Quinny

I had heard that 1991 Santa Clara Vanguard (Miss Saigon) left some people upset at the portrail of the musical. Im not sure but I had heard the big Flag they used at the end had been changed to show part of the American flag. Also in 1991, I heard that Phantom Regiments guard had be asked to change some of there choreography (sp?) in there closing peace (Samson and Delilah) because it was too seductive. I watch that show.. and I think its nothing compared to what some guards do now. I could be wrong on both accounts.. so if I am let me know Also Cadets I think in 84/ 85 did a vocal Amen at the end of there show which caused them a penalty because no vocals, at all, were allowed at the time. Cadets at finals that year had a sign saying no Amen due to the penalty (not exact frase).

its been ten years since ive marched DCI.. and I loved every minute when I did.. Its taught me so much.. The life values that you learn in Drum Corps are endless. Meeting people that you march one season with, yet remember them all your life. Knowing at the end of the season, the only thing that matters is that what you got out of drum corps.. lasts you a lifetime. That when your an age out on the field.. your inspiring someone to do what you have done.. That your inspiring someone .. to take one of the most amazing adventures in life. Sometimes.. I think we forget how awesome it was to be on the field. We may not like every show.. and we may have our favorite corps... but every person in every corps works towards one goal... and that is to entertain, and put everything into there performance that they possibly can.. and when they do... Its like being on cloud nine.. its like a high you cant get anywhere else. I love drum corps.. and I love watching kids go out on the field and give a performance night in and night out and always strive for better till they hit there best. One thing I love about drum corps.. is when you get the chance to go back.. Its like going home .. having an istant connection with those who marched after and before you.. Its very close to an actual family.. you might not see them very often but there always in your hearts.

I dont know if this has been stated or not.. but Grenadiers are not fielding a Corps this year. As for my vote thought I say Les Metropolitans

I do not know if this has been clarified.. But DCA does not require you to have a flag party.. and it doesnt have to be an American flag party.. there are Canadian and Japanese corps out there. If they do have a flag party they should have the respective flags for there country. And Im Canadian.. so dont frown upon me if I dont put my hand over my heart when an American flag goes by. I will say this though.. I do believe your hats should be off, and you should stand for ALL anthems played.. not just the ones from your own country.. respect should be shown to ever country represented at a show, by a corps

I was so suprised to see the results.. I so badly want to see Bluecoats now.. and I unfortunatly wont get the chance.. I have not seen a year in a long time.. where things are so exciting.. I hope it stays close.. and I hope that there are no ties. I said before the season started, that I had a feeling it was going to be an interesting year.. and it looks like things are turning out that way. go BLOOOOOOOOO

Ok I may have missed something.. but I wasnt seeing Northern Lights on the WGI sight for competitions.. are they competing this year?

Does anyone know what happened to Les Stentors.. they had a schedule and rep. and such, But seemed to have pulled out of competitions.. I went to there website.. and its all in french and I couldn't understand it enough to figure out what was being said.. so did they go inactive this year?

Ok so I dont know the actual song selections Dutch Boy is Doing.. but yes the moivie is offensive.. but go figure in the movie there is the song.. "Blame Canada" and its a Canadian corps doing the movie.. to me it would be funny if they did that song.. but Im weird that way. But.. the music in the movie (minusing some lonaguage) is good.

They have Winterguards back on the floor.. and hopefully maybe we will see stuff buiild from there

2000 HM: 1986, 1992, 2003, 2004

I just want to know what ppl think .. does Phantom or Bluecoats have a real shot at the title this year.. I know we all talk about Cavies and BD and to a certain extent Cadets.. BUt since Bloo and Phantom have really come on this year do they have a shot? With that question out there.. my other one is which corps do you think will really battle it out at DCI for 12th place I think its between Spirit, Colts, Crossmen, Cap Reg, Blue Stars.. and maybe one or two more.. Just like to know what ppl think.

