corpsband

The infamous Jim Moore bug squash. Nice to see Bloo getting called out instead of Crown. He loves that move. (and it's pretty easy to teach / execute as well as creating a lot lower body movement without disrupting the upper body). There's a reason you see it everywhere :-)

Not sure I'd ever say BD's and Crown arranging styles are similar. (even your example 1 minute vs 10 secs) . While I too was excited to hear more of Equilibrium , the fact that they played it when they did (a full minute near the end of the show) was probably a limiting factor. Nobody wants to load up on 2.5 mins of super technical stuff near the end of a program -- just not smart. I do agree that the number of pieces listed for some corps is just crazy (and must be crazy expensive). There's absolutely no way to give any of them justice (never mind just a single one). Most often it's pure fluff. They can sit in critique and say "Yes we only played to 2 measures of XXXXX but it's so critical to conceptual development (as if quoting 10 pieces for 2 measures each somehow bolsters a concept). You literally need heavy machinery to shovel away the giant bs & fluff sandwich.

happened to me -- i kind of ignored it. now i've seen another poster have the same problem. here's an example https://www.facebook.com/thecrownbrass/videos/1311491928940603/

Calling a Goldwing a "hog"? BLASPHEMY!

how can you fail to love this? (apparently the embedding is broken) https://www.facebook.com/thecrownbrass/videos/1099106146845850

Crown released a FB video playing a bit of Crown Imperial at their March camp. No other details (show or encore piece, etc...) https://www.facebook.com/carolinacrown/videos/10155095102697641/

Last message on this but you have to BE somewhere in order for somewhere to LOSE you. Brad has not been at Crown for sometime (and not of his own choosing). Anyway YEA was floundering in the development department (as in there wasn't one) . I'm sure he'll make a difference. Crown was stupid to let him go.

Incorrect. Brad was no longer with Crown.

Denials to the contrary, it seems you are offended. You are a fan of something that embarrasses you. As I said earlier, further subdivision of the class may make sense if there were enough corps to justify it. For now it just doesn't. The nomenclature is just being used to align with WGI (who also allows units who score well below the top to retain their classification). If it doesn't align with some pro sports, I could really care less. Very little in drum corps does. Adopting terms that seem to apply to pro sports is strictly a marketing gimmick.

So you'd be fine if they called them "X Class" and "Y Class"? You're just offended by the use of the word "World" ?

Surf improved about 17 points over their (much shorter) season. BAC (bottom of finals) improved about 24pts. Are those amounts unreasonable? What corps should Surf be out-scoring?

Meh -- it's an arbitrary class name (just like Open and A were). Not sure why it twists your panties so much. As for baseball , YAFSA. DCI is not a professional sport. There is not a long list of teams waiting to enter World Class. DCI changed the name to be "more like WGI". And even in WGI, you can declare yourself World Class and go compete. No one forces you down. Look at the World Class standings. Gigantic difference between Light Brigade and Onyx.

Is tying pay-out to placements really such a good idea? IMO DCI is trying to build-up the number of full-tour corps. The current system incentivizes that quite well (moving to World Class pays much better). If World Class becomes too large, I'm all for dividing full-tour corps into two classes. But until then I don't see the point. I'm not offended by Surf and Pioneer being the same class as the medalists. Not sure why you would be. The classifications now just indicate full tour or not. World Class = full tour Open Class = limited tour Soundsport = prep for touring

Bahrain is pretty Westernized as Arab countries go. Performing at Formula One race is even more so. That said -- I'm sure their hosts will be briefing them on local customs.

I don't think Stu's view is unreasonable. He's talking about exactly the same system that's in place for WGI units: classification based on the same criteria used to determine the score. Unfortunately DCI is not in any sort of position to implement that sort of system. WGI has a much larger, healthier base with which to work. Heck on the guard side, the A class has grown so large they need to move to spread prelims events to Miami of Ohio and NKU all the way in Cincinnati . Finals for A class aren't even in the UD Arena anymore. Percussion has seen similar growth. DCI is quite happy to add corps the WC division just to bolster the schedule and try to avoid those 4-5 corps shows. It's all about sustainable touring for now. If the activity grows to the point where a competitive division of WC makes sense, that would be good news indeed.

Everyone recruits from their souvie stands -- it's low budget stuff. Same for the internet-based media. Off-season it's almost entirely scholastic. TOB, USBands, Cavalcade -- that's where you see their recruiting booth.

And the commercial got mega air-time. Literally on every channel. It was.....EPIC !

The Las Vegas of the Middle East :-)

I said "where do they market themselves" and clearly it's mostly at high school band competitions. Who's there? High school band kids. I think they do set up a booth at the Collegiate MB Exhib as well. Well let's see -- who is new to the activity? (mostly HS band kids :-). Work harder? Probably not the best way to put it. I think instructional staff is frequently overlooked here, Everyone likes to say "it's all about design". Even at the highest level (eg. Crown or BD) teaching is hugely important. I will agree with you that more experienced kids are walking in the door at those corps and so I do get what you're trying to say. Surf in not an in easy area to recruit either. There's a whole lot of competition for members from both YEA and all those DCA corps near by. And I have no objection to corps who are just looking to provide "the experience". I just think you can do that and still improve your standing year-to-year. I firmly believe if you're not moving forward, you're moving backward. The late move-in date is a really big challenge to overcome. What more can be done in the off-season to bring members into ST better prepared? Yeah that's not me saying that. As for Surf being a top 30 marching ensemble in the world, perhaps I'll just let that one quietly pass, That said -- it's no mean feat fielding a World Class touring drum corps every year and my hat is off to Surf for accomplishing it.

Nah everyone will be too busy watching the two boy witches fight over the girl witch! Which witch will win?

Where does Surf market itself? (mostly HS MB shows?) In any case, I'm not sure membership tells the whole story. Lots of HS bands take their young members to extraordinary levels. So I don't entirely buy the "we're a young corps" argument. Late start to the season -- yes -- definitely can see that being a major impact. Compare Surf to it's competitive WC neighbors. Pioneer (-4) Surf Cascades (+3) Spirit (+4.5) Pac Crest (+7) What separates these corps? Does Pioneer move in later than Surf? Does Spirit have much older members? Many would say you need to spend more money to move up higher. Is that just to pay for better staff? Design? Logistics? Or is Surf (and Pioneer) finishing where they are simply because of a philosophical choice by their admin? Interesting questions indeed.