Long Time Fan

I had all four corps in the final order after watching it on the FN. BK over Boston mainly because of a very rough BAC brass performance in terms of blending and tone. Crown was over Phantom because of only a few areas, mainly brass. However I was less certain of this because I felt that Phantom had really strengthened their GE.

Made several switches on views including two in the horn block. No difference in audio quality. Equally good.

In this case, the poem by Rudyard Kipling If comes to mind. ___________If_______________ If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you But make allowance for their doubting too, If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream--and not make dreams your master, If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breath a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!" If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much, If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son! Rudyard Kipling

There is a tone to the OP's question that tempts me not to resond...baiting? However, It is a question that is worth discussing. Winning a ring will not change your life. The question is asked in a way that can only have one answer. Spending a year with a corps that is at the top of the activity can change your life. It all depends on what you want out of the time you invest into your summer. Friendships, good times, the thrill of performing - if that is what you are desiring, then find a corps that has the type of environment you will appreciate and stay there. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and for many that is just what they should do. For some they might benefit from a corps operating at the peak of the activity. (Do not assume that I have selected two, or four, or six corps...you decide what this means based on your values.) You will be pushed to get more out of yourself than you thought possible. You will see how organization, finding talent, allowing creative expression, funding, drive, focus, and dedication all play together to get a corps where they are. That is a valuable life lesson. Being at the top of an activity does not come easily. You must work all the factors that affect success, not just one. It can't be a great show if you don't have the other items listed above to support the design. Knowing how the sniping on this board goes, I will state outright that I am not slamming the Troopers, since this was the OP's corps. I have nothing but the greatest respect for this corps and always make a point of getting to a show early to watch them if they are performing. I respect their history and the dedication of present members who commit to a corps that cannot as easily draw from a large base of performers. However, I will compare my son's two corps, especially since the lower corps does not exist (and that in itself is a lesson). My son was with the Magic of Orlando for two years. He left to go to the Cavaliers the year the Magic folded for the first time, but that decision was made before the corps announced they would not tour. He chose the Cavaliers because they held the values he had admired when he met corps on tour. They had won DCI in '92 and '95, this was in '00. So he did not expect to win a ring. That said, he was with the corps for three years and won three rings. But he would tell you that the lasting items that will affect his life will be the success that the corps obtained while remaining true to their internal values. He saw that you could get to the top without having to sacrifice important traits like brothership, support, fun, and frendship. He saw how putting talented people in a good, supporting environment gave them the ability to reach deep and find even more to give. He would not have learned that while he was with his previous corps. There are posters out there who don't really understand what the Cavaliears do to stay at the top now that they are there. Those who operate inside the organization do understand. The FMMs understand that the corps did it by building on the cherished corps values over the years, not by discarding them. That is a valuable lesson, but one you must learn from the inside, not from the outside. Each corps is unique. But when you join the Blue Devlis, the Cadets, Phantom, or others you learn about yourself and how to gain success. That is life changing. Not the ring, the experience.

Subscribe through your corps' home page. I did that on the Cavalier's site. That way they get the cut.

The other corps was Magic of Orlando.

Go Crown

Loved the show. Nice to see them in Semis this year.

I'm so out of touch I was trying think what show was netcast from Cloverfield and where Cloverfield was.

Thank you for playing. We are 7 hours ahead. It is 2:27 am here. Went to bed at 8 to get enough rest.

On the other hand I am thinking about breakfast.

Kevin, I expected you would recongnize a sacastic remark.

No video or audio issues, no delay. The only problem is that the corps members look older than I expected. (Please don't explain why.)

Mountain time. It's in Denver.

Fan since '72. One of our sons marched with Magic '98-'99, then Cavaliers '00-'02. Still following the activity, even now that we are here in the UK. Thank you DCI for the full-show on demand video. The live feeds are really late (early) here.

So does anyone have the performance times? I can only find the start (7:00) and the order. I might get up early and watch this puppy.

If my recollection is right, 1995 was the last time the Troopers were in Semis. Is this the year they move back in? That has me excited.

