MarimbasaurusRex

This is a fine illustration of "garbage in/garbage out." If the premise is false, then the conclusion is likely false as well. The ranks of alumni grow with every age out. There are more alumni every year, by default. If DCI presents shows that capture the interest of those age outs, they will attend en mass and bring more people with them. If DCI presents shows that alumni find kinda lame, then yes, there will be diminishing returns. With every age out comes their families and friends, but personally I would never recommend to a friend to go see a DCI show. Not because I don't want to support DCI, but because every one of my friends would find it cheezy. So if the shows aren't attracting alumni and their friends, what choice does DCI have but to go after band kids who wouldn't know cheezy if it whacked them in the head? Of course they could try producing shows that weren't so full of themselves and programmed by pseudo-intellectual wannabe impressarios (rhymes with C______). But, that takes talent and true artistic vision. Going after foo-foo clarinet band kids is just a whole lot easier.

The key is to take the work seriously without taking yourself seriously. I hear people talking about putting on the superman suit or whatever and just have to laugh. Others spew about their corps' "greatness" or whatever. In the end, no one gives a hoot. So, try to have a little fun in the process. Let your audience know that you are having fun and they might just have fun too.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens with this edition of Madison. Kashmir is a bold choice and I hope the arrangement works. Concerned that there isn't a whole lot of material there to draw from, but it's a powerful piece and has some screamer potential. Reminds me of when they did Queen back in the 70's, ahead of it's time and underappreciated. Power rock pieces are hard to pull off. Not sure if horns can compete with the grit of Robert Plant, but if the arrangement is dastardly (as it MUST be or it totally won't work) it could redefine the Scouts in a big way. Unfortunately, no matter what, I don't think it will score well. Kashmir doesn't offer much opportunity for mindlessly chromatic 16th note runs to nowhere. But, it should should be a cool opener. Why so few returning vets? I get the big change of management and all, but it's more extreme than expected.

Can't say if the pit is unjudged or underjudged. But it is fair to say, as one DCI hall of fame corps director put it to me... No corps ever won DCI because they had a great pit. Horns, drums and visuals win DCI.

When they start dragging you from the back of the bus to the front of the bus by your underwear strap... Don't fight it, that just makes it worse. Horn players should know better than to venture to the back of the bus anyway. Abandon hope all ye who enter. And if you drop the soap... oh wait, that's prison, nevermind!

If counting senior corps, the New York Skyliners marched 14 snares for at least one year in the mid 70's, with straps slung down to their knees.

Not exactly, but we did have a french horn player who often sported a brown racing stripe (as evidenced on laundry days). Guess the high pressure behind those horns has to come out somewhere.... er..... or something. :sshh:

This is not a case for woodwinds in drum corps. This is a case of an individual lacking the requisite skills for drum corps and saying let me in anyway. Has a marching band contest ever been broadcast nationally on PBS or any other station? No. Obviously there was at one time some tangible difference between marching band and drum corps. Through the 70's, 80's and 90's drum corps was on PBS not because it was marching band but because it was DRUM CORPS. As the distinction between the two activities has dissolved, so has any popular support and media attention that goes with it. DCI was at one time important and unique enough to broadcast LIVE NATIONWIDE for 3+ hours at tax payer expense. Now if DCI wants on TV, they pay through the nose to get fringe play for an hour on a secondary basic cable station. Diluting the activity further by adding woodwinds would earn DCI the same media profile and position as BOA, NONE. Is that really what you want? I would suggest that had DCI included woodwinds from the beginning, most of us would not know what DCI is and it would probably no longer exist. DCI became highly regarded not for it's sameness with marching band, but for it's differences. Bottom line.

How about that "getting gay with kids" opening segment!? The arranger actually quoted South Park a few times (listen close). Singing about "our good nature" as deadly stealth aircraft fly overhead. Nice. The Remo guys at the beginning were throwing down so hard they phased out the band behind them. Stumble, lurch, oops! Good to see the Butler band. Congrats to the Yaracs clan, sounded good. Quite a few solid bands up front but some of the later bands are pretty raw. Marines showed how it's done!

