I Like Drum Corps

Fixed it for you.

Tap the brakes on the percussion teachers.

I am an alumnus of the Madison Scouts, and I have donated to them through the 1938 Corps initiative for the past few years. I’m of the opinion that the corps should evolve with the times, and those who aren’t on board are ultimately of no consequence. However, that thought cuts both ways...if they decide not to evolve with the times, the opinions of those who think they should don’t really matter. When I saw their first few performances, I discontinued my contributions.

I'm fairly certain that, since he now has a director of bands position where he is responsible for budgets, graduate students, and overseeing the direction of an entire program, he'll have significantly less time on his hands.

I think the Blue Devils are absolutely amazing this year. I wouldn't like other groups to try to copy them, though, because nobody else could do what they do that well. There are a lot of good designers these days, but the folks at BD are on their own level.

Congratulations on a great achievement, Spirit! Way to go!

It would be funny/cool if Christopher Martin did it.

I think that was Matt Gregg.

Bingo. I think looking to drum corps to hear the finest in music composition and performance is like going to Qdoba to enjoy the finest in cuisine. It's still good, but a different kind of good.

This is funny to me. What exactly does "two points cleaner" look like?

That looks great!

Is that Stewart on the right?

Their percussion instructor is the snare drummer/MC from the Youngblood Brass Band, if you're familiar with them.

Good for Andy, Todd, and Spirit! These are two great teachers and great guys! The brass players at Spirit will have a great experience this year, I'm sure.

Maybe Bill Cook will give them a ton of money too.

It was $500 for your first year in the drum corps, $350 for your second year, and $50 less for each successive year.

I think doing a Wynton Marsalis show would be cool. Possibly a John Mackey show. It's visceral enough. I think a great move for them from a design standpoint would be to do whatever is necessary to get Boerma to write the brass book. Regardless of the concepts they had during his tenure as brass arranger, he was able to give them a vehicle that was indicative of the corps identity. In fact, one could argue that he was largely responsible for a good deal of the corps identity during his time as brass arranger. As an alumnus, I'd love to see them come on the field in a company front and go into a fleur de lis. That's not the issue, though, just an aside. I agree with other posters in this thread - the "mistique" of the Madison Scouts doesn't matter to students who are auditioning for drum corps next year. These kids never saw those great Madison groups from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. I'd imagine that as far as most of them are concerned, Madison is viewed no differently than the Colts, Academy, or Crossmen. I'm not knocking those groups, I'm saying that the "intangible qualities" that make the Scouts the Scouts only matter if they have the vehicle and the performance to back them up.

Um...duh, he's called the "drum" major...what bus do you think he rides? The drum bus, duh.

Ouch. To whom exactly are you referring? I am pretty sure that Colin McNutt was talking to Hopkins in the middle of the season looking ahead to 2007, but the rest of the staff that did not return made that call after the board of directors made the decision to not renew Sal Salas's contract. I'm not saying that they were right or wrong in the decisions made, but let's not throw people under the proverbial bus.

Another step toward reinstatement of the Combine.

Dave Schlewe was judging and he gave them a big score before the show got started.

Call me crazy, but from the looks of those pictures, the red part isn't a cape so much as it is a sash. That would be sweet if we were seeing a return to the general aesthetic of the 88-02 uniform. Updated, of course.

According to Madison's percussion audition information, they're bringing the cymbal line back. How about that, eh? http://www.madisonscouts.org/Madison%20Sco...0Auditions.html

I think they need Mark Waymire, Andy Putnam, and the old Madison brass staff.

Capital Regiment vs. NIU Football Team