RContra

I like exclamation points, too! (Also, can't wait for the Colts this year. Loved every show of theirs since 2012.)

In the percussion world, this happens all the time.

Ditto on 02 Crossmen. That whole show was absolutely killer. Is my memory faulty, or were they beating BD early season when they came out east? Maybe they were just nipping at their heels. Either way, that was a great storyline to follow that season.

Just looking at the band names here and how you've got them somewhat split generationally, I'm super curious now: how old are you?

Just.... #### that guy. Good lord. Someone punch him. Hard. Maybe the jarring force will help bring him back down to earth.

Like was said earlier, this one is funny if you know the source material. It isn't just for the sake of vulgarity.

I feel like this is the angle that really hits the nail on the head. DCI really couldn't reasonably set up safety standards. Why? Because New things are invented every single year. This season, we had trampolines at Crown. We had essentially movable mini-stages at BD. I'm sure we'll see even more new things on the horizon. The creative and ultra-variable nature of the activity makes it nearly impossible to really create safety standards that wouldn't either be too constrictive or too porous. That's where RickCogley's post comes into play. What Crown did on its own with bringing in professionals for training, setting up usage guidelines, etc. was brilliant. And now, if someone else in the activity uses trampolines for whatever reason, there's a knowledge base and a group of people who I'm sure would be happy to spread that knowledge and provide guidance for groups. I got to see Blue Stars' tarps up close in La Crosse and noticed that their outsides were all lined with what seemed like thin chains on the inside to weigh down all the edges. That's smart, and I'm sure an idea that's either been done before, or will be done by others in the future. DCI staffs mostly all know each other with one or two degrees of separation at most. Regardless of competition, when it comes to member safety, we all want to share with each other for the sake of all of the members and the activity as whole. I'd be shocked to find anyone currently involved who would speak to the contrary. As for technique safety, that's a whole other can of worms. I have a couple of exercise physiology research buddies who attended the La Crosse show with me this summer. Watching some of the high-velocity direction changes and all of the counter-indicative movement that every drum corps utilizes, they were cringing almost as much as they were applauding. Then again, every major sport has that element, whether it's hard cuts in basketball or bringing down a running back on the goal line in football. It's inherently risky to be involved in those high levels of athleticism, and instructors do what they can with technique to minimize that risk. If we wanted it to go away completely, we'd all march drill at 120bpm and use the floppy leg technique that was so prevalent in the 80s. Since visual demand calls considerably for more than that, we do our best to balance that performance with member health.

That's already a huge concern with drum corps staffs, and precautions are always taken to ensure performer safety. Implying that attention to safety isn't a giant priority to instructors and designers is ignorant at best and absolutely insulting to the teaching community at worst. Boston's windmill wasn't made by just saying "hey, why don't y'all just go on and jump on top of each other real high, mmkay?" Corps with tarps on the field make sure to minimize any possible safety issues, from making sure tarps are held down to calculating performer step sizes in order to know when/where the foot will be passing over the tarp edge. Do your research before posting a topic like this. Did you talk to any Boston staffers? BK? Blue Stars? What about the Bluecoats ramps--do you really think that the designers and instructors didn't imagine EVERY possible thing that could potentially go wrong and address each scenario with the students appropriately?

Cavaliers 2001 and Crown 2012 had far harder drill and were much more successful. Even lower corps have done shows as hard or harder. Blue Stars 2012, anyone? Still loving me some Animal Farm, difficulty or no. Get it, BAC.

Now that I'm no longer 12 years old, I'd almost rather it stand for "Boston Area Corps." The phrase "Bad ### Crusaders" just sounds like a bunch of band kids trying to act tough. I'd be a bit embarrassed by that acronym as a member. But with that said, LOVE Boston's show this season!! Animal Farm is absolutely awesome, and they're bringing the performance, despite the crazy physical demand. Can't wait to see the final product in two nights.

Ok, so this is basically a variation on fantasy drum corps? Sounds fun. Let's do this... Drill: Michael Gaines Brass arranging: Doug Thrower Percussion arranging: Tom Rarick Brass team: Crown's current brass staff Visual team: Cavaliers vis staff from 2006 Percussion caption head: Mike McIntosh Color guard: Scott Chandler Now excuse us while we sweep every caption AND entertain the bejesus out of the crowd. :)

You ever try lifting one, or marched one for an entire summer? Ergonomically, they're awful, and borderline irresponsible considering the physical expectations from members now and what that weight and balance does to a tuba player over the course of a summer. There's no excuse for a horn to be made like that in the post-G era now that contra lines actually move. It wouldn't seem so bad had Yamaha not figured out how to have a super light horn that also sounds great... back in 03. Ok. Deep breath.... Anyway... slightly more on-topic, Regiment has really started to pull it together. Can't wait to see their finished product!

Phantom sounded great on the Kings. The horn line is still incredible, but why in god's name would anyone ever willingly switch to Jupiter besides the cost? Just... ew. The best way to play a Jupiter is to toss it in a dumpster fire.

If I remember correctly, one of the guys who runs Palomino was a drum corps guy. Cap Reg, I think...?

So...?

This stuff used to happen. Frequently. I don't know of anywhere it happens anymore. That kind of stuff slowly exited the activity right when teaching methodologies started going from kick-your-###-for-no-reason to educational. 03-05ish was the big tipping point. Today's members seem to behave infinitely better than we did.

Read the whole report. Glad DCI has tamed down quite a bit from what it used to be. One lawsuit could have sunken that ship in a heartbeat. Though the the credit of tOSU band, "Jewoobs" and "Ballsacagawea" are pretty fantastic nicknames. Sounds like stuff we called people back in the end of the 90s.

Having read the new sheets plenty of times, I still completely fail to see how the Bluecoats aren't crushing everyone in GE. They're generally hit or miss with me, and this year is about as big of a HIT as I've experienced in this activity. Crown was the logical ruler of that caption last year, and I understood why (and freaking loved it). What am I missing here? Communication? Vocabulary? Achievement? Simultaneous responsibilities? Uniformity? Musicality in visual design? Cohesive package? Demand? Check. Or do they just need to put on the BD uniform and claim that caption? Devs are ahead of them in some performance captions and deservedly so. They're phenomenal, and I'm really loving their product. I suppose I just need to understand that big 'un of a caption that is General Effect a little better. Can anyone help?

Keep in mind, the guy who just hosed Bluecoats in drums last night was cut by the corps back in the day.

Says the guy who was cut trying to rook-out in the top 12 back in 03. So what makes you an expert in design and judging again?

First post on DCP. You are 0-for-1, my friend.

With Apple's cut of the profits, not to mention the massive, massive amount of new license agreements that must be met (and negotiated, and paid for, etc. etc.), iTunes makes absolutely zero sense for DCI. /thread

When I consistently see high school groups with kids marching with better technique, I begin to wonder about the "teaching" here and its associated pedagogy. The experience of doing drum corps is great, but what information will these kids be taking to their future bands? Edit: I just realized how super-negative that sounded. Apologies for tone. Trying to think of a better way to state it and failing...

The real crime here isn't the uniform; it's that trumpet player's slide technique in the background. Crikey.

Absolutely. This is one of those years where I'd hate to be a bookie setting up Vegas odds for Finals night.