I think some people forget that Div 3 corps do work hard.. and every corps goes up and down in score from BD to Crossmen To Pioneer To ECJ to Revolution and then to Jester.. its based on opinion.. These kids have just as much passion and work just as hard as the guys in DIV 1. Div 3 allows the young kids to get exposure and learn.. Div 1 is for the ppl who have already gone through the process.. Dont expect these kids to be as good as Div 1 they are just learning and doing the best they know how.. I think a lot of these corps are good to watch because you see the kids go off the field smiling .... and I think thats all that matters is that the kids are enjoying it.. it makes me proud to have marched DIV 3. As long as the kids in the orginization are doing there best and getting the most out of it.. Then scores mean NOTHING. They are just a number on a page. When the kids get off the field and feel good then they did there job and thats all that matters.

Ok I don't think size matters so much as the quality of the corps.. Mandarins being a good example they won div 3 in 1992 with only 9 brass.. THATS SMALL.. recruiting isnt always succesful even if you do go to a bunch of schools.. doesn't mean the kids wil come. So I dont think the 30 member rule should be in place.

Kiwanis Kavaliers comes to mind as a corps who just fell short.. 14th in 96-97 and now they arent even on the field this year

wouldnt be suprised I mean

I think so.. it seems like they are very equal to each other on the field.. the judging could go either way.. I would be suprised to see them neck and neck all season

and btw.. forgot to mention.. I know nothing about percussion so I really couldn't comment on them.. accept the drum features sounded cool to me. If my brother was with me.. then he could put his 2 cents worth in about the drums lines.. unfortunatley I can't so I appologize.