If you think about what needs to be done to get the field ready, IU will have a very hard time getting it done in time. IU needs the field ready for football on Aug 30th. We need the field ready almost one month earlier. That is a problem right there. IU will set their schedule up based on their needs. I am sure they will try to accomodate others, but the first football game is their main priority. The issue is not can we use the field with the damage, but rather will the repairs be done in time. The field will be completely unusable until repairs are finished. The turf will not be in place, just concrete, during the reapir process. So what needs to take place before this can be fixed? The repair will not be a minor fix, IU will have to make the repairs to field infrustructure so that it will last. First the field will have to be stripped. An engineering firm will be called in to examine the damage and recommend repair or replacement. They may have to tear up part of the field to see what is going on underneath. The lawyers will be called in along with the insurance folks to see what can be done, but this should not significantly hold things up. Then a bidding spec will be prepared by the engineering firm and the facilities department. A budgetary estimate will be prepared and the atheletic department and booster organization will need to look at how this can be funded on the short and long term. A request for proposals will go out and the bids will be evaluated. A contactor will be selected and they will start the planning. If they have the equipment sitting around doing nothing then they can start right away. However, if they don't... You get the point. IU needs this all to happen quickly. There is a big difference between Aug 7th and Aug 30th. It is 8 1/2 weeks versus 12 weeks. IU needs permanent repairs and they will not let a DCI event make the difference between getting it done halfway and getting it done right. DCI is not to blame here. No way to plan for this. But they should figure that this field is likely to be still under repair by the time Finals starts. Hope I'm wrong, but plan for the worst, hope for the best.

I have been a big supporter of this every year until last year. I purchased a subscription and was let down. The problems were greater than the hype. I hope it is much better this year. It looks like it could be worth the cost...maybe. The key is the content that is not up yet and how it is delivered. The issues are as follows (and I would love to hear from Ricky on how these are being addressed differently this year). 1 - Is DCI outselling their purchased bandwidth as they did last year or will they actual purchase enough to deliever content to all of their subscriptions? 2 - Has DCI learned from the experience of spotty customer service last year and improved that service to a level that will serve all of their subscribers needs in a reasonably timely manner, particularly for live events? 3 - The main reason for purchasing a subscription is not just getting see the previous year's shows, which might justify the cost in itself, but to see how the 2008 season progresses. The announcement stops short of saying that 2008 on-demand content will be the entire show for all participating corps at that show, so I will wait on this one until the first show, unless someone can confirm this now. 4 - The web team providing the image and sound at the selected 2008 show sites makes the resulting product a primary responsibility of what they are there for, not just sticking a camera and attached mic out a window. 5 - Providing the subscribers information and status on a realtime basis when technical issues are encountered. Not just leaving us in the dark and guessing. I may break down and buy a subscription, but not right now. I will wait for these questions to be answered, either directly or by the performance on the first shows. The archive material will still be there if I decide to join. Bite on the hype, I did last year, I will wait.

I have stayed out of this until now. Just didn't want the abuse. However it appears that there are other ways to frame this argument. So go ahead and let me have it. The issue is not George Hopkins, he is just the visible element of what is troubling many. This issue is that drum corps is changing, and it appears to be driven not by fan interest, marketing research, or even deliberate thoughts about the future state of the activity...it is being driven by the desire to open up the activity to greater artistic expression. The instructors, designers and directors want more diversity in the shows...they are bored and want a bigger stage. They want to display their talents to the world. We are expected to keep coming and paying because anything they put out there must be wonderful, and if we don't like it, then we are hit with trump card, "It's for the kids!" (This is the moral equivalent of playing the race card in politics. You can't win as soon as the argument is turned to place you as a person on the side of 'evil' and the other person on the side of 'goodness'.) To the defense of some who have used 'the kids' argument, sometimes they are right, some people cannot separate the staffs from the corps, and they are attacking the kids to get at the staff. Personally I have really liked much of what I have seen over the last few years. I have also really, really disliked some of the shows. Some design teams are trying their best to blend the new changes into a crowd pleasing show, others are just trying to see how far they can push the envelope. I would feel much more comfortable if I really thought there was a great deal of thought going into what is to become of drum corps in the next five years in terms of a healthy and viable activity. We are living on high levels of internet exposure and slick marketing, but if the product does not stand up as a value to the consumer it won't last much longer on just good will...even if it is for the kids. We need drum corps staffs that are focused on how to add to the legacy of drum corps with original and innovative design using the additional freedom offered by the new rules, rather than just doing it different because the new rules say you can. I thought the 2005 Cadets offered that original and innovative design, and the 2006 and 2007 Cadets went out of their way to make a statement. 2007 did come back to basics on drill and music, but fouled it up with poorly written, executed and overdone narration. It was not the kids' fault that happened and they should be proud of their work. But I should not be required to proclaim this as great art, just because I am told it is by a DCI judge and the slick internet marketing of DCI. So I am firmly on the fence, convinced that this activity is going down hill, but willing to find the really good performances among the really awful ones, until it is killed altogether by a lack of direction and support. And if you don't like my discussion, then you are not for the kids. (For the many posters that cannot recognize sarcasm, this is it.) Edited for spelling errors.