Gotta go all the way back to 76 Blue Devils. IMO, North tenors were the wildest thing to ever hit the field. They were brutally heavy and fell apart and stuff, but such is the price of style. Actually sounded pretty cool too. The megaphone design produced a short delay in the tone. Wouldn't work with today's sound, but still crazy after all these years.

How about... Moe's Art - Music of the Three Stooges. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!

If they didn't want people to laugh at it, then they shouldn't have called it the "Great White Stick."

So while other players run around, the pit adds the visual excitement of furniture. Mallets and tymps used to move all over the place. Now they don't move at all, ever. Progress? It may have been primitive, but it contributed to the visual program. In the before time, in the long long ago, mallets and tymps were fully integrated into the corps proper. Now they stand aside and play along with the corps while they do their thing. One xylo player used to cut through Madison's horn line from mid field. Now it takes nine on the sideline with amplification. Go figure. More cowbell!

Interesting idea and I wouldn't object if it was great entertainment of high quality and got fans into a frenzy. But, no thanks on the foo foo suburban jazz art sax recital. Either way, there seems to be some precedent against it. Speaking of Cadets, back in the day the vocal amen was a penalty even though judging was already over. It would seem to follow (or precede?) that a penalty is still a penalty before judging begins. Traditionally isn't the spirit of the rules that certain things are allowed or not allowed to be done "on the field"? Doesn't seem to matter when judging begins or ends. But, nothing says a guy in the stands couldn't blast a Squidward clarinet jam during the warmup. (oh yeahhhh...) B)

Doesn't matter what brand it is or whether the marketing department stamped the word ride on it, and the Chinese have been crashing Wuhans together for about a bazillion years. Piatti and ride cymbals are pretty much the same thing and crashing them together seems to have done pretty well for all those old K Zildjian orchestra cymbals which became the gold standard for jazz rides. That's right, there is no Santa Claus and cymbal makers don't make special cymbals just for drum corps/band. Cheaper cymbals can be fine for learning but usually the thicker the better. Any hi hats are made for crashing, small but not out of the question for practicing the strokes. To play cymbals well, part of good technique is staying within the limits of the instrument. Cymbals break not from playing but from overplaying, which doesn't add volume anyway. Any cymbal will break eventually if it gets topped out again and again. Learn to listen and feel for that limit and there should be no worries.

How could we have missed Patrick Star of Indiana? He's even PINK!

I heard it once in June and it's still ringing in my head. Now THAT's a good drum corps chart. Go Academy.

Looks like a fun program. Will you be trashing your instruments at the end of every show or just at finals?

I wanna know what she's gonna do with those flowers. And here come the ping pong balls! Seriously, that's gotta hurt.

Hard-Nosed Attitude It often doesn't fit the kind of programs being performed. Contrary to popular drum corps belief, there can be high precision without the 'Tude. In my opinion this is the most important issue separating drum corps from mainstream society. It often prohibits serious arts funding and alienates many youth and parents alike.

Maybe you should go stand near him and stare in silent awe until he gets creeped out. :sshh: But seriously... Just question... Does it look like he would want to meet and greet you? Also, question whether his subsequent ego boost would prevent a slightly enlarged head from fitting through the door. But really seriously, who isn't happy to greet a courteous fan?

There is a difference between going inactive and folding. Blue Stars folded in 1982 and never returned. Their cadet corps, a separate organization, continued. While called the Blue Stars, they are officially the LBS Cadets. Similar situation with Dutch Boy.

At least curling is a somewhat major sport/game with a long and storied tradition filling the quiet winter months for hundreds of thousands of cold people, if you count Canadians as people. But, when I saw competitive cup stacking on ESPN, that was it, there is no hope. That's right, cup stacking. The idea is to take 10 plastic cups and stack them in a pyramid and the take them down and stack them again over and over as many times as you can in a minute. Apparently stacking is getting "big" with the kids these days. No one paid ESPN for the air time, it was covered by ESPN with their own commentators. Maybe someday DCI can catch up with the popularity and big money potential of stacking plastic cups. Or maybe not.

Saw Jeff balance a string bass on his chin back in high school. How many of us can even lift a string bass that high? Sheesh! Mad skills all around. Almost forgot to mention, the string bass was upside down!

Gino Vannelli did pretty well with "I Just Wanna Stop" (and tell you what I feel about you babe). That was a huge hit.