Ok so this is in memory of last night and my first DCI review ever.. so please bare with me Ok First of all the weather.. was perfect.. a little breeze not to hot and not to cold.. the stands.. well.. not the greates set up but the corps were so up close, it almost became personal. The crowd though seemingly very excited... seemed a bit quiet. But the stands were full. My viewing point was on the 40 stage right very low.. so getting to actually see the formations was not possible.. but aside from that great seats. 1st up was THE MAGIC They have a very entertaing book musically.. and some nice moents from the corps. Since I am a guard person I watched the guard, but tried to take in everything. The guard book is still incomplete which made me a little concerned.. but I love the uniforms.. and your opening yellow flags very visual. But the guard as well with the rest of the corps was very very dirty, which was my biggest concern... they have a great program if they could clean it.. then I could see them fighting for semis.. but at this moment there is a lot of work to be done. It seemed the corps lacked confidence, which could cause some of the issues, and I wonder if the book (musically) might be to big for them. I did see however (even if lacking confidence) the whole corps giving it there all.. and performing through it all. 2nd in line was SOUTHWIND The show to me wasn't quite as enteraning as Magic, BUT a lot cleaner in all respects and still quite entertaining. Nice sound from the brass, guard book was complete.. more readable and the corps as a whole was more confident.. though they may have lost a little steam near the end. The guards first unis were ok.. I didnt think they were overly impressive but the second unis were a nice colour but I hated the design, loved the blue/orange flags that had the arrow. There guard had some difficulty in there show but needs to be worked on for the guard to achieve it. Aside from guard like I said the brass sounded really nice at times.. they were a little muddy. Feet also seemed to be dirty at times.. but.. I did enjoy this show.. and I think as they clean we could see them in semi contention. p.s. hate the shakos on the corps members. 3rd was CROSSMEN, definitely a step up from the two prior corps.. VERY entertaining show.. got the crowd going for sure. Ok as a side note.. Im not the biggest fan of voice amplification. I actually found it (in the past) to be a hinderance and annoyance in most shows.. BUT.. in this case Crossmen found a way to make it work properly and it added to the show instead of distracted or took away from the show. The brass had a really nice sound.. but it seemed they were holding back. It felt like they were quiet at times for there size.. but with that said they were very controlled. Guard has a very nice book, love the unis, and as most corps really like the opening flags. the weapons are dirty.. but the flag line is pretty much were clean for this time of year. Clean the weapons and this will be a guard to watch (eventhough I think they already are) Didn't notice feet in this show.. so may have been dirty or may not ... Overall I really enjoyed the show and I think they should make top twelve or be in good contention. 4th was SPIRIT from JSU another very entertaining show. I love the music book.. I knew Crossmen and Spirit would be pretty close in score. I had Crossmen edged above Spirit but I wasn't suprised that Spirit beat them. What I think Spirit might have on Crossmen is they seem to have a little more demand in there book and the Brass had more guts (they were louder) BUT I thought Spirit in some asspects were dirtier and I thought that might hurt them. I did notice in parts of this show that the forms seemed to be off and the marching a little sloppy.. I know I was down low and how could I tell the form was off. But there was a straight line right infront of me.. that wasnt exactly straight and I saw that a few times. As for the guard... again the weapons need a lot of cleaning but the flag book was pretty clean. I love the Corps unis.. but the guard unis didn't to to much for me. Having a jacket on to go with the Corps proper uniforms was cool but after that came off.. I wasn't overly fond of the uniforms.. I just found that (because I was up close) they really didnt suit some of the members (more in design). However there was a insanely colourful flag in the middle of the show that I LOVED. Oh and the girl that did the gymnastics was cool.. always love seeing flips on the field as long as the person doesn't get hurt. Again like Crossmen they should be top 12 or be in good contention. 5th we had BOSTON CRUSADERS you could see a bit of a jump between them and Spirit/ Crossmen .. It was close between them and Crown I thought. I had Crown edged in front of Boston but wasn't suprised that Boston beat Crown. I thought this show was very cool.. and entertaining...When I first saw them come on though.. I was looking at the props and I was like.. not looking forward to the props.. cause I find they can distract from the show, but in this case they didn't, for me at least. The way they brought the props together at the end was cool. Brass had a very nice rich souind.. VERY balanced.. and at this point of the show.. I realized that even being down low I didn't notice that any of the front ensembles were to loud which made me very happy. The guard used a lot of weapons in this show especially riffles. The good thing is that this was the first corps were I thought that the wepons were pretty clean. and so were the flags. It seemed though that a few guard (not a lot) were sort of stiff in performance.. and I caught one looking around (shows lack of confidence). But other then that no real issues.. The guard unis were ok.. didn't love them didn't hate them.. But I love the flags in this show.. very well designed. The only thing I didn't like about this show really was the quiet ending.. Im just not a fan of quiet endings.. because sometimes it doesnt make you stand up and cheer... sometimes you sit thinking, oh thats it? But other then that great show, this show could nick top 6 I think. 6th was PHANTOM REGIMENT definitely thought they deserved to win.. beautiful show .. very dark which is in Phantom form.. not sure if I liked it as much as last years show but I really enjoyed it. The lower brass is so nice sounding and a good blend for what this corps would want. Love the Phantom unis but I always have (except 2000). The story being told is done really well. I know the the story of "Faust" is supposed to end tragic and in this case it doesn't.. but I remembered marching in 96 and doing west side story.. and our Maria and Tony lived.. you can put any twist on any show and as long as the crowd and judges appreciate it... then it works. The ballad was beautiful.. and I mean beautiful, done very well.. made shivers go down my spine when it came to a climax.. VERY well done nicest moment of the night. The guard unis (well the girls) were very nice... the guys how ever, even though meant to be dark and evil looking were a bit much for me with the leather hoods and such.. I was glad they took them off.. loved the opening flags.. but I wonder if the ballad flags are supposed to be solid yellow.. or are they still using practise flags because the actual ones are not done yet. Same with the solid red flags in the closer. Ok again the weapons need to clean... but the Flag book was IMO very clean tonight.. the cleanest of the the guards.. and the guard (as well as the whole corps) really performed, nice job. 7th and final corps was CAROLINA CROWN I thought they may have edged Boston but not suprised that Boston edged them. This show was very nice and pretty entertaining as well.. The purple plums are cool... but with the guard unis also being purple I thought at times it was a bit much but it still looked good. Again very nice sounding brass line.. but im not sure if it was as strong as Bostons or not.. The one thing though is that I thought Crown performed a little better then Boston.. I love the guard unis.. very well put together and thought out.. and loved all the flags and this was the other guard (along with Boston) were I thought the weapons were pretty clean (minusing a drop or two) Didn't notice much about drill in this show.. so I dont know what happened there. But nonetheless great show and I could see them having a shot at top 6. All in all I enjoyed all the corps and I am looking forward to seeing how they progress. As for retreat I wasn't to happy there.. I love and miss the full corps retreats.. They are just really cool and prefer them to drum majors only, any day. Ofiicial scores 1. Phantom Regiment 81.75 2. Boston Crusaders 79.35 3. Carolina Crown 78.75 4. Spirit from JSU 75.25 5. Crossmen 74.20 6. Southwind 66.30 7. The Magic 60.45 My Scores 1. Phanotm Regiment 81.45 2. Carolina Crown 80.00 3. Boston Crusders 79.60 4. Crossmen 74.50 5. Spirit from JSU 74.25 6 Southwind 66.00 7. The Magic 64.65

