm as competitive as the next guy,probably more. I just think that taking local kids and turning them in to something special is alot tougher and alot more satisfying than taking the best the country has to offer and letting them carry(by THEIR ability to perform) a show .

THOSE UNIFORMS ORIGINALLY BELONGED TO THE PURPLE LANCERS.DCI FINALISTS IN 1974. I WISH I KNEW WHERE THEY WERE NOW AND IF I COULD GET ONE I WOULD. mINE WAS MADE FOR ME AND PROBABLY STILL HAS MY NAME IN IT. SOMEBODY LET ME KNOW WHAT, WHERE, WHY AND HOW I COULD GET ONE.

Valley Fever of Modesto Ca

Wow Geoff, Good to know you're about. Mark Tillotson Syracuse Marauders,72-73.Auburn PurpleLancers '74,Phoenix(senior corps from Rochester75) Avant Garde 76 Living in California working with high school marching bands.WAS pres. of board FEVER2003-2005.Looking for another project

You're right about kevlar and huge pits and boring music.Themes are o.k. BUT here's a tip to all of the designers.IF YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT ...YOU DID IT WRONG. Start with Phantom Regiment handing out libretto's for Sparticus and it goes down hill from there.Hooray to the corps who didn't put the b-flat in boring .Although I do remember some shows that seemed 20 minutes long BEFORE all of these changes too. Just felt I should mention that

As someone involved in Div II ,I would like to say that not only do the shows seem to reflect the "heart " of drum corps BUT my impression over the last three years is that it truely reminds me of what drum corps was to me when I marched all those years ago. Not to say that the shows are reminiscent but that the attitude and atmosphere around the corps are. For example MOST Div II/III are made up of MOSTLY local people. We have some from out of the area,and that will continue in years to come as these two divisions become increasingly popular, but mostly they all come from an area about an hour to an hour and a half in radius. What you have is an instant affinity amongst members because you really truely represent the area of the country you live in and have, somewhat,a commonality of background.Sort of like you all know the same local history (sort of).There is a great feeling of family,maybe again because it's mostly "local" kids, or maybe because we're generally a little smaller than the BIG GUYS. Most members come to these corps because a friend or family member has told them how good the group is and how much fun it can be as opposed to what I hear alot from potential DivI participants about THE RING. I am proud to be part of the corps I work with and the family we are building. I look forward to NEW corps and hope MORE will pop up .Properly done DivII/III will be where the revitalization of the activity comes from. We all need to remember the Numerous corps who have come and gone before us ,and remember that our responsibility as LEADERS of these groups is to not just the members you have this year BUT insuring that there is a Drum Corps in your area for all those members not yet born. IF YOU LOVE WHAT YOUR CORPS IS AND WHAT IT DID FOR YOU ...HELP MORE PEOPLE EXPERIENCE WHAT YOU DID and hopefully keep what drum corps REALLY about , ALIVE AND WELL.

Guys!!! once again it's NOT DCI'S fault and they don't have to DO anything to my knowledge FEVER has not contacted them to say "we're in trouble we can't go" I know a discussion was had before the N.W. tour and I'm certain at that late notice DCI did make a stand of sorts. BUT HERE'S THE KEY,and this is crucial!! FEVER IS HANDLING IT !! It 's taken some negotiation with bus companies and the added generosity of the townspeople of the city they represent BUT it will all be fine.DCI should not be held up as some giant "welfare system" to assist with the internal workings of individual corps.Indeed I hope it never comes to that,no offense meant but s--- happens and instead of talking about how "evil" DCI is or isn't we should be talking with each other about how to START,FUND AND GROW a drum corps in all areas of the country.All the experiences of each of us can be pooled,and maybe someday we will have more than enough drum corps to go around .I'm an old guy ,and I'd like to see a whole lot more "regional" or slow growth,type drum corps on the field. It seems the only real mistake here is growing really really fast .#### shame wish all drum corps could have similar paths .Note to all of you watch and learn that's what we can all do to prevent this from happening to others. I, for one, wouldn't wish that headache on anybody.

There are many things a corps can do to avoid being in this situation. Not all of those things are known to all people at the onset. Amazing as the situation is,I would tend to believe the corps director as he is the only one who was privy to the conversation between himself and the DCI office. Also though it is important to understand that DCI does,I'm certain,do it's best to "soften the blow" should it actually become necessary to enforce their rules.All corps go into their obligations based on information given them and projections of cost and income carefully weighed.Sometimes things happen .It would be nice to run all corps with the Idea that if my projected costs will be $200,000.00 then we will try to raise $250,000.00 in anticipation that "something is bound to happen".And you all understand that hindsight is 20-20.It's easy on Monday morning to look at every single football game played on Sunday and tell the Quarterback where he went wrong.This is usually a very useful tool for growth and better planning in the future .Just so you know FEVER is treating this the same way..lessons learned! The corps will survive because ,even though they don't look it on the surface it is a drum corps town.Adrum corps town that is just learning nothing really worth while comes easily and, that a little help from everybody is more rewarding than lots of help from one. Don't be too hard or too critical FEVER is alive and getting better and will survive and thrive because that is what they want to do.

And YOUR BACKGROUND AND AREA OF EXPERTISE IN THESE MATTERS IS?

Glad everbody is so interested in FEVERS situation.It does bother me however that without any other information than what they read in the article that soooo many knowledgeable and experienced drum corps founders and managers ,as I'm sure all of them are, are able to discern exactly what the problem is and what fools FEVER management must be for not knowing the future. So let's help everbody get it right 1)NOBODY AND I MEAN NOBODY should point to DCI as being the cause. We all get into AND OUT OF problems every year(LIKE HAVING TO HAVE CORPS MEMBERS PUSH BUSSES THAT DON'T FUNCTION PROPERLY )probably due to a lack of foresight on someones part, without it always having to be DCI'S fault. If drum corps should have taught all of us anything ,it is that we have to take responsibility for our own actions,not blame somebody or something for what's wrong. Example: don't blame the stone you tripped over for your inability to watch where you're going. 2) Fuel costs for all of you who don't know don't just effect the cost of fuel... food is more expensive now than it was a year ago, anything shipped any other way than transporter tube cost more today than it did a year ago. 3)Admittedly a grant writer last year would have been wonderful.Sadly they don't crawl out of the woodwork. 4) A grant writer last year, wasn't an Important "acquisition" However some normally BIG fundraising events (like FEVERS home show didn't turn out as well as in the past two years. Thus creating a "hole" in funds. 5) Finally I think the last part of that last sentence needs to be repeated "the last two years" Anybody else started a drum corps in the last three years that was succesful enough to go to Finals in only their second year and place as well as FEVER? AND WILL GO AGAIN AND DO EVEN MORE AMAZING THINGS?!!! Rest easy America this is a hiccup and it's all due to a series of unfortunate events not ONE BIG BAD ORGANIZATION TO BLAME FOR EVERYTHING INCLUDING MY EVER INCREASING BALD SPOT. TO EVERBODY WHO JUST WANTS TO BLAME DCI OR CORPS MANAGEMENT TURN ON THE TELEVISION YOU'RE MISSING JERRY SPRINGER, or flip on George Nori for the latest conspiracy theory.see ya' in Boston and ALL POINTS BETWEEN,

Thanks everybody for your concern.It's going to work out and FEVER will be fine it's just a hiccup ..really ..ok it's a big hiccup but...it's just a hiccup FEVER is going to finals AND will do just fine.