troon8

Hate to spoil the party, and sure, I could be wrong on this...but am I really the only one aware of the calender date?

I realize that this is taking us back several pages from some pretty nuanced discussions about the intent and actualization of the law, but for the sake of my argument here, I'm going to assume that the law would in fact allow a business to discriminate against gay or lesbian customers based on the owner's religious beliefs and that there is a very real likelihood of this happening (If it doesn't, well...great! I'll leave that part of the debate to others.) As for DCI and Indiana, for those looking to use DCI and the economic benefits it brings Indiana as leverage to protest the law, the attitude of "Oh, well...doing that will just hurt the marchers/DCI is in too fragile a financial state as it is/DCI threatening to leave Indiana would accomplish little, they're not a big enough player" is somewhat baffling to me. If you've come to the conclusion that the law is unjust, I don't see how you can't not take a very long, hard look at your involvement with a business that has its HQ and culminating annual events involving thousands of participants and fans in Indiana. To me, that seems analogous to saying you'd still book a safari in apartheid-era South Africa because because not doing so would just hurt the little guys that run the operation and your dollars are such a small drop in the bucket, is it really worth it?* You love drum corps, I love drum corps...but if I've come to the conclusion that drum corps will be happening in a place where members and fans of the activity I love will be subject to discrimination, I am darn well not going to support drum corps happening there and would boycott Finals just as I would boycott the DCI North Korea Drums of the Dear Leader Pyongyang Open.** And yes, I would be doing that because I believe I can make a difference. Even if I didn't think I could make a difference, using that as my excuse wouldn't exactly be a particularly strong ethical stance, to say the least. * (Even if this particular business came out and publicly announced that they served everyone regardless of race, believed in treating everyone equally, didn't support apartheid laws, etc. I do think it's great that DCI made a similar press release. But I don't think that lets me off the hook.) ** (Yes, I went to an obvious and not-really-equivalent extreme there. But you get my point, I hope.)

Indeed, they have...Unlike those on that other site, Drumx Corpz Planett, who decided that allowing this argument to continue went against their religious beliefs, so they booted out select participants. Legally. See what I did there? (That was a poor attempt at humor, NOT meant to be anything resembling an accurate analogy. I'll be the first to admit it's not, so don't even bother telling me.)

E=McHorse Jesus Christ: Dance Derby Superstar Samurai Machine (Or better yet, West Side Samurai) Constantly Risking Juliet

I'm sure they can handle the pressure...Or lack thereof.

Meth. Lots and lots of meth. Or...they worked really hard to get where they are, they've got terrific staff who excel at motivating, inspiring, and teaching them, they love music, love the team of friends they end up working alongside, and want to be the best at what they do. They like to be challenged and to have fun. I don't think it's rocket science.

Two things happening here: 1. Offensive tweet. 2. OP's proposed solution I haven't even seen #1, so here's my thoughts on #2... While I'd love to see it on CBS because I'd enjoy watching it live on TV, you know what much of the non-marching arts audience would say if they were to see DCI on CBS? "Wow, those band geeks/dorks (choose your pejorative) are pretty good." (Flips channel after 5 seconds.) It's just not in CBS best business interest to do it, and considering past results (or lack thereof) with putting it on a network, I'm not even sure it'd be in DCI's. Could someone link or quote the offending tweet?

(Wrong discussion, my bad!)

Thus leading to the Worst Excuse for a Contraband Phone caught on a Cavalier..."No no, it's really my instrument, I swear!!"

Here, I'll help put us back on topic... Oh, Blue DEVILS auditions....Never mind, my bad!

Get her a Fan Network subscription?

I thought it was a misspelling about this one... Fraking disappointing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StTqXEQ2l-Y

I did get some pictures from near the start of the parade...will be posting soon(ish)! There were some seriously talented bands marching today...but only one Drum Corps, that's for sure!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152861359454172 (Not certain if you can watch the video without signing into BookFace or not...) I managed to get some pictures of them en route...will be posting soonish!

I have the great fortune to be able to watch the parade about four stories directly above the parade route. It's actually not as good for pictures as you might think, but if I get some decent ones I'll share. Excited to see them! Now if I can just convince my hostess to pop open that window...

92 Glassmen / THREAD (Someone had to do it!)

Face it, DCI's been dead ever since 2035. I would know, I'm fully prepared right now to issue a blistering critique of every show between now and then.

(Someone JUST beat me to it...) I'm going to come close to playing devil's advocate and say I do understand what the OP is getting at with the whole "ShosT's 10th wasn't about the number 10" thing. This was a minor quip I had with Crown's 2010 (A Second Chance) design...It's not like the audience could get that these were 2nd Symphony's just by listening to them (unless you recognized the music, I guess...) They weren't about the number two, or a second chance. That being said, that didn't preclude Crown from taking the great music and incorporating it into a very good show. The fact that they were second symphonies was just kind of arbitrary to the success of it. This might be a valid-ish concern, but...I'll reserve judgment until I ACTUALLY SEE THE DANG SHOW. I've shuddered at half of the design announcements in some years, but those I was most cynical about have turned out to be pretty awesome. Sometimes.

Oh, there's one in every band...(Jump to around 2:08)

I'm not sure I understand...How exactly do you think that the explosion of social media is causing or exasperating this problem?

There's someone out there that claims to like Nickleback??? That alone raises red flags regarding the accuracy of this study...

How dare you ruin a perfectly good conspiracy theory with your cold, cruel logic!

Used to be some of the judge's tapes on the Finals DVDs (typically a color guard one and a percussion one, though 2002 featured GE Music & Visual instead) ...I learned a lot from listening to those. I miss them. Sigh...

I'm not sure exactly what "mainstream" means...Millions of students are in marching bands nationwide, but of course, that doesn't mean they're considered cool by the tens of millions who aren't. I don't think a million hit songs featuring marching bands would make too many people think of them as any cooler.