My first memory of Jeff Fiedler was at a rehearsal on tour during our son's first year with the corps in 2000. We arrived just after block to see our son and wanted to meet Jeff. While we waited in the high school stadium we watched a man picking up any remaining trash. We figured there was no way he could be a top DCI corps director and moved on. Of course that was Jeff. Jeff is an absolute dynamo, but you can always find times when he makes time for people. He is not continually out in front of his corps, but rather has created a tight functioning group that knows what they need to do, and he knows when to be involved and when to stay out of the way. He is one of the best people I have met who combines two very diverse talents; that of a natural driving leadership style, and that of being a consummate talent developer. No one involved with the corps can leave without being made better by knowing him. He was successful with the corps and will be successful in anything he chooses to do next. I have no concerns for the corps. Jeff leaves a large hole, but formed a team that can easily pick up, fill in and move on. What they will miss will be the energy that he provided and his presence that seemed to be a nucleus that everything else would gravitate to. It is hard to imagine the Cavaliers without Jeff, but those who understand how the corps is formed and functions over the years, knows that it has always been greater than one person. Best wishes to Jeff, Bruno and the Cavaliers.

I'm sorry that that are those that feel this is an unworthy thread. Just move on and read another. I have been enjoying the discussion. I think that DCI should try and keep the performance as unaltered as possible...to a point. If they selected a new camera angle that keeps the mistake out of the multi-cam...great. They did not alter the performance, just showed it in the best light. After all most casual veiwers will only look at multi-cam. The error is still in high-cam. Perfect. If the mistake is so great as to seriously distract from the enjoyment of the multi-cam and cannot be avoided then DCI should take action to alter the performance. A major frack is an example. They are very interested in making their DVD product be representative of the typical product. This is not an historical record, it is entertainment. Keeping it as close to historically accurate as possible is good, but not required. Should they keep the buzzing lights in there since that represents reality or filter them out? What about the "Melissa" banner tow plane noise? Would that stay if it was on the DVD? How far do you want this to go?

It has begun to settle down a little around here...only a little. So let's tell DCI how they did. Were you happy with the Fan Network and will you use it again as it stands today? Do you think changes are required? Should they have better content, better service, a money-back guarantee? Even DCI will admit that they did not deliver on all promises, but did they make up for errors and mistakes? Are you a happy customer and will you come back?

Great posting. If the Cadets are nothing else they will always be a classy organization. I'm glad you shared that, it is an example of why I have been drawn to this activity for a very long time.

I can tolerate narration where it fits in and seems a natural part of the show. Portions of the Cadets voice over were like that, but the constant use pushed it to the front and obscured other elements, just as much as if the baritone line had been filled with laser tones and stood out over the entire brass line all show. The Bluecoats show had voice that for the most part fit. I still think there was too much of that, but it was very natural with the theme. Crown's narration was nothing but jarring and blaring. It stunned you as it first came on and distracted you from the show. Its words fit well, but the exectuion was very poor, too loud and distracting. They added it too late in the season and did not get it blended correctly into the show. The Cadets at least got their voice execution and usage better throughout the season.