PR_ducky

I understand the switch to Bb, but was sad to see the G horns go. the Bb horns just don't produce the sound or power the G horns had. Thats why today you see 16 tubas on the field and can barely hear the low brass unless the synth is doubling the parts (a sadly all too common practice) The horns changed every ten years or so regardless. 70s were Valve/Rotors, 80s Two valve G, 90s Three valve G, 00s any key

I'm wondering how the music judge is going to adjust the brass score when he discovers 2/3 of the parts are being doubled on synth because the horn line can't hack it....

Best thing about the good old days? My membership dues my rookie year at Regiment were $330 Its 10 times that now.

ok, I'll be the one to stir up the crap... I'm betting there is a rules proposal from a certain director to allow "instrumentation of any kind"

96... I was on visual staff that year and DCI week was hell. People forget that the 96 corps was 4th at quarterfinals. We were within tenths of BD the last shows before finals week and to get slammed back down to 4th at quarterfinals was a HUGE disappointment. That corps never gave up and killed themselves the next two days. Was amazing to see it pay off.

I was on staff at Phantom Regiment in 96. At quarterfinals we were in 4th, 4.3 points out of first. Two nights later we tied for first.

It's a shame people don't remember 88 SCV. Their 88 show was better than the 89 one in almost every way.

Finals run in 89

I marched Regiment from 86-90. In 89 we won Horns and Visual, but finished 2nd. Personally I would trade the caption awards for the win. In 90 we finished 4th but again won Visual. I was an instructor in 96 when we tied for 1st with BD. All in all I have no complaints. Even finishing 2nd in 89. I still get goose bumps when I watch that show. Very happy to have been a part of it.

Sadly, drum corps will never again be as good as it was in the 80s/early 90s. All corps is today is glorified marching band. Band uniforms Band instruments Unrecognizable music... If Hopkins has his way woodwinds will be on the field in the next few years. I consider myself extremely lucky I got to march corps from 86-90 and teach for several years after aging out. After the 96 season I had finally had enough. The Bb horns and electronics have finally driven me away for good. I go to Regiment's home show every few years to see old friends but that's about it. It amazes me how the current 80+ member horn lines can't produce anywhere near the volume or sound of much smaller horn lines back in the day. I look back at the 87,89, and 90 seasons and EVERY show was fun, exciting, and you could hum the music afterwards. Instead of lamenting what corps has become I prefer to pop in the old videos and enjoy. I would much rather sit at home for the evening and watch finals from 89 than go to a live show in 2011. Such is life.

Just one more way corps are using electronics as a crutch, a shortcut. The watering and dumbing down of corps continues. If a soloist on a brass instrument needs a mic then the corps needs to find a different soloist

The best Tuba lines are the ones not using a synth to boost their tone and output and there are SEVERAL who do that. Including, amazingly enough... Madison. Its fine if they feel the need just try not to be SOOOOOOO obvious about it.

according to the current rules, "instrumentation of any kind" is allowed in the on field pre show warm up. This is Hopkins way of saying WW

Exactly Mike. This is how Hopkins works. First it was amplification to help the pit be heard... look what that led to as far as electronics... Now its "winds"... doesn't take much imagination to see where Hopkins is going with this one, especialkly after his quote in the CNN article saying woodwinds are the next wall to come down. I have already lost most interest in corps when they started doubling horn parts and boosting 16 tubas with synth. WW will have me (and most people I know) walk away completely. That being said it won't surprise me if it happens within 3 -5 years.

Thats true, but what I respect about Mason is he took Star and did his own thing. He didn't attempt to warp Drum Corps into what HE wanted it to be like Hopkins has been attempting to do for 20+ years now.

Corps has always had more influence on marching band. One big reason is a LOT of music majors marched corps. As far as band and corps being seperate entities, that becomes less and less the case every time they try to change corps....

get home? dude, worry about getting home AFTER finals LOL or hitch a ride with a corps that is that area. I am old school, do they even still do that? I remember getting a ride home with the colts one year when they still had a bus that went back south after finals...

sadly, I think you are right. If drum corps isnt completely dead (or some bizarre Hopkins controlled thing) by 2025...

I have no doubt. I am sure the kids today are enjoying corps and having a great experience with it. But they have no idea how much better it could have been, which maybe is a good thing.

of course it makes sense. It is EXACTLY what happened in 1972 that led to the birth of DCI. A group of corps got fed up with the way the VFW ran corps competitions and they broke off and started DCI. It amazes me that DCI cant see that they have now become the VFW and history is on the verge of repeating itself.

Well thats because you marched corps in an era when it had already been screwed up. Not your fault and I love Spirits 05 show. If you had the chance to go back and march corps in the late 80s you would be blown away by how much more electric the whole activity was. More corps, more shows, bigger crowds. The whole experience has been watered down. There are no more regional competitions like DCM or DCE. I remember the fun of going to DCI Canada and marching on a canadian football field. I remember full retreat every night. Its sad but the activity is just a shadow of what it was just 15 years ago.

Stylistically, shows of today are not very different from late 80s/early 90s I agree about the 70s, but 70s shows were defined by the judging system in use which is completely opposite of what we have today. Once they got off the tick system in the mid 80s the activity exploded. If you've never seen them go get DVDs for 87,89,91,93, and 96 and watch them. Drums, Horns, Guard. I see nothing that has improved from these years due to Bb horns or electronics. or would improve with woodwinds or anything else. The road to recovery for drum corps starts when the powers that be stop trying to fix it. The activity would be infinitely better off by going straight back to the 1996 rule book than they would by adding anything else.

its not just the way I feel, its the way it is. get ready for it

Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to go back to G bugles, they sounded better, put out more volume and just had a unique sound everyone associated with drum corps. I am practical though. I still disagree about electronics. They have no place on the field. There is no way for an ensemble music judge to properly evaluate a horn line when keyboards are doubling horn parts. Electronics have done nothing but dumb down the activity. They are nothing but a shortcut and they stifle creativity. CNN also had a video up of the "Top 5 drum corps shows". All of the shows were from 93 or earlier and all used G horns and no electronics. I am SOOOOO thankful I marched and taught corps from the mid 80s to mid 90s. It was really the best possible time to be in the activity and it will never be that great again. With every "improvement" they try to make to bring new fans or help the bottom line they degrade and hurt the activity with NO tangible benefit. Bb is no better than G, electronics are a total fail. Every addition makes it more expensive to operate a corps when the goal should be to reduce costs. I remember when there were TONS of corps on tour. I am sure there are barely half as many now as when I marched. Sadly DCI is determined to run the activity into the ground. It really is getting close to the end.

It was actually our on field warm up in 86... I didn't think much of it LOL