Sas to hear that Kiwanis is not fielding this year.. hoping you will be back next yer

Sorry to Hear about Grennies... it was sad news for me.. being alumni and such.. But I believe this corps will be back and better then ever... I think the staff that are behind the Grenniers are not quitters and wont give up on a dream to keep the Grennies alive.. looking forward to seeing them back in 07

Devils, And Phanotm in the 1 and 2 positions.. SCV back up, Crossmen back in finals. Blue Stars at least in semis.. Colts back in finals would be nice.. and Bluecoats.. in the top 4

Ok.. Im going to add my 2 cents worth here. 1996... during rehersal with the Kiwanis Kavaliers..... we were practicing an exchange and me and my partner... were doing it.. and one time as we were doing it.. she stepped on her falg.. and before I got the chance to stop, the flag was out of my hand.. and it hit her in the JAW ... the funny thing (also painful) was that we kept going.. and a couple of times later she got her payback..as we tossed the sun caught my eye and I couldnt see the flag.. and it hit me.. where it counts. 1997 ... before DCA prelims (with grennies) we were rehersing.. and we were doing a run through before going to the stadium.. and in the middle of our show.. I had a solo.. and at the end of that song.. I had to run to the sideline.. the guard marched barefoot that year.. and it being early morning.. the ground was wet from dew. so anyway, as I am running to the sideline.. my foot gives out from underneath me and I fall flat on my ###... the whole contra line .. burst out laughing. and the guard around me. 1998.. Now here is something that happened at a show. I again had a solo.. and a part of my uniform was a bit to big for me.. and they hadnt had time to fix it yet.. so they were pining it to my pants. This particular night.. we had forgotten to do so.. and as I was running.. in front of the crowd during a moment.. I had found it harder to run.. I look down.. and its around my knees.. so I take a second while doing my stuff and let it fall to my ankles.. and kicked it to the sideline.. one of my instructors.. was thanking me for the added moves in the middle of the show. 2001... this must have been the Belleville show as I remember it. and the brass line was all faced backfield.. and the guard was faced forward.. before we actually started the show our drum major was supposed to get the brassline turned around.. he forgot.. and started counting us in to start the show.. thank goodness the guard was watching.. and you hear a number of us counting aloud.. and you see the brass line scramble to get turned around in time.. to start playing.. somehow.. it worked out fine 2003.. I forget where this show was.. but we were in our last song.. and .. at the very end the guard is supposed to throw our flags up.. and make a pose and let them.. hit the ground.. well this one night.. a judge was right backfield watching it.. and he watches one of our member throw the flag up.. and doesnt move. and it hit him right on top of his head.. lets just say.. the staff couldnt help but letting the guard hear the outcome of what happened.. it was one of the funniest things I have ever heard (On that note I hope the judge was ok) but his comments were priceless.

Very proud of the Canadian corps.. and can't wait to see them back out their next year.

DCI and drum corps in general will not be the same with out Troopers, hope to see Troop back in 07.

Ok I dont remember them seeing scores for them in 04 so I appologize.. I think I was hoping to see them at DCI's in denver and they wernt their.. thats maybe why I thought they didnt compete.. my bad.. sorry